Carlos Alcaraz saved his Indian Wells “three-peat” bid alive with a commanding 6-2, 6-4 win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov within the third spherical Monday, cruising into the final 16.
The second-seeded Spaniard stormed out of the gates, profitable the primary 5 video games and firing 10 winners within the opening set. Shapovalov, using momentum from a robust run in Dallas, struggled to match Alcaraz’s depth.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz was untouchable on serve, by no means going through a break level in a near-flawless second set. He sealed the victory in underneath 90 minutes, ending with a thunderous overhead smash.
“I knew at the beginning of the match that I had to be really focused. I had to start the match really strong, knowing it was going to be a really tough battle,” Alcaraz stated.
Alcaraz goals to grow to be solely the third man to win three straight titles on the Masters 1000 event, becoming a member of retired nice Roger Federer and former No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who crashed out within the second spherical.
“I’m just really pleased about my performance today, about everything I have done,” Alcaraz stated. “Few things that I have to improve, but I’m really happy.”
Alcaraz will face Grigor Dimitrov within the spherical of 16 after the 14th-seeded Bulgarian beat France’s Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (2) in a three-hour battle.
Dimitrov, a right-hander, was up 3-1 within the third set when his forehand struck his left thumb, leaving it bleeding. He continued after receiving therapy however misplaced the following three video games earlier than combating again to drive a tiebreak and seal the win.
Sabalenka powers by way of
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus used her highly effective serve to dominate Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-2, bringing her greatest type to the event after early exits in Doha and Dubai.
Sabalenka wasted little time, sprinting by way of the primary set and rapidly recovering after dropping her serve early within the second. She will subsequent face Britain’s Sonay Kartal, a fortunate loser.
“It wasn’t as easy as the score looks,” Sabalenka stated. “It was tough conditions out there, and I’m happy with the way I managed that.”
Americans shine
Players battled difficult winds within the California desert, however Americans Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton gave residence followers loads to cheer about with compelling third-round victories.
Third-seeded Gauff overcame late nerves to beat Greece’s Maria Sakkari 7-6 (1), 6-2, closing out the match regardless of six double faults within the last recreation. She sealed the win on her sixth match level with a forehand winner.
“Except for the last game, I thought I played a great match,” Gauff stated. “Just trying to look at the positives.”
Gauff, in search of revenge after shedding to Sakkari in final yr’s semifinals, will subsequent face Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, whom she has overwhelmed twice earlier than, most lately in Melbourne this yr.
“It was a bit tricky conditions. I think we were both struggling a little bit with finding the rhythm, and I was just trying to stay solid on my end of the court,” Gauff stated.
Australian Open champion Keys saved 12 of the 15 break factors she confronted to outlast Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-4, securing her 14th straight match victory.
The fifth seed, who had misplaced to Mertens of their two earlier conferences, fired 5 aces to arrange a fourth-round conflict with Croatia’s Donna Vekic. Keys stated she has come to anticipate one other stage from herself after her maiden Grand Slam breakthrough.
“Overall, in Australia, I played some really good tennis, and I think the further away from it you get, the more you kind of forget about the lulls of matches and the moments where you weren’t playing great,” Keys stated.
“As great as Australia was and all the wins that I got, there were still some moments in matches where I didn’t play great or things got away from me. So just being really conscious of that.”
Defending champion Fritz overcame a sluggish begin to beat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. He expects a troublesome take a look at towards Britain’s Jack Draper, who dimmed the house crowd’s pleasure by defeating Jenson Brooksby in straight units.
“It’s going to be a tough match. I think it’s a tough draw to get him in the round of 16 as a top-four seed. He’s a very good player,” Fritz stated. “I think he’s probably better than his ranking is, and yeah, we have had some tight ones.”
Shelton, 22, energized the gang with a strong and poised efficiency, defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-5 whereas battling blisters on his hand.
Down a break within the second set, Shelton gained the ultimate 4 video games and sealed the victory with certainly one of his eight aces, punctuated by a mighty cheer. He will play compatriot Brandon Nakashima within the spherical of 16.
Source: www.dailysabah.com