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Seven times this season Andy Murray has contested a deciding set. Each time, he has produced his best tennis in the clutch moments to win.

Lucky No. 7 came on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open, where the Briton beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4 in the opening round. Murray, who gave a glowing report on his fitness ahead of the tournament, outlasted the Argentine in a three-hour, 12-minute match to set up a second-round meeting with 15th seed Pablo Carreno Busta.

While Murray did not need to save a match point on this occasion — he saved eight last month in Doha, where he won four three-setters to reach his 71st tour-level final — he did have to fight off two break points at 3-4 in the final set. The 35-year-old scored the decisive break on his fifth break point of the ensuing game on an Etcheverry double fault.

Ethceverry troubled Murray in the early stages with his aggressive baseline game, combining power and spin to great effect. In a thrilling first-set tie-break, he thwarted a Murray pass attempt with fast hands at the net and later clipped the very edge of the line with a forehand winner on set point, leaving Murray incredulous.

Murray countered with depth and precision to turn the match around, finishing with 28 winners to his opponent's 36. He closed out the win with his sixth ace of the match.

Making his first appearance at the BNP Paribas Open since 2019, Stan Wawrinka played just three games before receiving treatment for a blockage in his left ear.

After having his ear checked out and receiving some drops, the 37-year-old produced two love holds to reassert himself in the match against Aleksandar Vukic. Wawrinka ultimately prevailed 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, extending his win streak in deciding sets to three.

"I've just had some ear problems since a few days, like I can't hear from it, it's completely blocked," the Swiss explained in his post-match press conference. "But not a big deal, it's just not easy to only have one ear and to feel completely free on the court.

"But I think in general I've been playing well and I've been practising good so I'm feeling physically and tennis-wise good. Happy get the win today, it's an important match and hopefully I can keep going."

The victory was also Wawrinka's first since he climbed back into the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings last week, following consecutive quarter-final runs in Rotterdam and Marseille.

Ben Shelton got his breakthrough season back on track Thursday when he earned victory on his BNP Paribas Open debut.

The #NextGenATP American enjoyed a dream run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open in January, but suffered first-round defeats in Delray Beach and Acapulco last month. However, the 20-year-old ensured his dip in form wouldn’t turn into a slump, defeating Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-1 to reach the second round in Indian Wells.

In a ruthless display, the lefty showed home fans a glimpse of his potential, whipping an array of forehand winners past the Italian to earn victory in their first ATP Head2Head meeting after one hour and 11 minutes.

The American hugged the baseline to dictate and was strong on return, hitting with precision to break three times.

Shelton, who reached the third round on his ATP Masters 1000 debut in Cincinnati last season, is up two spots to No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. The 20-year-old was outside the Top 500 one year ago.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski began the quest to win their first title of the season Thursday when they defeated Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 at the BNP Paribas Open.

The top seeds won seven tour-level titles, including three ATP Masters 1000 crowns in 2022, but have yet to lift a trophy this season. They’ll be hoping their 62-minute win against Melo and Zverev is the start of a triumphant run in Indian Wells.

In a dominant performance, the Dutch-British tandem won 87 per cent (20/23) of their first-serve points to set a second-round meeting against Frances Tiafoe and Stan Wawrinka or Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta.

Teaming for the first time, Cameron Norrie and Lucas Miedler made a winning start when they downed Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 3-6, 6-3, 10-6. The British-Austrian team will next meet Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov or #NextGenATP stars Holger Rune and Ben Shelton.

Call it the Greek Connection.

Stefanos Tsitsipas says that his coaching partnership with Mark Philippoussis, an Australian with a proud Greek heritage, has been a resounding success. The former Wimbledon and US Open finalist joined Tsitsipas' father Apostolos in the coaches' box in the second half of last season. And the chemistry worked from the start.

