After top seed Andy Murray’s shock exit, the men’s draw at the BNP Paribas Open was without incident on Sunday, with the big names in the ‘Quarter of Death’ – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Poto, Nick Kyrgios, Alexader Zverev notching wins.
The only top player to lose was sixth-seeded Marin Cilic who was defeated by American teenager Taylor Fritz. The former Grand Slam champ was undone 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 by the 19-year-old in a thrilling match. This was Fritz’ first win over a top 10 player.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic started his for a sixth ATP Indian Wells Masters title with straight sets win over Kyle Edmund. The 46th-ranked Edmund was in with a slight chance when he served for the second set at 5-3, but the World No 2 broke him en route to a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) win.
Djokovic will face a Mexican Open rematch with Juan Martin del Potro next. The former US Open champion claimed a fighting 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 winner over fellow Argentine Federico del Bonis.
Less than two months after their Australian Open summit clash, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal stayed on course for another showdown after winning their opening matches. Federer flew through his opener with a 6-2, 6-1 win over France’s Stephane Robert in just 51 minutes. He will play American 24th seed Steve Johnson next, who beat South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4). Nadal, on the other hand, had a simple 6-3, 6-2 win over Argentina’s Guido Pella, breaking his serve five times. The Spaniard now faces 26th-seeded compatriot Fernando Verdasco.
Another exciting clash to watch out for at Indian wells will be between upcoming players Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev. Australia’s 15th-seeded Kyrgios beat Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4 to book the third-round date with 18th-seeded German Zverev, who overcame another Argentine Facundo Bagnis 7-6 (12/10), 6-3.
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