Indian Wells:
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Monday to reach the fourth round of the Indian Wells women’s singles. Iga Swiatek passed the tough tests in the California desert.
Alcaraz, 19, had a testy time against his strong Dutch opponent, who won their first tough trial.
He did not face a break point in the first set, nor could he convert one of his two sets.
A strong start to the tie proved the difference, Alcaraz locking up the set with a forehand win in his second set.
He rolled from there, breaking Griekspoor in the second game on his way to a 3-0 lead in the second set.
“It was a very tough match,” Alcaraz said of his 100th ATP Tour win. “Tallon played really well, I had to be very focused, it’s true that playing with a lot of wind like today is also difficult.
“I had opportunities at the beginning of the first set, I didn’t take them.
“The second set, I used my advantage that I had at the beginning and thanks to being able to play more calmly.”
Alcaraz will meet Britain’s Jack Draper for a place in the quarter-finals after Draper defeated world number one Andy Murray 7-6 (8/6), 6-2.
World number one Swiatek, who is trying to become the first woman since Martina Navratilova in 1990 and 1991 to win any title in the combined WTA and ATP Masters 1000, raised her game if necessary for a 6-3. , 7-6 (7/1) beat Canadian Bianca Andreescu.
Andreescu, whose 2019 Indian Wells title marked the start of a back-to-back season that included a US Open crown, pushed Swiatek by punishing the ground games, trading six breaks of serve with the French champion and the US Open in the second set just to break the tie.
“Bianca can change the rhythm very well on this surface, it can be difficult,” said Swiatek, but he added that he was “happy that I had a chance to play under a little more weight and see how I handle it. that.”
Swiatek is next up against former US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain, who scored an impressive 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win over Brazilian big hitter Beatriz Haddad Maia. .
Raducanu, who has been struggling with wrist pain and tonsillitis in recent weeks, earned his biggest win at the event since he won the US Open two years ago.
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan punched her ticket to the fourth round with a 6-3, 7-5 win over former champion Paula Badosa of Spain.
Rybakina, ranked 10th in the world after finishing runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open in January, has lost her last three matches against Badosa – her opponent this week.
Fourth seed Tunisian Ons Jabeur, playing in her first round since missing Doha and Dubai following knee surgery, lost 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to Czech Marketa Vondrousova – the same woman who upset Jabeur in the game. second round of the Australian Open.
In another Australian Open second round match, fifth seed Caroline Garcia defeated Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1.
In other men’s matches, champion Taylor Fritz defeated Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-1, 6-2.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, 37, defeated 19-year-old Holger Rune 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5.
The former world number three ranked 100, Wawrinka exacted revenge on the Dane in the first round at the Paris Masters in November, where Rune saved three points to start his run. to the first Masters title.
Murray, 35 and trying to bounce back from hip surgery, was unable to make a similar move against his 21-year-old brother Draper.
Draper led the first set 3-1 but was broken at love while serving for the set at 5-4.
He had to save a set point with an ace but never got to the tie. Draper won the last four games to win his first meeting with his youngest hero.
“I’ve seen Andy since I was little,” Draper said. “I watched him win Wimbledon for the first time in 2013 … He is a special person, a great champion, great person and I have the opportunity to play against him on this court .”
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