Qualifier Christian Garin stunned third seed Casper Rudd 6-4 7-6 (7/2) to reach the fourth round at Indian Wells on Sunday as Daniil Medvedev and Cameron Norrie survived a scare.
Garin’s attacking match paid off when the 97th-ranked Chilean dispatched world number four Ruud in just under two hours.
“The way I played today I’m very happy,” said the 26-year-old Garin. “I was hostile the whole game.”
His 39 wins was too much for Rudd, a two-time Grand Slam finalist last year who was hoping to pick up a quick win over Diego Schwartzman in his second-round opener, a turnaround in a season in which he never advanced to the second round. in three previous tournaments.
Meanwhile, Medvedev, long frustrated with the slow, hard courts of the California desert, pushed his ATP winning streak to 16 matches with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory over 85th seed Ilya Ivaska.
Medvedev, who is off three straight titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, said winning was a matter of “a few points”, but they went out of their way to keep him on track to improve on his previous showing at Indian Wells – round of 16 in 2021.
said Medvedev, who was visibly frustrated at the end of the second set.
He grumbled to the referee that he would be “slow as court” taking a bathroom break, but rallied to take a 5-0 lead in the third period, serving after Ivashka saved three game points to keep the score. The penultimate match.
“I can’t say I played better in the third game, but (I) managed to be the one who didn’t miss after 25 shots,” said Medvedev, who next faces world number two Alexander Zverev.
Zverev, who made his comeback after tearing ankle ligaments ended his 2022 French Open campaign, said the same after his 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 win over Finland’s Emil Russofori.
“Honestly, I think he played better than me throughout the match,” Zverev said. “It’s just the way it is. Sometimes, a point or two can decide a match.”
Tenth seed Nouri, who reached the final in Buenos Aires and lifted the trophy in Rio de Janeiro last month, fell a set and 4-1 to Japan’s Taro Daniel before rallying to victory 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6- 2 win.
Garín was joined by another Chilean qualifier in the fourth round as Alejandro Tabelo prevailed 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) over unseeded Jordan Thompson, who upset second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round.
Tapello moved on to a meeting with American Frances Tiafoe, who easily beat Australian Jason Kubler 6-3, 6-2.
– Sabalenka wins by pass –
On the women’s side of the WTA Championships and ATP Masters 1000, second seed Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus advanced by qualifying when Ukrainian qualifier Lesya Tsurenko withdrew from her scheduled match.
Tsurenko has now lost by retiring or being knocked out in nine of her 18 tournaments dating back to Indian Wells last year.
American third seed Jessica Pegula rose again from a late set by defeating Anastasia Potapova 3-6 6-4 7-5.
“It was definitely a fight today,” Pegula said. “She definitely came out hitting her shots and plotlines and chasing after her.
“So I’m glad I was able to get back into the game and end up playing a lot better than I started.”
Sixth seed American Coco Gauff advanced 6-4 6-3 over Linda Noskova.
But last year’s runner-up, Maria Sakkari, needed two and a half hours to seal a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Anelina Kalinina – Sakkari’s second consecutive win.
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