Andrey Rublev is a winning machine.

The World No. 7 has triumphed in his past 12 matches and will aim to keep his career-best run going when he faces Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday.

The 24-year-old has been a dominant force on the ATP Tour over recent weeks and is bidding to capture his third consecutive title, after lifting trophies in Marseille and Dubai in February.

“When you win two tournaments, it gives you great confidence that you don’t need to stress,” Rublev said earlier this week when discussing his strong start to the season. “You are more relaxed when you train and you train in a more positive way and with good intensity. The main thing is to keep this form going now.”

Rublev is a nine-time tour-level titlist, with five of his victories coming at ATP 500 tournaments. However, the seventh seed is yet to crack the code at an ATP Masters 1000 event, with his best results at this level coming in Monte-Carlo and Toronto last season, where he reached the championship match.

Rublev looks like he might change that record this weekend though as the action in Indian Wells hits fever pitch. He has earned straight-sets wins over Dominik Koepfer, Frances Tiafoe and Hubert Hurkacz so far in the California desert, but faces a tricky test against an opponent who has fond memories at the hard-court tournament.

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Dimitrov soared to the semi-finals in Indian Wells in 2021, earning standout wins against Top 10 stars Daniil Medvedev and Hurkacz. Like Rublev, the Bulgarian is yet to drop a set at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden this week, coming into the clash off the back of a victory over American John Isner.

Little has separated Dimitrov and Rublev in the past, with the pair locked at 2-2 in their ATP Head2Head series, with three of their four meetings coming on outdoor hard. However, they have not met since Beijing in 2019, when Rublev was the World No. 35, the same ranking Dimitrov is currently.

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Friday’s other singles quarter-final will see American Taylor Fritz continue to fly the flag for the home crowd when he takes on Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

There is something in the Indian Wells air that brings the best out of the World No. 20, with Fritz reaching his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final at the event last October, when the tournament was played outside its regular March slot due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 24-year-old, who upset Matteo Berrettini, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev en route to the last four in 2021, has showcased his fighting qualities this week, edging Jaume Munar and Alex de Minaur in third-set tie-breaks. 

Fritz will carry a 1-0 ATP Head2Head series lead into his match against Kecmanovic, who is enjoying a dream run in the California desert.

The Serbian earned just his second Top 10 win when he overcame World No. 6 Berrettini on Wednesday. With his standout triumph, the World No. 61 booked his place in the last eight at a Masters 1000 for the second time, after also advancing to the same stage in Indian Wells on his tournament debut in 2019.

“He is playing really well,” Fritz said when asked about facing Kecmanovic. “He’s a really good ball-striker and I think it’s going to be a lot of big hitting probably.”

Kecmanovic will be aiming to reach the semi-finals at a tour-level event for the first time this year after losing in the last eight in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago in February.

In the doubles, Americans John Isner and Jack Sock will look to advance to the final when they take on Andrey Golubev and Alexander Zverev. Isner and Sock soared to the title in Indian Wells in 2018, defeating Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the final. Meanwhile, second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury will play Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin as they aim to win a second Masters 1000 crown as a team this week.

SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022

STADIUM 1 start 12:00 noon
ATP – [7] A. Rublev vs [33] G. Dimitrov (BUL)
ATP – M. Kecmanovic (SRB) vs [20] T. Fritz (USA)

Not Before 6:00 PM
WTA – [24] S. Halep (ROU) vs [3] I. Swiatek (POL)
WTA – [5] P. Badosa (ESP) vs [6] M. Sakkari (GRE)

STADIUM 2 start Not Before 6:00 pm
ATP – [WC] J. Isner (USA) / J. Sock (USA) vs A. Golubev (KAZ) / A. Zverev (GER)
ATP – [PR] S. Gonzalez (MEX) / E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs [2] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR)

Did You Know?
Rublev earned 11 straight victories in 2020, collecting titles in St. Petersburg and Vienna, before he lost to former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in the third round at the Rolex Paris Masters. He has now bettered that run here in Indian Wells, with his fourth-round win over Hurkacz his 12th in a row.

