Garin Stuns Ruud to Reach Last 16 at Indian Wells

Cristian Garin of Chile reacts after winning a point in his match against Casper Ruud of Norway during the BNP Parisbas at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 12, 2023 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Cristian Garin of Chile reacts after winning a point in his match against Casper Ruud of Norway during the BNP Parisbas at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 12, 2023 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Garin Stuns Ruud to Reach Last 16 at Indian Wells

Cristian Garin of Chile reacts after winning a point in his match against Casper Ruud of Norway during the BNP Parisbas at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 12, 2023 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Cristian Garin of Chile reacts after winning a point in his match against Casper Ruud of Norway during the BNP Parisbas at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 12, 2023 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

Chilean Cristian Garin's aggressive play overwhelmed Casper Ruud at Indian Wells on Sunday as the qualifier upset the third seed 6-4 7-6(2) to book a spot in the last 16.

Garin pounded 27 forehand winners and fought off a second set comeback attempt to dispatch the struggling Norwegian, who has yet to win consecutive matches this season.

"I'm so happy with the way that I played," said Garin.

"I played so aggressive the whole match, even in the second set when I was leading 3-1 and lost those games."

With the win Garin, a former top 20 player now ranked 97th, improved his career record against Ruud to 3-1.

"Casper is one of the players I really, really like on the tour so it's very special to me," said the Chilean.

Ruud is still searching for the sensational form that saw him make the finals of the French Open and US Open and soar up the rankings last year.

Garin will next face Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who beat Russia's Karen Khachanov 6-3 1-6 6-4.

German 12th seed Alexander Zverev dug deep to beat Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5 1-6 7-5 despite admitting he was not at his best.

"To be honest I thought he played much better than me throughout the match," said Zverev.

"That's just the way it is sometimes... This is tennis, one or two points can decide a match and I'm happy that I won those points."

Zverev will next face red-hot Russian Daniil Medvedev, who continued his recent streak of dominance that led to three consecutive titles with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 win over Belarusian Ilya Ivashka.

Fifth seed Medvedev looked like he would make quick work of Ivashka after a one-sided first set but ran into trouble in the second where he grew agitated with some noisy fans on a windy night on center court.

He corrected course in the third, however, breaking to take a 2-0 lead and cruising to the finish.

Earlier in the day Britain's Cameron Norrie, seeded 10th, fought back to beat Japanese player Taro Daniel 6-7(5) 7-5 6-2 as the 2021 champion looks to add a second Indian Wells title to his collection. He will next play Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev.

American Frances Tiafoe, seeded 14th, will face Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in the round of 16 after both players advanced in straight sets.

Sakkari survives

On the women's side, seventh-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece kept her title hopes alive by battling back to beat Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina 3-6 6-2 6-4.

Sakkari drew Kalinina to the net with a drop shot and then fired a backhand winner down the line on match point to complete the comeback.

The Greek leaned over and pumped her fists in celebration after sealing the win on a hot day in the Southern California desert.

"I don't mind winning ugly," she told reporters.

"It doesn't really matter. I just give myself another chance to play better the next day."

Sakkari, a finalist in Indian Wells last year, will next face 17th seed Karolina Pliskova in the round of 16 after the Czech beat Russia's Veronika Kudermetova 6-1 7-5.

Third-seeded American Jessica Pegula edged Russia's Anastasia Potapova 3-6 6-4 7-5 to set up a meeting with Petra Kvitova after the 15th-seeded Czech won a rollercoaster match against Jelena Ostapenko 0-6 6-0 6-4.

Sweden's Rebecca Peterson dispatched Jil Teichmann of Switzerland 3-6 6-3 6-1, 16th seeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova beat China's Wang Xinyu 6-2 7-6(1) 6-2, and sixth-seeded American teenager Coco Gauff beat Czech Linda Noskova 6-4 6-3.

Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka advanced via walkover when her Ukrainian opponent Lesia Tsurenko withdrew.



