Wawrinka wins in return to Indian Wells after 4 years away Andy Murray pulls out another 3-set victory at Indian Wells Nakashima tops Isner at Indian Wells minus Djokovic, Nadal

INDIAN WELLS, California. Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka made a successful return to the BNP Paribas Open after a four-year absence, defeating qualified Aleksandar Vukic on Thursday 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

Wawrinka, a 37-year-old ranked 3rd and now 100th after a series of left foot and left knee surgeries, hit 10 aces and won 28 of 33 first innings. His previous match at the California Desert Hardcourt Tournament was a third-round loss to Swiss Davis Cup teammate Roger Federer in 2019.

Wawrinka, runner-up to Federer at Indian Wells in 2017, will face No. 26 seed Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round of the first Masters 1000 event of the season.

Two other major title holders who have faced injury problems in recent years, Andy Murray and Dominic Thiem, were due to play in the first round later on Day 2.

Emma Raducanou, who won the 2021 US Open as a teenager, returned to the court on Thursday for the first time since January after suffering tonsillitis and lost 2-0 in every set during what became a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danka Kovinic.

Another 20-year-old, Ben Shelton, started off with a 2-0 loss to Fabio Fognini and then won 12 of the last 15 games 6-4, 6-1. Shelton, the 2022 NCAA singles champion from the University of Florida, who hasn’t won a match since reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, will play fourth seed and defending champion Taylor Fitz.

Fognini was cautioned for loud obscenity and for taking too long to prepare for the return pitch; he also hit with a racket during a match, but the chair umpire did not cite him for it.

Thanasi Kokkinakis scored 32 of the 34 points he scored in a 6-4, 6-1 win over wild card Brandon Holt to earn Saturday against defending US Open champion and top seed Carlos Alcaraz.

Danielle Collins, runner-up at the 2022 Australian Open, lost her second match in a row to a non-top 50 opponent by knocking out 80th-seeded Dalma Galfi 6-4, 6-4. Halif lost in qualifying, but advanced to the main draw when someone withdrew. Collins posted only nine winners, committing 41 unforced errors.

Varvara Gracheva, who qualified for Indian Wells after reaching the final in Austin, Texas last week, defeated Ysaline Bonaventure 6-2, 6-2; Katerina Sinyakova beat Jules Niemeyer 7:5, 6:4; and Jill Teichmann beat Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-4.

In terms of other results, Jack Draper beat qualifier Leandro Riedi 6-1, 6-1 to set up an all-British match against No. 24 Dan Evans; and Mackenzie McDonald defeated Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-0.

INDIAN WELLS, California. Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray has gone undefeated this season in matches that end in a decisive third or fifth set, coming back to defeat Thomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4 for over three hours in first round of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday.

Murray, a 35-year-old with an artificial hip, faced a couple of break points while serving 15-40 and already trailing 4-3 in the final set. Implement any of these moments, and Etcheverry would have served to win.

But Murray, who was runner-up at Indian Wells in 2009, managed to hang on there by starting a three-game streak against Etcheverry, the 21-year-old Argentine who is 61st after reaching the tournament final in Santiago, Chile. last week.

So far in 2023, Murray is 5-0 in best-of-five matches that go three sets, and 2-0 in best-of-five matches that go five. He is 0-3 in competitions that end early.

Another three major title winner, Stan Wawrinka, made a successful return to the hard-surface tournament in the California desert after a four-year absence, defeating qualifier Alexander Vukic 6–4, 1–6, 6–1.

Wawrinka, a 37-year-old ranked 3rd and now 100th after a series of left foot and left knee surgeries, hit 10 aces and won 28 of 33 first innings. His previous match in Indian Wells was a third round loss to Swiss Davis Cup teammate Roger Federer in 2019.

Wawrinka will face No. 26 seed Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round of the first Masters 1000 event of the season.

Dominic Thiem, who won the 2019 Indian Wells title and the US Open a year later, was scheduled to play in the first round later on the second day.

Emma Radukanou, who won the 2021 US Open as a teenager, returned to the court on Thursday for the first time since January after suffering from tonsillitis and trailed 2-0 in every set during what became a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danka Kovinic.

Another 20-year-old, Ben Shelton, started off with a 2-0 loss to Fabio Fognini and then won 12 of the last 15 games 6-4, 6-1. Shelton, the 2022 NCAA singles champion from the University of Florida, who hasn’t won a match since reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, will play No. 4 seed and defending champion Taylor Fritz next.

