Australian Nick Kyrgios arrived at the BNP Paribas Open fresh off an impressive run to the title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, where he defeated World No. 2 Rafael Nadal, former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka and reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev. Based on his level, it appeared Kyrgios could challenge anyone across the net from him.

But Kyrgios could not beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber on Saturday. Kohlschreiber defeated the 31st seed 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes, evening their FedEx ATP Head2Head series at 1-1.

Entering the week, Kohlschreiber had not won a match, outside of Davis Cup, since the first round of the Australian Open. But he has dropped only 12 games en route to the third round, after also defeating in-form Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Kohlschreiber is into the third round at Indian Wells for the 10th time. Last year’s quarter-finalist could face top seed Novak Djokovic, who begins his tournament Saturday evening against home favourite Bjorn Fratangelo. While Kyrgios has won both of his FedEx ATP Head2Head matches against Djokovic, the Serbian leads Kohlschreiber 8-1 in their rivalry, including a 3-0 record at the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the year.

In the same section of the draw, 18th seed Gael Monfils battled past Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 59 minutes. The Frenchman advances to face Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who ousted 15th seed Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-2.

Monfils is in good form, having lifted his eighth ATP Tour trophy at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. The 32-year-old was also impressive in reaching the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, another ATP 500 event.

Monfils lost just six service points in the deciding set against Mayer, taking advantage of the Argentine’s low first-serve percentage (29%) to reach the third round in Indian Wells for his fifth straight appearance.

Since playing in the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals, Borna Coric has only climbed the ATP Rankings. He started 2018 at No. 48 but finished the season at No. 12. Where will he finish 2019?

Coric, who faces countryman Ivo Karlovic on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open, sat down with ATPTour.com to talk about his tennis racquet stringing skills (nonexistent), how good of a cook he is (OK) and why he couldn’t wait to meet Mike Tyson (respect).

I missed a flight?
When I was coming to Toronto [in July], I missed a flight from Frankfurt to Toronto and I needed to stay there for one night… Our flight from Zagreb to Frankfurt was delayed for two and a half hours, and this flight was right after two hours, so we just couldn’t make it.

I lost something important?
I need to ask my coach. I have a pretty big team, and they always follow me around so they pick up things that I lose, which is a lot.

But I really take care of my things, which are very important. I lose many non-important things, maybe T-shirts or sweatbands or something. But important stuff I don’t lose.

Read more in the ‘Last Time’ series: Federer | Kyrgios | Tsitsipas

I paid money to rent a tennis court or buy tennis balls?
Ten years ago, when I was 12 years old and I was still playing in my hometown and we needed to pay for the courts… It was a national tennis centre in Zagreb… It was maybe 10€.

I strung a tennis racquet?
Never.

I cooked for myself and others?
I don’t cook often. I do cook sometimes, like eggs for breakfast. But that’s the only thing that I know how to cook, to be honest, and some pasta. Last time was probably when I was in Monte-Carlo, when I was practising in February. I was practising there for like seven days, I was there by myself in this one apartment so I needed to cook in the morning.

They were OK. I do alright eggs, scrambled. It’s not tough, obviously, but I do alright. I just put a little prosciutto on it, and that’s it.

I met a childhood idol?
Indian Wells 2016, Mike Tyson… [As a kid] I was watching his fights and I just find him very entertaining, I loved the way he was fighting. It was really cool. I always wanted to meet him.

Watch: Coric Meets Tyson In Indian Wells

Three years ago, Novak Djokovic was pushed to the brink by an unseeded American named Bjorn Fratangelo at the BNP Paribas Open. On Saturday, they meet again on the same stage. 

Fratangelo will seek revenge as they open the night session on Stadium 1, exactly three years following Djokovic’s 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 comeback win in the 2016 second round. The top-seeded Serbian is bidding for a record sixth Indian Wells crown and to extend his stranglehold atop the ATP Rankings.

