INDIAN WELLS, United States — Spain's
Paula Badosa kept her Indian Wells WTA title defense on track Tuesday, holding off
determined Canadian Leylah Fernandez to reach the quarter-finals in the
California desert.
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Badosa, seeded fifth, saved five of the six break points she
faced and kept last year's US Open runner-up under pressure — converting three
of her 12 break chances.
"Today was very tough," said Badosa, who lifted
the trophy last October in a tournament moved from its usual March date because
of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Leylah is an amazing player, very fast and good
timing. I knew I had to fight and serve very well. I think I did that the
entire match."
Badosa is vying to become the first woman to win
back-to-back Indian Wells titles since Martina Navratilova in 1990–91.
She gained the upper hand in the second set with a break for
3–2, then saved a pair of breakpoints in the eighth game to take a 5–3 lead.
"In the important moments, like 4-3, down the breakpoints,
I think I stayed very composed," added Badosa, who next faces Veronica
Kudermetova, a 7–6 (7/5), 6–7 (5/7), 7–5 winner over Marketa Vondrousova.
World number four
Iga Swiatek, the highest-ranked player
remaining in the women's field, rallied from a set down for a third straight
match to book her quarter-final berth, beating crafty German veteran Angelique
Kerber 4–6, 6–2, 6–3.
Swiatek, the
2020 French Open champion, is coming off a
title in Doha last month, but the 20-year-old admitted it took her a while to
figure out how to tackle Kerber — another former Grand Slam champion.
"Truth be told, I wasn't really sure what my tactics
should be, if I should be more aggressive or play more patient game,"
Swiatek said. "But at the end I think I made the right decision in right
time, in right moments of the match."
She said Kerber showed her a different game than she'd
expected after practicing with the German.
"I felt like she wanted to use her experience and kind
of trick me," Swiatek said.
Swiatek next faces American Madison Keys, who beat British
qualifier Harriet Dart 6-1, 6-4.
Former world number one Simona Halep of Romania, seeded
24th, swept into the quarter-finals with a 6–1, 6–4 victory over 26th-seeded
compatriot Sorana Cirstea.
Halep, a two-time
Grand Slam champion is in the quarters for
the fifth time at Indian Wells, where she lifted the trophy in 2015.
Halep will play Petra Martic for a place in the semi-finals.
Croatia's Martic beat Liudmila Samsonova 7–6 (8/6), 6–4.
Sixth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece advanced with a victory
over Australian qualifier Daria Saville, who was trailing 4–1 when she retired
with a left thigh injury.
Sakkari will play
Elena Rybakina, who beat Viktorija Golubic
7–6 (7/5), 6-2.
Rublev, Berrettini advance
In the men's tournament, sixth-ranked
Matteo Berrettini shook off mid-match doldrums to defeat South Africa's Lloyd Harris 6–4, 7–5 to
reach the fourth round while world number seven Andrey Rublev powered past
American Frances Tiafoe.
The 25-year-old Italian Berrettini, winner of five ATP
titles but seeking his first Masters 1000 crown, is the second-highest ranked
man left in the draw behind fourth-seeded Rafael Nadal.
But he admitted he'll need to do better after a victory in
which he trailed 4-1 in the second set.
"I got a little bit nervous," he said. "I
didn't like how I handled the start of the second set. I let the anger out a
little bit, which helped."
A dozen aces also helped as Berrettini won five straight
games to secure the victory.
Rublev, who has captured titles in Marseille and
Dubai this
year, pushed his ATPmatch-winningg streak to 11 with a 6–3, 6–4 victory over
Tiafoe.
American John Isner powered past Argentina's Diego
Schwartzman 7–5, 6–3. Isner, who towered over his opponent by 38 centimeters,
fired 13 aces and didn't face a breakpoint.
Isner is one of four US men into the last 16 along Taylor
Fritz, Jenson Brooksby and Reilly Opelka — who will take on Nadal on Wednesday.
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