Serena in, Sharapova out at Indian Wells; Federer, Nadal win
Struggling with her serve and a rash of errors, Serena Williams overcame a slow start to beat Sloane Stephens 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 in the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday, extending her winning streak to 14 matches.
Maria Sharapova struggled mightily, too, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to defending champion Flavia Pennetta, who won her ninth straight match after becoming emotional and leaving the court in the first set.
Four-time Indian Wells champion Roger Federer defeated Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4, avenging his third-round loss to Seppi at the Australian Open.
Williams has been subdued on court, with none of the screaming and exuberant fist-pumping that often marks her matches.
“That’s why I was so calm after I lost (the first set), because it was like, I don’t really need to win this title,” Williams said. “Just being out here is a real win for me, and I was just calm through it.”
Stephens won four of the final five points and then promptly got broken to start the second set. Her double faults in the first game set up both break points, and Williams cashed in on the second one when Stephens’ backhand went long.
Stephens held to get to 3-2 before Williams won five straight games to close out the second set 6-2 and take a 2-0 lead in the third. They shared a brief conversation at the net during the post-match handshake.
“I have always thought Sloane can be really great,” Williams said. “I think she’s on the right track. She played really well. It’s good to see her doing really well again.”
In third round men’s play, Nadal beat Donald Young 6-4, 6-2 in a matchup of lefties.
Sixth-seeded Milos Raonic beat Alexandr Dolgopolov, 7-6 (2), 6-4; No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov lost to 17-seeded Tommy Robredo, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5; Jack Sock upset 15-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to earn his first meeting against Federer; and No. 9 seed Tomas Berdych beat Steve Johnson, 6-4, 6-2.
No. 12 Carla Suarez Navarro beat Heather Watson to reach the quarterfinals, where she will play third-seeded Simona Halep, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over 14-seeded Karolina Pliskova.
Jelena Jankovic, the 2010 champion, outlasted 18-year-old Belinda Bencic, to set up a quarterfinal against qualifier Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine. She beat sixth-seeded Eugenie Bouchard who had 74 unforced errors in losing 6-7 (5), 7-5 6-4.
Maria Sharapova struggled mightily, too, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to defending champion Flavia Pennetta, who won her ninth straight match after becoming emotional and leaving the court in the first set.
Four-time Indian Wells champion Roger Federer defeated Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4, avenging his third-round loss to Seppi at the Australian Open.
Williams has been subdued on court, with none of the screaming and exuberant fist-pumping that often marks her matches.
“That’s why I was so calm after I lost (the first set), because it was like, I don’t really need to win this title,” Williams said. “Just being out here is a real win for me, and I was just calm through it.”
Stephens won four of the final five points and then promptly got broken to start the second set. Her double faults in the first game set up both break points, and Williams cashed in on the second one when Stephens’ backhand went long.
Stephens held to get to 3-2 before Williams won five straight games to close out the second set 6-2 and take a 2-0 lead in the third. They shared a brief conversation at the net during the post-match handshake.
“I have always thought Sloane can be really great,” Williams said. “I think she’s on the right track. She played really well. It’s good to see her doing really well again.”
In third round men’s play, Nadal beat Donald Young 6-4, 6-2 in a matchup of lefties.
Sixth-seeded Milos Raonic beat Alexandr Dolgopolov, 7-6 (2), 6-4; No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov lost to 17-seeded Tommy Robredo, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5; Jack Sock upset 15-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to earn his first meeting against Federer; and No. 9 seed Tomas Berdych beat Steve Johnson, 6-4, 6-2.
No. 12 Carla Suarez Navarro beat Heather Watson to reach the quarterfinals, where she will play third-seeded Simona Halep, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over 14-seeded Karolina Pliskova.
Jelena Jankovic, the 2010 champion, outlasted 18-year-old Belinda Bencic, to set up a quarterfinal against qualifier Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine. She beat sixth-seeded Eugenie Bouchard who had 74 unforced errors in losing 6-7 (5), 7-5 6-4.
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