9 March 2017 | Tennis Queensland

Three Aussies will open their BNP Paribas Open campaigns on Thursday at Indian Wells.

Bernard Tomic, Jordan Thompson and Ajla Tomljanovic will play their first-round matches against tough opposition as they bid to extend their stay in the Californian desert.

Tomic opens play on Stadium 2 against American wildcard Bjorn Fratangelo, while Tomljanovic and Thompson are back-to-back on Stadium 5.

For Tomic, finding form is integral if he’s to prevent his slide down the rankings chart – the Gold Coaster desperately needs to start cracking the first round is he’s to slow his fall outside the top 50.

Tomljanovic takes on Goerges for a shot at Aussie 16th seed Sam Stosur, while Thompson faces Russian Dmitry Tursunov, the former world No.20 has entered the draw using a protected ranking.

On Wednesday, Australia’s two remaining qualifiers fell at the final hurdle.

Teenager Alex De Minaur, a wildcard into the qualifying draw, pushed No.4 seed Radu Albot all the way before falling 6-3 3-6 6-4, while Andrew Whittington lost 6-2 7-5 to Italy’s Federico Gaio.