(Tennis news) In men’s singles, Andy Murray produced moments of magic as he took out Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in a three set extravaganza. Murray had a fiery start as he was holding a 4-1 lead in the first set but Carlos with his hard hitting came back to level the score and take the set to surprise the veteran.

In the second set, Murray served an underarm to win the third game as the crowd went wild in celebration. In addition to that, the rallies were dominated by Carlos’s strokes as he was much faster than Murray and also had quick cour coverage. Murray held on and took the second set and in the final set Murray played smart as he volleyed and made Carlos run for every point. At the end, Murray praised the young player and praised him as they greeted each other at the net. Murray defeated Carlos 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Alexander Zverev set up a third round clash with Murray as he dispatched Jenson Brooksby in his opening match at Indian Wells. Zverev was at his best as he powered his way to win the first set and in the second set it was Brooksby who stole the show with winners from his forehand and backhand. In the final set, Zverev hit two booming backhands while breaking Brooksby’s serve as he took a 4-0 lead and won the match as Brooksby had to concede to the German’s all round performance. Zverev defeated Brooksby 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

Stefanos Tsitsipas was for sure troubled by Pedro Martínez in his opening match at Indian Wells. Pedro Martínez had beautiful shots to rule the highlights but could not convert it into something big as he lost some crucial points in the second set to end the match in the Greek God’s favour. Tsitsipas will face Fabio Fognini in his next match after defeating Martinez 6-2, 6-4.

Albert Ramos-Vinolas has knocked out two future prospects of the game in his two matches at Indian Wells. In the opening round he beat Lorenzo Musetti and this time he went for the big kill when he knocked out Felix Auger Aliassime in the second round. The 33 year old is reaching the third round for the fifth time and has not gone beyond that stage and with the current form he might have a chance to have a career best performance. Albert defeated Felix 6-4, 6-2.

In women’s singles, 2016 champion Victoria Azarenka defeated fellow compatriot Petra Kvitová in the third round. Azarenka relied on her serve as she had a total of 9 aces and 25 winners in the match to outplay Kvitová, Azarenka took the last few games in both the sets to win for a fourth time against Kvitová in nine meetings. Azarenka defeated Kvitová 7-5, 6-4. 

2015 champion Simona Halep was beaten by Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the third round. Sasnovich had beaten Emma Raducanu in the previous match and will face Azarenka in the next round. Sasnovich played with power and precision to mark her first victory against Halep in only their second meeting as they had earlier met at Wimbledon two years ago where Halep won in two sets. Sasnovich defeated Simona 7-5, 6-4. 

Leylah Fernandez came back from a set down and a two game deficit in the second set to win against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Fernandez will next face Shelby Rogers in the fourth round as the 19 year old is looking to be the player to beat in her debut outing at Indian Wells. Fernandez is playing for the first time after her US Open runner up finish.

In men’s doubles, Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić conceded only four games against Mackenzie McDonald and Brandon Nakashima in their third round match up. Nikola and Pavić defeated Mackenzie and Brandon 6-2, 6-2. Aslan Karatsev and Andrey Rublev defeated Simone Bolelli and Máximo González 6-3, 5-7, 10-3 as the Russian pair had earlier defeated Reily Opelka and Alex de Minaur in their previous match. 

In women’s doubles, Cori Gauff and Fernandez beat fifth seeds Demi Schuurs and Nicole Melichar-Martinez to go into the quarterfinals. Gauff and Fernandez defeated Demi and Nicole 6-3, 6-2. Simona Halep and Elena-Gabriela Ruse run came to an end as they were beaten by Lucie Hradecká and Marie Bouzková in the fourth round. Lucie and Marie defeated Simona and Ruse 6-2, 5-7, 10-5.

Also read: Emma Raducanu falls in opening match at Indian Wells, Leylah Fernandez marches on