Ahhh. . .Palm Springs in March. What a lovely thing. Perfect weather aside, this time of year is, in my opinion, the true start of the tennis season. The Pacific Life Open, presented by the city of Indian Wells, offers one of the first Sanex WTA tour Tier 1 events of the year. March Madness at its best. Last year, Slovokian teen Daniela Hantuchova's victory of top ranked Martina Hingus was the first time in 10 years that an 18th seed took the prize. This year, expect more of the same all-out-craziness. With both Venus and Serena Williams most-likelyout (they have been boycotting since they were booed out of the tournament two years ago) the field is wide open.

The women's field will feature Jennifer Capriati (who finished 2002 ranked No. 3 on the WTA Tour), Monica Seles (No. 7), Daniela Hantuchova (No. 8) and Lindsey Davenport (No. 12). Other stars include big names such as Belgian Kim Clijsters (No. 4), Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo (No. 6), Jelena Dokic (No. 9) of Yugoslavia, Russians Anastasia Myskina (No. 11), Elena Dementieva (No. 19) and Anna Kournikova (No. 35) and Americans Chanda Rubin (No. 12) and Alexandra Stevenson (No 13). As I picture myself sitting grandstand-style inside the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, I can already feel the temperature starting to rise. The real heat, however, will be braved on the court.

BEST BETS

• Monica Seles

• Lindsey Davenport

• Jelena Dokic