BNP PARIBAS | Indian Wells CA | FRIDAY, MARCH 10

We hope you are enjoying SCTA’s daily coverage of the BNP Paribas Masters at Indian Wells!

A simple glance at this week’s early results yields few bright spots for US Tennis hopefuls, and Friday’s matinees held much promise in turning the tide in the initial rounds of both Main Draws. On center court, Taylor Fritz (Palos Verdes) brought a power game to oppose the finesse of Frenchman Benoit Paire, while Kayla Day (Santa Barbara) faced off inside Stadium 2 against the blistering pace of #32 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia.

Day, a wild card ranked #175 in the world, is coming off an appearance in the final of the Rancho Santa Fe ITF event in February. With the crowd in her favor, Day jumped ahead with a first set advantage that deflected much of Lucic-Baroni’s powerful groundstrokes with consistent returns and timely defense. A buzz began to spread around Stadium 2 as Day convincingly wrapped up the first frame, 6-4.

At the same time, Fritz (#136 on the ATP World Tour) turned some heads by thumping the #40 ranked Paire, whose drop shots and cunning play did little to shake the young American as Fritz posted a convincing first set win, 6-3. Ranked last year as high as #53, Fritz may be the most promising young US Future still in the draw, and his handling of the French star brought cheers from the center court crowd.

 

 

On Stadium 2, Lucic-Baroni pushed back against Kayla Day, securing the second set 7-5. They would advance to a third and decisive set as Taylor Fritz continued to light up the main stadium court, dispatching his opponent with relative ease, 6-3, 6-2. The victory shifted the drama back to Day, who trailed 4-5 and teetered on the verge of elimination. But the lefty managed to knot the final game on her own serve, then broke Lucic-Baroni to take command as the Indian Wells audience roared in approval. Moments later, on her second match point, Day stamped her ticket to the Third Round and a showdown with #7 Garbine Muguruza.

At long last, Tay|Kay led American tennis to victory at Indian Wells, ahead of Madison Keys, Venus Williams, Lauren Davis, Shelby Rogers, and Coco Vandeweghe – all of whom make their singles debuts on Saturday. American gentlemen arrive on the scene for Sunday action at the Tennis Garden.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

Fans who can’t wait to see their favorite stars can get an early glimpse of top Men’s players on the doubles court on Saturday. Along with perennial favorites Bob & Mike Bryan (who entertained on the music stage Thursday night), John Isner & Jack Sock represent a dynamic American duo (they face the #1 seed Herbery/Mahut of France in the opening round) and Sam Querrey (Santa Monica) also premieres on tomorrow’s doubles schedule. On the Women’s side, USA Olympic medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands is one half of the top-seeded Women’s doubles team (with Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic) that advanced on Thursday. The tandem of Coco Vandeweghe (Rancho Santa Fe) and Shelby Rogers traded blowout sets before losing a tough final frame this afternoon, nonetheless a preview for fans who will await their respective return to action in Saturday singles.

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Steve Johnson (Redondo Beach) are all featured in doubles action later this evening at Indian Wells.

Our coverage continues on Saturday with updates and images from the desert! Let’s go SoCal!