Men Tennis News Update – Indian Wells

Written by: Resendiz on 13th March 2013

Men Tennis News Update - Indian Wells

epa03618682 Novak Djokovic from Serbia in action against Fabio Fognini from Italy during the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 10 March 2013. EPA/MICHAEL NELSON |

Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic made a great escape as he happily accepted a gift of four double-faults in one key game to get past eager Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (4), 6-1 and reach the fourth round. Dimitrov, rumored boyfriend of Maria Sharapova, was on fire momentarily in the opening set as he secured a 5-2 lead.

But that was before nerves got to him and he contributed his four doubles to the Djokovic cause in the ninth game. That was all the opening the top seed and No. 1needed as he then took the opening set into a tiebreaker and ended it after just under an hour. In the second it was all Djokovic as the favorite ran away with it.

Djokovic remains undefeated for his last 20 matches, dating to late October when he lost to Sam Querrey at Paris Bercy. “I started very poorly, playing badly,” said the Serb. “I just had to try and hang in there. Then he helped me with those four double-faults, and I got back into the match.”

Californian Querrey book his place in the fourth round over Australian Marinko Matosevic 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (7-9), 7-5. The win makes Querrey the US No. 1 while insuring that at least one American remains in the ATP top 20, keeping a string going that has stood since the charts began in 1973.

The Querrey success was the inverse of a loss for compatriot Mardy Fish, beaten 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-0) by French eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Fish is playing for the first time since the US Open as he returns from his heart-scare of the last 15 months. German Tommy Haas won a thriller over Nicolas Almagro, beating Spain’s 11th seed 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-2) after saving a match point in the 10th game of the final set to pull to 5-all. The 34-year-old, who once stood second in the world, took it into a tiebreaker for the victory.

Canadian Milos Raonic overcame a late start at the event after a bye followed by a walkover, putting his game together after dropping the first set to beat Croatian 12th seed Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to next play Tsonga.

Raonic was playing his first match five days into the competition due to a bye in the firs round and a walkover in the second, he said he felt rusty at the start after spending what he characterized as “boring” days training. Argentine Carlos Berlocq put out Japanese 16th seed Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-2.

Carlos Berlocq came to Indian Wells with a record of just 5-5 in 2013, and a three match losing streak, but on Tuesday, he demolished #16 seed Kei Nishikori. He broke Nishikori four times, and never faced a break point himself. Nishikori still might hit the Top Fifteen — he wasn’t defending anything — but this costs him the chance to clinch; Milos Raonic can pass him with one more win, or Stanislas Wawrinka with two.

Topics: ATP tennis news, BNP Paribas Indian Wells, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Novak Djokovic, Sports