Defending champion and eighth seed, Mirra Andreeva, has crashed out of the Indian Wells Open tennis tournament in California.
But Katerina Siniakova needed almost three hours to beat Andreeva in three sets in the third round – 6-4, 7-6, 6-3.
Meanwhile, second seed, Iga Swiatek of Poland has become the first woman since 2014 to advance to the round of 16 at the event for six straight years.
Swiatek was up against a well-known opponent in Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
Their battles include the 2022 and 2024 finals at Indian Wells.
After losing to Sakkari at the Qatar Open in Doha last month, Swiatek took no prisoners this time around.
She recorded a straight-forward 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Again not dropping more than five games in the pair’s meeting in the California desert.
Meanwhile, Australian Open champion and 3rd seed, Elena Rybakina is also through to the fourth round.
After being broken in both sets early on, she eventually outplayed Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-4 in 90 minutes.
In the men’s draw, former world number one, Novak Djokovic of Serbia is on course to break another Roger Federer record.
With five titles, Djokovic is currently tied with Federer as the most successful men’s singles player at the tournament.
He advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 2017 with a tough 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 win over American, Aleksandar Kovacevic.
Next up for Djokovic is defending champion, Britain’s Jack Draper.
The 14th seed beat Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in straight sets.
–SABC–
