Alcaraz, Fritz, Gauff into quarterfinals at Indian Wells Rafael Nadal aiming to make comeback from injury at Monte Carlo Doubles star Bob Bryan replaces Fish as U.S. Davis Cup captain

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Carlos Alcaraz is three wins away from returning to the top of the world rankings by reaching the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open.

Runner-up Alcaraz took the lead as Jack Draper retired with the Spaniard leading 6-2, 2-0 after 46 minutes of play. It was Alcaraz’s 101st ATP Tour victory.

“I would say I came back well, I landed great shots,” Alcaraz said. “I ended the match with confidence in my shots so that I could go into the next round with more confidence.”

Draper suffered a stomach injury that first showed up in his win over Andy Murray a day earlier. The injury affected the Brit’s serve, which dropped well below 100 mph, and his movements. The coach visited him between sets, and Draper only won by one point in the first two games of the second set before walking away.

Ranked No. 1 Iga Swiatek beat Emma Raducana 6:3, 6:1.

Coco Gauff bounced back from her loss in the third set, beating Swedish qualifier Rebecca Peterson 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals.

Down 2–4, Gauff fought back and saved three break points, serving at 4-all before shutting out the match in the next game.

Four years ago, Peterson smashed the 14-year-old Gauff at the Challenger tournament in Michigan.

“She beat me up really hard,” Gauff said on the court. “I think it was very mental today just to stay in the match. At some points I didn’t play my best and didn’t serve as well as I would have liked, but I think my mentality was holding me back.”

Next, the No. 6 American will play No. 2 seeded Arina Sobolenko, who beat No. 16 Barbora Kreychikova 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula lost to No. 15 Petra Kvitova 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (11) after the American lost four match points.

“When a match like this is very exhausting,” Kvitova said. “Up and down. Definitely one of the best matches I’ve played.”

Sorana Kirstya took first place. 5 Caroline Garcia 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, no. 7 Maria Sakkari beat 17th seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 and No. 1. 10 Elena Rybakina defeated Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 6-0.

For the men, defending champion Taylor Fritz advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating Marton Fuksovich 6-4, 6-3.

No. 5 Daniil Medvedev overcame a swollen right ankle and outplayed Alexander Zverev, seeded 12th, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5.

“When I twisted my ankle, I twisted it pretty badly,” he said. “The moment I rolled him over, I thought, ‘OK, I’ll get up and everything will be fine,’ but then I continued to stay on the ground because the pain only got worse. It was definitely a crazy match.”

Medvedev took a medical time-out to have his ankle bandaged in the second set, after which he took his 17th straight match win and improved his record to 22-2 this year.

“This fight was definitely the most difficult of all,” he said on the court.

Zverev added drama by saving the match point and making a 5-5 break in the final set. Medvedev immediately bounced back and won.

He then plays Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokin, who beat Christian Garin 6-3, 6-4.

Cameron Norrie, No. 10, 2021 Champion, beat No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4. Norrie has improved to 21-3 this year.

Norrie advanced to the quarterfinals against Frances Tiafoe, who beat qualifier Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 6-4.

No. 11 Yannick Sinner defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4.

MONACO. Rafael Nadal is set to return from a hip injury on the Monte Carlo Masters clay court next month, organizers said.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion pulled out with a left hip flexor injury after the Australian Open and dropped out of hard court tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.

The Monte Carlo Masters will start on April 8 and tournament director David Massey is hopeful that Nadal will play.

“Rafa was the first (player) to be registered,” Massey said in a statement. “He really wants to play in the Monte Carlo Masters tournament and gives himself every chance to take part in the tournament that he loves so much.”

Nadal has won the tournament a record 11 times, including an Open Era record streak of eight consecutive titles from 2005 to 2012.

The 36-year-old Spaniard is using the event as a key part of his preparation for the French Open, which runs from May 28 to June 11.

Nadal has won 14 of his major titles on clay at Roland Garros, including last year while battling chronic pain in his left leg.

In January, Nadal injured his hip flexor during a second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald of the United States at the Australian Open.

The next day, an MRI showed the extent of the injury.

One of the many highlights from Bob Bryan’s time as half of the record men’s doubles duo was helping the United States win the 2007 Davis Cup, the last time the country had won the competition. Now Brian will try to end this drought from the outside.

The US Tennis Association announced the appointment of Brian as the captain of the Davis Cup in place of Mardy Fish. Bryan’s first matches in charge will take place in the group stage in September.

Brian and his twin brother Mike together have earned a record 16 Grand Slam championships, 119 tour-level titles and an Olympic gold medal in doubles, finishing 10 seasons at the top of the ATP rankings before retiring in 2020. They played 25-5 as a pair. in Davis Cup matches, including the win that sealed the U.S. victory over Russia 16 years ago in Portland.

“This is number one on my list of the best tennis memories. All those times in the Davis Cup trenches with my teammates are etched in my memory. We had our ups and downs, but they are definitely unforgettable,” Bob Bryan said in a telephone interview from Miami, where he lives. “We will never forget the celebration with our teammates with whom we have been through a lot: Andy Roddick, James Blake, Mardy Fish. We had a fun night in Portland. We drank from a mug, whatever Roddick poured into it. He was the bartender that evening.

Upon learning of Brian’s captaincy on Monday, Roddick said: “Bob knows the Davis Cup. He is passionate about the Davis Cup. He was one of those who always said yes to the Davis Cup. The guys seem to really like it. I’m curious how he’s going to put his stamp on it, his seal.”

Brian, who will also be part of the USTA Player Development Program, will lead the Davis Cup team during the recent influx of American men on the tour. It’s been 20 years since Roddick won the US Open and became the last Grand Slam singles trophy to be won by an American, but Frances Tiafoe reached the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows last September and Tommy Paul made it to the final four at the Australian Open in January. .

A week after the Australian Open, the two were among the top 10 U.S. men in the top 50, the most since June 1995. Roddick in 2009.

“What I’m looking forward to is working with the guys throughout the year. Understanding them is better. Getting to know them and their coaches. As a captain, you must understand that all people are different and react differently to different words. Sometimes it’s better not to talk too much about coaching,” Brian said. “I will definitely be a good listener, but I want to bring my enthusiasm, passion and energy to this event and show the guys what an honor it is for them to represent the USA. I think these guys are really motivated to win this event. “.

In January, the USTA said Fish would no longer be the captain he had held since 2019.

Brian was the Davis Cup coach under Fish and served as captain last year when Fish pulled out due to COVID-19.

Both were fined $10,000 each and received four-month probation from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in November for promoting a gambling operator on social media. ITIA stated that Brian and Fish cooperated fully with its investigation and removed the problematic posts immediately.

“I have never been involved in sports gambling and have violated the new ITIA rule. It was a little unclear how this would affect my chances of becoming a captain, but now I’m thinking about it, ”said Brian. “I’m happy it’s over.”