Carlos Alcaraz puts the Indian Wells “3 Fit” campaign with primitive 6-2 and 6-4 victories with Denis Shapovalov in the third round of Monday.
Alcaraz, the second -largest seed, won the first five games and sent more than 10 winners to Shapovalov in the opening set.
Alcaraz did not take a break in the perfect second set, and in the last game, he blocked the third round within 90 minutes.
Al Karaz said, “I knew I had to concentrate when the game started. I had to start the game.
The four major champions aim to be the third man who won three consecutive titles in the Masters 1000 tournament after the Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic crashed in the second round.
“I’m really happy about my performance today,” Alcaraz said. “I have little to improve, but I’m really happy.”
He will face the Grigor Dimitrov in the 16th round after winning Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (2) in the battle of three hours before the local time.
Dimitrov, the right handle, climbed 3-1 in the third set when his forehand hit his left thumb and left bleeding. He continued even after being treated, but lost the next three games, forced the combination and counterattacked to seal the victory.
At the beginning of Monday, American Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton gave home fans a lot of cheers to reach the fourth round of the winding conditions in the California desert.
Fritz, 2022 BNP Paribas Open Champion and No. 3 SEED overcame the slow start to beat Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 6-3, and 6-1 in Chile.
He said in the next round that he expected a strong fight with Jack Draper in England.
Fritz said, “This will be a tough game. I think it’s a hard lot to bring him to the top four seeds in the 16th round. He is a very good player. “I think he is better than his rank. We have a little tight.”
Shelton, 22, took the crowd with Power and Poise to defeat Karen Khachanov 6-3 and 7-5, despite not handling blisters in his hands.
Shelton, who took a break in the second set, won the last four games of the game and won it with one of eight ace and strong support. He will play his colleague Brandon Nakashima in the 16th round.
Reuters contributed to this report.
