Down a set and a service break, second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas came from behind to beat Italy’s Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
Fognini, the 25th seed, captured the first set quickly and jumped ahead by breaking Tsitsipas’ serve for a 2-1 lead in the second set. However, Tsitsipas immediately broke back and won five of the next six games to level the match.
Tsitsipas saved two break points early in the final set, then got the decisive break for a 3-2 lead before serving out the match.
Tsitsipas, a 23-year-old Greece native, owns seven career ATP Tour titles, but he has never won an outdoor hard-court tournament such as Indian Wells. He fell in the third round of the U.S. Open last month, losing to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in three sets.
Third-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany lost the first three games of his match against Great Britain’s Andy Murray but stormed back to win 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Murray dropped the opening point of the second-set tiebreaker, and each player won the remaining points his serve, which was enough for Zverev to seal the victory.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, is currently ranked No. 121 as he aims to come back from injuries.
“He’s the only one of the Big Four that I hadn’t beaten yet, so I’m happy that I’ve done it today,” Zverev said, referencing Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Murray. “Obviously it was a fantastic match. I thought Andy played extremely well, maybe as well as he’s played since the (hip) surgery.
“I hope he continues playing the same way, because tennis did miss him for a long time and I think it’s good to have him back.”
Taylor Fritz, the No. 31 seed and a Southern California native, upset fifth-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy 6-4, 6-3. Fritz won 81 percent of his first-serve points while Berrettini was at just 63 percent in that category.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the 10th seed, got a walkover win when John Isner withdrew from the event to head home to Dallas to be present at the birth of his third child.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov, the 24th seed, overpowered 12th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-0, 6-4, and 14th-seeded Gael Monfils of France topped South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 7-5, 6-2. Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, seeded 29th, rallied past Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Australia’s Alex De Minaur, seeded 22nd, downed 13th-seeded Cristian Garin of Chile 6-4, 6-2.
–Field Level Media
