Roger Federer extended his unbeaten 2018 winning streak to 14 matches Monday by defeating World No. 28 Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-1 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. After handing back an early break to allow Krajinovic to draw level at 2-all, the defending champion moved into cruise control. At one point he won 17 straight points en route to taking a 6-2, 3-0 lead, winning 10 of the final 11 games in the match. The World No. 1 is seeking his third tour-level title of the season (Australian Open, Rotterdam), 98th title of his career and 28th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy. "I was playing aggressive and feeling like he was not loving my slice, and then...
Former champions Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert swept into the BNP Paribas Open second round on Sunday when the fifth seeds defeated Damir Dzumhur and Filip Krajinovic 6-1, 6-2 in just 46 minutes. From 1-1 in the first set, the French pair won nine straight games to a 4-0 advantage in the second set. They lost just nine of their service points. Two years ago, Mahut and Herbert captured their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells with a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock in the final. They have since compiled a 6-1 record in Masters 1000 finals and are 11-5 overall in championship matches. The team will now prepare to challenge Pablo...
Unseeded Portuguese player Joao Sousa is fast carving out a name for himself at this year’s BNP Paribas Open as the comeback king after pulling off an upset of No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday. Seemingly down and out when his #NextGenATP German opponent held break points for 5-1 in the deciding set, Sousa reeled off the final five games of the match to reach the fourth round. At No. 85 in the ATP Rankings and coming into his Indian Wells campaign on a four-match losing streak, Sousa’s run came as a bolt from the blue. His 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 triumph over Zverev marked his second straight comeback of the tournament. In the first round, Sousa had beaten Mikhail...
Juan Martin Del Potro shows no signs of his recent red-hot run of form abating with the No. 6 seed putting in a ruthless display to dismiss #NextGenATP Australian Alex De Minaur at the BNP Paribas Open. The Argentine’s crushing forehand proved telling against his 19-year-old opponent in a 6-1, 6-2 victory. He will next meet Spanish No. 29 seed David Ferrer for a fourth-round berth. The pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head record is locked at 6-6, with Del Potro prevailing en route to his recent title in Acapulco. Watch Full Match Replays Watch Sunday's Best Hot Shots From From Indian Wells Struggling with Del Potro’s accuracy and heavy pace of shot early on, De Minaur quickly fell behind three set...
Welcome back to No. 1, Roger Federer! In his first tournament since returning to the top spot of the ATP Rankings, the Swiss overcame a spirited effort from Argentina's Federico Delbonis to advance to the third round at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday. Federer prevailed 6-3, 7-6(6) in a match that was carried over from Saturday evening due to rain. Four games were played in the second set when the skies opened at 10:30pm local time. Upon resumption on Sunday, Delbonis did well to force a tie-break, but Federer was too strong in the end. He closed out the win after one hour and 41 minutes, saving all three break points faced. It was the Basel native's 450th match at...
