Andy Murray beaten by Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner wins, Frances Tiafoe faces Stefanos Tsitsipas clash at Indian Wells
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Updated 09/03/2024 at 10:59 GMT
Andy Murray's time at Indian Wells ended on Friday when he came up against fifth seed Andrey Rublev. The 36-year-old former No. 1 held his own for much of the first set before losing the tie-break and being swept away in the second, while there were also wins for Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner, while Frances Tiafoe set up a tantalising third-round clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Sinner breezes past Kokkinakis in Indian Wells, De Minaur overcomes Daniel
Andrey Rublev defeated Andy Murray in the second round of Indian Wells 7-6(3) 6-1 on Friday in California.
Speculation continues to surround Murray’s future beyond the coming months as he looks set to target an appearance at the Olympic Games, and at least one more showing at the WImbledon Grand Slam this summer.
The 36-year-old had beaten fellow veteran David Goffin in the first round, and he took Rublev to a tie-break in the first set, only to lose it 7-3.
Rublev has performed well so far this season with the Hong Kong Open title to his name and a quarter-final spot in the Australian Open, and he grew into the second set as his 36-year-old opponent struggled to keep up, and was further hampered by a string of double faults, as he fell 6-1 in the second set.
Jannik Sinner cruised past Thanasi Kokkinakis with a 6-3 6-0 win as the 22-year-old Australian Open winner remained in the hunt for another trophy.
Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated fellow francophone, Constant Lestienne, 6-4 6-1.
Alexander Zverev made his way into the third round with a 6-4 6-4 victory against Christopher O'Connell.
Alexandre Muller defeated Hugo Grenier 7-6(7-5) 7-5 to reach the second round, while another first round tie saw Aleksandar Kovacevic fall to China's Zhang Zhizhen 6-7(2-7) 6-3 7-5.
Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the third round with little fuss following a 6-3 6-2 win over Lucas Pouille.
The world No.11 got the job done in only an hour and nine minutes, setting up a pulsating clash against Frances Tiafoe.
Tsitsipas broke the Frenchman's serve twice in the opening set, and took advantage of his first set point following 37 minutes of play.
Pouille surrendered on his serve twice more, as Tsitsipas powered his way past the 30-year-old on his first match point.
Meanwhile, Tiafoe was just as convincing in his second round win over Dusan Lajovic.
He eased his way past the Serbian with a 6-3 6-3 win, taking only one hour and 18 minutes to book his place in round three.
Lajovic lost three times on his serve, but fought admirably in the ninth and final game of the first set after swatting away two set points before succumbing on the third.
The world No.56 improved on his serve in the second set after being broken just once, but Tiafoe gave no room for encouragement and comfortably got the job done on his first match point.
Meanwhile, Ben Shelton recovered from a scare to cast aside Jakub Mensik and progress into round three with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win.
The 21-year-old sealed his place in round three and a match against Francisco Cerundolo after an entertaining two hours and two munutes of play.
Shelton lost twice on his serve, as the Czech moved 1-0 ahead after his second point and showcased a brilliant returning game.
The American responded well though, and did not give Mensik an inch on his serve in the second set and made a decisive breakthrough in the eighth game en route to restoring parity.
Mensik's service game remained strong in the third set, but would be broken once more to love in the fifth game as Shelton won the contest on his second match point.
The round of 32 matches will be played on Monday.
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