Alcaraz, Swiatek march on at Indian Wells, Murray falls

Carlos Alcaraz fended off tenacious Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Monday to succeed in the fourth spherical at Indian Wells as he and ladies’s prime seed Iga Swiatek handed robust assessments within the California desert.

Alcaraz, 19, had a testing time breaking via in opposition to his decided Dutch foe, who had gained their solely prior arduous court docket assembly.

He did not face a break level within the first set, nor might he convert both of his two.

A powerful begin within the tiebreaker proved the distinction, Alcaraz locking up the set with a forehand winner on his second set level.

He rolled from there, breaking Griekspoor within the second recreation on the best way to a 3-0 lead within the second set.

“It has been a very robust match,” Alcaraz stated of his a centesimal ATP Tour match win. “Tallon is taking part in nice, I needed to be actually centered. After all taking part in with quite a lot of wind like immediately can also be robust.

“I had probabilities at the start of the primary set, I did not take it.

“The second set, I took my probabilities that I had at first and because of that I used to be capable of play extra relaxed.”

Alcaraz will face Britain’s Jack Draper for a spot within the quarter-finals after Draper overcame former world primary Andy Murray 7-6 (8/6), 6-2.

Girls’s world primary Swiatek, looking for to develop into the primary girl since Martina Navratilova in 1990 and ’91 to win back-to-back titles within the mixed WTA and ATP Masters 1000 occasion, elevated her recreation when she needed to for a 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) victory over Canadian Bianca Andreescu.

Andreescu, whose 2019 Indian Wells title proved the springboard to a breakout season that included a US Open crown, pushed Swiatek via punishing baseline rallies, buying and selling six breaks of serve with the reigning French and US Open champion within the second set solely to be overpowered within the tiebreaker.

“Bianca can change the rhythm fairly properly on this floor, it will possibly get robust,” Swiatek stated, however added she was “glad that I had an opportunity to play underneath strain slightly bit extra and see how I am going to deal with that.”

Swiatek subsequent faces one other former US Open champion in Britain’s Emma Raducanu, who earned a formidable 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 victory over big-hitting Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Raducanu, who has battled nagging wrist hassle and tonsillitis in current weeks, notched her finest win by rating since she captured the US Open two years in the past.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan punched her ticket to the fourth spherical with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over former champion Paula Badosa of Spain.

Rybakina, ranked tenth on the planet after a runner-up end to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open in January, had misplaced her final three matches in opposition to Badosa — her doubles companion this week.

Fourth-seeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur, taking part in her first event since lacking Doha and Dubai within the wake of knee surgical procedure, was crushed 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 by Czech Marketa Vondrousova — the identical girl who upset Jabeur within the second spherical of the Australian Open.

In one other rematch of an Australian Open second-round conflict, fifth-seeded Caroline Garcia beat Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1.

– Fritz eases via –

In different males’s motion, defending champion Taylor Fritz cruised previous Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-1, 6-2.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, 37, beat 19-year-old seventh seed Holger Rune 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5.

A former world quantity three now ranked a centesimal, Wawrinka avenged a  first-round defeat to the Dane at the Paris Masters in November, the place Rune saved three match factors to launch his run to a primary Masters title.

Murray, 35 and attempting to grind his manner again after hip alternative surgical procedure, could not pull off an analogous feat in opposition to his 21-year-old compatriot Draper.

Draper led the primary set 3-1 however was damaged at love as he served for the set at 5-4.

He needed to save a set level with an ace however by no means trailed within the tiebreaker. Draper gained the final 4 video games to win his first assembly together with his childhood hero.

“I’ve regarded as much as Andy since I used to be so younger,” Draper stated. “I watched him win Wimbledon for the primary time in 2013 … He is a very particular individual, an awesome champion, nice human being and I am privileged to play in opposition to him on this court docket.”