Alcaraz, Swiatek march on at Indian Wells, Murray falls

Carlos Alcaraz fended off tenacious Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Monday to reach the fourth round at Indian Wells as he and women's top seed Iga Swiatek passed tough tests in the California desert.

Alcaraz, 19, had a testing time breaking through against his determined Dutch foe, who had won their only prior hard court meeting.

He didn't face a break point in the first set, nor could he convert either of his two.

A strong start in the tiebreaker proved the difference, Alcaraz locking up the set with a forehand winner on his second set point.

He rolled from there, breaking Griekspoor in the second game on the way to a 3-0 lead in the second set.

"It has been a really tough match," Alcaraz said of his 100th ATP Tour match win. "Tallon is playing great, I had to be really focused. Of course playing with a lot of wind like today is also tough.

"I had chances at the beginning of the first set, I didn't take it.

"The second set, I took my chances that I had in the beginning and thanks to that I was able to play more relaxed."

Alcaraz will face Britain's Jack Draper for a place in the quarter-finals after Draper overcame former world number one Andy Murray 7-6 (8/6), 6-2.

Women's world number one Swiatek, seeking to become the first woman since Martina Navratilova in 1990 and '91 to win back-to-back titles in the combined WTA and ATP Masters 1000 event, elevated her game when she had to for a 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) victory over Canadian Bianca Andreescu.

Andreescu, whose 2019 Indian Wells title proved the springboard to a breakout season that included a US Open crown, pushed Swiatek through punishing baseline rallies, trading six breaks of serve with the reigning French and US Open champion in the second set only to be overpowered in the