Last year in Indian Wells, Djokovic lost his opener to 109th-ranked qualifier Taro Daniel. What a difference a year makes. He returns as the World No. 1 and champion of the past three Grand Slam tournaments and two of the last three ATP Masters 1000 events. Djokovic has not played since winning his seventh Australian Open title on 27 January.

Kicking off the action on Stadium 1 is a tantalising #NextGenATP clash between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime. In what could be a prelude to the Next Gen ATP Finals in November, they will meet for the first time in their professional careers. The Canadian took all three junior encounters, including a semi-final meeting at the 2016 US Open. 

Auger-Aliassime is one of four teens in the draw, along with countryman Denis Shapovalov, Alexei Popyrin and lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic. Kecmanovic received the last minute entry when Kevin Anderson withdrew due to an elbow injury and will open against Maximilian Marterer on Stadium 5.

Meanwhile, recent ATP 500 champions Gael Monfils (Rotterdam), Laslo Djere (Rio de Janeiro) and Nick Kyrgios (Acapulco) will all commence their campaigns. Monfils, a quarter-finalist in 2016, opens against Leonardo Mayer, while Djere will appear in his second Masters 1000 main draw after capturing the attention of the ATP Tour in Rio. And Kyrgios looks to extend his win streak when he faces Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Also in action are third seed Alexander Zverev and seventh seed Dominic Thiem. The German is making his fourth main draw appearance in Indian Wells and is in search of a fourth different Masters 1000 shield. He opens against Martin Klizan. Thiem kicks off his bid against Jordan Thompson in the night session on Stadium 2.

Also, American qualifier Marcos Giron looks to continue his Cinderella run in his ATP Masters 1000 debut when he faces Alex de Minaur. It will be the first match on Stadium at 11am. Giron, a Southern California native and former UCLA standout, is meeting the #NextGenATP Aussie for the first time. One year ago, De Minaur scored his first Masters 1000 match win in a deciding tie-break (d. Struff).

Top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut were made to work in their opener at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday. The Frenchmen rallied past home hopes John Isner and Sam Querrey 6-7(3), 6-4, 12-10, saving one match point.

With their backs against the wall, the 2016 champions saved a match point at 10/9 in the Match Tie-break, reeling off three straight points to prevail after one hour and 35 minutes. Herbert and Mahut are coming off a 13th team title at the Australian Open, where they also completed the Career Grand Slam together.

In other action, Nick Kyrgios and Taylor Fritz enjoyed their first taste of victory as a team on Friday, surging into the second round in Indian Wells. The wild card tandem bounced Steve Johnson and Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1 in just 67 minutes, firing four aces and converting six of 12 break chances. Kyrgios and Fritz are competing together for the second time, following a first-round exit at the 2018 Brisbane International.

The Aussie-American duo will next face sixth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, after the Polish-Brazilian team rallied past Wesley Koolhof and Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(1), 7-6(1), 10-5. Runners-up in 2017, Kubot and Melo are looking to add Indian Wells to their growing ATP Masters 1000 trophy case, which also includes Miami, Madrid, Shanghai and Paris.

Also moving on in the desert are fifth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. The Colombian team overcame German brothers Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev 5-7, 6-3, 10-5. And Michael Venus and Raven Klaasen set a second-round date with Ben McLachlan and Jan-Lennard Struff. Klaasen won the Indian Wells title in 2017 alongside Rajeev Ram.

Photo: Kontinen/Peers (Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour)

Henri Kontinen and John Peers kicked off their quest for a fourth Masters 1000 title and first in the California desert. They defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili and Artem Sitak 6-1, 6-4 in an efficient 51 minutes. The Finnish-Aussie duo owns Masters 1000 shields in each of the past three seasons (Paris 2016, Shanghai 2017 and Toronto 2018).

The BNP Paribas Open is known for its unusual doubles pairings and Friday featured yet another, as Novak Djokovic and Fabio Fognini joined Kyrgios and Fritz in the winners’ circle. The Serbian-Italian tandem defeated Jeremy Chardy and Milos Raonic 7-6(5), 6-1. They could face second seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares next.