Carlos Alcaraz kept his Indian Wells "three-peat" bid alive with a commanding 6-2, 6-4 win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in the third round Monday, cruising into the last 16.
The second-seeded Spaniard stormed out of the gates, winning the first five games and firing 10 winners in the opening set. Shapovalov, riding momentum from a strong run in Dallas, struggled to match Alcaraz’s intensity.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz was untouchable on serve, never facing a break point in a near-flawless second set. He sealed the victory in under 90 minutes, finishing with a thunderous overhead smash.
"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.
Alcaraz aims to become only the third man to win three straight titles at the Masters 1000 tournament, joining retired great Roger Federer and former No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who crashed out in the second round.
"I'm just really pleased about my performance today, about everything I have done," Alcaraz said. "Few things that I have to improve, but I'm really happy."
Alcaraz will face Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 after the 14th-seeded Bulgarian beat France’s Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (2) in a three-hour battle.
Dimitrov, a right-hander, was up 3-1 in the third set when his forehand struck his left thumb, leaving it bleeding. He continued after receiving treatment but lost the next three games before fighting back to force a tiebreak and seal the win.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus used her powerful serve to dominate Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-2, bringing her best form to the tournament after early exits in Doha and Dubai.
Sabalenka wasted little time, sprinting through the first set and quickly recovering after dropping her serve early in the second. She will next face Britain’s Sonay Kartal, a lucky loser.
"It wasn't as easy as the score looks," Sabalenka said. "It was tough conditions out there, and I’m happy with the way I managed that."
Players battled tricky winds in the California desert, but Americans Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton gave home fans plenty to cheer about with compelling third-round victories.
Third-seeded Gauff overcame late nerves to beat Greece’s Maria Sakkari 7-6 (1), 6-2, closing out the match despite six double faults in the final game. She sealed the win on her sixth match point with a forehand winner.
"Except for the last game, I thought I played a great match," Gauff said. "Just trying to look at the positives."
Gauff, seeking revenge after losing to Sakkari in last year’s semifinals, will next face Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, whom she has beaten twice before, most recently in Melbourne this year.
"It was a bit tricky conditions. I think we were both struggling a little bit with finding the rhythm, and I was just trying to stay solid on my end of the court," Gauff said.
Australian Open champion Keys saved 12 of the 15 break points she faced to outlast Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-4, securing her 14th straight match victory.
The fifth seed, who had lost to Mertens in their two previous meetings, fired five aces to set up a fourth-round clash with Croatia’s Donna Vekic. Keys said she has come to expect another level from herself after her maiden Grand Slam breakthrough.
"Overall, in Australia, I played some really good tennis, and I think the further away from it you get, the more you kind of forget about the lulls of matches and the moments where you weren't playing great," Keys said.
"As great as Australia was and all the wins that I got, there were still some moments in matches where I didn't play great or things got away from me. So just being really conscious of that."
Defending champion Fritz overcame a slow start to beat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. He expects a tough test against Britain’s Jack Draper, who dimmed the home crowd’s joy by defeating Jenson Brooksby in straight sets.
"It's going to be a tough match. I think it's a tough draw to get him in the round of 16 as a top-four seed. He's a very good player," Fritz said. "I think he's probably better than his ranking is, and yeah, we have had some tight ones."
Shelton, 22, energized the crowd with a powerful and poised performance, defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-5 while battling blisters on his hand.
Down a break in the second set, Shelton won the final four games and sealed the victory with one of his eight aces, punctuated by a mighty cheer. He will play compatriot Brandon Nakashima in the round of 16.
