Alcaraz, Sinner reach Indian Wells quarters

Los Angeles — Carlos Alcaraz beat Fabian Marozsan to avenge his loss to the Hungarian at the Italian Open in 2023, while Jannik Sinner won his 18th straight match as both players cruised into the Indian Wells quarterfinals with straight-sets victories on Tuesday.

Alcaraz never looked in any trouble against Marozsan, pounding forehands and confidently holding serve to take another step towards defending his title in the California desert with a 6-3 6-3 win.

A cross-court forehand on match point sealed the victory for the second-seeded Spaniard, who nodded to his team and yelled “Vamos”.

Marozsan was a qualifier when he stunned Alcaraz in straight sets in Rome last May but the world No 2 turned the tables under sunny skies on centre court with a clinical performance.

“I was nervous before the match, I’m not going to lie,” Alcaraz said.

“Playing against someone who beat you easily — I remember I had no chances in the match in Rome. It was difficult for me today to approach the match, but I’m really happy with the way that I did.

“I started pretty well, playing my style since the beginning. Today I knew what I had to do better than I did in Rome.”

Alcaraz continues to gain momentum at the tournament and since dropping the first set in the first match he played, he has not lost one since. The victory was his 50th match win at a Masters 1000 event.

The two-time Grand Slam winner is on course for a possible collision with Australian Open champion Sinner in the semifinals but will first need to get past Alexander Zverev.

The big-serving German sixth seed wore down Australian Alex de Minaur with his relentless power to claim a 5-7 6-2 6-3 victory.

Sinner shaded a tight first set against American Ben Shelton in windy conditions and met with little resistance in the second, securing a 7-6(4) 6-1 win to maintain his perfect record in 2024.

“I just tried to stay positive,” Sinner said. “There were tough moments, especially in the first set, and I’m really happy that I won that and started really positive in the second set, which gave me a lot of confidence.”

Third seed Sinner will be the favourite when he faces Jiri Lehecka for the first time in the quarters.

Women’s Top seed Iga Swiatek swatted aside Yulia Putintseva 6-1 6-2 to set up an Indian Wells quarterfinal clash with former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

Swiatek got off to a slow start and saved four break points in the third game before finding her groove. The Pole then raced to a 5-1 lead, prompting Putintseva to throw her racket to the floor in frustration, before wrapping the opener up in less than 30 minutes.

Swiatek, the 2022 champion, made early inroads in the second set and while Putintseva started going for her shots more the 22-year-old world No 1 proved too strong for her Kazakh opponent.

“I knew I had to keep my focus [in the second set], she was trying different stuff out there,” Swiatek, who dropped serve twice in the second frame, said.

“But I just really wanted to play my game and focus on what I want to do. I’m glad I did that.”

Wozniacki, who returned to the tour in 2023 after stepping away from the sport in 2020 to start a family, eased past fellow mother Angelique Kerber 6-4 6-2 earlier in the day.

“She’s a really experienced player,” Swiatek said of the 2011 champion. “I think she’s playing great after her maternity break, she was fighting to come back. I have huge respect. It’s going to be a nice match.”

Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-1 and next meets another Russian in Anastasia Potapova, who beat Jasmine Paolini 7-5
0-6 6-3.

Kostyuk dropped only four points on serve in the match and broke Pavlyuchenkova five times to reach her first quarterfinal at a WTA 1000 event.

Reuters