Indian Wells: Carlos Alcaraz powers into last 16; Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys advance

Carlos Alcaraz continued his title defence at Indian Wells with a commanding 6-2, 6-4 victory over Denis Shapovalov on Monday. The world number three from Spain secured his spot in the round of 16 by breaking Shapovalov's serve in the opening game and establishing a dominant 5-0 lead.
"I knew at the beginning of the match that I had to be really focused. I had to start the match really strong, knowing it was going to be a really tough battle," Alcaraz said.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Alcaraz demonstrated strong defensive skills by saving three of four break points while converting four of his eight opportunities. He concluded the match with an overhead shot that Shapovalov barely reached.

The Spanish player expressed satisfaction with his performance but noted room for improvement as he aims to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men to win three consecutive titles at Indian Wells.

Taylor Fritz, the 2022 Indian Wells champion and world number four, overcame Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
"For the first set and a half, I just, for no reason, was just missing balls. I couldn't even imagine, I don't know why I was missing them," Fritz said.
Francisco Cerundolo defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, ending the Dutch lucky loser's run after his upset victory over Novak Djokovic. Cerundolo will face Australian Alex De Minaur, who defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-0.
While several top men's seeds have been eliminated, including Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, and Novak Djokovic, the women's top five seeds have all advanced to the fourth round.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka defeated Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-2 in windy conditions.
"I had to fight for every point and I'm super happy with the win," said Sabalenka, who will next face British lucky loser Sonay Kartal.
Madison Keys advanced after a challenging match against Elise Mertens, winning 6-2, 6-7 (8/10), 6-4.
"It's just about surviving," Keys said. "Today, obviously, I don't think I played my best level, and I think that was more frustrating just because I'm starting to expect a little bit more of myself."

Coco Gauff improved her performance to defeat Maria Sakkari 7-6 (7/1), 6-2, showing better control of her serve compared to her previous match.
"Resilience I guess," Gauff said of what she'll take from the win. "Overall it was much better than the previous match."
Gauff reduced her double faults from 21 in her previous match to nine against Sakkari, with six occurring in the final game. Sakkari, who had defeated Gauff in last year's semifinals, was unable to replicate her success.
Kartal advanced by defeating Polina Kudermetova 7-5, 6-3, setting up her match against Sabalenka. Keys required two hours and 48 minutes to secure her victory after failing to convert four match points.