BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells 2022 - daily updates

Cam Norrie’s Indian Wells title defence came to an end at the hands of 18-year-old Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz in Thursday’s quarter-final.

The British No.1 lost 6-4, 6-3 to rising star Alcaraz despite breaking for the lead twice in the opening set and then also going ahead in the second.

Both players struggled to hold serve in the second set with five breaks of serve. After receiving some treatment on his hip, Norrie lost three straight service games from 2-1 up as Alcaraz wrapped up his victory over the World No.12.

Norrie’s fourth consecutive ATP quarter-final will give him great confidence as he now heads over to Miami.

Doubles

Joe Salisbury came out on top in the British doubles quarter-final clash with Neal Skupski to progress to the final four pairs.

Salisbury and Rajeev Ram defeated the in-form Skupski and Wesley Koolhof 7-6(4), 7-5 in an hour and 39 minutes.

In a tight match, both pairs only created one break opportunity each. Skupski and Koolhof had a break point at 6-5 up in the first set but failed to capitalise as their opponents forced the tie-break and eventually took a one set lead.

Salisbury and Ram had the same scenario in the second set with a break point to win the match at 6-5. Unlike their Skupski and Koolhof, they took their chance at the first time of offering to complete their victory.

They will play Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin for a place in the final.

Cam Norrie is through to his fourth successive ATP quarter-final after a dominant 6-2, 6-4 win over Jenson Brooksby in Indian Wells.

Norrie came out firing in the early exchanges and looked a level above the American, earning a double break to set up a 4-0 lead.

After going a set down, Brooksby settled himself into the match and looked to turn the tie on its head – coming through a long game to clinch an early break on his sixth opportunity.

At 3-0 down the World No.12 kicked back into action, winning the next four games and dealing a killer blow on a third break of serve for 5-4. Serving for the match, Norrie didn’t drop a point, finishing the match in an hour and 39 minutes.

The reigning champion will continue his title defence against 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who continued his strong start to the season with a win over France’s Gael Monfils. In their previous match up, Norrie lost to the Spaniard in the first round at the US Open.

Harriet Dart’s incredible run at Indian Wells came to an end with a fourth-round defeat to American 25^th seed Madison Keys.

Dart won five matches already building up to her match with Keys – including a victory over former World No.3 Elina Svitolina – but lost the last 16 clash 6-1, 6-4 against the Australian Open semi-finalist.

Dart – who should break into the world’s top 100 next week – had a break point opportunity in the opening game, before Keys piled the pressure on the Brit’s serve to take a 2-0 lead. Keys sealed the set with eight straight points from 4-1.

The Brit dug deep in the second set, saving break points in the opening and fifth game to stay on serve, but at 4-4, Keys got her breakthrough and closed out the match in an hour and 9 minutes.

"This week has been an incredible turning point for me," Dart said in her post-match interview with BBC Sport.

"To try and not forget about the good matches that I have played this week is super important.”

Reigning Indian Wells champion Cam Norrie is safely through to the last 16 in California, after defeating 31^st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, while Dan Evans went out to Rafael Nadal.

In a repeat of the 2021 final, Norrie had to come from a set down to beat Basilashvili 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and 44 minutes.

Norrie struggled on serve in the first set and the big hitting Georgian broke him twice to take a one set lead. But the Brit bounced back in the second with a brace of breaks himself and won 89% of points on first serve in the decider to see out the win.

Norrie’s next opponent will be rising American star Jenson Brooksby, who caused one of the shocks of the tournament, beating World No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

In his post-match interview Norrie said it was a match-up he’d been looking forward to for a while: "I've always wanted to play him and feel what it's like to play him,” he said.

“I'm looking forward to that, and it's a little bit of a rivalry. He went to Baylor, which is Texas Christian University's rival school (where Norrie studied) so hopefully I can get him on that one."

Evans faced arguably the toughest challenge in tennis right now – taking on 21-time Grand Slam champion Nadal on his quest to continue his unbeaten start to the season.

Despite the British No.2 going a break up in the opening set and holding a 4-2 lead, Nadal came back fighting and eventually edged a 7-5, 6-3 win in a close battle.

"I was happy with the way I played. It's a terrible match-up for me - it would be nice to have a double-handed backhand in this situation,” said Evans.

Evans will now set his sites on the next ATP Masters event in Miami starting on 21 March.

Doubles

Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram’s quest for a second ATP Masters continues, after the British, American duo defeated Andreas Molteni and Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 7-6(2).

The former Australian Open and US Open champions put on a serving masterclass, winning 89% of points on first serve throughout the match as they cruised to victory in an hour and 27 minutes.

