With all eight fourth-round matches played on Tuesday at the BNP Paribas Open, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Tommy Paul might have saved the best for last. In one of two three-setters on the day — the other a thrilling win for Daniil Medvedev against Alexander Zverev — Auger-Aliassime fought off six match points to edge the American 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6).

Next up for the eighth seed in his first Indian Wells quarter-final: a Thursday showdown with Carlos Alcaraz, who moved past Jack Draper via a second-set retirement earlier in the night.

With the stunning victory, Auger-Aliassime has now reached the quarters at each of the past six ATP Masters 1000 events, including his current run. He has advanced to that stage at seven of the nine Masters 1000s on the calendar, with Monte Carlo and Shanghai the lone exceptions.

“I always stayed positive, I kept my hopes up, I kept thinking, ‘OK, I’m not that far, I can come back,'” a relieved Auger-Aliassime said of his great escape against Paul. “At the end, when you’re down 0/40 on your serve, you know that… ‘OK if I win this first one, serve well, then again, then again, we’re back on even terms.’

“You just kind of take it one by one. It’s very cliche to say but it still works; that’s the proof. I’m really happy to get through. It’s a crazy feeling.”

In his first ATP Head2Head meeting with the surging American, Auger-Aliassime was battling from behind all evening, dropping the first set and trailing 0-3 in the third. After levelling the decider at 3-3, he stared down three match points at 0/40 while serving at 5-6.

Behind some timely big serves, the 22-year-old won five straight points to force a tie-break. But some inspired play from Paul brought up three more match points at 6/3 after he scored five straight points of his own.

Yet another five-point run ended the match, with the Canadian erasing the last of the six match points on return at 5/6.

The desert crowd played its part in the drama by providing endless support to both men, despite the match finishing near midnight local time. Even though he was facing an American, Auger-Aliassime felt the love from the many Canadians in the stands.

“It’s great. I thought it was 50/50,” he said of the support. “It was good for both of us, sometimes chanting for him, sometimes for me, and at the end they were just pushing both of us. They were thrilled by the suspense, by the show. But it’s so nice to come here every year and to see so many Canadian flags and support from back home.”

Before he takes on Alcaraz in the quarters, Auger-Aliassime will team up with countryman Denis Shapovalov in Wednesday’s doubles quarter-finals.

“It’s a special tournament so far,” said the Canadian, who will bid to improve to 3-0 in his ATP Head2Head with Alcaraz when he returns to the singles court.

Main-draw action at the Phoenix Challenger got off to a roaring start Tuesday as two of the Top-5 seeds were upset in the opening round. Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis ousted Jiri Lehecka before World No. 80 Nuno Borges got past second seed Diego Schwartzman under the lights at the Arizona Tennis Classic.

Fresh off an Indian Wells clash against World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, Kokkinakis made the trip to Arizona after falling to the Spaniard. On Tuesday, the 26-year-old won 37 of 45 first serve points to defeat fifth seed Lehecka 7-6(5), 6-4.

“Stoked to get it done,” Kokkinakis said. “He’s going to be a very good player for years to come. He’s explosive, has a lot of firepower, very athletic. He’s playing some great tennis this year, he made the quarter-finals at the Australian Open. I had to kind of weather the storm, the conditions are very slow here. I just tried to stay patient and out grind him.”

Borges stayed consistent from the baseline and punished World No. 38 Schwartzman’s deep court positioning to earn the highest-ranked win of his career and upset the second seed 7-5, 6-3. The Portuguese No. 1, who won last month’s Monterrey Challenger, awaits the winner of Pedro Martinez and Roman Safiullin.

In other main-draw action, fourth seed Alexander Bublik defeated defending Phoenix Challenger champion Denis Kudla 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-2. The Kazakh will next face lucky loser Rinky Hijikata or Chinese star Zhizhen Zhang.

Jannik Sinner broke new ground at the BNP Paribas Open Tuesday night, progressing to the quarter-finals for the first time after fourth-round runs in each of the past two years. The Italian won a big-hitting battle with Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4, though the match was much closer than the score suggests.

“The scoreline is wrong today,” Sinner said of its one-sided nature, alluding to Wawrinka’s nine break points in the match. “I felt like we both were playing very well, long rallies, and he was getting every time very close. I got lucky a little bit there at 4-3 [in the second set] when I was serving, he [barely] missed the return.

“Things can change so quickly. I’m very happy to be in the next round but obviously it was a very, very tough match today.”

Now 15-3 on the young season, Sinner has reached the quarter-finals or better in four of his six 2023 events, including his title run in Montpellier. With perfect six-for-six record in sets this tournament, he is bidding for his eighth ATP Tour trophy and his first at the ATP Masters 1000 level. A Thursday matchup against defending champion Taylor Fritz is up next.