“Mark is a very wise man, he has a lot of knowledge,” Tsitsipas said ahead of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open. “I think the fact that he’s lived these things himself on the tour and he’s able to provide some [advice] to me now is essential. He provides a lot of feedback. He can relate to a lot of things that have happened to me and sees a little bit of himself in me in some circumstances and situations.

“I very much enjoy this relationship that the two of us have. There’s so much compatibility in terms of team chemistry but also our philosophy behind the tennis we’re trying to pursue.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas practises at the 2023 Australian Open while Coach Mark Philippoussis watches on. Credit: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

In a battle between two young guns on the ATP Tour, it was Jack Draper who prevailed at the BNP Paribas Open Thursday when he defeated #NextGenATP Swiss Leandro Riedi 6-1, 6-1 to move to the verge of the Top 50 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

The 21-year-old, who competed at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals, was dominant throughout the 57-minute encounter, striking 13 winners and committing four unforced errors to earn victory on his tournament debut.

Draper will next face countryman Daniel Evans as he looks to reach the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the second time. The Briton advanced to the quarter-finals in Montreal last year, losing to eventual champion Pablo Carreno Busta.

Draper is up five spots to No. 51 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his win against Riedi, who came through qualifying to make his ATP Masters 1000 debut. The 21-year-old Riedi is ninth in the Pepperstone Next Gen ATP Race following a strong start to the season which saw him reach the second round in Marseille.

[ATP APP]

Roger Federer retired last year and former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka turns 38 later this month. But the future of Swiss men’s tennis appears in good hands.

Dominic Stricker made a splash last year by competing in the Next Gen ATP Finals. On Thursday, 21-year-old Leandro Riedi will make his ATP Masters 1000 debut at the BNP Paribas Open against Jack Draper after qualifying for the prestigious tournament on his first attempt at this level. He is up to No. 120 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

“It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a bit of a struggle in the beginning, the first six, seven months were not easy. From juniors to the pros, it’s a step,” Riedi told ATPTour.com. “But it was all worth it and now I’m feeling pretty well, especially the past couple months I’ve been pretty good and I really enjoy it.”

The 20-year-old Stricker and 21-year-old Riedi are new on the scene as #NextGenATP players, but they have known each other since early in their junior days. Riedi recalls that they first met in 2011. In January 2014, before they were teens, when they represented their country together in a team event. From that year on, they began training together every Wednesday at the Swiss Federation and became close friends.

While Stricker sprinted to success, Riedi watched from afar and used the lefty’s triumphs as fuel to continue his own climb.

Fans of Frances Tiafoe might have noticed an Instagram Story he posted in which he wrote “Happy International Women’s Day”. It was just the latest example of the American uplifting women.

The 25-year-old spends a lot of time at WNBA games, wears WNBA jerseys and praises female athletes. Tiafoe has also enjoyed plenty of training sessions this year with WTA stars, including United Cup teammate Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff.

“I think women should be appreciated for everything. They bring amazing kids into the world, they make the world a better place. They’re super hard-working and deserve to get the same notoriety, it’s just that simple,” Tiafoe said. “It’s a collective… Happy International Women’s Day. I’m happy for all the amazing women out there doing great things and I want to uplift all the women.”

[ATP APP]

On Monday evening, Tiafoe took to Stadium 1 at the BNP Paribas Open for a training session with Gauff.

With the first answer at his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, BNP Paribas Open top seed Carlos Alcaraz immediately quelled any doubts of lingering fitness concerns.

The 19-year-old took some time off after injuring his right hamstring during his run to the Rio de Janeiro final, a problem that forced him to withdraw from Acapulco. But after a quick recovery, with less than a week spent off the court, Alcaraz is raring to go at the year's first ATP Masters 1000.

"I'm [feeling] really good right now," the returning semi-finalist said on the tournament's media day. "Today was the fist practice that I practised with some players, [played] some points. I feel great. I took some days off and it was really good for me. Right now I'm ready."