They will now play fellow Brit Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof in the quarter-finals.

Harriet Dart is the first Brit to make it through to the Indian Wells fourth round this year as Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray both lost close matches on day five.

Dart – who is competing in the main draw in California for the first time in her career – defeated Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 7-6(4), 6-3 in an hour and 40 minutes. Next up for Dart is former World No.7 and 2017 US Open finalist, Madison Keys.

The win should see Dart rise into the top 100 for the first time next week.

After fighting her way back from a break down twice in the opening set – at 3-1 and then again at 5-2 – Dart managed to get back on serve points and saved two set points to force the tie-break.

British No.3 slowly began to separate herself from her former top 20 opponent, racing out to a 4-0 lead before tying up and well deserved first set. From there momentum shifted in her favour – she broke to love in the sixth game of the second and then dealt a hammer blow in the ninth to complete her win.

"My ranking might not show where my level is, but I've always believed my level has been there," Dart said.

"I put in the work day in, day out, and finally to be able to put a run like this together, it's not by chance.”

Raducanu narrowly missed out on her place in the fourth round, after she was beaten 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5 by Croatia’s Petra Martic in a battle lasting close to three hours.

Despite being forced into a tie-break after holding a 5-3 lead, Raducanu looked the stronger of the two in the opening exchanges and rounded off the set with a brilliant passing shot winner.

But the British No.1 struggled to hold serve throughout the rest of the match – Martic broke her three times in the second and third sets, including at 5-4 in the decider, with Raducanu serving for the match. Martic only lost two points in the final two games to seal the win.

Raducanu will now head to Miami for the WTA 1000 event in a few weeks’ time.

Murray was also on the losing side of a tough match yesterday, going out to 31^st seed Alexander Bublik 7-6 (9), 6-3.

A tight opening set went with serve, despite Murray missing out on four break point opportunities, and it was a similar story in the tie-break. Bublik saved three set points to claw his way back into the set and eventually take the lead.

Bublik marched on to go 4-1 up in the second set and despite Murray finding his rhythm again, couldn’t prevent the 24-year-old from claiming the victory.

"I just didn't take my opportunities today, and I feel that was an opportunity missed," said Murray.

Doubles

Wins for Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski on day five, as Jamie Murray bowed out in the opening round.

Second seeds Salisbury and Rajeev Ram go their Indian Wells campaign underway with a hard-fought 7-6(2), 6-4 win over Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies. They will move on to face Argentinian duo Andreas Molteni and Diego Schwartzman.

Skupski and Wesley Koolhof continue to build on their winning record this year after beating fellow Brit Cam Norrie and Federico Delbonis 6-3, 7-6 (1). They will play the winner of Salisbury’s match in the quarter-final.

However, it wasn’t to be for Murray and Bruno Soares, who were denied 7-6 (4), 6-4 to Doha finalists, Denis Shapovalo and Rohan Bopanna.

Cam Norrie’s quest to retain the Indian Wells title got off to a winning start as he secured a 6-3, 6-3 win over World No.49, Pedro Martinez.

Martinez started the brighter of the two, forcing three break points in the opening game and then breaking for a 3-1 lead in the third. But after claiming his first steady hold of the match, Norrie battled hard to level the score at 3-3 on his fourth break point. This spurred him on to complete his comeback, winning five games in a row to take a one set lead.

It was more plain sailing in the second as the Brit won 79% of points on serve and rounded off the match with back-to-back breaks to win in straight sets. In the next round he will face 18^th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Dan Evans made it two British wins from two in the men’s singles second round, dropping only two games in a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Federico Coria.

In a dominant display from the 27^th seed, Evans came out firing on the return – winning 67% of points against the Argentinian's serve. He broke Coria six times in the match to wrap up the win in only an hour and eight minutes.

Next up for Evans will be a tough match against 21-time Grand Sam champion, Rafael Nadal.

"It's why you play tennis, to get on a big court and have a go against a guy who's playing unbelievably this year and, at the minute, and is the greatest of all time," Evans said in his post-match interview.

Andy Murray claimed his 700th career win in the first round at Indian Wells with a stunning comeback against Taro Daniel – winning 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours.

After a difficult opening set, Murray came back firing in the second, winning the first five games on the bounce before levelling the scores.

In the decider, the Brit found himself a break down at 3-1, but in true Murray fashion fought his way back. Having edged 5-4 ahead, Daniel hit three unforced errors in his last service game, to seal the win for Murray.

 

 

 

 

 

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"It means a lot, it’s a target I set myself at the end of last year," Murray told Amazon Prime after the match.

“With everything that’s gone on the last few years it’s not been easy to get there but it’s a great achievement – not a lot of guys have been able to get there, so I’m happy about it.”

