Indian Wells (United States) (AFP)

Alexander Zverev and Andy Murray, who fought to overcome Jenson Brooksby and Carlos Alcaraz, will face each other in the 3rd round of the Indian Wells Masters 1000, which Matteo Berettini also reached on Sunday, but not Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Zverev, 4th in the world and as such one of Daniil Medvedev's rivals for the title in the absence of world No.1 Novak Djokovic, won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in one hour and 48 minutes .

Winner at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, in the wake of his gold medal gleaned at the Tokyo Games, the German committed a lot of unforced errors (35), hampered by the rather unpredictable game of the American.

But he was able to rely on his first ball (12 aces) and his winning shots (28 against 17 for Brooksby) to win.

He will face veteran Andy Murray, in search of his past luster, at 34, after a series of injuries that dropped him to 121st in the world.

The Scotsman emerged victorious 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 from an intergenerational confrontation against Carlos Alcaraz, which was one of the revelations of the last US Open, by eliminating in the third round the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, before abandoning in the quarterfinals, injured in the thigh against the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

- Spoon service -

Presented by his opponent as a future world No. 1, the one who currently occupies 38th place won the first round, after being led 3-0 and then having saved a set point.

Not taken aback, Murray further intensified the pressure on his young opponent.

And, committing few errors, he logically pocketed the second set, placing in the process a rare service with a spoon, which made ace.

Then after having taken the service of Alcaraz from the start of the third round, who had just received treatment for a big blister, he was able to erase four debreak balls, then finished in just over three hours.

"In the first set I felt like I had more opportunities but didn't take them so yeah I'm happy with the way I fought because I felt that he was perhaps playing better in the second set, "said Murray, hailing" a top player, who has a lot of potential ".

The Scottish Andy Murray moved after his victory in three sets against the young Spanish nugget Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells, on October 10, 2021 CLIVE BRUNSKILL Getty / AFP / Archives

Another favorite in contention on Sunday, Stefanos Tsitsipas (3rd in the world) made a success of his entry, defeating the Spaniard Pedro Martínez 6-2, 6-4.

The Greek, who has a Masters 1000, gleaned from Monte Carlo last year, will face in the third round a slightly more seasoned opponent, the Italian Fabio Fognini (30th).

- Swiatek expeditious -

In the same part of the table, another Transalpine, Matteo Berrettini (7th) qualified without a hitch, at the expense of Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 7-5.

His compatriot Jannik Sinner (14th) did the same, beating Australian John Millman 6-2, 6-2.

And the French Gaël Monfils (18th) had no more trouble getting rid of another Italian, Gianluca Mager, 6-4, 6-2.

The surprise of the day consisted in the elimination of the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (11th), swept 6-4, 6-2 by the Spaniard Albert Ramos Vinolas (48th).

Among the women, Iga Swiatek (4th) was quick to advance to the 8th final, at the expense of the Russian Veronika Kudermetova (6-1, 6-0).

A victory, one year to the day after his coronation at Roland Garros, then organized in the fall due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Polish Iga Swiatek expeditiously against the Russian Veronika Kudermetova in Indian Wells, October 10, 2021 Tim Nwachukwu Getty / AFP

Another expected qualifier, but much more laboriously, the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (7th) battled to get rid of 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) of the Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

For her part, Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, already a dropper in the previous round of US Open sensation Emma Raducanu, added another winner of a Grand Slam tournament to her hunting roster, eliminating 7-5, 6 -4 Romanian Simona Halep, victorious at Roland Garros in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019.

The Canadian Leylah Fernandez, finalist against Raducanu at the US Open, also qualified, defeating 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 of Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, finalist at Roland Garros.

© 2021 AFP