Alcaraz powers into last 16 at Indian Wells

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz powered past in-form Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-4 on Monday to continue his march toward a rare Indian Wells ATP Masters three-peat.

The world number three from Spain booked his place in the last 16 with a clinical victory, breaking Shapovalov in the opening game with a blistering forehand down the line as he roared to a 5-0 lead.

Alcaraz said the quick start was key against an opponent coming off a title in Dallas and a semi-final run in Acapulco.

“I knew at the beginning of the match that I had to be really focused. I had to start the match really strong, knowing it was going to be a really tough battle,” Alcaraz said.

He saved three of the four break points he faced and converted four of his eight chances, sealing the match with an overhead that Shapovalov could barely get his racquet to.

Pleased with his performance, Alcaraz said there were still a few things he could improve as he tries to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men to win three straight titles in the California desert.

In other matches, world number four Taylor Fritz, the Indian Wells champion in 2022, said he “just stopped making super random mistakes” to turn things around in his 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Chilean Alejandro Tabilo.

“For the first set and a half, I just, for no reason, was just missing balls. I couldn’t even imagine, I don’t know why I was missing them,” added the American, who had 43 unforced errors to 32 winners.

Ben Shelton gave the home fans plenty to cheer about with compelling third-round victory.

Twenty-two-year-old Shelton got the crowd on their feet as he played with power and poise to defeat Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-5, battling with blisters on his hand.

Down a break in the second set, Shelton won the final four games of the match and clinched it with one of eight aces and a mighty cheer. He will play compatriot Brandon Nakashima in the round of 16.

Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, ending the run of the Dutch lucky loser who toppled 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the second round.

Cerundolo next plays Australian ninth seed Alex De Minaur, who cruised past Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-0 to post his 50th match win at the Masters 1000 level.

While upsets have claimed men’s top seed Alexander Zverev, fourth seed Casper Ruud and number six Djokovic, the top five women’s seeds are all safely into the fourth round after victories for world number one Aryna Sabalenka, third-ranked Coco Gauff and fifth-ranked Australian Open champion Madison Keys on Monday.

Sabalenka said her 6-1, 6-2 victory over 62nd-ranked Lucia Bronzetti wasn’t as easy as it looked, thanks in part to the unpredictable Stadium Court wind.

“I had to fight for every point and I’m super happy with the win,” said Sabalenka who next faces British lucky loser Sonay Kartal, who beat Polina Kudermetova 7-5, 6-3.

Keys’s struggles were obvious, but the American who shocked Sabalenka in the Melbourne final gutted out a 6-2, 6-7 (8/10), 6-4 victory over Elise Mertens.

Unable to convert two match points as she served at 5-3 in the second set, Keys blew two more in the tiebreaker before finally polishing off the 28th seed from Belgium in two hours and 48 minutes.

“It’s just about surviving,” said Keys, who admitted she was finding it tricky to manage her own expectations in her first tournament since capturing her maiden major.

“Today, obviously, I don’t think I played my best level, and I think that was more frustrating just because I’m starting to expect a little bit more of myself,” she said.

Gauff cleaned up her service game to pull off a 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 victory over Greece’s Maria Sakkari -- who beat Gauff in the semi-finals last year on the way to a second Indian Wells final in three years.

After producing 21 double faults in a three-set victory over Moyuka Uchijima, Gauff had just nine — six of them in a shaky final game.

Agencies