- The hard-court season is coming to an finish, earlier than gamers begin tuning up on clay for the French Open.
- 13th-seeded Jack Draper of the UK claimed the lads’s title over 12th-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark.
- On the ladies’s facet, #9 Mirra Andreeva defeated top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka.
Whereas the sports activities world awaits March Insanity, the tennis season is about to go into second gear. There has already been one Grand Slam with the Australian Open. Now, gamers are making ready to start out the clay-court season, culminating with the French Open in Might.
However we’re not leaving the laborious courts but because the BNP Paribas Open, previously generally known as the Indian Wells Open, came about in California, simply outdoors of Los Angeles. It was a tricky event for the highest seeds on either side of the draw.
Draper Beats Rune in Straight Units, Eight of High Ten Passed by Quarterfinals
The boys’s remaining featured a pair of double-digit seeds, and it didn’t take lengthy to crown a champion. 12th-seeded Jack Draper of the UK made quick work of Denmark’s Holger Rune, the 12th seed, in a 6-2, 6-2 victory. The win took Draper into the ATP prime ten for the primary time in his profession, because the Englishman is now as much as seventh.
Draper, who simply turned 23 in December, had ten aces to only one for Rune, who additionally double-faulted twice. Rune additionally had 20 unforced errors to 16 for Draper, who rode his serve to his third ATP Tour win.
However it was a tricky event to make your finest tennis predictions in the event you have been backing the highest seeds. Eight of the highest ten have been eradicated by the quarterfinals, and top-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany was upset within the second spherical by Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.
Draper took out three of the highest 11 seeds himself. He defeated Individuals Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton within the fourth spherical and quarterfinals, respectively. Draper then beat second-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz within the semifinals.
Andreeva Takes out Sabalenka in Three Units, Strikes As much as Sixth in Rankings
On the ladies’s facet, it was ninth-seeded Belarusian Mirra Andreeva and top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Russia. Sabalenka obtained out to a quick begin, however Andreeva recovered and received 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The 17-year-old turned the youngest winner in Indian Wells since Serena Williams received right here in 1999. Like Draper, Andreeva moved as much as a profession excessive within the rankings as she is now sixth on the WTA checklist.
The ladies’s draw wasn’t almost as dangerous as the lads’s when it comes to upsets, however there have been nonetheless just a few. Third-seeded American Coco Gauff misplaced to Belinda Bencic, the Swiss participant who was a wild card, within the fourth spherical. Fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula fell to 23rd-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the identical spherical. One other American, tenth-seeded Emma Navarro, went out a spherical earlier, dropping to 19th-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia.
However the story is Andreeva, who’s constructing an important resume. She received the silver medal in doubles with companion, fellow Russian Diana Shnaider, on the 2024 Paris Olympics. She additionally received the Dubai Championships in February. Regulate her French Open odds as Andreeva received the silver medal on clay, and he or she additionally reached the semifinals in final yr’s French Open.