Indian Wells Tennis 2019: Roger Federer Cruises, Gael Monfils Wins
Straight-set victories by No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 4 Roger Federer highlighted play at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
Nadal defeated Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-4, while Federer beat No. 22 Kyle Edmund 6-1, 6-4. That duo and six other men's players will advance to the quarterfinals.
On the women's side, No. 6 Elina Svitolina held off an excellent upset try from Marketa Vondrousova, eventually winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. An upset did occur, however, when unseeded Bianca Andreescu cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over No. 20 Garbine Muguruza.
Here's a look at the Wednesday results as well as some quick takeaways from the day's action.
The tournament's official website is host to the women's and men's draws. The entire schedule can be found there as well.
Women's Results (Quarterfinals)
No. 6 Elina Svitolina def. Marketa Vondrousova 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Bianca Andreescu def. No. 20 Garbine Muguruza 6-0, 6-1
Men's Results (Round of 16)
No. 18 Gael Monfils def. Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-0, 6-2
No. 7 Dominic Thiem def. Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 Roger Federer def. No. 22 Kyle Edmund 6-1, 6-4
No. 12 Karen Khachanov def. No. 8 John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (1)
Hubert Hurkacz def. No. 24 Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3
No. 13 Milos Raonic def. Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Rafael Nadal def. Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-4
Miomir Kecmanovic def. Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4 (retired)
Wednesday Recap
Nadal's Indian Wells run has been absurd. Granted, he's expected to cruise through the opening rounds of a tournament as its No. 2 seed, but check out this list of games played from Jose Morgado of Sport TV Portugal:
The 32-year-old dominated on his second serve, winning 19 of a possible 23. He also won 65 percent of his second return shots.
Federer has also been on fire of late, bringing up the possibility of whether he and Nadal could face off in the Indian Wells semifinals. He only needed 64 minutes to defeat Edmund, and that was after he clocked a 6-3, 6-4 win over Stan Wawrinka in under an hour.
But the eye-opening men's performance of the day may have belonged to No. 18 Gael Monfils, who only lost two games en route to a convincing 6-0, 6-2 victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber. Monfils won 58 of a possible 86 points and won 77 percent of his first serves:
It seemed like there were two Monfils on the court, as he was able to glide anywhere he wanted with ease:
Nothing was easy for No. 6 Svitolina, who broke Marketa Vondrousova in the last game to win the match. She's persevered through some tough matches at Indian Wells, as she won her second- and fourth-round matches in three sets, both of which featured a victorious tiebreaker.
Courtney Nguyen of WTA Insider offered an astute analogy regarding Svitolina's resolve during her marathon Indian Wells run:
A final berth won't be easy to obtain, either, if Andreescu plays like she did on Wednesday. Winning 12 of 13 games against the No. 20 player of the world is impressive if you're a world No. 1, but the 18-year-old Andreescu is an unseeded competitor and a rising star in the game.
Andreescu left many people impressed, including Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times:
WTA Insider noted the history Andreescu made with her victory:
Andreescu has only lost three matches all season. She and Svitolina take the court on Friday.