[ATP APP]

Alcaraz has a lot to play for this week: By winning his third Masters 1000 crown, he would return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. While he does not consider himself a favourite in the desert, the Spaniard is motivated to chase glory on both fronts.

Jiri Lehecka earned his first ATP Masters 1000 win on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open with a battling performance against Arthur Rinderknech. The 21-year-old Czech scored a 7-6(4), 7-5 victory in his second appearance at the prestigious level, having qualified for Monte Carlo last season.

Sixth seed Andrey Rublev awaits in the second round for what will be the pair's third ATP Head2Head matchup. Both of their past meetings went three sets, with Rublev winning last April in Belgrade and Lehecka returning the favour last month in Doha.

[ATP APP]

Against Rinderknech, Lehecka twice came back from a break down in the opening set before saving two set points on serve at 5-6. He never trailed in the tie-break and raced out to a 3-0 lead in set two, though his French opponent levelled the second at 4-4. Lehecka's fourth break of the match, on his seventh break point, sealed the win.

The World No. 47 Lehecka has backed up his runner-up finish to the Next Gen ATP Finals last November with a strong start to 2023, highlighted by a breakout run to the Australian Open quarter-finals. He also reached the semi-finals in Doha, losing a three-set thriller to Andy Murray after defeating Rublev one round earlier.

Brandon Nakashima maintained his perfect first-round record at the BNP Paribas Open Wednesday when he defeated John Isner 7-6(7), 6-3 to set a meeting against fifth seed Daniil Medvedev.

The 21-year-old American, who earned opening-round wins in Indian Wells in 2021 and 2022, saved one set point in the first-set tie-break before he produced a strong defensive display in the second set to blunt the attack of his big-serving countryman.

Nakashima stood deep behind the baseline when returning the first serve, but looked to attack off Isner’s second delivery, timing the ball well to win 56 per cent (15/27) of points on the 37-year-old’s second serve.

"You know you are going to get some opportunities out there," Nakashima said. "You know he is going to hit some big bombs once in a while. But you always go into it knowning you will have some opportunities. You just got to see them when they come and capitalise on them."

[ATP APP]

Do players change first serve strategy when serving at 15/0 versus 0/15?

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the current Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings from the 2022 season uncovers a wide variety of first serve strategies when ahead or behind on the scoreboard after only one point is played in the game. Players clearly factor in where they prefer to serve and where the opponent may be anticipating. Having a clever mix out wide, at the body, and down the T is all about staying a step ahead in the guessing game of first serve location.

But nobody flipped the switch more than Daniil Medvedev.

The 27-year-old former No. 1 is the hottest player on tour after winning Rotterdam, Doha, and Dubai leading into Indian Wells this week. He is on a 14-match win streak and has won 19 of 21 matches to start the season. His different first serve strategy at 15/0 versus 0/15 provides an insight into how he goes about his business of holding serve.

Serving 15/0

Four years ago, Dominic Thiem arrived at the BNP Paribas Open having endured a disastrous start to season. He left as a champion, defeating Roger Federer to capture his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells.

Another title run this fortnight might seem ambitious for the current world No. 102, but the former US Open champion certainly comes in hoping for a strong run in the desert to again snap him out of a funk.

“I came there playing wise in a really bad situation,” Thiem said on Wednesday. “[I was] not playing well and I was not expecting anything and then slowly somehow, I started to play better and better, winning matches. I got a little bit lucky. Gael Monfils had to retire in the quarters and then I happened to win the tournament. If people knew how I would have felt and played before Indian Wells they would be very surprised that I ended up winning.”

[ATP APP]

Thiem arrived in Indian Wells in 2019 struggling for form and fitness. The 29-year-old held a 3-4 record on the season, having suffered first-round exits in Doha and Rio de Janeiro and a second-round defeat at the Australian Open.

Andy Murray has shown his renowned fighting spirit throughout the early stages of this season. The 35-year-old has already won three matches after being one point away from defeat. Now he’s poised to display another big effort at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open.