John Isner and Jack Sock’s hunt for a second BNP Paribas Open title continued apace on Wednesday as they came through a tricky test against Feliciano Lopez and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The 2018 champions ended their opponent’s six-match unbeaten run to reach the semi-finals in Indian Wells with a 7-5, 6-4 victory in front of a pumped up home crowd.

An engrossing encounter was expected from a match that featured four players who have all spent time in the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings for singles, and it didn’t disappoint. It was Isner and Sock who stepped up at crucial moments, however, sealing victory in 78 minutes to extend their record as a pair in the California desert to 9-1.

Isner and Sock timed their move perfectly in the first set, breaking for 6-5 after taking a sudden-death point on the Tsitsipas delivery, Sock then serving out to put the Americans in command.

Lopez and Tsitsipas looked to be in deep trouble as they found themselves an early break down in the second set, but the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC champions showed no intention of going down quietly, breaking back to level at 3-3.

It wasn’t enough to deny Sock and Isner, though. The pair struck again at the tail end of the second set, breaking before serving out to love to complete the win.

The American pair showed nerves of steel throughout as it saved five from six break points faced in the match, assisted by strong serving numbers. According to Infosys ATP Stats, Isner and Sock won 79 per cent (33/42) points behind their first delivery.

Both players possess strong records in Indian Wells, even when not playing together. It is a fifth semi-final appearance for Isner, and a fourth for Sock. The latter also lifted the trophy in 2015 with Vasek Pospisil.

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Isner and Sock can now look forward to a semi-final showdown against Andrey Golubev and Alexander Zverev, who defeated the American duo of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, 6-4, 7-6(3).

The Kazakh-German pairing saved all five break points they faced in the match, with each team winning a sudden-death point on serve in consecutive games midway through the second set.

Golubev and Zverev were lights out on first serve in the contest, winning 87 per cent (41/47) of points in their first deal.

Golubev, the doubles World No. 27, is now two wins away from his first ATP Tour title. He has reached three finals in his career, including two in 2021.

Zverev, the singles World No. 3, is seeking a third ATP Tour doubles title. He won two with his brother Mischa Zverev, in Acapulco in 2019 and Montpellier in 2017, with the pair reaching seven finals from 2015-19.

A return to Stadium 1 at Indian Wells for the first time since clinching a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open could have triggered nerves for Cameron Norrie, but the defending champion had no time for sentimentalities on Wednesday night.

After comfortably moving through his opening rounds with wins on smaller courts over Pedro Martinez and Nikoloz Basilashvili, Norrie produced his best tennis of the tournament on the biggest stage as he downed talented American Jenson Brooksby 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.

“It was really difficult. I love playing on this court, obviously,” said Norrie after extending his winning record at Indian Wells to 9-2. “Jenson’s so tricky and came out with a gameplan and managed to execute from the beginning and didn’t really miss too much. [I had] one slight lapse in concentration in the second set, but [I am] really enjoying my tennis and happy to sneak through another one.”

A high-quality encounter was defined by Norrie’s ability to cause problems on the Brooksby serve as the Brit broke five times on his way to an 11th victory in 12, a remarkable turnaround after a slow start to the season that saw him lose his opening four matches.

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Brooksby has caused problems for a variety of opponents since bursting into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings in 2021, and he secured the biggest win of his career on Monday by beating World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. Norrie appeared to have done his homework for his first ATP Head2Head meeting with the 21-year-old, however, surging into a 4-0 lead early as he clubbed the ball with considerable power from the baseline.

After sealing the opening set, Norrie’s heavy hitting continued in the second, but Brooksby’s creative game started to register some success as he broke early and established a 3-0 lead. Norrie’s continued aggression made life a struggle for the two-time Tour finalist on serve, however. The Brit took Brooksby’s final three service games of the match to hit back and secure victory in one hour, 38 minutes.

The Infosys ATP Stats for the match reflect how the 2021 champion was a constant thorn in the side of the Brooksby serve. Norrie won 57 per cent (16/28) of points against the American’s second delivery, making the fact Brooksby made just 58 per cent of his first serves all the more costly.

