The double reigning champion, Carlos Alcaraz, ran on Saturday in the third round at Indian Wells, launching his candidacy for a rare three tour with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Quentin Halys de France.
The quadruple winner of the Grand Chelem of Spain is in the running to join Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer as only players to win three consecutive titles from Masters Indian Wells ATP.
He admitted that he felt nerves to start the match, but they evaporated in the middle of a strong versatile performance.
A start to break marked Alcaraz in the first set, and he rugged in a 4-0 lead in the second behind a formidable service screen.
He finished with seven aces and saved the only breakdown he faced, guaranteeing victory in 67 minutes.
“I was nervous at the start of the match,” he told a crowd of support. “The first game is never easy, so I was trying to focus on my game.
“I just tried to be relaxed, as relaxed as possible. I can always be better, but I’m ready for the (next) round and excited.”
Since his release in the quarter -final at Australian Open, Alcaraz has won the title in Rotterdam, where he has shaken a cold to claim the first in the room of his career.
It was his first title since he won Wimbledon last year, but in No. 3 in the world, the Spaniard is the best classified player in the draw.
The world number one Jannik Sinner serves a drug prohibition and Alexander Zverev, n ° 2, crashed on Friday.
Djokovic, the champion of the Grand Slam 24 times which continued a record crown of the sixth crown of Wells Indian, faced the Dutch loser Lucky Botic Van de Zandschulp – the world number 85 which overthrew Alcaraz at the US Open last year.
With a victory, Djokovic would equalize Rafael Nadal for most victories of the ATP Masters 1000 match to 410.
Since he won his latest title of Indian Wells in 2016, Djokovic has been a modest 4-4 in matches in the California desert. This includes a defeat of third Rund against Lucky Loser Luca Nardi last year – the first appearance of Djokovic here since 2019.
But with the injury to the hamstrings who forced him to leave the Australian open semi-finals behind him, the Serbian star said that he hoped that the coach of former rival Andy Murray could help him make a deep race
– The keys dominate –
The champion of the Australian Open, Madison Keys, opened the action of the day in the combined event ATP Masters and WTA 1000, submitting the Hardée Russian Anastasia Potapova 6-3, 6-0 in her first match since her first triumph of Grand Chelem.
Keys, whose victory over the double reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne was the culmination of a 15 -year -old newspaper, from the adolescent prodigy to the major champion, reached a fifth career ranking in the world on Monday.
She did not show any signs of rust as she sent Potapova in 63 minutes.
“She is always a tough opponent, just because she can hit so hard and she is such a big drummer,” said Keys. “I really had to try to keep the ball away from her, and I feel like I have done a very good job with that.”
Later, Aryna Sabalenka launched his candidacy for an elusive Indian Wells title against McCartney Kessler American and punchy, a double WTA champion who beat the world number three Coco Gauff in Dubai last month and reached the final in Austin last week.
Gauff was also in action in the middle of a raft of American candidates who included the 2022 male champion Taylor Fritz, a winner of 6-3, 7-5 against Matteo Gigante.
BB / Sept
