Fritz wins in rout; Murray is out
Reigning champion easily advances at Indian Wells, while veteran’s run ends.
Defending champion Taylor Fritz routed Sebastian Baez 6- 1, 6- 2 in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday.
The fourth- seeded Fritz served four aces and won 88% of his f irst- serve points against the 30th- seeded Baez from Argentina.
Andy Murray’s run ended in a 7- 6 ( 6), 6- 2 loss to 21- year- old Jack Draper.
“I’ve looked up to Andy since I was so young,” Draper said. “I watched him win Wimbledon for the f irst time in 2013, and then I’ve had the opportunity to get to know him and practice with him often since 2019. He’s a really special person, a great champion and a great human being, and it was a privilege to play against him on this court.”
Murray has not won three consecutive matches at a Masters 1000 event since he won the title in Paris in 2016.
Also advancing was Stan Wawrinka, who ousted No. 7 seed Holger Rune 2- 6, 7- 6 ( 5), 7- 5. American Tommy Paul beat ninth- seeded Hubert Hurkacz 4- 6, 6- 2, 6- 4. Carlos Alcaraz clinched the last spot in the round of 16 with a 7- 6 ( 4), 6- 3 win over Tallon Griekspoor.
Rune saved a match point and rallied from 5- 2 down to win the second- set tiebreaker. But Wawrinka recovered in the third to send his 19- year- old opponent packing.
“The last 45 minutes was tough,” Wawrinka said. “I had the match in control and was playing well. I was putting [ on] a lot of pressure; I should have won the match way before.”
Wawrinka reached the fourth round in Indian Wells for the f irst time since 2017, when he lost in the f inal. He turns 38 next month.
“All my career I know only one way,” Wawrinka said. “To keep f ighting, working, pushing myself and stay positive. I am super happy with the win.”
No. 8 Felix Auger- Aliassime avoided the upset bug and defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7- 5, 6- 4.
In women’s action, topranked Iga Swiatek beat 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu 6- 3, 7- 6 ( 1).
“I’m glad that I [ had] the chance to play under pressure a little bit more, and see how I am going to cope with that,” Swiatek said on court.
No. 4 Ons Jabeur lost to Marketa Vondrousova 7- 6 ( 5), 6- 4, and No. 5 Caroline Garcia outlasted Leylah Fernandez 6- 4, 6- 7 ( 5), 6- 1.
Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U. S. Open champion, beat No. 13 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6- 1, 2- 6, 6- 4.
The final set lasted more than an hour, with Raducanu breaking Haddad Maia’s serve to go up 4- 3 and holding the rest of the way. It was her biggest win since her breakthrough U. S. Open. Next up for Raducanu is a fourth- round match against Swiatek.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be ready tactically; my coach is good at tactics, so I’m just going to trust him,” Swiatek said. “I’m pretty sure that I got into the rhythm already, so hopefully I’m going to play better with every match.”
No. 10 Elena Rybakina beat 2021 champion Paula Badosa 6- 3, 7- 5.