While the powerful and aggressive baseline games of both men took centre stage on Stadium 3, Sinner’s agility and defence made the difference in the one-hour, 40-minute victory. In a match full of deuce games and a combined 23 break chances, Sinner saved eight of nine break points on serve to frustrate Wawrinka — including all five in the first set and two from 15/40 at 4-3 in the second.

From 0-2 in set two, Sinner won four straight games to regain control of the match, converting on his seventh break chance of a marathon 2-2 game to move decisively ahead. He won 10 of 14 break points overall as he improved to 3-2 in his ATP Head2Head series with Wawrinka, with wins in their past three matches (Wimbledon 2022, Rotterdam 2023).

After edging the tricky Adrian Mannarino on Monday, Sinner was able groove on Wawrinka’s heavier groundstrokes as he found his rhythm in the desert.

“Every match is different,” he explained. “The match before I struggled a little bit with the backhand. Today was completely different. I had a little bit of a higher ball so I could go really through the ball, so I’m very happy about that.

“I feel I can improve a couple of things. Today I was not serving so well… Tomorrow I have a day off so I have a couple of practice sessions and hopefully I’m going to be ready for after tomorrow.”

Sinner lost his lone previous ATP Head2Head meeting with Fritz in straight sets in the October 2021 edition of the BNP Paribas Open. They will square off on the Indian Wells stadium court for the first time on Thursday with a place in the semi-finals at stake.

Carlos Alcaraz moved to within three victories of a return to World No. 1 after advancing to the BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals for the second straight year on Tuesday night. The Spaniard led Jack Draper 6-2, 2-0 when the Briton was forced to retire with an abdominal injury that first affected him late in his Monday win against Andy Murray.

After wishing his opponent a speedy recovery, Alcaraz gave a positive review of his performance in the 46 minutes of play on the night: “I felt the ball really well. I’m really happy with that part,” he assessed. “I would say I returned well, I hit great shots. I finished the match with confidence in my shots, to come into the next round with more confidence.”

The pair’s second ATP Head2Head meeting started with all the fireworks of their previous matchup, which Alcaraz narrowly won in a tight third set last October in Basel. Both men produced highlight-reel shots early, but Alcaraz had more success in the routine points as he took an early 2-0 lead, escaping 0/40 in his opening service game with timely power plays.

As the match wore on, Draper’s abdominal issue hampered his serve — which dropped well below 100 mph — and his movement. After a visit from the physio in between sets, he won just one point in the first two games of the second set before retiring to give Alcaraz his 101st tour-level win.

After a respectful handshake and some warm words at the net, Alcaraz wrote well-wishes on the TV camera: “Get well soon Jack!!” He will face Felix Auger-Aliassime or Tommy Paul next in his bid to return to the desert semi-finals.

Despite the pressure of being the tournament’s top seed as he chases the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the in-demand 19-year-old continues to take it all in stride — though it’s not as easy as it looks.

“Honestly, the nerves are there. But you have to handle that, and I would say I handled the nerves really well,” he said. “That’s the goal for me, to show that I’m relaxed, to play relaxed. It’s something that I am practising for as well, to play my game, relaxing. If I lose, I lose, but I want to feel relaxed on court.”

Taylor Fritz won his ninth consecutive BNP Paribas Open match on Tuesday, doing so with extra flair.

The American hit a reverse serve — one with the spin of a lefty’s slice out wide in the Ad court — en route to a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Marton Fucsovics for a place in the Indian Wells quarter-finals. The fourth seed will next play 11th seed Jannik Sinner or former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka.

“I had to kind of just fight through a lot of games. I didn’t really at times have an answer for it, so I just had to tough it out and get points where I could,” Fritz said. “I was just able to find a way through.”

Fritz battled through a 22-point game at 2-0 in the second set, finishing it off with a point he started using the reverse serve. The home favourite did not use the trick shot to entertain the crowd, though. Fritz was desperately searching for ways to discomfort his Hungarian opponent.

“That was a super, super long game we were having. I couldn’t seem to win it even when I was making first serves on my game points. I felt like the balls were just super blown up and I was against the wind. Even if I hit my spot and hit a good serve I feel like he was returning it,” Fritz said. “I just got to the point where I was like, ‘Nothing else is working so I might as well just do my reverse serve, and maybe that will.’ I was just kind of at the point where nothing else was working so I might as well try it. I ended up winning the point, so I guess it worked out.”

It was a far trickier match than the scoreline implies, but Fritz ultimately clawed into the last eight after one hour and 41 minutes. Down to No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings because he is defending 1,000 points from his title run, the American appears truly at home in the California desert.

“I feel like it just that energy around this week, playing my home tournament. It is slower conditions, but it gives me a lot of time to be able to set up and usually just play attacking tennis,” Fritz said. “I really couldn’t tell you a specific reason why I do so well here, probably just the whole feeling around it.”

Former champion Cameron Norrie continued his love affair with the BNP Paribas Open Tuesday when he defeated Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in Indian Wells.

