Roger Federer wasted no time in booking his spot in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday evening. In a battle of veteran players on the ATP World Tour, 35-year-old Federer raced past 36-year-old Stephane Robert 6-2, 6-1 in just 51 minutes. "Very happy. The knee is a thing of the past, which is great. I don't even have to think or talk about it. So I thought the match went really well,” said Federer. “I’m very pleased with how it went. And moving on to the next round, it’s going to be a different matchup, so I’ve got to adjust again.” Despite the scoreline, Federer was full of praise for Robert playing some of the best...
Five-time former champion Novak Djokovic came through a tough test against Kyle Edmund on Sunday to advance to a BNP Paribas Open third-round clash against Juan Martin del Potro. Edmund served for the second set at 5-3, but could not close it out as Djokovic fought back with a break in the ninth game and sealed the 6-4, 7-6(5) victory in the ensuing tie-break after one hour and 51 minutes. It was the closest the 22-year-old Edmund has come to taking a set off Djokovic in three meetings with the World No. 2. The 29-year-old Djokovic improved to a 48-6 mark at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, where he has lifted the trophy the past three years. "I think I...
Fifth seed Rafael Nadal faces another potentially epic battle against Fernando Verdasco after scoring a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Guido Pella in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Nadal leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against the 26th seed Verdasco 15-3, but five of their seven most recent meetings went to a deciding set. However, Nadal has won both of their previous encounters in Indian Wells, scoring third-round victories in 2007 and 2016. Pella got off to a hot start, breaking Nadal in the third game of their first meeting. But the fifth-seeded Spaniard settled in and reeled off six of the next seven games to clinch the opener...
Fourth seed Kei Nishikori booked his spot in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Daniel Evans. The Japanese star advanced in 85 minutes, converting four of nine break points to record his second win in three meetings with Evans, who famously upset Nishikori four years ago in the US Open first round. "It was a tough match. Obviously he's been playing well. I know he can play great tennis and when he was playing aggressively, he was very tough to play," said Nishikori. "But I think I managed really well from the first point until the end. I'm happy with my service game also, so I think it was a...
Nick Kyrgios and Nenad Zimonjic proved to be a winning combination on the doubles court as they upset second seeds and two-time former champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, 6-4, 3-6, 10-7, in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday. The Australian/Serbian duo struck 13 aces as they prevailed in 69 minutes against the Bryans, who lifted the trophy in Indian Wells in 2013-14. Kyrgios is searching for his first ATP World Tour doubles crown alongside a stalwart of the game. The 40-year-old Zimonjic is a winner of 54 tour-level doubles titles, and is a two-time runner-up in the desert. Top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut opened up their title defense with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-7...
