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Tallon Griekspoor knows he faces a great challenge Monday at the BNP Paribas Open, where he will play top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. But it is a test the Dutchman is excited for.

“I really do [like the challenge]. I enjoy those matches, I enjoy the big stadiums. I enjoy the moments of playing these guys,” Griekspoor told ATPTour.com. “I prefer to play on Court 1 rather than Court 7. It’s not always a good sign to play on Court 1, but I like the challenge of playing those guys. I feel like those are the matches that make you better.”

The 26-year-old has played plenty of top-tier opponents this season, from Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas to Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner. Last year at Wimbledon, he lost to Alcaraz in straight sets.

“Wasn’t my best match, I lost in three. I thought that on grass, if you want to beat the guy at some surface, it would have been grass in my eyes. But he played well there, I didn’t play too great,” Griekspoor said. “He’s one of the best players in the world, that’s for sure. He’s so young. He’s injured, he comes back straight away, he plays so well. So it’s going to be really tough, but at the end I really like the challenge of playing him. Why not?”

Griekspoor believes that the sheer quality of Alcaraz’s physical game is daunting, from his power and speed to his drop shot and ability to mix things up with tactics like serving and volleying.

The wave of emotion that Alexander Zverev let out after match point told much of the story of his third-round victory against Emil Ruusuvuori on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open.

Zverev overcame a second-set lapse and plenty of third-set pressure from his opponent to clinch a 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 triumph at the ATP Masters 1000 event. The 12th seed’s ecstasy at reaching the fourth round for the third time in seven main-draw appearances in Indian Wells was matched by his relief at prevailing in an encounter in which he won seven fewer points than his opponent.

“The last two years, I lost 7-6 in the third, to two Americans,” said Zverev, who fell to Taylor Fritz in 2021 and Tommy Paul in 2022 in California. “I lost a lot of tight three-setters here, and I feel like I just wanted to get out here and get this win.

“I was doing everything I could. I felt like he [Ruusuvuori] was playing better than me starting from the second set, and also throughout the third set, I thought he was outplaying me a lot of the time. So I’m just finding a way and I’m happy to do that today.”

[ATP APP]

Olympic gold medalist Michael Andrew, a swimmer from the United States, met with John Isner on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open. The pair spoke about the intricacies of their sport, with topics ranging from Isner's unforgettable three-day Wimbledon marathon to the importance of recovery from matches.

Andrew, who was part of a world-record-setting 4x100 metre medley relay effort in Tokyo, has become a big tennis fan in recent years. The American spoke to ATPTour.com about meeting Andy Murray in the Olympic Village, his thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz and why John Isner might be a good swimmer.

When did you first start enjoying tennis and who did you watch?
I think the first time for me was three years ago in San Diego. I always loved tennis, I always enjoyed the sport. My dad grew up playing, but I didn’t follow it closely. I got to go to the San Diego Open the first time it was played. I remember watching Andy Murray and Taylor Fritz play and I got to meet Taylor. That kind of started it all.

Then when I was in the Olympic Village I got to meet Andy. I was standing on line getting food and Andy was there. I was like, ‘This is insane!’ I’m around a lot of great athletes, but something about a tennis player and the way that mentally they need to face each shot and reset every point, there’s something special about tennis as a sport. That San Diego Open started it all and then I continued following it very closely.

Cristian Garin made it 10 sets played, 10 sets won at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open on Sunday afternoon. It is the Chilean's latest straight-sets victory that may make the rest of the field sit up and take notice at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells.

The former World No. 17 Garin, who came through two qualifying matches to book a spot in the main draw in Indian Wells, sealed a 6-4, 7-6(2) victory against third seed Casper Ruud to reach the fourth round for the first time at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“With a full stadium, and to play like this today against Casper, who is one of the players that I really admire on Tour, I am so, so happy to keep playing like that,” said Garin. “Aggressive, going to the net, I think that’s the way that I like to play and the only way that I [can] beat these kinds of players. I’m just so happy and I want to keep improving and keep enjoying this tournament.”

Garin qualified without losing a set and then dropped just 10 games across his opening two main-draw matches, and the Chilean showed few nerves when presented with his toughest test yet in California. He outhit the World No. 4 Ruud by 39 winners to 17 to notch his third win against a Top 10 opponent, his first since 2021, and his first on a hard court.

[ATP APP]

Since making his tour-level debut in 2020, Carlos Alcaraz has consistently entertained with his all-court game. During his second-round win against Thanasi Kokkinakis at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, the 19-year-old Spaniard once again brought the fans to their feet, hitting a series of stunning winners to advance.

