Great Britain’s Andy Murray added to his impressive resume at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday, picking up a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Belgian qualifier David Goffin in the first round at Indian Wells, Calif.
Murray is appearing in the event for the 16th time and improved to 31-15 at Indian Wells. He was dominant throughout, winning 23 of 27 first-serve points without facing a break point for the entirety of the match.
“That’s the best I’ve served here,” Murray said. “I’ve always struggled serving certainly the last 10 years or so when I’ve been here for whatever reason. (Wednesday) felt much better.”
Things didn’t go nearly as well for Murray’s countryman, Jack Draper, who failed to maintain momentum in a 6-1, 3-6, 2-6 loss to Christopher O’Connell of Australia. Argentina’s Pedro Cachin also squandered a lead, allowing German Yannick Hanfmann to advance via a 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-1 win.
Meanwhile, wild card Brandon Nakashima beat Christopher Eubanks 6-3, 7-6 (3) in an all-American matchup. Nakashima recorded five aces in what was his first tour-level match in five months.
“First of all, walking onto this court is super special for me,” Nakashima said. “Playing a guy like Chris, who has a big game, big serve, I knew I just had to do my best to hold my serve and knew I was going to get opportunities on his serve.”
Other winners Wednesday included Taro Daniel of Japan, Italian Matteo Arnaldi, Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis, Fabian Marozsan of Hungary and Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko.
Seven more matches were set for later Wednesday but rain interrupted play in the late afternoon Pacific Time.
–Field Level Media
