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3rd Round Of Paribas Tennis Open Underway: Must See Matches
The BNP Paribas Open continues with Alcaraz, Fritz, Sabalenka, Gauff matches.
INDIAN WELLS, CA — The third round of the BNP Paribas Open is set to wrap up Monday, with eight spots each in the men's and women's singles tournaments up for grabs.
Second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending tennis champion from Spain, will face Canadian challenger Denis Shapovalov at 6 p.m. Monday on Court 1. Both players are set to face each other for the second time in their careers, with the Spaniard having prevailed in straight sets at the 2023 French Open.
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Taylor Fritz, the No. 3 seed and 2022 champion, will share the court with No. 30 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile. Fritz is one of four Americans looking to join fellow countrymen Marcos Giron and No. 10 Tommy Paul in the next round.
Alcaraz and Fritz are among the favorites remaining on the men's side, with top-seeded Alexander Zverev having lost his first match Friday to unseeded Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor, who has already advanced to the Round of 16. No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, who lost to Alcaraz in the finals each of the last two years, is also in the running.
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In the women's draw, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has a showdown with Italian Lucia Bronzetti. The defending U.S. Open Champion has found success on hard courts, winning WTA 1000 titles last year in Cincinnati and Wuhan, but has only managed one finals appearance at Indian Wells -- a 2023 loss to Kazakhstani rival Elena Rybakina.
No. 3 Coco Gauff has shown improvement in each of her last three Indian Wells campaigns, reaching the semifinals in 2024. At 1 p.m., she faces the player who eliminated her during that run, two-time runner-up Maria Sakkari of Greece. Despite being the 29th seed, Sakkari owns a 5-3 head-to-head record against the American.
Madison Keys, the fifth-seeded American who captured her first career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, will play the day's first match at 11 a.m. Sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini of Italy is scheduled to end the day's slate of matches with an 8 p.m. contest against Jaqueline Cristian.
Other players who have already reached the fourth round include No. 4 Jessica Pegula and No. 7 Rybakina.
Each singles final will be contested Sunday. A full scoreboard can be viewed at bnpparibasopen.com.