Day 5 of the men’s action in the BNP Paribas Masters kicked off with 14th seed Ernests Gulbis taking on Adrian Mannarino. The Frenchman has failed to win a match in his previous two appearances in the Coachella before, yet the beating hot sun and poor form from his opponent allowed Mannarino to pull off the first upset of the day. The Latvian failed to put his opponent under pressure, losing the match 4-6 4-6 in 90 minutes. Mannarino is enjoying some good form this year having reached his highest ranking, while Gulbis has now fallen to a 1-6 win/loss of the season. Mannarino will next face Andy Murray in the fourth-round, the first time the leftie has ever reached that stage of a Masters 1000 tournament.
Indian Wells Day 5
Murray came through a rather strange match against talent 26th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-1 3-6 6-1 on Monday afternoon. The Scot dominated proceedings from the off winning 86 per cent of first serve points and facing no break points on serve to take the first set 61. The German started to get into the match more in the second as Murray’s level dropped, saving all of the break points faced on his serve in the second set Kohlschreiber managed to break Murray to take the second.
The third set was more like the first for Murray who had managed to focus again after his second set dip in form. Murray capitalized on 2 of his three break point chances to close out the third set and the topsy turvy match in just under two hours. Murray is on course to make history in Indian Wells, he is just two wins away from overtaking Tim Henman’s 496 career wins which will make his the most successful British Tennis player in the Open Era.
5th Seed Kei Nishikori will face number 12 seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain after he overcame another spaniard Fernando Verdasco in a tight 3 set match. Nishikori managed to overcome the early test from Verdasco on Monday afternoon to take the match 6-7 6-1 6-4 in a match lasting 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was the first time the Japanese player has managed to pull off a victory against the lefty having lost all of their previous encounters. The 5th seed saved all break points he faced in the final game of the match to close out the victory. He will face 12th seed Lopez in the round of 16 who also came through a 3 set match beating 20th seed Pablo Cuevas 6-2 4-6 6-3.
Youngster Thanasi Kokkinakis prevailed against Argentine Juan Monaco in a match nearing 3 hours. The match wasn’t without drama, in the third set the Australian thought he’d won it, Monaco hit a forehand out with the call never coming. The australian who was serving for the match had no challenges left therefore had to settle for the decision of the umpire. The final set went to a tiebreak which Kokkinakis managed to compose himself for to take it and the match 6-2 5-7 7-6. Kokkinakis will face coutryman Bernard Tomic who ousted 8th seed David Ferrer in straight sets 7-5 6-4. There was little Ferrer could do against the big hitting Australian, coupled with 7 doubled faults he had to accept defeat in 1 hour and 39 minutes.
The last round of 16 match-up was revealed as Novak Djokovic came through his match comfortably against Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain in straight sets. He will face big serving American John Isner who knocked out 16th Seed Kevin Anderson also in stright sets. The Serbian faced a stern test in the opening set trading breaks with the Spaniard however holding his nerve to take the opening set 7-5. The second set was a little easier for the world number 1, taking it 6-3 needing only one break of serve to seal the set and the match in 1 hour and 25 minutes.
In the battle of the big servers it was Isner who prevailed, the first set was key for the American who took it in a tiebreak- no surprises there. Isner hit 29 winners past his opponent and faced no break points in the match which lasted 79 minutes.
Top seed Djokovic is looking to win his 4th Indian Wells crown, the defending champion defeated Roger Federer here last year, Rafael Nadal in 2011 and Mardy Fish in 2008. Isner has also enjoyed a good run of form in the desert reaching the final in 2012, beating Djokovic along the way.
Tuesday will feature more of the big names, with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych all in action. It will be the Swiss who will feature in perhaps the most anticipated match of the day when he takes on Italian Andreas Seppi. Federer lost to Seppi in the third round in Australia earlier in the year leaving many people wondering if the 30th seed can repeat that feat and cause the biggest upset of the tournament.