The Briton lifted the biggest trophy of his career at the hard-court event in 2021 and moved to within three wins of matching that feat this week after producing one of his best performances of the season to defeat Rublev after 75 minutes.

The 10th seed absorbed Rublev’s power, redirecting the ball to find stunning angles as he pushed the sixth seed wide. Norrie converted all five of his break points, serving out the match at the second time of asking to earn his eighth consecutive win and level his ATP Head2Head series against Rublev at 2-2.

The 27-year-old lefty, who defeated World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz to lift the trophy in Rio de Janeiro last month, has now earned 21 wins in 2023, including four Top 10 victories. Norrie will continue the quest for his sixth tour-level title when he faces American Frances Tiafoe or Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo in the last eight.

Rublev was aiming to improve on his 9-1 record against left handers since the start of 2022, having defeated Ugo Humbert in the third round. The 25-year-old is 11-7 on the year, with his best result a run to the final in Dubai.

Down but not out, Daniil Medvedev extended his red-hot winning streak to 17 matches Tuesday when he recovered from a heavy fall to defeat Alexander Zverev at the BNP Paribas Open.

The fifth seed took a tumble when moving out wide at 2-3 in the second set, yelping in pain as he rolled his right ankle. However, after having his ankle taped, he continued and turned the match around, capturing victory on his second match point to earn a statement 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5 victory against the 12th-seeded German.

“When I twisted [my ankle], I thought I was going to stand up just fine,” Medvedev said. “But then the pain started growing very fast, so I was like ‘That is not a good sign.’ I felt like I didn’t break it but I felt that one of the ligaments was a little injured, so I thought I wasn’t going to be able to play. It was one of the first times in my life that the physio had taped my ankle, so I decided to give it a try. What was surprising was it was much easier to run than walk. So when I was walking I was limping and then I was running fine.

“When the adrenaline goes down, it will be pretty painful, so I am going to probably do a scan to see what it is and if I can continue to play.”

_{^{Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}}

_{^{Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}}

In the 13th chapter of their rivalry, the aggressive fifth seed struck 40 winners and also demonstrated his trademark defensive skills. He stood deep behind the baseline to soak up Zverev’s hitting, cutting down on errors as the match went on to wear down the German and reach the quarter-finals in Indian Wells for the first time.

Down but not out 💪

After a nasty fall, @DaniilMedwed goes on the attack. #InAttack 15% more than his match average through to the end of the set.

Bought himself time to recover and a place in the 1/4 finals against @alexdavidovich1 #TennisInsights | @BNPPARIBASOPEN pic.twitter.com/HKIwVDOydH

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) March 14, 2023

After losing the opening set, Medvedev saved all 10 break points he faced in the second set, twice rallying from 0/40. He then levelled the match in the tie-break, producing a stunning defensive smash at 1/1. In the third set, Medvedev recovered from squandering a match point on serve at 5-4, with Zverev breaking back. Medvedev would not be denied, though, breaking again when Zverev hit a double fault, before he held serve to advance after three hours and 16 minutes.

The 27-year-old now leads Zverev 7-6 in their ATP Head2Head series, avenging his loss against the German in the title match at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals.

Medvedev, currently No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, is chasing his fourth consecutive title, having triumphed in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai in the past month. He will continue his quest in California against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Zverev missed the second half of last season after suffering a right ankle injury during his Roland Garros semi-final against Rafael Nadal. The 25-year-old struggled to find his best level when returning to Tour in January, but has produced more consistent performances in recent weeks, advancing to the semi-finals in Dubai before his run to the fourth round in Indian Wells.

Davidovich Fokina downed Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-4 to end the Chilean’s run. The Spaniard dominated throughout the 85-minute clash, striking 20 winners and breaking four times to reach his third ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Davidovich Fokina, who advanced to the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo in 2021 and the championship match in 2022, is up two spots to No. 26 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He reached a career-high No. 27 in April last year.

Garin had not dropped a set en route to the fourth round, taking out third seed Casper Ruud after coming through qualifying in Indian Wells.

The Miami Open presented by Itau announced that Zizou Bergs, Taro Daniel, Emilio Nava and Shang Juncheng will join Dominic Thiem as main draw wild cards at the season’s second ATP Masters 1000 event.

The most in-form player of the group is Daniel, who advanced to the quarter-finals in Acapulco as a qualifier before qualifying in Indian Wells and reaching the third round behind an upset of 20th seed Matteo Berrettini.

Nava and Shang competed in the Miami main draw last year, losing in the first round. Bergs will make his Masters 1000 debut.

Thiem will return to Miami for the first time since 2019. The Austrian owns a 7-5 record at the tournament, where he advanced to the quarter-finals in 2015.

Tournament organisers also awarded qualifying wild cards to Benoit Paire, Abdullah Shelbayh, Martin Damm, Learner Tien and Alexander Blockx.