Murray hopeful over Masters event

Murray was forced to pull out of the Davis Cup tie through injury

Andy Murray will face either Florent Serra of France or Spain's Albert Montanes in his first match at the Masters Series event in Indian Wells.

But the world number four is yet to confirm whether he has overcome the virus that kept him out of Britain's Davis Cup tie against Ukraine.

The 21-year-old Scot told his website: "I'm headed off to the States. Not 100% yet, but feeling better for sure."

As the fourth seed, he could face Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

The women's event starts on Wednesday, with the men's first round - in which all the 32 seeded players have byes - scheduled for Thursday.

Murray fell ill at the quarter-final stage of the Dubai Open two weeks ago and said the virus had hit him harder than any illness during his career.

Federer, a three-times champion at Indian Wells, has lost to the British star five times in seven career meetings, including their last three encounters.

He has been sidelined by a back injury since losing February's Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal, and is seeded to meet the big-serving Ivo Karlovic in round three.

He lost to the Croat in their most recent match in Cincinnati last year.

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Murray, a winner of two ATP titles this year, would face his first serious challenge in California when taking on 15th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the fourth round.

All the top players are involved. World number one Nadal is the top seed at Indian Wells while last year's champion, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, is seeded third.

On the women's side, number one Serena Williams and fifth-ranked sister Venus will skip the event as they do every year in the wake of a perceived "racist" incident that occurred at the venue in 2001.

If the WTA takes a firm stand against the boycott, the pair will be slapped with massive fines and possible sanctions under tough new rules which began in January.

After not playing since August due to shoulder surgery, former number one Maria Sharapova will make a partial return, playing doubles with Elena Vesnina.

The 21-year-old, who has dropped to world 23, has been bothered by the problem for two years.

Russian world number two Dinara Safina is the number one seed in Indian Wells and will not meet her compatriot and nemesis Elena Dementieva until the final.

In-form Dementieva, who has beaten Safina in their last three meetings, is the third seed and is scheduled to face second-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic in the last four.