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(Reuters) -Iga Swiatek overcame former U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-3 7-6(1) to succeed in the fourth spherical at Indian Wells on Monday and arrange a gathering with Emma Raducanu, who scored her largest win since her personal run to the Flushing Meadows title.
High seed Swiatek has been in excellent type on hardcourts for the reason that Australian Open, capturing the Doha title and reaching the ultimate in Dubai, and the Polish participant regarded set for one more snug win after cruising via the opening set.
The reigning U.S. Open champion discovered herself in bother at 2-4 within the subsequent set however battled again to shut out the match within the tiebreak.
“She (Andreescu) modified the rhythm fairly nicely and with this floor it may well get powerful,” Swiatek mentioned. “However I am fairly comfortable I used to be strong a lot of the occasions, at the very least.
“And that I could possibly be recomposed within the tiebreak as a result of I actually knew that I might get my focus up. I am even glad that I bought an opportunity to sort of play underneath stress some extra and see how I am going to deal with it.”
Unseeded Raducanu, who has been sidelined by accidents and sicknesses which have saved her out of motion for the reason that Australian Open, earlier beat thirteenth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1 2-6 6-4.
The victory was the Briton’s greatest by rating since her shock Flushing Meadows title in 2021 and simply the second time since that U.S. Open run she has strung collectively three consecutive match wins.
It was a disappointing day for Leylah Fernandez, who Raducanu beat within the ultimate two years in the past, because the Canadian fell 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-1 to fifth seed Caroline Garcia.
Though the match required three units and practically two-and-a-half hours to find out a winner the fifth seeded Garcia was not often underneath stress from her opponent, who managed simply two break possibilities and couldn’t convert both.
Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka will tackle Dubai champion Barbora Krejcikova on Tuesday after advancing to the fourth spherical when her Ukrainian opponent Lesia Tsurenko withdrew as a consequence of a panic assault.
Tsurenko mentioned her panic assault was triggered following a dialog with WTA chief government Steve Simon about tennis’s response to Russia’s invasion of her nation.
FRITZ THROUGH, MURRAY OUT
On the lads’s aspect of the draw, defending champion and fourth seed Taylor Fritz steamrolled into the fourth spherical with a 6-1 6-2 demolition of Sebastian Baez.
Fritz saved the thirty fifth ranked Argentine underneath fixed stress all through breaking him six occasions to arrange a spherical of 16 assembly with Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
It was the top of the street for Andy Murray, who misplaced 7-6(6) 6-2 to fellow Briton Jack Draper.
Up subsequent for Draper is Carlos Alcaraz after the highest seed beat Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(4) 6-3 within the night to safe his a hundredth Tour-level victory.
“I am actually proud to get my a hundredth win and I hope it is the primary 100 of many,” Alcaraz mentioned.
“Truthfully, I looked for that stat right now however I did not know. I assumed that it was within the subsequent spherical.”
Evergreen 37-year-old Swiss Stan Wawrinka superior with an 6-2 6-7(5) 7-5 upset of seventh seeded younger gun 19-year-old Holger Rune of Denmark.
Whereas Fernandez headed to the exit there was one Canadian winner on Monday with eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime taming Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 7-5 6-4.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Further reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar; Modifying by Sam Holmes & Shri Navaratnam, Peter Rutherford)