After play on Tuesday, the ATP draw at the BNP Paribas Open was trimmed to 16. Rather than bringing you the typical match summary round-up, here is what some of those players had to say about their opponents, winning and how they play their game.

Novak Djokovic [2] vs. Nick Kyrgios [15]

Djokovic on playing an historic draw at the BNP Paribas Open

“I don't have the luxury of pacing myself. I'm playing Del Potro now. I have to give it all. That's what it takes to beat this guy, who is – even though he is not ranked as high and he hasn't played that many tournaments but definitely one of the best players in the world last year, especially in the second part of the year, winning Davis Cup, you know, silver medal for his country, you know, beating myself and Wawrinka in Wimbledon. You know, he's tough player to beat. He's big guy, big serve, big forehand.”

“Definitely not the draw that you like early in the tournament and that you wish for, but it is what it is. I have played him some weeks ago in Acapulco. Very close match. You know, it went down to last couple of points. I don't expect anything less than that. Very even match, and I've got to give it all. To answer your question shortly, I can't really pace myself and think about what's coming up after that, because I really have, you know, tough players to beat in the next round.”

Kyrgios on playing Federer, Nadal and Djokovic – Who was the most difficult?

“You know, I think – you know, the first time I played Rafa was on grass court. That's definitely his least favorite surface. I played Federer on clay, probably his least favorite surface. I mean, it's tough. They're all great champions and three of the greatest of all time. I don't know. The toughest. Jesus, I don't want to give an answer, because I know it's going to blow up the next day that I said something.

“I don't know. It was all tough. I mean, out of the three that I liked the best, I mean, I obviously liked Roger. He's greatest of all time. I'm not going to answer that question. All those matches were tough. I mean, 7-6 in the third with Roger could have gone either way. Rafa beat me, as well, in Rome. So, yeah.”

Kei Nishikori [4] vs. Donald Young [Unseeded]

Young on early memories and growing up with Nishikori

“Yeah, like, honestly, you know, when I was younger, we played in the finals of Junior Davis Cup, actually. USA beat Japan. I didn't get to play him, but we played him in doubles and clinched it. And then we played doubles to get my first future titles. We won. Then I won my first futures title when I beat him in the final. So that's going from 13, you know, to now.”

“So he's got the better of me in pros. But it's great to see faces and guys your age. There's not many guys born in '89 that are playing at this level right now. So it's pretty nice.”

Nishikori on the importance of the first match of any tournament

“You know, I think the really important is the first couple games. I try to focus a lot and I try to get first break of the match. You know, try not to hit, you know, too crazy shot. You need to get good rhythm first, and then if you feel comfortable, then I try to hit hard or try to hit winner; try to be patient first couple of games.”

Rafael Nadal [5] vs. Roger Federer [9]

Nadal on how to become a great defender of break points

“You cannot work specifically about that, no? You need to, work every time, not only tennis part but in real life, because you need to accept the past situations. And the most important thing is have the right self-confidence, no? I think I had that self-control not always.”

“I had most of the part of my career, because I practiced since I was a kid with high intensity. I practiced with a lot of pressure every day. My uncle was pushing me a lot from the beginning, so that was a big help for us later to be ready to accept injuries, to accept the tough moments.”

Nadal on what makes Federer’s game special

“Everything (smiling). Yeah, he has the talent to do very difficult things that looks easy, you know. He's able to take the ball very early, serve and first shot. He create a lot of winners with that, two first shots, no?”

Federer on Nadal and how he helped lift his game

“Yeah. I mean, I think he's a player with a lot of possibilities. You know, he can play really deep in the court and really in the court, too, now. He's really become a player that can do both. That's – we don't have that many guys on the tour that can actually do that. So that's always an option for him, Plan A, Plan B, depending on how he wants to start the match.”

“Or he can even have variation by doing it on the deuce side and not on the ad, for instance, or vice versa, because he's so comfortable in, on, and back. Which is very difficult, I can tell you that, because I have tried to play from back. And it's a totally different game and geometry from way back there. So that's one thing. I think he – for a typical clay-court player, which he is not, he can actually volley very well. He reads the game really well going forward.”

“He closes the net down very well. He rarely misses serve-and-volleys or anything like that kind that we used to see from some of the great clay-court players in the back that would feel so uncomfortable at net. And Rafa is not like that. That's why he's also had success in doubles.”

Jack Sock [16] vs. Malek Jaziri [Unseeded]

Sock on defending match-point against Grigor Dimitrov at Love-40.

“Just praying I get some good serves and forehands. I think everyone knows what I – you know, everyone kind of knew what I wanted to do on those points. I was able to hit two good serves the first two points. And, you know, the 30-40 forehand I had, you know, I just said, Go for it. I have hit it thousands, millions of times in my life, probably.”

“You know, I have said, start of the year, if I'm going to lose to someone, it's going to be on my terms, you know, the tennis that I play. I'm not going to go out and play a match where I'm playing defensive or not my game necessarily. So, you know, 30-40, just grip and rip, and I was able to hit a good one.”

Sock on next round opponent, Tunisian righty Malek Jaziri

“Yeah, I mean, you can say big opportunity or you can look at the results that happened so far this year. Murray is out first round here, and Roger in Dubai, me in Mexico. I think there is a trending pattern on the tour now where I think any guy in the top 100, top 120, for that matter, if they're on fire and you're not on point that day, I think anything can happen on tour now.”

“I think all the guys are kind of noticing that now, as well. And so, you know, same goes for tomorrow. You know, on paper, yeah, may be ranked higher, supposed to be a better player in whatever sense, but if I don't come out and play great tennis and play my A-game, then I won't be playing the next day.”

The remaining Men’s Singles Draw is comprised of a healthy mixture of legends, top-20 players and younger hungry accomplished players, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin to name a few. Wednesday promises to be another thrilling day in the desert.