Carlos Alcaraz advances to quarter-finals, Tsitsipas falls: Indian Wells Tennis drama unfolds

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz secures a spot in the Indian Wells quarter-finals with a dominant victory, seeking redemption over Fabian Marozsan.

Carlos Alcaraz smoothly advances to the Indian Wells quarter-finals with a decisive 6-3, 6-3 victory over Fabian Marozsan, seeking redemption after their previous encounter at the Rome Masters. The defending champion showed dominance, breaking twice in the opening set and securing 12 of the first 13 points in the second. Alcaraz, the top seed, exhibited an impressive performance, unleashing 22 winners in just 75 minutes.

Despite initial nerves, Alcaraz expressed satisfaction, emphasising that his almost flawless display showcased his improved confidence. The 20-year-old, after a slower start to the season and a recent ankle roll in Brazil, aims for a potential second title in Indian Wells.

With the defeat of Marozsan, marking his 50th Masters victory, Alcaraz sets up a quarter-final clash against the sixth seed, Alexander Zverev. Zverev overcame challenging windy conditions to triumph over Alex de Minaur 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.

Meanwhile, Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas faces disappointment, losing 6-2, 6-4 to rising Czech talent Jiri Lehecka. The upset marks Lehecka's second consecutive triumph after defeating fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the previous round. Tsitsipas, who reached the last eight during his 2018 debut at Indian Wells, fell in 78 minutes to Lehecka, who now awaits the winner of Jannik Sinner's clash with Ben Shelton.

In the women's fourth round, Dubai champion Jasmine Paolini suffered a 7-5, 0-6, 6-3 loss to Anastasia Potapova, while Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk secured her spot in the quarter-finals by defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-1.