Pospisil stuns Murray
Indian Wells, March 12: World number one Andy Murray crashed out of the ATP Indian Wells Masters on Saturday, toppled in straight sets by 129th-ranked Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil.
“I felt like I had the ability to do it, but going through it is another thing,” Pospisil, a former Wimbledon doubles champion, said after notching the biggest singles win of his career 6-4, 7-6 (7/5). “I just tried to stay composed.”
Trailing 4-2 in the first set, Pospisil won six straight games as he went up a break in the second before Murray broke back to knot the score at 2-2.
They went with serve to the tiebreaker, in which Murray’s double-fault gave Pospisil a 3-1 lead. Murray saved one match point with a service winner before holding off Pospisil on two more on the Canadian’s serve.
But Pospisil finally put it away with a forehand winner. Pospisil will now meet with Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic, a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2) winner over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez.
French seventh seed JoWilfried Tsonga also fell at the first hurdle, stunned 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-4 by Italy’s Fabio Fognini.
Third-seeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka advanced without incident, downing Italian Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-4 to set up a thirdround meeting with Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, who was trailing 6-7 (3/7), 1-1 when Alexandr Dolgopolov retired from their match.
Eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem also advanced, easing past France’s Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-4 while Japanese lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka upset 19th-seeded Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-3.
Venus rallies past Jankovic
Venus Williams saved three match points as she roared back for a 1-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 victory over old foe Jelena Jankovic on Saturday and a place in the third round at Indian Wells.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion, her right arm bandaged and her serve speed down, surrendered the first set in just 20 minutes and was quickly down a break at 3-1 in the second.
She broke Jankovic twice to take a 5-4 lead in the second set before the Serb veteran, like Williams a former world number one, broke in the 10th game to pull level at 5-5.
Serving to save the match, Williams was on the ropes in the 12th game but she saved three match points to force the decider.
Once she came through it, she ran away with the third, buoyed by an enthusiastic crowd.
Williams next faces Czech Lucie Safarova, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 winner over American Coco Vandeweghe.
There was no such drama for second-seeded
Angelique Kerber, who raced into the third round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over fellow German Andrea Petkovic.
Kerber next faces France’s Pauline Parmentier, who ousted 27th-seeded Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-3.
Women’s fourth-seed Simona Halep of Romania cruised through her opener, downing Croatian wild card Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-1.
Sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska beat Spain’s Sara Sorribes 6-3, 6-4 and ninth-seeded American Madison Keys made a successful return to competition with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Colombian Mariana Duque.