“[It was] a little bit of cat and mouse,” said Norrie. “I just backed myself physically, I was trying to make it that the longer the rallies went, I think the better [it was] for me. I just managed to execute and serve a little bit better than him down the stretch and I think that was the difference in that second set.”

Norrie’s title defence continues in the quarter-finals against #NextGenATP prodigy Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-1 earlier on Wednesday. The Brit will try to forget the pair’s sole previous meeting, a straight-sets win for the Spaniard at the 2021 US Open, as he seeks a 14th consecutive win on American soil.

“I’m feeling good physically and I like the conditions here, but I got absolutely whacked by him last time,” said Norrie. “He’s one of the best up-and-coming players, really solid both sides, he won [an ATP 500 event] earlier this year. So he’s confident, and it’s going to be a tough one, but [I am] looking forward to hopefully getting some revenge on him.”

The 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz overwhelmed Gael Monfils Wednesday night in Indian Wells as he powered to yet another breakthrough win in his fast-rising career.

The Spaniard’s 7-5, 6-1 victory sends him into his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, making him the youngest BNP Paribas Open men’s quarter-finalist since 17-year-old Michael Chang in 1989. Now 11-1 on the season, the February Rio de Janeiro champion improves to 16-1 since his Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals title run in November.

Alcaraz’s constant pressure — both on the scoreboard and in the rallies — began to pay off in a big way off late in the opening set. Constantly on the attack with his ground game, he created a break point in three different games in the stanza. On his third chance, he converted with a forehand winner, one of 13 off that wing in the set, to lead 6-5. 

The Spaniard closed the set with ease. He did not face a break point on the night, winning 84 percent (36/43) of his service points in the one-hour, 17-minute contest.

With Monfils on his heels, it was Alcaraz’s touch that earned him an early break in set two. After scrambling well beyond the baseline, Monfils could only watch a drop shot float over the net to put him in a 1-0 hole.

Both men produced heavy hitting throughout, but the Spaniard’s consistent depth and immense spin penetrated the court to far greater effect. While Monfils’ free hitting reaped some early rewards, it was Alcaraz who controlled the bulk of the rallies.

The Frenchman’s game began to break to break down as the Alcaraz assault continued. As more errors crept in, the Spaniard completed a run of seven straight games to run out to a 4-0 lead in the second set. He closed the match with his fourth break of the evening.

Monfils, a champion in Adelaide in January, entered the match on a high after upsetting World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the third round. Many are tipping Alcaraz to reach the top of the ATP Rankings himself, and he showed why in a dominant performance on Stadium 2.

He’ll next face the winner of the day’s last men’s match: 12th seed Cameron Norrie vs. American Jenson Brooksby.

The Grand Slam Board, made up of representatives from all four Slams, announced on Wednesday that there will be a trial of a 10-point tie-break played at 6-6 in the final set at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, beginning in Paris this year.

“Further to extensive consultation with the WTA, ATP, ITF and tennis officiating community, the Grand Slam Board’s decision is based on a strong desire to create greater consistency in the rules of the game at the Grand Slams, and thus enhance the experience for the players and fans alike,” a media release attributed to the Grand Slam Board said.

This format will apply to men’s and women’s singles and doubles, qualifying, as well as wheelchair and junior singles. At the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open, a 10-point tie-break will be contested in lieu of a full final set in mixed doubles, junior doubles and wheelchair doubles. Wimbledon will maintain the same format in those events, with a 10-point tie-break played at 6-6 in the final set.

Before this announcement, the Australian Open was the only major to feature a 10-point tie-break at 6-6 in the final set. At Roland Garros, the final set was played out. At Wimbledon, a 12-point tie-break was played at 12-12 in the final set. At the US Open, a 12-point tie-break was played at 6-6 in the decider.

According to the media release, the Grand Slam Board will review the results of the trial for a full Grand Slam year. This is not yet a permanent change.

