At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Jack Draper defeated Francisco Cerundro to set up a fourth-round matchup with Novak Djokovic.
The Englishman won 6-1 7-5 and will be facing Djokovic for the first time since Wimbledon in 2021, when the Serbian won in four sets to claim his sixth of seven titles at the All England Club.
Djokovic defeated American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 earlier in the day to reach the last 16 for the first time since 2017 and qualify for the fourth round.
Draper told Sky Sports: “Tennis is something else. A person and a player that I’ve watched since I was a little kid…He’s the best player of all time, in my opinion.”
“He’s proven year after year through his consistency that he’s the biggest champion of them all.
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Highlights of the match between Novak Djokovic and Aleksandar Kovacevic at Indian Wells
“When you play against him, you know he’s going to be there mentally, you know he’s going to have an incredibly tough match and play crazy tennis, and I’m going to have to improve my game to prepare for that.
“We’re definitely going to have to compete hard and prepare well.”
Draper continues his comeback from a lengthy injury absence with a win over Roberto Bautista Agut to begin his Indian Wells title defense.
The 24-year-old won 79 per cent of his first serve points against Cerundolo but was pushed hard in the second set, converting just six of 14 break points.
“For the last eight months, I really wanted to get back on the court, but I had to accept that it was going to be a fairly long-term injury,” he said.
“There was a period where once I played a practice session, I couldn’t play another practice session, so it was really nice to get back to the feeling of being able to play back-to-back games.
“Regardless of how I play, I’m so grateful to be here.”
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Cameron Norrie vs Alex de Minaur Indian Wells match highlights
Britain’s Cameron Norrie, the 2021 champion at Indian Wells, also advanced to the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over sixth seed Alex de Minaur.
Pegula comes from behind to win
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Highlights of Jessica Pegula vs. Jelena Ostapenko at Indian Wells.
Jessica Pegula came back from a set down to beat Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and qualify for the next round.
In the win, the American produced 11 aces, the most she has ever achieved in a WTA Tour match.
“I think today I had to really pick myself up and ground myself, because (the negative emotions) obviously start to affect everything,” Pegula told reporters afterward. “I kept telling myself that I wasn’t actually playing badly.
“That’s one of the frustrating things when you don’t play well. I didn’t think we played badly. I thought we played pretty good. We just allowed a few chances and a few breaks here and there. There were a few shots that we could have been more aggressive with.”
Meanwhile, Belinda Bencic defeated Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-3 and Karolina Muchova defeated Antonia Ruzic 6-0, 6-3.
Watch the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells live on Sky Sports until March 15th. Stream tennis now with no contract required.
