Former world No. 1 Andy Murray of Great Britain failed to take advantage of an early lead and lost 7-6 (3), 6-1 to fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Friday in Indian Wells, Calif.
Murray had four set points on Rublev’s serve at 4-5 in the opening set but couldn’t convert. Rublev subsequently rolled through the tiebreaker and dominated the second set.
“He had a lot of chances in the first set and I was lucky to win. Had I lost it, it would have been really, really tough,” Rublev said. “After the first set, I felt more confidence and I knew that it would be even tougher for Andy to keep up his consistency.”
Sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany survived two tight sets to top Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 6-4, 6-4.
Zverev got the only service break of the first set in the final game. The players exchanged breaks in the middle of the second set, and then Zverev again logged a break in the last game to wrap up the victory.
“For me, he is a very difficult opponent. He has a lot of shots that are uncomfortable for me,” Zverev said. “I’m extremely happy to be in winning ways again. Definitely happy to win in two sets.”
Many of the seeded players got into action on Friday in the second round after the top 32 all received first-round byes.
No. 3 Jannik Sinner of Italy had little trouble with Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis, winning 6-3, 6-0. No. 10 Alex de Minaur of Australia blitzed Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-2, and No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece crushed French qualifier Lucas Pouille 6-3, 6-2.
No. 16 Ben Shelton of the United States, 21, came from behind to beat 18-year-old Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
No. 20 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, No. 22 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, No. 27 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands and No. 31 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada also advanced. Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan upset No. 24 Nicolas Jarry of Chile 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
–Field Level Media