Despite competing with a metal hip, Murray has continued his career at a high level including in Doha this past month, when the Scot reached the final (l. Medvedev) after saving five match points to defeat Jiri Lehecka in the final four. Now he’s looking to show his best tennis at the season’s first ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells.

“I want to have deep runs in these events,” Murray said. “That hasn’t happened in a couple years. I do feel like I’m playing well enough to do that now. I feel like physically this is the best I’ve felt for a long time so if I do have to play three or four matches in a few days, I believe that I’m able to do that and still play at a high level.

[ATP APP]

“Even 18 months or two years ago, when that was happening, I didn’t feel like I was recovering as well. [My] body [might’ve] been a bit sore and a bit tired, but I’ve worked really hard to get back to this point and I trust that I’m ready to have a good run at some stage.”

Seven months ago Gael Monfils retired during his third-round match in Montreal against Jack Draper because of a foot injury. The Frenchman “thought it was all good”. However, he had suffered a plantar fascia rupture, and has not competed since.

The 36-year-old has been all smiles in the California desert, where he is ready to make his comeback Wednesday evening at the BNP Paribas Open against Australian Jordan Thompson.

“I feel great,” Monfils told ATPTour.com. “It’s been a couple months now I’m away. At the same time, I have a couple weeks without my little princess. It’s the first time, it’s the first feeling like that. It’s a mixed feeling, but in a positive way.”

Monfils’ “little princess” is his daughter, Skaï, who was born in October. This is Monfils’ first tournament since he and his wife, WTA star Elina Svitolina, welcomed their daughter to the world.

“I was with her since day one and now to get back on the road, it’s a different experience for me. I’ve been great. I’ve been blessed,” Monfils said. “So far she’s healthy and myself too, [I have] gotten back in shape and healthy. I have only positive vibes coming here.”

Two months after the inaugural United Cup, the mixed-gender team event won by the United States in January, the ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour again joined forces on the court Tuesday night in Indian Wells. On the eve of main-draw play at the BNP Paribas Open, stars from both circuits thrilled the desert crowd in the third annual Eisenhower Cup, a mixed doubles exhibition that doubles as a fundraiser for local charities.

The one-night tournament was won by Taylor Fritz and Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated the Polish pairing of Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek 10-8 in the final. Fritz, who hit an ace with a trick serve in the semi-finals, fired a service winner on championship point.

"It's awesome just to have the chance to come out here and play in front of the crowd before [the tournament] even gets going," said Fritz, the defending Indian Wells men's singles champ. "The crowd here tonight is amazing. It's one of the many reasons I love coming here. It's one of my favourite events, it being such a home tournament for me."

[BREAK POINT]

Fritz, who helped lead Team USA to United Cup glory in January, also won the Delray Beach singles title in February and broke into the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time last week. He will open his Indian Wells title defence against Ben Shelton or Fabio Fognini.

Taylor Fritz and Maria Sakkari, trailed by a black-clad Netflix camera crew, were greeted by warm applause when they ascended to the outdoor stage on the grounds of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Tuesday. The stars of Break Point Episode 3 arrived just hours after Netflix announced there would be a second season.

Those ubiquitous workers are all over the grounds at ‘Tennis Paradise’, capturing behind-the-scenes moments for episodes that will be seen next year.

“We’re really excited,” Paul Martin, executive producer of Box to Box Films, told the crowd earlier. “Excited to get to play in this space for another year. Hopefully, it continues for 10 more seasons.”

In this season’s Indian Wells episode — titled “California Dreaming” shot at the BNP Paribas Open a year ago — we learned that Sakkari may well be the most caffeinated player on the Hologic WTA Tour (six espressos in a single day!) and, according to Ajla Tomljanovic, super-intense on court but a “teddy bear” off it.

Sakkari, who advanced to the final here before falling to Iga Swiatek, said the series seems to be reaching the casual tennis fan.