Spanish tennis will have only one representative in the third round of Indian Wells: Carlos Alcaraz, who was left without compatriots in the Californian desert after the eliminations this Saturday of Alejandro Davidovich and Roberto Carballés.
Davidovich fell this Saturday in the second round against Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-3 and 6-4 in one hour and 18 minutes. Number 23 in the world and without having to play the first round, the man from Malaga lost to a Fils that occupies position 43 in the ATP.
Davidovich was thus unable to repeat his good performance from last year in Indian Wells, where he reached the quarterfinals. His executioner in 2023 was the Russian Daniil Medvedev, who on this occasion also cut off the aspirations of another Spaniard like Carballés.
The Canarian had to play his first round match on Friday and, just 24 hours later, he faced a very demanding face-to-face with the world number 4 and the finalist last year in this tournament.
Medvedev, in what was the last match this Saturday in Indian Wells, beat Carballés (number 64) 6-2 and 6-3 in one hour and 28 minutes.
The match between Medvedev and Carballés left an anecdote in the middle of the second set when the Russian complained about a spotlight that was flickering at the top of the stadium. The game was stopped for more than 10 minutes while technicians tried to fix that problem with the lights.
Alcaraz, world number 2 and current Indian Wells champion, will face Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (no. 31) this Sunday in the third round.
As for the Latin representatives, the Argentine Sebastián Báez qualified for the third round, where he will face the American Taylor Fritz, who defeated the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo.
Báez (no. 19), who did not have to play the initial round, beat the Italian Fabio Fognini (no. 108 and who received a wild card from the organization) this Saturday by 7-5 and 6-3 in one hour and 39 minutes. The Argentine has started 2024 with great strength since he was proclaimed champion in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago, Chile.
Now an important challenge awaits him against the American Taylor Fritz (no. 12), who conquered Indian Wells in 2022 by defeating the Spanish Rafa Nadal in the final.
Fritz defeated Tabilo (no. 39) this Saturday, who had played his first round match on Friday against the Russian Pavel Kotov (no. 67). The American beat the Chilean 7-6(2) and 6-2 in one hour and 14 minutes.
Djokovic reaches 400 wins and Sabalenka survives a fight. Novak Djokovic returned to compete this Saturday in Indian Wells five years later, beating the Australian Aleksandar Vukic with some difficulties in the second round and adding his 400th victory in Masters 1,000 matches.
The Serbian is six wins away from the record held by Spaniard Rafa Nadal with 406. However, Djokovic has the best winning percentage in the 1,000 Masters (82.3%) and the record for total titles (40).
The Balkan (world number one) defeated Vukic (no. 69) 6-2, 5-7 and 6-3 in two hours and ten minutes. It was his first match since he lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open against the Italian Jannik Sinner (no. 3).
In the third round, Djokovic will face the Italian Luca Nardi (no. 123), who entered the main draw as a "lucky loser" due to the resignation of the Argentine Tomás Etcheverry (no. 30).
Five-time champion in the Californian desert, Djokovic did not compete in the first Masters 1,000 of the year since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic and for not complying with vaccination requirements.
For her part, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (no. 2) had to save four match points against the American Peyton Stearns (no. 64), whom she ended up defeating 6-7(2), 6-2 and 7-6(6) in an exhausting match of two hours and 54 minutes.
Notable candidates in Indian Wells such as the American Coco Gauff (no. 3), the Danish Holger Rune (no. 7), the Greek Maria Sakkari (no. 9) or the Norwegian Casper Ruud (no. 9) will be in the next round .
But this Saturday also left surprises such as the early eliminations of the American Jessica Pegula (no. 5), the Polish Hubert Hurkacz (no. 8) or the Chinese Qinwen Zheng (no. 8)
