Indian Wells Tennis 2021: Karolina Pliskova, Denis Shapovalov Upset
Monday was a wild day at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
There were major upsets. A weather delay. The usual assortment of breathtaking shots and highlights. We'll break it all down below.
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Men's Results
No. 19 Aslan Karatsev def. No. 9 Denis Shapovalov, 7-5, 6-2
No. 23 Grigor Dimitrov def. No. 16 Reilly Opelka, 6-3, 6-4
No. 11 Diego Schwartzman def. No. 18 Daniel Evans, 5-7, 6-4, 6-0
No. 6 Casper Ruud def. No. 26 Lloyd Harris, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4
No. 8 Hubert Hurkacz vs. Frances Tiafoe suspended at 4-2
Women's Results
No. 12 Ons Jabeur def. No. 22 Danielle Collins, 6-1, 6-3
Beatriz Haddad Maia def. No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 7-5
No. 18 Anett Kontaveit def. No. 16 Bianca Andreescu, 7-6, 6-3
No. 10 Angelique Kerber def. No. 20 Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
No. 15 Coco Gauff vs. No. 21 Paula Badosa suspended at 2-5
Recap
Without question, the top story from the day was the stunning loss of top-seeded Pliskova, who lost in straight sets to Haddad Maia.
It's hard to imagine a much bigger upset than this one. Haddad Maia was previously out of the tournament altogether, having lost in qualifying to Usue Arconada, but was added back into the mix after No. 29 Nadia Podoroska had to withdraw with injuries.
To go from that to beating the top seed in the tournament is an astonishing turn of events. It's been that kind of year in tennis, though.
And it was hardly the only upset on the day, especially in the women's draw, which also saw No. 16 Andreescu fall.
On the men's side, No. 9 Shapovalov was the surprise upset victim, falling in straight sets to Karatsev.
"The first thing you want to try to do is keep focusing because the weather conditions were tough for both of us," Karatsev told reporters after his win. "The first set I tried to find my serve, especially on the second serve, it didn't work. The main goal was to keep focused...It was super windy today. [It's my] first time here in Indian Wells. It's an amazing place. It's nice to be here, to stay here, the atmosphere is really cool. The stadium is almost full, so it's really nice to play."
No. 6 Ruud, meanwhile, warded off a stiff challenge from Harris.
"It was a very tough match, and I was fortunate to get through in the end," he said in his on-court interview. "There were only some points here and there that decided this match. I saved a lot of break points, and in crucial points, I stepped up my game. It was frustrating because Lloyd was playing well, and I was not really feeling the groove like I felt in the first match, and in the end I was fortunate to get through."
