Doubles star Bob Bryan replaces Fish as U.S. Davis Cup captain Qualifier Garin beats Ruud at Indian Wells; Norrie advances Swiatek, Alcaraz, Fritz, Murray advance at BNP Paribas Open

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 during the group stage matches 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.

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 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 stated that Fish would no longer be captain. He has held this post 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.”

INDIAN WELLS, California. Qualifier Christian Garin of Chile shocked third-placed Kasper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 7-6 (2) at the BNP Paribas Open with his first win over the top five in almost two years.

Garin, who placed 97th, had 39 winners, while Ruud, who placed 4th, had only 15 winners with 29 unforced errors in a match that lasted 1 hour and 59 minutes.

“Kasper is one of the players that I really admire,” said Garin. “I am so happy to play like this, to be aggressive, to go to the net. This is how I like to play and this is the only way to beat these players.”

Garin, 26, has improved to a lifetime 3-1 against Ruud, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, since they first met on tour in 2019 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Garin advances to the 1/8 finals to face 23rd seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokin, who beat 13th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

Cameron Norrie, 2021 Indian Wells champion, rose from a set and lost 3-0 to defeat world No. 103 Taro Daniel 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2. Norrie with 10 No. 2 improved to a lifetime 11-3 in Indian Wells and will face No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev who beat Hugo Humbert 7-5, 6-3. Qualified Daniel was aiming for another instructive victory after a stunning second round victory over Matteo Berrettini.

Alexander Zverev of Germany, who missed the second half of the 2022 season with three torn ligaments in his right ankle at the French Open, beat Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland 7-5, 1-6, 7-5. It passes to Daniil Medvedev, who finished fifth, who defeated Ilya Ivashka 6:2, 3:6, 6:1.

Top American Jessica Pegula, seeded No. 3, rose from a set in her second match in a row to beat No. 26 Anastasia Potapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Pegula came close to losing to the 21-year-old upstart. She faced a break point on a 4-4 serve in the second set, but came out of the rut to win the set. Pegula had to rally again in the third set, losing 2-0 and 3-1, but with a break in the sixth set, he equalized. She broke Potapova to close the match.

“I think I played a little smarter, the shots got deeper,” Pegula said. “Things got a little better, but she started to play very well. I was very upset, but she is a great player.”

Pegula, who beat Camila Giorgi in her first match, takes the lead to face Petra Kvitova, who beat Elena Ostapenko 0-6, 6-0, 6-4.

No. 6 seed Koko Gauff, who played on the eve of her 19th birthday, edged out Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3 in a juvenile showdown to face Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson, who beat Switzerland’s Jill Teichmann 3. -6, 6-3, 6-1.

“Honestly, I felt a little pressure in today’s match because of age, which I never thought about in the past,” said Gauff, who reached the round of 16 in the Southern Hemisphere. California desert for the first time.

The seventh seeded Maria Sakkari beat the 27th seeded Angelina Kalinina with a score of 3:6, 6:2, 6:4. Sakkari, who reached the final last year, advanced to the round of 16 for the third time in five career BNP Paribas Open appearances. The Greek player will face No. 17 seed Karolina Pliskova, who beat No. 11 seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 7-5.

INDIAN WELLS, California. Ranked No. 1 Iga Sviatek beat Claire Liu in 65 minutes to win her first match at the BNP Paribas Open.

Swiatek, the reigning champion who took first place in the rankings almost a year ago, won with a score of 6:0, 6:1. In the first set, she lost only seven points.

“Tactically and in terms of tennis, everything was on top,” she said. “I’ve had so many matches in the last couple of weeks that I know what to do.”

The men’s runner-up Carlos Alcaraz defeated qualified Thanasi Kokkinakis 6–3, 6–3. Alcaraz reached the desert semi-finals last year and could return to the top spot for the first time since January if he wins the title.

Taylor Fritz, the reigning men’s champion, edged out former NCAA singles champion Ben Shelton 4–6, 6–4, 6–3.

Shelton’s biggest pitch reached 147 mph.

“I expected him to throw bombs by playing well,” Fritz said. “I was ready for it, I just had to regroup, just find a way and solve the problem. He’s an incredible player and it was an extremely tough first match to come out and play so I’m happy to get through him.”

Andy Murray beat Radu Albot 6-4, 6-3 in his first straight win of the year to set up a third round matchup with Jack Draper. Murray had just 18 unforced errors to Albot’s 35, and never hit a break point on his serve, throwing six aces.

“Hopefully I can keep moving up the rankings, keep building that confidence and maybe get a few more straight draws,” Murray said.

Yannick Sinner defeated Richard Gasquet, 6-3, 7-6 (2). The 21-year-old Sinner scored 20 forehands against the 36-year-old veteran.

“Obviously today was a tough match, especially in the beginning, I was a bit tight,” Sinner said on the court.

Another 21-year-old Draper beat 24th Dan Evans 6-4, 6-2. Draper lost just eight games in the first two games of his Indian Wells debut.

No. 10 Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the third round by defeating Pedro Martinez 7-6(5), 6-4.

Emma Raducanou, 2021 US Open champion, beat No. 20 Magda Lynette 7-6 (3), 6-2. Lynette, an Australian Open semi-finalist, was given an early service break, but Radukanou latched onto her serve and equalized at 5 before forcing a tie-break.

“I was so happy with the way I fought. Because Magda played at a very high level,” Radukanu said. “It’s like some things that worked in the past didn’t work today and I’ve adapted.”

No. 5 Carolina Garcia outlasted Dalma Galfi, 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-4. The eighth seed Daria Kasatkina beat Tatyana Maria with a score of 6:2, 6:1.

Karolina Muchova beat two-time Indian Wells champion Victoria Azarenka 7:6 (1), 6:3, attacking the net in strong wind conditions. Mukhova returned from last year’s injuries.

The other seeded players who joined Azarenka on the sidelines were No. 25 Petra Martic and No. 28 Mari Buzkova.