Fognini was cautioned for loud obscenity and for taking too long to prepare for the return pitch; he also hit with a racket during a match, but the chair umpire did not cite him for it.

Thanasi Kokkinakis scored 32 of the 34 points he scored in a 6-4, 6-1 win over wild card Brandon Holt to earn Saturday against defending US Open champion and top seed Carlos Alcaraz.

Danielle Collins, runner-up at the 2022 Australian Open, lost her second match in a row to a non-top 50 opponent by knocking out 80th-seeded Dalma Galfi 6-4, 6-4. Halif lost in qualifying, but advanced to the main draw when someone withdrew. Collins posted only nine winners, committing 41 unforced errors.

Varvara Gracheva, who qualified for Indian Wells after reaching the final in Austin, Texas last week, defeated Ysaline Bonaventure 6-2, 6-2; Katerina Sinyakova beat Jules Niemeyer 7:5, 6:4; and Jill Teichmann beat Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-4.

In terms of other results, Jack Draper beat qualifier Leandro Riedi 6-1, 6-1 to set up an all-British match against No. 24 Dan Evans; Mackenzie McDonald defeated Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-0 and Marton Fuksovich beat JJ Wolf with a score of 1:6, 6:0, 6:3.

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Brandon Nakashima capitalized on John Isner’s two double faults in an error-filled game to get the only serve break of the match to advance to the second round at the BNP Paribas Open 7-6 (7), a 6 win -3 in the All-American competition on Wednesday.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in the stands as play began at the year’s first Masters 1000 tournament, the unified tournament for women and men.

Nakashima, a 21-year-old San Diego native, saved one set point to 37-year-old 2018 Wimbledon semi-finalist Isner en route to the first tie-break. And Nakashima, who won last year’s ATP Next Gen Finals, took a 4-2 lead in the second set after nearly an hour and a half, scoring four points in that game thanks to that pair of double faults and one right hand. Isner, who found the net and did not cross, and another who swam for a long time.

Overall, Isner, who was runner-up at Indian Wells in 2012, double-faulted seven times, which is part of his 25 unforced errors – 18 more than Nakashima. The next challenge for Nakashima, ranked 48th, is a tough one to take on 2022 US Open champion and former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, who has a 14-match winning streak and has won the last three tournaments he has competed in.

That streak of success includes a win over Novak Djokovic, a 22-time Grand Slam champion who didn’t take the field in Indian Wells because he can’t travel to the United States as a foreign national who hasn’t been vaccinated against COVID-19. The player with whom Djokovic shares the record for most majors won, Rafael Nadal, is also not in the desert; he was ruled out after injuring his left hip flexor at the Australian Open.

Medvedev, like other seeded players, got a bye in the first round.

Gael Monfils, a 36-year-old two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, was set to face Jordan Thompson for the first time since August on Wednesday night. Monfils has not played since last August due to a foot injury.

In another first-day battle, Evgeniya Rodina, a 34-year-old ranked 427th and played just one match at tour level in 2023, edged out 68th-placed Alize Cornet 6-2, 7-5; Wang Xinyu, ranked 67th, beat Eliza Mertens, ranked 37th, 6:3, 6:1; wild card Dayana Yastremska defeated Anna Bondar 6-3, 6-4; Alexandra Sasnovich defeated Kaya Kanepi 6-3, 7-6 (5); Anna Blinkova beat Ann Lee 6-1, 6-2; and 18-year-old Linda Noskova defeated Irina-Kamelia Bega 7-6(7), 6-1.

Shelby Rodgers won 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in the All-America against wild-carded Cathy Wolynets; qualifying Lesya Tsurenko beat Zhu Lin 6-4, 6-3; and Camila Giorgi won 6-3, 6-3 against qualified Arantxa Rus.

In the men’s games, Marcos Giron, who won the NCAA singles title for UCLA, eliminated Alexander Kovacevich 6-3, 7-5; Hugo Humbert beat Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6:2, 7:6 (6); Jason Kubler beat Lorenzo Sonego 6–4, 7–6 (4); Oscar Otte defeated Laszlo Jere 6-3, 7-5

Wildcard Wu Yibin, whose Dallas title last month made him the first Chinese player to win the ATP singles trophy, defeated Jaume Munar 6-7(6), 6-0, 7-6(3) . ; qualifier Taro Daniel beat Roberto Carbales Baena 6-1, 7-5 to set up a meeting with 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini; qualifier Christian Garin defeated Daniel Galan 6-4, 6-2; and Australian Open quarter-finalist Jiri Leheka eliminated Arthur Rinderknech 7–6(4), 7–5.