Read about the biggest moments in Andy Murray's incredible career so far...

It was also an historic night for Britain’s Harriet Dart, who claimed the biggest win of her career over 12^th seed and former World No.3 Elina Svitolina.

In a match with 15 breaks of serve, Dart showed impressive strength to come back from a set down to defeat the Ukrainian star 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 18 minutes.

She will be joined in the third round by Emma Raducanu, who sealed her first WTA 1000 win against Caroline Garcia 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

Raducanu got off to a flying start with two breaks of serve in the opening set, as well as saving four of her own, as she took the lead. The US Open champion held off the comeback from the French former World No.4 with a dominant final set, where she won 84% of points on her serve.

"I thought the level of tennis was pretty high. It could have gone either way," said Raducanu.

"I knew I had to make some adjustments in the third set so I'm really happy that I was able to work that out in the match and come through a tough one."

Raducanu will go on to play Croatia’s Petra Martic in the third round, while Dart faces 36-year-old Estonian, Kaia Kanepi.

After fighting his way through qualifying this week, Liam Broady unfortunately couldn’t make it four British singles wins on day three. He lost a tight 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 battle with Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic, who currently sits over 60 places higher in the ATP rankings.

Doubles

In the men’s doubles, Neal Skupski and Cam Norrie set up a second round clash against each other after coming through straight set wins in round one.

Going in pursuit of a fourth ATP title of the year, Skupski and Wesley Koolhof started their campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.

Meanwhile, Norrie and Argentinian Federico Delbonis were in brilliant form as they cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar.

It wasn’t to be however for Dan Evans and Karen Khachanov who lost 7-5, 6-3 to Andrey Golubev and Alexander Zverev.

Heather Watson and Katie Boulter both bowed out in the opening round of the women’s singles draw on day two in California.

Both Brits – who battled their way through qualifying earlier this week – lost in straight sets to difficult opponents ranked inside the world’s top 50.

Watson lost 6-2, 6-1 to Czech star Tereza Martincova, who capitalised on her opportunities against the British No.2. Martincova won five out of the seven break point chances she created facing Watson’s serve and saved three herself to take home the victory.

Boulter was defeated 6-3, 6-2 by World No.46 Jasmine Paolini in a match where both players struggled to hold serve. With five breaks in the opening six games, the first set came down to whoever could keep their nerve, which unfortunately for Boulter, happened to be the Italian.

After the Brit lost a long game on her serve to start the second, Paolini made sure not to waste her opportunity, wining the match in an hour and 2 minutes.

Despite going out in the early rounds, both players should leave Indian Wells encouraged by their performances and victories through qualifying.

Later today Andy Murray will go in quest of his 700^th ATP Tour win up against Japan’s Taro Daniel, while Liam Broady begins his main draw campaign facing Miomir Kecmanovic.

Neal Skupski, Dan Evans and Cam Norrie all get their doubles matches underway today. Skupski and Wesley Koolhof face Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini; Evans and Karen Khachanov take on Andrey Golubev and Alexander Zverev; while Norrie and Federico Delbonis play Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar.

Harriet Dart moved on to the second round at Indian Wells on her main draw debut after Ana Konjuh was forced to retire with the Brit leading 6-1, 3-1.

The win marks Dart’s second career victory over a top 50 opponent and she now moves on to face 12^th seed Elina Svitolina.

Elsewhere, Liam Broady made it four Brits out of four to come through qualifiers after he defeated Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 7-6(7), 6-0 to reach the main draw of his third ATP Masters event.

Broady will play World No.61 Miomir Kemanovic in the first round of the main draw – the two previously met in Miami where the Serbian won a close three-set battle 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-1.

Heather Watson and Katie Boulter get their campaigns underway later today as they take on Tereza Matincova and Jasmine Paolini.

With qualifying spots finalised, Andy Murray has been drawn against Taro Daniel in the first round – who defeated the Brit at the Australian Open earlier this year.

Emma Raducanu will play France’s Caroline Garcia in the second round after the World No.66 won a two-and-a-half-hour clash with Dayana Yastremska.

Meanwhile the draw for the men’s doubles has also been released today:

• Joe Salisbury & Rajeev Ram (2) vs Kevin Krawietz & Andreas Mies
• Neal Skupski & Wesley Koolhof (7) vs Simone Bolelli & Fabio Fognini
• Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares (8) vs Rohan Bopanna & Denis Shapovalov
• Dan Evans & Karen Khachanov vs Andrey Golubev & Alexander Zverev
• Cam Norrie & Federic Delbonis vs Ariel Behar & Gonzalo Escobar