Pair of upstart teens rattling Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — A couple of teenagers are shaking things up at the BNP Paribas Open.
Bianca Andreescu, an 18year-old Canadian, routed two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza 6-0, 6-1 in 52 minutes Wednesday to reach the semifinals.
Miomir Kecmanovic, a 19-year-old Serb ranked 130th in the world, became the first lucky loser to reach the quarterfinals at Indian Wells since 1990 when Yoshihito Nishioka retired in the second set.
The kids are all right, indeed.
Andreescu won the first nine games against Muguruza. The 20th-seeded Spaniard called for her coach trailing 4-1 in the second set. He urged her to “change something.”
“I felt like every time I was trying something different she was coming up with better shots,” Muguruza said. “She was keeping her high level all the time.”
Andreescu broke Muguruza at love and then served out the match after a deuce game, hitting consecutive forehand winners.
“I just went out there, went for it. I didn't focus on who was on the other side,” Andreescu said. “It really helped me, and I used my serve to my advantage. She didn't serve so well today, so I took advantage of that, as well.”
Andreescu has been stretched to three sets just once, in the first round. She then beat 32nd-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, Stefanie Voegele and No. 18 seed Wang Qiang before taking out Muguruza in her Indian Wells debut.
Andreescu is the third wild card in tournament history to reach the semifinals. Serena Williams was the last in her return to the desert in 2015.
“It’s incredible what I’ve achieved the last couple months,” Andreescu said in an on-court interview. “I’m beyond grateful.”
She was runner-up at Auckland and made the semifinals in Mexico before coming to the desert.
“I just started playing these high-level events a year ago, and I think I’m gaining more and more experience after every match,” Andreescu said. “This year all the wins have definitely given me confidence.”
Rafael Nadal defeated qualifier Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-4 and remains on track for a potential semifinal against five-time champion Roger Federer in the bottom half of the draw. The top half was rocked by the upsets of Novak Djokovic and No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev.
“The difference between players is not huge,” Nadal said. “It’s small gaps.” Nadal said about the upsets.