“I try to make the people enjoy watching tennis, and I think the way that I play, they love it or it seems like that,” said Alcaraz, who received raucous support throughout his 76-minute win. “I felt the love from the people. I think the US Open helped me a lot, to have a lot of people behind me, supporting me. I would say the way that I play, they love to watch.”

The Spaniard reached the semi-finals in Indian Wells last year and knows that a run to his third ATP Masters 1000 title this fortnight in California will lift him back to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The 19-year-old rose to top spot in September after winning the US Open, remaining there for 20 weeks before Novak Djokovic replaced him after capturing the Australian Open crown.

Alcaraz is refusing to look too far ahead, though, with full focus on his upcoming match against Tallon Griekspoor.

“I think that's the most important part of my game, to stay relaxed and go for it and not to think about the mistakes, the points, the rounds,” Alcaraz said. “Just, let's say, live [in] the moment, play the match, and go for it. That's the goal in this tournament for me.”

Third-round action commences on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open, where Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev continue their title quests at the first ATP Masters 1000 of the season.

The 2021 Indian Wells champion Cameron Norrie, 12th-seeded German Alexander Zverev and 14th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe will also take to court in a packed schedule.

ATPTour.com runs through some of the key third-round matchups on show in California.

View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule

[ATP APP]

Stan Wawrinka knows he is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but the Swiss is enjoying life as a professional tennis player as much as ever.

The 37-year-old, who turns 38 later this month, is the oldest player in the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Last August the Swiss was outside the Top 300, but he showed great resilience to battle back.

After the 16-time tour-level titlist defeated 26th seed Miomir Kecmanovic on Saturday to reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Open, ATPTour.com caught up with ‘Stan the Man’ about his love for tennis, why he still enjoys the process aged 37, the one match that sticks out from his career and more.

[ATP APP]

You can see how much fun you still have with the fans on court and everyone shows how much they love watching you play. How cool is that for you to experience?
Of course it’s always special. That’s one of the main reasons why I keep playing tennis. I enjoy what I’m doing. I’m passionate about it. The emotion that I get from the fans, from the people in each tournament, from the support that I can get in matches, is always going to be special. I want to enjoy that as much as I can because the day that I will stop there will be no return.

After nearly two full weeks out of action as he recovered from a right hamstring injury, Carlos Alcaraz returned to the court with the same elite level that has characterised his rise to superstardom over the course of the past year.

A semi-finalist last year at the BNP Paribas Open, Alcaraz received a hero's welcome on the Indian Wells stadium court. He did not disappoint the expectant crowd, delivering with his all-action game in a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis.

[ATP APP]

Red hot from the start, Alcaraz dropped just one point on serve in the opening set and broke in his first return game as he raced to a 3-0 lead. Set two was tighter, with Kokkinakis effective in fighting power with power for stretches, but Alcaraz's speed, defence and consistency was too much to overcome after another early break.

The 19-year-old Spaniard could return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on 20 March by winning the Indian Wells title, which would be his third at the ATP Masters 1000 level after his triumphs in Madrid and Miami last year. It will take four more wins to accomplish that feat — a goal that Alcaraz did not shy away from in the buildup to the tournament.

Back in action at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time since he beat five Top 10 opponents to win the Rolex Paris Masters last November, Holger Rune picked up where he left off with a convincing Saturday win against American Mackenzie McDonald in Indian Wells.

The 19-year-old Dane opened his BNP Paribas Open campaign with a 7-5, 6-3 win against McDonald, not surrendering a break point in the match. Rune broke at love in the final game of the opening set, converting on his first break chance to close out a difficult set, then cruised to the win behind an early break in set two as his game improved.

"It was very difficult. Super windy and actually the first time in my life that I even stepped out on this court," Rune said after the win on Stadium 2. "Everything was tricky and Mackenzie is a tricky player as well, so I had to be there from the beginning. As I found my rhythm, I started feeling better, taking control of the points, which was part of the plan.

"In the second set I just felt like I was playing better and better, so I'm super happy."

[ATP APP]

The seventh-seeded Rune is making his third appearance at Indian Wells and his first as a seeded player. This time last year, he lost a three-setter to Matteo Berrettini as the World No. 86. He enters this year's event at a career-high of No. 8 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, and is already up to No. 7 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Fifth seeds Harri Heliovaara and Lloyd Glasspool continued their strong start to 2023 after surviving a minor scare to reach the second round of the BNP Paribas Open Saturday.

The Britsh duo, which began the year by winning the Adelaide 1 title and last week were finalists in Dubai, needed a match tie-break in their Indian Wells opener to take down Dutchmen Matwe Middelkoop and Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 3-6, 10-6.

[ATP APP]

After suffering a first-round exit last year in Indian Wells, fourth seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic wasted no time Saturday in their opening match in the desert.

