In a flawless and dominating display, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning champion of Indian Wells and the world’s number 2, secured his spot in the round of 16 this Sunday, a stage that Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo will not see after losing a thrilling match to American Ben Shelton.
Alcaraz breezed past Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 31) with scores of 6-2 and 6-3 in just one hour and seventeen minutes. His next opponent in the round of 16 will be Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (No. 58), who advanced by defeating Chilean Nicolás Jarry (No. 24) in the second round and Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (No. 65) on Sunday. The Hungarian surprised many last year in Rome when he clinched an unexpected victory against Alcaraz in the third round with scores of 6-3 and 7-6 (4), in their only prior encounter.
Meanwhile, Cerúndolo (No. 22) faced a tough challenge in the third round against Shelton (No.16), one of the most promising stars in American tennis and a semifinalist at the last U.S. Open. In an epic duel lasting two hours and forty-three minutes, the final match of the day in Indian Wells which concluded nearly at 11:30 PM, Shelton ultimately won with scores of 7-6(5), 3-6, and 7-6(5).
Argentinian representation also saw the departure of Nadia Podoroska (No. 84), who was defeated 6-1 and 6-1 in just over an hour by Russian Anastasia Potapova (No. 33). Sebastian Báez (No. 19) remains the only Argentinian in the first Masters 1000 of the year, having started 2024 strongly with titles in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile. On Monday, he will face American Taylor Fritz (No.12), the 2022 Indian Wells champion who defeated Spaniard Rafa Nadal in the final.
Beyond the Spanish-speaking players, Sunday saw several contenders advance to the round of 16, such as Italian Jannik Sinner (No. 3 and still undefeated this year), German Alexander Zverev (No. 6), and Australian Alex de Minaur (No. 10). However, Russian Andrey Rublev (No. 5) was ousted by Czech Jiri Lehecka (No. 32).
