Zverev and Raducanu eliminated from the BNP Paribas Open
-
AFP, INDIAN WELLS, CA
World number 3 Alexander Zverev crashed out at the ATP Indian Wells Masters on Sunday, knocked out in their opener 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2) by American Tommy Paul, 39th in the standings.
After losing a first set in which Paul ruthlessly punished his second serve, Germany’s Zverev leveled the match with the only break in the second set of game 10.
After holding his serve three times and breaking Paul in game six of the third, Zverev looked set to win, but the German immediately served four double faults to get the break back, and Paul dominated the tiebreaker with the same aggressiveness he showed in the first set.
Photo: AFP
“I played at a very high level today,” said Paul, who picked up the biggest win of his career. “I knew how I wanted to play it, so I went out and executed well.”
Zverev was playing his first tournament since being disqualified from the Mexican Open in Acapulco after losing his temper and repeatedly smashing his racket into the referee’s chair.
The 24-year-old Tokyo Olympic gold medalist was fined US$40,000 for verbal abuse and unsportsmanlike conduct. Another US$25,000 fine and an eight-week ban were suspended on condition that he not commit another code violation for 12 months.
In the other men’s second round, 31st seed Alexander Bublik sent former world number one Andy Murray packing with a 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 win over the three-time Grand Slam champion .
More disappointment for Murray’s British compatriot Emma Raducanu, beaten in the third round by Croatian Petra Martic 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 7-5.
The 19-year-old Briton, who won an unlikely US Open title as a qualifier last year, served for the match at 5-4 in the third.
The 13th seed was unable to muster a match point and lost the next three games, a series of forehand errors spelling the end of his challenge in a final loss of serve.
It was the latest setback for Raducanu, who was ousted in the second round of the Australian Open in January and suffered a hip injury in Guadalajara last month.
Martic, ranked 79th in the world, picked up her first victory against a top-20 player in more than two years.
Poland’s third-seeded Iga Swiatek, the highest-ranked player remaining on the women’s side, struggled early but dominated late in a 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-1 victory on the Danish Clara Tauson.
Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. The final decision will be at the discretion of The Taipei Times.