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Indian Wells Tennis 2019: Early Scores and Results from Friday
March 9, 2019
Fourth seed Sloane Stephens was dumped out of the Indian Wells Masters on Friday as she was emphatically beaten 6-3, 6-0 by Stefanie Vogele.
The American was nowhere near her best in this encounter, allowing the Swiss to get on top in the contest early and then run away with the match in a lopsided second stanza.
Other seeds in the women's draw to be eliminated Friday included Daria Kasatkina and Carolina Garcia, ranked 14th and 19th, respectively. Elsewhere, there was a win for two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza, as she breezed past Lauren Davis for the loss of just four games.
Later in the day, second seed Simona Halep will be in action against Barbora Strycova. In the most eye-catching match from the men's draw on the day, Stanislas Wawrinka came from a set down to beat Dan Evans in a gripping contest.
Here are the latest scores from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Selected Early Results
Women's Draw
Stefanie Vogele bt. (4) Sloane Stephens, 6-3 6-0
Marketa Vondrousova bt. (14) Daria Kasatkina, 6-2 6-1
Jennifer Brady bt. (19) Caroline Garcia, 6-3 3-6 6-0
(22) Jelena Ostapenko bt. Shuai Zhang, 6-2 6-1
Johanna Konta bt. Su-Wei Hsieh, 6-0 6-2
Men's Draw
Stanislas Wawrinka bt. Dan Evans, 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-3
Feliciano Lopez bt. Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (3) 7-6 (2)
For the results and schedule in full, visit the competition website.
Stephens the 1st Shock Exit at Indian Wells
After a disappointing start to 2019, Stephens would have been hoping to use this tournament on home soil as a chance to build some confidence again ahead of the summer. Instead, her game unravelled.
The American didn't perform to her best in the opening set, allowing Vogele to seize the initiative and nudge ahead by a set.
When at full tilt, Stephens would be expected to respond in these adverse circumstances; instead, she wilted. In the second set, she failed to get a game on the board, and the match finished with an unforced error that was indicative of her poor play:
This loss took Stephens' overall record to five wins and five losses for the year. Per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times, she doesn't enjoy facing Vogele either:
Despite the nature of the loss, the American said she's confident things will get better:
The big match early in the men's draw saw Dan Evans and Stanislas Wawrinka face off in what was always going to be an intriguing battle.
At the end of a tight opener, the Briton was able to sneak in front in the tiebreak, eventually taking it 7-4. However, the three-time Grand Slam champion showed his class and experience in the second, settling down and dictating points much more frequently to level things up.
Those qualities were on show in the deciding set too, as Wawrinka grabbed a critical break to move 5-3 in front and eventually book his place in the next round.
BBC Sport's Russell Fuller noted Wawrinka came through in clutch moments in the third stanza:
In another match between high-profile men's players, Feliciano Lopez got the better of an out-of-sorts Tomas Berdych in a battle of big servers. The first of the seeded players in the bracket will be in action Saturday, including third seed Alexander Zverev.