No easy ride for Djokovic as teenager surprises Wozniacki
INDIAN WELLS, California: World No 1 Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray each had to contend with different degrees of adversity before they advanced to the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Djokovic, the top seed in the elite ATP Masters 1000 event, was broken twice in his opening set against Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas before advancing 7-5 6-3 in an evening match lasting just under an hour and a half.
“I managed to play the right shot at the right time in the important moments,” said Djokovic, who is bidding for a fourth title at Indian Wells. “And I managed to sneak through in straight sets.”
Scottish World No 4 Murray recovered from a surprising second-set lapse during the searing heat of the afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to beat German Phillipp Kohlschreiber 6-1 3-6 6-1.
However, Spanish eighth seed David Ferrer made an early exit, ousted 7-5 6-4 by Australian Bernard Tomic in the third round.
Djokovic won a topsy-turvy opening set that featured five service breaks. The Serb failed to hold in the first game before breaking back in the sixth and eighth, but was surprisingly broken again in the ninth when serving for the set at 5-3.
Though Ramos-Vinolas fought back to level at 5-5, Djokovic held to love before breaking the Spanish left-hander again in the 12th, the set ending after 49 minutes when his opponent netted a backhand.
The second set went with serve until a protracted eighth game which the Serb won when Ramos-Vinolas blasted a low forehand wide, then served out to love in the ninth to seal victory.
Djokovic will next face bigserving American John Isner, who powered past South African Kevin Anderson 7-6(6) 6-2.
“He’s one of the best servers in the history of the game,” said the Serb. “I expect a very tough match.”
Murray appeared in total control after breezing through the opening set in just 25 minutes, but was broken after a marathon eighth game in the second as Kohlschreiber levelled the contest.
It was then back to business in the third for Murray as he broke the German’s serve in the second and fourth games before sealing victory in a little under two hours when his opponent hit a forehand wide.
“Towards the end of the second set there were a lot of long games and he was creating a lot of opportunities,” Murray said.
“The game where I got broken, I played a few poor shots as well. He capitalised on that. But apart from that, I thought I played a good match against a tough opponent who plays well in these conditions.”
In other matches, fifth-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori fought back to beat Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco 6-7(6) 6-1 6-4 while Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis scraped past Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-2 5-7 7-6(5).
Caroline Wozniacki became the biggest name to fall when the fourth seed was ousted 6-4 6-4 by Swiss teen Belinda Bencic on Monday.
Second seed Maria Sharapova won an absorbing baseline battle with long-time rival Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-3 in just under two hours while sixth-seed Eugenie Bouchard demolished American CoCo Vandeweghe 6-3 6-2.
Wozniacki, champion at Indian Wells in 2011, had overwhelmed Bencic 6-0 6-0 in their only previous meeting in Istanbul last year but it was a very different story at the California desert venue as the Dane struggled for consistency.
“Honestly, it was two completely different matches,” Wozniacki said after being broken twice in the opening set and once in the second at a sun-bathed Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
“I went out there today and I didn’t play well at all.
“She was steady. She took the ball early as normal, and she served pretty decently, but I didn’t put three balls in play today. She only had to put balls back in my court.”
Bencic, who celebrated her 18th birthday last week, was delighted to clinch her first victory over a top-five player.
“In Istanbul I had maybe too much respect and I was afraid, nervous,” said the Swiss, who gave notice of her potential by reaching last year’s U.S. Open quarter-finals.
“Today I really had a good game plan. I did what I had to do.”
Sharapova and Azarenka treated the stadium court crowd to one of the best women’s matches so far.
The Belarusian saved five match points before Sharapova sealed victory at the sixth attempt, ending the contest with a dipping crosscourt backhand.
“My serve let me down in the first set,” Sharapova said after levelling her career record against her fellow former world number one at 7-7. “I did everything else well, except serving.
“I did a much better job in the second set. She will play until the last point and that’s what made it so tough.” – Reuters