“It’s probably good for fans and good for the players if they want to move forward in the tournament,” Taylor Fritz said on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open. “I think if I find myself in one of those in the future I’ll be pretty happy that they have that rule now.”

Former top five stars Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stan Wawrinka have received wild cards into this year’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the tournament announced Tuesday.

Wawrinka is a former champion at the ATP Masters 1000 event, where he lifted the trophy in 2014. The 36-year-old, who has not competed since March last year, will be making his 12th appearance in Monte-Carlo.

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Frenchman Tsonga will join the three-time Grand Slam champion at the clay-court tournament. The 18-time ATP Tour titlist is a two-time semi-finalist in Monte-Carlo, where he made the last four in 2013 and 2016.

So far this season, Tsonga has earned tour-level wins on home soil in Montpellier and Marseille, beating 23-year-old Kacper Zuk and countryman Gilles Simon, respectively.

The third Masters 1000 event of the season will run from Sunday, 10 April through Sunday, 17 April, with World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas the defending champion.

Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios will meet in a blockbuster showdown on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open, their first clash in more than two years.

Nadal currently leads their ATP Head2Head 5-3, but will Kyrgios spring the upset to narrow the deficit in their rivalry? ATPTour.com looks back at the pair’s previous meetings.

2020 Australian Open R16, hard, Nadal d. Kyrgios 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4)
It is clear that Kyrgios brings his best to challenge the likes of Nadal on tennis’ biggest stages. So when the pair walked onto Rod Laver Arena to compete in front of the Aussie’s home crowd, there was little doubt Kyrgios would bring the fight to the legendary Spaniard.

Nadal took control early, but one slip in the second set allowed Kyrgios to dig into the match. And dig he did. The Aussie found a great serving rhythm to push the lefty to the brink, but Nadal was a bit too consistent in the tie-breaks to triumph.

“I’m shattered to have lost tonight,” Kyrgios said. “These are the matches that I want to win the most.”

Rafa was unable to capitalise on his big win, losing a gruelling quarter-final, which lasted more than four hours, against Dominic Thiem in the next round.

^{Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images}
2019 Wimbledon R64, grass, Nadal d. Kyrgios 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3)
Five years on from the pair’s first clash at Wimbledon, Nadal and Kyrgios arrived at Wimbledon at different levels of form. The Spaniard, No. 2 in the ATP Rankings, was fresh off his record-extending 12th Roland Garros title, while the Aussie had won consecutive matches just twice all year.

But Kyrgios had defeated Nadal en route to the Acapulco title earlier in the season, and the World No. 43 did not fear his opponent. He even brought out the underarm serve and threw everything but the SW19 grass at the Spaniard. But Nadal was too solid under pressure, clawing through tie-breaks in the third and fourth sets before eventually reaching the semi-finals, in which he lost against Roger Federer.

“With his talent and with his serve, he can win a Grand Slam, of course,” Nadal said of Kyrgios. “He has the talent to do it.”

^{Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images}
2019 Acapulco R16, hard, Kyrgios d. Nadal 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(6)
Put Kyrgios in a lively atmosphere with fans craving entertainment and a legend across the net, and you will probably be in for a show. It is safe to say the crowd got what it wished for at the 2019 Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

Kyrgios battled hard at the ATP 500 in Mexico, going for his shots against the top seed. Even still, he was in a losing position. Nadal led the final-set tie-break 6/3, but was unable to capitalise on three consecutive match points, with a Kyrgios backhand drop volley at 4/6 hitting the top of the net, but bouncing over. Nick completed the comeback when the Spaniard missed a backhand long on match point.

“That’s what we play for. To come to Acapulco, Centre Court, a packed crowd. They were never silent,” Kyrgios said. “They were cheering Rafa’s name, cheering my name. It’s a match I will never forget.”

It was a week Kyrgios will never forget, as he battled past Stan Wawrinka, John Isner and Alexander Zverev in his next three matches to lift the trophy and complete the most impressive week of his career.

