Top-seeded Daniil Medvedev took care of business Saturday night with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
Medvedev needed just 73 minutes.
“I’m actually really pleased, because usually I haven’t played well in Indian Wells and I haven’t been playing that well in practices before (the tournament),” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “(I am) really happy with my performance. That’s the most important (thing) no matter how I played before the tournament.”
Sixth-seeded Casper Ruud and No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz rolled into the next round with straight-set victories.
The pair led a parade of seeded players to record victories in the Round of 64.
Norway’s Ruud downed Robert Carballes Baena of Spain 6-1, 6-2 in 71 minutes. Poland’s Hurkacz needed one hour, 26 minutes to defeat Australia’s Alexei Popyrin 6-1, 7-5. Hurkacz broke Popyrin’s serve four times. Hurkacz himself was broken serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set.
Diego Schwartzman, the 11th seed, needed three sets to defeat American qualifier Maxime Cressy 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
Roberto Bautista Agut, the 15th seed, defeated Guido Pella 7-5, 6-3. Seeded players Reilly Opelka, Cameron Norrie, Lloyd Harris, Filip Krajinovic and Grigor Dimitrov also advanced. The ninth-seeded Denis Shapovalov was leading fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil 3-0 when Pospisil was forced to retire.
Opelka fired 11 aces in his 7-5, 6-3 victory over Taro Daniel.
Also, No. 18 seed Daniel Evans rallied to defeat Japan’s Kei Nishikori 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours, 48 minutes.
Russian Aslan Karatsev, the 19 seed, made quick work of qualifier Salvatore Caruso 6-0, 6-2.
Frances Tiafoe defeated fellow American Sebastian Korda 6-0, 6-4. Also, American Tommy Paul defeated No. 28 seed Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-3.
In the final match of the night, fourth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev defeated Spain’s Carlos Taberner 6-3, 6-4.
–Field Level Media
