Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zerev were among Sunday’s winners in third-round singles play at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, while 17th-seeded Clara Tauson was ousted in three sets by Australian qualifier Talia Gibson.
Sabalenka, the top seeded among the women, needed 71 minutes to defeat Jaqueline Cristian of Romania, 6-4, 6-1.
“She’s such an incredible player, such a fighter, and I knew that she’s not gonna give up easily, and that I would have to work really hard, and I think that’s why I was super focused, especially on my serve,” Sabalenka said afterward on the court.
Zerev, the men’s fourth seed, defeated 28th-seeded American Brandon Nakashima, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-4.
Gibson defeated Tauson, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4.
American Coco Gauff, 21, was set to take on 20-year-old sensation Alexandra Eala from the Philippines on Sunday evening in one of the weekend’s most anticipated matches.
“Coco is an amazing player and playing at home,” Eala, seeded No. 31, told reporters after defeating Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine on Friday. “I’m expecting a big crowd to rally behind her just because she’s amazing.”
Gauff, seeded No. 4, returned the compliment.
“I see why people want to root for her. I root for her when I’m not playing her,” she said of Eala.
No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland and third-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan were both on the schedule for Monday, with Swiatek playing No. 32 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece and Rybakina taking on Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, seeded 28th.
The women’s draw saw high drama on Saturday, when Katerina Siniakova of Czechia outlasted Canadian Leylah Fernandez, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6. The match took three hours, 28 minutes, close to the tournament record for the longest women’s match, when Martina Trevisan beat Marie Bouzkova in three hours, 52 minutes in 2021.
In the men’s draw, No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy was set to play Denis Shapovalov of Canada on Sunday.
Top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who has yet to lose a match this year, will play Arthur Rinderknech of France on Monday after defeating Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday.
“I just feel the court is a little bit faster,” Alcaraz said after the match. “Could be the court, could be the balls, it just feels a little bit different and I really like it.”
Men’s No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia will also play Monday, taking on American Aleksandar Kovacevic. Djokovic defeated Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, on Saturday. The 38-year-old has won a record 24 major titles. He’s also won five singles titles at Indian Wells, most recently in 2016.
“It takes a lot for me to win a match here at Indian Wells at this stage of my life, but nevertheless I give huge credit to you guys for pulling me through and supporting me until the last point,” Djokovic told the crowd after the match.
American Taylor Fritz, who was born in San Diego County’s Rancho Santa Fe and is the highest-seeded American man in the tournament at No. 7, will play fellow American Alex Michelsen of Aliso Viejo on Monday. Fritz dispatched Jacob Fearnley of Great Britain on Saturday, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1.
Fritz was the BNP Paribas Open’s men’s singles champion in 2022, beating Spain’s Rafael Nadal.
The tournament concludes next Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. More information can be found at bnpparibasopen.com.