2017 Beijing F, hard, Nadal d. Kyrgios 6-2, 6-1
Nadal nearly lost his opening match at the China Open, where he saved two match points against Lucas Pouille. From there, the recent US Open champion found fire. His performance in the final against Kyrgios was most impressive of all.

The lefty saved all four break points he faced against the Aussie and won an astonishing 52 per cent of his return points against one of the ATP Tour’s best servers to triumph after 92 minutes.

“I have lot of respect for Nick. He’s one of the players with more talent on the Tour,” Nadal said. “Of course, when he’s playing well, when he really wants to play, without a doubt is one of the toughest opponent to play against.”

2017 Cincinnati QF, hard, Kyrgios d. Nadal 6-2, 7-5
The day Kyrgios and Nadal met at the 2017 Western & Southern Open was an interesting one, and not just because they played each other. The pair had to compete twice that day to catch up on the order of play due to rain.

Kyrgios snuck by Ivo Karlovic in three tight sets and Nadal eliminated Albert Ramos-Vinolas just to set their blockbuster later in the day.

“As soon as I finished, I went back to the hotel. I had a nap. Showered up. Went to the barber shop. I chilled,” Kyrgios said. “I knew I had to sort of just chill out for tonight’s match.”

The break apparently worked, as the Aussie came out flying against Nadal. At 5-1, he even took a backhand return from near the service line, much like Federer’s “Sneak Attack By Roger” tactic. Kyrgios let slip one opportunity to serve out the match, but managed to close out his rival in straight sets. The next day he made his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati, where he eventually fell against Grigor Dimitrov.

2017 Madrid R16, clay, Nadal d. Kyrgios 6-3, 6-1
Entering the third round at the Mutua Madrid Open in 2017, Nadal had lost just two sets in his clay-court season. Not even a motivated Kyrgios was able to trouble the Spaniard.

One of the biggest servers in tennis, the Aussie managed to win just 51 per cent of his first-serve points and 45 per cent of his service points overall against Nadal, who cruised to victory in only 72 minutes. 

“I think it’s great news,” Nadal said. “I think it’s not normal to win against an opponent like this because Nick is a really good opponent.”

Nadal followed up his triumph against Kyrgios by defeating three consecutive Top 10 opponents — David Goffin, Djokovic and Dominic Thiem — without dropping a set. The Spaniard later captured his 10th Roland Garros trophy, earning the crown in Paris without losing a set.

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2016 Rome R16, clay, Nadal d. Kyrgios 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4
It took nearly two years for Kyrgios and Nadal to meet for the second time. This time, they clashed on the Spaniard’s favourite surface: clay.

Kyrgios was no longer new on the scene, though. The Australian was up to World No. 20 and fresh off a victory against a Top 10 star in Milos Raonic on the Roman clay. Nadal had won clay-court titles in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona earlier in the season, but he could not gain the upper hand early on.

Nadal was unrelenting, though. He converted four of his 15 break points to battle on after two hours and 40 minutes.

“When you lose a set, I think everybody is worried. If somebody comes here and says, ‘I was not worried after losing the first set’, [they] probably [are] lying,” Nadal said. “When you lose a set, you can lose another one. If you lose the second or the third, you’re out. And especially playing against a player like Nick, that he has a huge serve, very aggressive player, great shots… it’s difficult to play under pressure after losing the first.”

2014 Wimbledon R16, grass, Kyrgios d. Nadal 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3
Welcome to the world, Nick Kyrgios.

Hardcore tennis fans knew the Aussie was on the rise entering Wimbledon. But to the casual fan, Kyrgios was a 19-year-old ranked No. 144 whose run would surely come to an end in the fourth round against Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion.

But the teen, who just two weeks earlier had been playing an ATP Challenger Tour event, looked at home on Centre Court. He put his big serve and bold game to good use on the slick SW19 grass to announce himself as one of the ATP Tour’s brightest young talents.

“That’s the biggest win of my career obviously, and that’s something I’m never going to forget,” Kyrgios said. “I’m going to draw so much confidence out of that no matter where I play now. To have that under my belt, it’s massive.”

^{Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images}