Sinner, Zverev and Sabalenka advance to next round at Indian Wells

CALIFORNIA: Top players continued their strong runs in the ongoing Indian Wells Open, with Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka advancing to the next stage after impressive victories in their respective Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles matches.

Italy’s Sinner secured a hard-fought win against Joao Fonseca to advance to his third quarter-final in Indian Wells. In a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) victory, Sinner was pushed to his limits before the Italian ultimately clinched the win with a late surge in the second-set tie-break.

The World No. 2 Sinner in the PIF ATP Rankings has now advanced to the quarter-finals in 11 of the 12 ATP Masters 1000s he’s played since the start of 2024, according to ATP.

Germany’s Zverev delivered a solid performance to defeat American Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4 in the men’s singles clash. The German star maintained control throughout the contest with powerful serving and baseline dominance to seal his place in the quarter-finals.

Zverev will next face France’s Arthur Fils, who secured his spot in the last eight after defeating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) in a tightly contested match on March 19. Fils showed composure in the second-set tie-break to close out the encounter and continue his impressive campaign at the tournament.

On the women’s side, world number one Sabalenka showcased her dominance by defeating Japan’s Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets. The Belarusian displayed her trademark power and consistency to progress into the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament.

Meanwhile, Australian qualifier Talia Gibson pulled off a surprise win over Italy’s and World No. 7 Jasmine Paolini with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory to book a place in the last eight.

Spanish tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine run in the ongoing Indian Wells competition, securing a win over Arthur Rinderknech on Monday.

Alcaraz outclassed Rinderknech 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-2 to extend his season run to 14 wins and zero losses, which also includes a memorable Australian Open triumph, as per ATP’s official website.

Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic moved to the fourth round of the ongoing Indian Wells Open, beating American Aleksandar Kovacevic on Tuesday night.

Djokovic, the five-time champion, outclassed Aleksandar 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, facing a setback in the second set to book his place in the fourth round of the event for the first time since 2017. This is the second successive match where Djokovic has played three sets, having played a tough campaign opener against Kamil Majchrzak. (ANI)