ESPN Tennis

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Defending champion Roger Federer will meet former winner Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open if the tournament pans out according to the seedings.

World No. 1 and top seed Federer is bidding for a record fourth consecutive title at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden while Australian Hewitt triumphed in 2002 and 2003.

The pair were put on a collision course in the opening Masters Series event of the year when the men's draw was released on Tuesday.

Federer, expected to arrive in Indian Wells on Thursday, will launch his defense against either Czech Jan Hajek or a qualifier after getting a bye into the second round.

Former world No. 1 Hewitt, who ended an eight month title drought by winning the Las Vegas Open on Sunday, will start against either Serbian Janko Tipsarevic or Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand.

Second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal is scheduled to meet Frenchman Arnaud Clement or a qualifier in round two.

Federer is hot favorite to win his eighth ATP tournament in a row after brushing aside Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday's Dubai Open final.

The Swiss maestro loves competing at Indian Wells, despite struggling on his 1999 debut at the event.

"I remember I lost in the first round of quallies [qualifiers]," Federer recalled of his 1999 experience.

"It never really warmed up to me because it was really a quiet tournament. But I ended up really, really liking it because it's actually nice before Miami [the next Masters Series event] kind of having a really laid-back tournament.

"And the center court is so beautiful, I really like it," he said. "It would be something very special, of course, to win it four times in a row."

Should Federer claim his fourth successive title at Indian Wells, he would become the first player to do so at a Masters Series event.

"I really enjoy playing against history, against breaking records," the 25-year-old Swiss said.

"But usually it's the media that reminds me of what I'm doing. I would only know a handful of all those records.

"It's definitely very interesting, though. I'm not just playing against the other guys; I'm playing against the entire game and the past. It's a lot of fun. There's a lot of talk about it, and I enjoy that."

Federer's main rivals at Indian Wells include French Open champion Nadal, Americans Andy Roddick and James Blake, Russian Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.

The leading 12 players from the men's qualifying round, which ends on Thursday, will advance into the opening round of the men's event the following day.

Russian world No. 1 Maria Sharapova, who crushed compatriot Elena Dementieva 6-1 6-2 in last year's final, is top seed in the women's event which starts on Wednesday.