Australia Beats US at Davis Cup to Reach Semifinals

Tennis - Davis Cup Finals - Quarter Final - United States v Australia - Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena, Malaga, Spain - November 21, 2024   Australia's Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden celebrate winning their doubles match against Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul of the US REUTERS/Juan Medina
Tennis - Davis Cup Finals - Quarter Final - United States v Australia - Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena, Malaga, Spain - November 21, 2024 Australia's Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden celebrate winning their doubles match against Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul of the US REUTERS/Juan Medina
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Australia Beats US at Davis Cup to Reach Semifinals

Tennis - Davis Cup Finals - Quarter Final - United States v Australia - Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena, Malaga, Spain - November 21, 2024   Australia's Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden celebrate winning their doubles match against Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul of the US REUTERS/Juan Medina
Tennis - Davis Cup Finals - Quarter Final - United States v Australia - Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena, Malaga, Spain - November 21, 2024 Australia's Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden celebrate winning their doubles match against Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul of the US REUTERS/Juan Medina

Australia reached the Davis Cup semifinals for the third consecutive year, eliminating the United States 2-1 when Matt Ebden and Jordan Thompson beat the surprise, last-minute pairing of Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-4 in the deciding doubles match on Thursday.
The victory on an indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martina Carpena in southern Spain means 28-time Davis Cup champion Australia will face defending champion Italy or Argentina on Saturday for a spot in the final of the annual team competition, The Associated Press reported.
The other semifinal, to be contested Friday, is the Netherlands against Germany. The Dutch got past Rafael Nadal and Spain in the quarterfinals earlier in the week, sending the 22-time Grand Slam champion into retirement.
The Australians were the runners-up the past two years, including in 2023 against Italy, which is led by No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner.
The Americans own a record 32 Davis Cup titles but haven’t been to the semifinals since 2018 and haven’t claimed the title since 2007, their longest drought in the event.
The Shelton-Paul substitution for Paris Olympics silver medalists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram was announced about 15 minutes before the doubles match began. Ebden and John Peers beat Krajicek and Ram in the Summer Games final in August.
The Australians broke once in each set of the doubles. In the second, they stole one of Shelton's service games on the fourth break opportunity when Ebden's overhead smash made it 5-4. Thompson then served out the victory, closing it with a service winner before chest-bumping Ebden.
The 21st-ranked Shelton made his Davis Cup debut earlier Thursday in singles against 77th-ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis, who emerged from a tight-as-can-be tiebreaker by saving four match points and eventually converting his seventh to win 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (14).
No. 4 Taylor Fritz, the US Open runner-up, then pulled the Americans even with a far more straightforward victory over No. 9 Alex de Minaur, 6-3, 6-4.
Kokkinakis withstood 21 aces from Shelton, a big-serving left-hander who reached the US Open semifinals in 2023.
When their match finally ended, on a backhand by Shelton that landed long, Kokkinakis dropped onto his back and pounded his chest. After he rose, he threw a ball into the stands, then walked over to Australia's sideline, spiked his racket and yelled, before hugging captain Lleyton Hewitt.
“I don’t know if I've been that pumped up in my life. I wanted that for my team,” said Kokkinakis, who won the 2022 Australian Open men's doubles title with Nick Kyrgios. “It could have gone either way, but I kept my nerve.”
One key stat: Shelton finished with 29 unforced errors in his Davis Cup debut, nearly twice as many as the 15 by Kokkinakis.
After a strong hold at love in an opening game that included a 139 mph (224 kph) ace and a trio of service winners, Shelton lost his way completely, losing 12 of his next 16 service points and six games in a row overall. That set ended with Shelton double-faulting when he was cited for a foot fault.
But he broke to open the second set and soon the match was far more competitive.
“Once I got going, I thought I found a really good groove," Shelton said. "I didn’t exactly like how I finished the match at the end. I thought I left a little bit on the table.”
Fritz won nine of his 10 service games against de Minaur and dealt just fine with a quick turnaround after reaching the title match at the ATP Finals on Sunday in Turin, Italy, before losing to Sinner.
Fritz flew to Spain the next day, then practiced Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I’m just really happy,” Fritz said, “with how I held it together.”