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SPORTSThursday 17 March 2016
Djokovic, Williams roll in
straight sets at Indian Wells
BETH HARRIS Rafael Nadal survived a It was tied twice more be-
AP Sports Writer fore Verdasco’s double
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) wild tiebreaker to beat Fer- fault gave Nadal a second
— Defending champion match point and it ended
Novak Djokovic continued nando Verdasco 6-0, 7-6 on another error. Verdas-
his dominance of Philipp co’s 19 winners were just
Kohlschreiber, winning 7-5, (9), while two-time cham- one more than Nadal. He
7-5 in the third round of the averaged 115 mph on his
BNP Paribas Open on Tues- pion Serena Williams fired first serve to 108 for Nadal.
day. “Normally he serve better
seven aces in a 6-2, 6-2 vic- than me,” Nadal said. “In
this kind of match I have
tory over Kateryna Bonda- more to lose than him, so
he’s able to play very ag-
Serena Williams returns to Kateryna Bondarenko, of the Ukraine, renko in the fourth round. gressive. He has amazing
during the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, March shots. He arrives to the tie-
15, 2016, in Indian Wells, Calif. Djokovic, seeking his fifth break and you know you’re
in trouble.”
Associated Press title in the desert, beat Nadal advanced to the
fourth round against Alex-
Kohlschreiber for the eighth ander Zverev, who beat
16th-seeded Gilles Simon,
time in nine career match- 6-2, 6-2. No. 5 seed Kei Ni-
shikori edged Steve John-
es against the German, son, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6) and next
plays another American,
who had 29 unforced er- John Isner, who beat Adri-
an Mannarino, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
rors. Djokovic had triple Williams hit 26 winners offset
by 22 unforced errors to go
match point leading 5-3, with seven aces in her sec-
ond Indian Wells appear-
40-love when he missed an ance since 2001. She has
yet to drop a set in three
easy overhead. He was up matches.
Five of the top 10 women’s
a break in the first set when seeds women have been
knocked out, seemingly
he also dropped serve. clearing the way for Wil-
liams to win her third ca-
“I cannot allow myself any reer title here and first since
2001.
more to react that way in “So far I think my consis-
tency has been well; being
those particular circum- aggressive has been well;
everything that I’ve want-
stances,” he said. “It does ed to do I’ve kind of been
doing,” she said.
stay (in your mind). But it’s Williams will play defending
champion Simona Halep
not the first time that it hap- in the quarterfinals, a year
after she withdrew before
pens to me, so I think that their semifinal match with a
knee injury. Halep beat Wil-
kind of experience helps.” liams at the 2014 WTA Tour
finals.
Nadal, a three-time Indian “I like how she’s aggressive.
She’s a fighter,” Williams
Wells winner, saved five set said. “She killed me at one
point, so I definitely have to
points in the tiebreaker and be ready.”
Halep advanced when
finally closed it out on his Barbora Strycova retired
because of illness trailing
second match point when 6-3, 1-0. Also retiring was
No. 9 Roberta Vinci, who
Verdasco’s backhand trailed Magdalena Rybari-
lova 6-2, 2-0 when she quit
sailed beyond the base- with a left ankle injury.
line.
“Feel lucky to win the tie-
break, and at the same
time I think at the end of
the tiebreak I played well
with not many mistakes
and going for the points,”
Nadal said.
Verdasco has had the up-
per hand against his fel-
low Spaniard and doubles
partner in the last few
years, having won three of
their previous four match-
es, including a five-setter in
the first round of the Austra-
lian Open in January after
Nadal beat him 13 straight
times to start the rivalry.
Verdasco owned triple set
point, but frittered away his
advantage with consecu-
tive errant forehands and
could only stab in the air as
Nadal’s crosscourt back-
hand whizzed by to tie it
6-all.
Verdasco’s backhand error
set up Nadal’s first match
point and his first serve was
called out, but he success-
fully challenged it and the
review showed it ticked the
line, tying it 7-all.
