Novak Djokovic gets past Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets on Tuesday in Indian Wells. Djokovic is joined in the fourth round by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Milos Raonic.
(1) Novak Djokovic d. (31) Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(4), 6-1
Djokovic turned in a second consecutive lackluster performance at the BNP Paribas Open but he had enough to get past Dimitrov in one hour and eight minutes during third-round action on Tuesday. Dimitrov got off to a fast start by breaking at 2-1 in the first set when his opponent’s forehand and backhand completely broke down. The Bulgarian, however, utterly collapsed while serving for the opener at 5-3–double-faulting away the entire game.
From there it was all over for Dimitrov. He held his next service game but managed just four points in the ensuing tiebreaker. It got worse from there even though Djokovic did not raise his level to a particularly high standard in the second. The top-ranked Serb broke for 2-0 and was off to the races at the expense of a reeling Dimitrov. Djokovic will battle Sam Querrey for a place in the quarterfinals.
(8) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. (32) Mardy Fish 7-6(4), 7-6(0)
Tsonga came out on top in a pair of tiebreakers to subdue Fish after two hours and eight minutes on Tuesday. Fish had chances the entire way, including in the first set when he got a look at five break points. Tsonga saved one midway through the opener with a winner off the net cord and he also delivered clutch holds at 4-5 and 5-6 to stay alive.
Fish, who fought off one break point in the first game of the match, seized a mini-break for 4-3 in the decider with a running backhand pass. The 31-year-old American, however, gave it away via an error then double-faulted to fall behind in the blink of an eye. Tsonga took care of his next two service points to steal the set.
Another tiebreaker had to decide the second, which progressed in much different fashion. Fish stormed ahead 4-0 but once again could not maintain a lead. Tsonga broke back twice for 4-4, promptly donated his own serve, then broke back again–at love–to eventually force the ‘breaker. With momentum in hand there was no slowing down this time and the eighth-ranked Frenchman won the last seven points of the match to clinch victory in style.
(17) Milos Raonic d. (12) Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Raonic overcame Cilic in one hour and 57 minutes to book his spot in the Indian Wells fourth round on Tuesday afternoon. Both players were inconsistent at best, and for a while Raonic was nothing short of hopeless. The 17th-ranked Canadian won just one of 12 second-serve points in the first set and did not come close to breaking his opponent, so one break was all Cilic needed in the opener.
Cilic missed two break chances early in the second and from there it was his turn to play disastrous tennis. The 12th-ranked Croat cracked with the pressure on at 4-5 and he also dropped serve early in the third. Raonic held comfortably the rest of the way, surrendering only five points in his last five service games. Next up for Raonic is a rematch of an Olympic thriller against Tsonga.
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