CALIFORNIA – Polish second seed Iga Swiatek eased past Veronika Kudermetova 6-1 6-0 in the third round of Indian Wells Masters, while Andy Murray rallied to win battle against teenager Carlos Alcaraz, reaching the third round along with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev.
World number seven Matteo Berrettini defeated Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-4 7-5 in their second-round match.
A dominant Swiatek dropped only three of her first serve points and never faced a break, firing off five aces against her Russian opponent, who was unable to get a foothold into the 54-minute contest.
Berrettini saved both break points he faced and served 11 aces against Tabilo, and the Italian, who lost to world number one Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final earlier this year, let out a roar as he clinched the match.
Elsewhere in the early action, 10th-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner took down Australian John Millman 6-2 6-2 and France’s Gael Monfils defeated Gianluca Mager 6-4 6-2.
Italy’s hopes of having two players in Turin for the Nitto ATP Finals were bolstered with Berrettini and Jannik Sinner winning their opening-round matches at the BNP Paribas Open.
Berrettini advanced in straight sets, defeating Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 7-5. Sinner showed no signs of fatigue following his title in Sofia last week, as he eased past John Millman 6-2, 6-2.
Berrettini, 25, had not won a match at Indian Wells before taking the court, losing in his two previous appearances. He is a two-time champion this year, winning the Serbia Open and the cinch Championships.
“It’s been a little bit of time to get the first win, but I’m so happy,” said Berrettini according to Reuters. “I love the conditions here, the place, it’s amazing. It’s called Tennis Paradise and it feels like that.
“I didn’t know Alejandro that well. I knew that he was a tricky player. He played three matches here so he was feeling confident. He believed that he could win and I felt it, so it was even tougher to beat him.”
Berrettini sits in sixth place in the FedEx ATP Race to Turin, while Sinner is 10th.
Sinner dictated proceedings against Millman in his first-career match at the BNP Paribas Open, breaking the Australian’s serve four times and not facing a break point. The 20-year-old Italian’s serve was dominant, as he won 86 per cent (18/21) of first-serve points and 74 per cent (14/19) of second-serve points.
“I played very well. I didn’t miss many shots and I felt great on court,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “I had one week of practise here so it was quite long to prepare, which is very good.”