The Croatians, who won the ATP 250 in Auckland earlier this year, downed Casper Ruud and Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-3 in front of a packed Stadium 6. Mektic and Pavic won 26 of 31 first serve points and converted four of seven break points to earn a one hour, 10 minute victory.

The first sentence of Charles Dickens’ A Tale Of Two Cities begins, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” That has certainly been the case for Taro Daniel over the past four months.

The Japanese star is playing some of the best tennis of his life. In Acapulco, he qualified and reached the quarter-finals behind a win against World No. 4 Casper Ruud, the best victory of his career by Pepperstone ATP Ranking. At Indian Wells, Daniel is into the third round following an upset of former World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini.

“What’s really big with this week and last week is that I know what I did in order to have the biggest chance to win, especially with Casper and Matteo,” Daniel told ATPTour.com. “A few years ago when I beat Djokovic here, I didn’t really know why [or] how I beat him. It just felt like he wasn’t playing that well and I got some balls back and I took the chance. But consciously I didn’t know. [It was] like, ‘Oh, what happened?’

“Today, last week, I know at certain moments I pushed back, I was able to fight back tennis-wise, mentally. Those parts are definitely the biggest growth I feel in myself.”

That clarity has come after a period of tribulation. On 31 October last year, Daniel’s mother, Yasue, passed away. Taro wrote a touching social media post to pay tribute to her in the immediate aftermath.

Taylor Fritz came back from a set down to win a battle of two of the brightest stars in American tennis on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open. Beginning his title defence in Indian Wells, the World No. 5 was challenged by the fast-rising Ben Shelton but ultimately used his big-match experience to navigate through a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

The pair's first ATP Head2Head meeting lived up to the hype, as both showcased their electric brand of attacking tennis. While the competitors traded big serves and booming forehands in an entertaining match on the packed stadium court, it was Fritz's patience and poise that made the difference in the desert.

"He's a really good player," Fritz said of Shelton in his on-court interview, after sharing a warm embrace with his opponent at net. "I expected him to come out serving well. He was playing well. He had nothing to lose so I did expect him to come out with a really high level.

"I think I was ready for it. I just had to regroup and find a way to problem-solve. He's an incredible player, an extremely tough first match to play, so I'm happy to get through it."

[BREAK POINT]

The 25-year-old, five years Shelton's senior, locked in from the baseline to earn the two crucial breaks that decided the match. They came in the final game of set two, when Shelton missed a short forehand, and the fifth game of the decider, when the former Florida Gator could not handle a dipping shot from Fritz at net.

Andy Murray has become the marathon man of 2023, but on Saturday he got the job done quickly.

The former World No. 1 reached the third round of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Moldovan Radu Albot after one hour and 42 minutes. It was the Scot’s first straight-sets victory of the year.

“I felt very nervous today. I’m not sure exactly why,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “Obviously I’ve played a lot of tennis coming in, maybe I saw it was an opportunity for me. Maybe wasn’t as well prepared. I’d gone over my strategy and everything with my team to play Carreno Busta and then found out late last night the change of opponent.”

[ATP APP]

Murray went from facing one player he had never taken on before in Pablo Carreno Busta (elbow injury) to another in Albot. The change did affect the success of the 35-year-old, who dominated on serve. He won 78 per cent of his service points and did not face a break point.

For defending and two-time champions, home favourites John Isner and Jack Sock are flying under the radar this year at the BNP Paribas Open.

The Indian Wells doubles draw is often loaded with a healthy smattering of singles stars in addition to the world's best duos. This year is no exception, with Indian Wells debutants Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov joining new-look teams like Frances Tiafoe and Stan Wawrinka, Ben Shelton and Holger Rune, and Casper Ruud and Dominic Thiem among in the 32-team field — thought the latter two pairs have already bowed out.

When the ATP Masters 1000 event put out a Twitter poll asking which of those four teams fans were most excited to see, Sock and Isner chimed in with a write-in candidate.

"No love for the defending champs? ?" Sock said. To which Isner replied: "Defending and two time champs. Ouch. ?"

"They tweeted something out and Jack took umbrage to that, and rightfully so I think," Isner told ATPTour.com, flashing a smile after the pair's first-round win on Friday night. "The crowd always enjoys watching us play here. We're two-time champs. Two years ago, I had to leave for the birth of my kid as we were making our way through the draw. I really like our chances. I really think we could become three-time champs. We'll try to get that done this year."

A three-week break from competition appeared to have done Jannik Sinner no harm at all on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open, where the 11th-seeded Italian downed Richard Gasquet 6-3, 7-6(2) in his opening match at the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event.

