Carlos Alkaraz got his Indian well “three peat” campaign off the ground, bringing his third round of Monday to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Dennis Shapovalov.
Second seed Alkaraz won the first five matches and sent over 10 winners in the opening set alone as Shapovalov (a new victory after a confident victory in Dallas).
Alcaraz never faced a break with a near-perfect second set, hugging his love in the final game, squeezing his third round match with a powerful overhead smash within 90 minutes.
“At the beginning of the match I knew I had to really focus. I had to start a really strong match knowing it was going to be a really tough fight,” Alkaraz said.
The four-time major champion is aiming to become the third man to win three straight titles in the Masters 1000 tournament after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic who crashed in the second round.
“I’m really happy about my performance today, everything I did,” Alcaraz said. “There’s very little to improve, but I’m really happy.”
He faces Grigor Dimitrov in the 16th round after the No. 14 seed defeated Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (2) in a three-hour battle that ended just before midnight local time.
Right-handed Dimitrov rose 3-1 in the third set when his forehand bleed after hitting his left thumb. He continued after receiving treatment, but lost the next three games, then fought back to force a tiebreak to seal the victory.
Earlier on Monday, Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton gave home fans a lot to cheer, tame the damp conditions of the California Desert winds, reaching the fourth round.
2022 BNP Paribas Open Champion and third seed Fritz overcame a slow start to beat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
He said he was hoping for a tough fight in the next round against British Jack Draper.
“It’s going to be a tough game. I think it’s a tough draw to bring him to the 16 round as a top-four seed. He’s a very good player,” Fritz said. “I think he’s probably better than his rankings… we have some tight ones.”
The 22-year-old Shelton set up a crowd when he played with the power and calm to defeat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-5, despite handling the blisters in his hands.
Droping a break in the second set, Shelton won the final four games of the match, clinching it with one of eight aces and a strong cheer. He plays fellow American Brandon Nakajima in 16 rounds.
Reuters contributed to this report.