Murray crashes out of Indian Wells
Andy Murray suffered a third round exit from the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 loss to Federico Delbonis of Argentina. Milos Raonic of Canada advanced to the fourth round as his third round opponent Bernard Tomic withdrew due to a wrist injury.
Published : Mar 15, 2016 12:29 IST
Andy Murray once again bit the dust in the California desert on Monday, falling in the third round to claycourt specialist Federico Delbonis. It was another early Indian Wells exit for the world number two Murray, who has made it past the quarterfinals of the ATP tour event just once in the last six years.
"I have just never really found a way to get comfortable here throughout my career. It's a shame," said Murray, who reached the Indian Wells final seven years ago but also lost back-to-back opening matches in 2011 and 2012.
Watch: >@FedeDelbonis ' winning moment against Andy Murray in front of an adoring Stadium 1 crowd >#BNPPO16>https://t.co/YVr3YkSu1d
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) >March 14, 2016
The two-time Grand Slam winner was ousted 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) by 53rd ranked Argentinian Delbonis. Murray says everything he's attempted to try and get an edge here seems to fall short. He's tried arriving in southern California early to give him more time to acclimatise, practising longer to get match ready and stringing his racquets tighter for more control.
"It's just the conditions here. I have just struggled with it throughout my career," he said. "I have never really felt that I played my best tennis here. I have tried and had many different preparations where I've got here early and spent a lot of time on the courts, and sometimes I arrive later, like this time from Davis Cup."
Murray, who is the first British player in the Open Era to win 500 matches, has a 25-11 overall record at Indian Wells. He lost in the final to Rafael Nadal in 2009.
If there is a consolation for Murray, it's that he gets to travel to Miami where he will meet up with his wife, Kim, and daughter Sophia, who is just five weeks old. Of the top four men's players in the world, Murray is the latest to become a first-time dad. The others are Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka. Federer has the most titles as a dad with 28.
Wawrinka wins in straight sets
French Open champ Stan Wawrinka reached the Indian Wells fourth round, defeating Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) in the third round of the ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament.
Wawrinka, who turns 31 later this month, has won two titles this year in Chennai and Dubai but has never made it past the quarterfinals in Indian Wells, one of the biggest events on the tennis calendar outside of the four Grand Slams. Wawrinka next faces 15th seeded David Goffin of Belgium, who beat Guido Pella 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Murray's exit left things wide open in the bottom half of the men's draw, where Wawrinka, Richard Gasquet, Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych all advanced.
Wawrinka is on a nine-match win streak in finals after beating Marcos Baghdatis in Dubai. He captured his third consecutive Chennai crown in January.
Last year he won four titles, including his stunning 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 upset win over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to claim his first French Open crown.
Raonic advances
Milos Raonic of Canada advanced into the fourth round at Indian Wells on Monday when Australian Bernard Tomic retired with a wrist injury.
Raonic is trying to improve on his best performance in Indian Wells when he reached the semifinals last year where he lost to Swiss star Roger Federer.
The 25-year-old Canadian was up 3-0 in the second set in the third round tie, after cruising through the first at 6-2, when Tomic called it quits. World No. 14 Raonic blasted nine aces and won 91 percent of his first serve points in 36 minutes on the court. It took him just 25 minutes to win the first set.
His quarter-final win over 14-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal last year at Indian Wells was voted one of the best matches of 2015. Raonic claimed his eighth career singles title by winning in Brisbane earlier this year.
Ivanovic loses
In women's action on Monday, Czech Karolina Plishkova subdued former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-0.
Ivanovic was making her 11th appearance in Indian Wells, winning the title in 2008. In other early matches, Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova beat seventh seeded Belinda Bencic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and Johanna Konta defeated Denisa Allertova 6-4, 6-1.