Sinner was playing his first match since having a seven-match win streak snapped by Daniil Medvedev in the Rotterdam final on 19 February, and he made an uncertain start to his maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with the 16-time tour-level titlist Gasquet. Yet despite falling 0-2 behind early, the 21-year-old soon began to dominate with his trademark clean ballstriking, finishing with 28 winners in an accomplished one-hour, 34-minute triumph.

“[I’m] happy to be here, to step on court again,” said Sinner after his win. “Happy that I’m physically ready again and obviously it was a tough match today. Especially in the beginning I was a little bit tight, and then I started to loosen up a little bit and won the first match here which is very important for me.”

Sinner held his nerve against Gasquet in a tight second set that featured no break points for either player, dominating the tie-break to secure the win and improve his season record to 13-3. He showcased high-class decision-making throughout the match, combining aggressive groundstrokes with solid defence when required.

“I prefer to go more than less [aggressive],” said Sinner, when asked about his tactics for the desert conditions. “But for sure there is a balance you need to accept. Especially here, it can be a little bit breezy, a little bit windy… For sure the balance on the court is very important.”

John Isner and Jack Sock’s BNP Paribas Open title defence got off to the perfect start Friday when they clawed past third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-7(6), 7-5, 10-7.

The Americans have fond memories in Indian Wells as a team, triumphing in 2018 and again last season when they dropped just one set en route to the title. Back in California this week, they saved all three break points they faced to defeat the 2022 Roland Garros champions after two hours and two minutes.

“If I failed to serve it out at 9/6 and 9/7 and we went on to lose the match, that would be tough,” said Isner, who hit a scorching forehand winner on match point. “You want to win for the crowd, so there was a lot of pressure. That was one of the better forehands I have hit.”

Isner and Sock will next meet Kevin Krawietz and Fabrice Martin.

Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini defeated eighth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-7(1), 6-4, 10-3. The Italians will next face Austin Krajicek and Mackenzie McDonald after the Americans defeated Australian Open champions Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler 6-3, 6-1.

The seeded stars in the top half of the BNP Paribas Open will kick off their campaigns Saturday, when Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime will be in action.

Top seed Alcaraz plays Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis and defending champion Fritz takes on #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton. Canadian Auger-Aliassime will start the quest for his first title of the year against Pedro Martinez.

Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner will also take to court in Indian Wells, where Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka look to build on their first-round wins.

ATPTour.com runs through some of the key second-round matchups on show.

View Draw | View Schedule

Andrey Rublev has amassed quite a following in the desert since he first competed in qualifying at the 2016 BNP Paribas Open. On Friday night, the sixth seed used the support of a packed Stadium 3 crowd to defeat Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, storming back from a break down in the second set.

The opponents previously split a pair of three-setters over the past 12 months, with Lehecka winning last month in Doha.

"We had a tough match in Doha," Rublev said after advancing to the Indian Wells third round. "He beat me and I wanted to see if I could take revenge. In the end I was able to win today, so I'm really happy."

At the year's first ATP Masters 1000, Rublev won the opening set without facing a break point but fell behind 0-2 in the second. He powered through the finish line from there, winning six straight games — including a 0/40 escape at 2-2 — with the crowd growing in volume with each point.

"The crowd, there are no words to describe how grateful I am," Rublev reflected. "I've been coming here every year since 2016. I can feel [the support]. This is my first match. Compared to last year... I was playing during the day last year. I think it was a full stadium but it was 50/50 support. Today I played a 10 p.m. match after a rain delay and had huge support, so it's unreal."

Rublev will meet Ugo Humbert in the third round after the Frenchman's 7-5, 6-4 win against 25th seed Denis Shapovalov.

Daniil Medvedev underlined his status as a hot favourite this week in the desert with a 6-4, 6-3 opening win against Brandon Nakashima on Friday night. The fifth seed entered the BNP Paribas Open as the ATP Tour's most in-form player, winning three consecutive titles and 14 straight matches, and his winning streak — now at 15 — was never in jeopardy thanks to an assured performance against the San Diego native.

Nakashima gave his home crowd plenty to cheer about, firing big forehands and defending brilliantly at times, and even hitting a tweener that his opponent volleyed into the net in set two. But Medvedev had all the answers when he needed them, saving all six break points against him to secure the win in one hour, 26 minutes at the year's first ATP Masters 1000.

"We had some good points," Medvedev said in his on-court interview. "That's probably the slowest hard court on the Tour. So many matches I see it's like rallies, rallies, rallies, so we're going to have some good points. There were some tough ones in the match, tough break-point saves. I'm happy that I managed to battle through."

[ATP APP]

Medvedev won the opening set by breaking at love for 3-2, claiming the lone break point of the set, and he drove his advantage home with an instant break in set two. He then escaped 0/40 at 2-1 and 15/40 at 4-3 before wrapping up the win with his third break in seven chances.