Indian Wells Tennis 2016: Tuesday Scores, Results, Updated Schedule
Many of the biggest names in both men's and women's tennis took to the hard courts during Tuesday's action at the Indian Wells Masters in California.
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams both advanced in straight sets, though the former faced more of a challenge than the latter. Rafael Nadal also continued to show signs of improved form in advancing to the men's round of 16.
Check out the complete list of scores below, followed by an overview of the marquee matches from Tuesday's slate at the BNP Paribas Open.
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| Novak Djokovic vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber | Djokovic | 7-5, 7-5 |
| Kei Nishikori vs. Steve Johnson | Nishikori | 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) |
| Rafael Nadal vs. Fernando Verdasco | Nadal | 6-0, 7-6 (9) |
| Feliciano Lopez vs. Roberto Bautista Agut | Lopez | 7-6 (5), 6-7 (10), 6-4 |
| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Sam Querrey | Tsonga | 6-3, 6-4 |
| Dominic Thiem vs. Jack Sock | Thiem | 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-1 |
| Gilles Simon vs. Alexander Zverev | Zverev | 6-2, 6-2 |
| John Isner (USA) vs. Adrian Mannarino | Isner | 6-4, 7-6 (4) |
| Serena Williams (USA) vs. Kateryna Bondarenko | Williams | 6-2, 6-2 |
| Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Jelena Jankovic | Radwanska | 6-3, 6-3 |
| Simona Halep vs. Barbora Strycova (CZE) | Halep | 6-3, 1-0 (retired) |
| Petra Kvitova vs. Nicole Gibbs | Kvitova | 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Karolina Pliskova vs. Johanna Konta | Pliskova | 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3 |
| Victoria Azarenka vs. Samantha Stosur | Azarenka | 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 |
| Daria Kasatkina vs. Timea Bacsinszky | Kasatkina | 6-4, 6-2 |
| Magdalena Rybarikova vs. Roberta Vinci | Rybarikova | 6-2, 2-0 (retirement) |
Kicking off the men's draw winners was seventh seed Kei Nishikori. The 2014 U.S. Open finalist fought through two tiebreakers to defeat American upstart Steve Johnson 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5).
Nishikori implied afterward that the blustery conditions made it difficult to endure the match, per the tournament's official Twitter account:
There weren't many upsets to speak of on the men's side, save for 18th seed Gilles Simon's 6-2, 6-2 loss to unseeded Alexander Zverev.
After being upended in the opening round of the Australian Open in January by Fernando Verdasco, Nadal showed no ill effects when he met his Spanish compatriot on Tuesday.
Nadal cruised to a 6-0 first set, but Verdasco battled back to make a tightly competitive second set. As has often been the case throughout Nadal's career, he managed to edge out his opponent 11-9 in the tiebreaker with uncommon perseverance in saving five set points.
Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated weighed in on how the triumph impacted Nadal's Indian Wells outlook:
"I am here to keep fighting. I love the sport," said Nadal afterward. "My goal is to continue...I had an amazing offseason."
Injuries and declining play have plagued Nadal of late, so Tuesday had to give him a shot of confidence at least for now.
An unfortunate injury situation had a big impact on the women's draw. Barbora Strycova was forced to retire in her fourth-round match against Simona Halep, though she was trailing by a score of 6-3, 1-0 at the time.
Halep is the defending champion and gets the next crack at Williams without having to play much more than one set in her preceding match.
But with the quick work Williams made to reach the quarterfinals, surrendering only four games to Kateryna Bondarenko, she figures to be extremely fresh for the marquee showdown as well.
Williams won 49 percent of points in which Bondarenko hit her first serve in. The 34-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down at this juncture of her career, and if she can clear Halep, her path to the title looks quite promising.
As for the other top seed, Djokovic had to scrap through two sets against Philipp Kohlschreiber, but he came out on top in both sets by a score of 7-5.
ESPN The Magazine's Howard Bryant highlighted the tough conclusion Djokovic had:
Djokovic will face Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals. A potential tangle with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga looms in the quarterfinals, while Nadal still has to advance past Zverev and either Nishikori or the big-serving John Isner in the next phase.
The top aforementioned stars in Williams, Halep, Djokovic and Nadal are all in action on Wednesday.
It's a quick turnaround for all involved, and Nadal is better known for his prowess on clay, so it's possible Zverev has a chance for an upset after advancing past Simon with such ease.
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