Harrison, Tiafoe Losses Highlight Tough Day For Americans in Indian Wells

March 10, 2017 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff

The men’s singles draw at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California got underway on Thursday and it was a disappointing opening round for some American men, including Frances Tiafoe and Ryan Harrison.

In one of the last matches to finish up, Bosnian Damir Dzumhur held on to beat Harrison 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in a match that lasted over two hours. Leading 6-5 in the final set, Dzumhur broke Harrison as the American was serving to stay in the set to close out the victory.

Dzumhur moves on to play Spain’s Alberto Ramos-Vinolas in the second round.

Tiafoe was downed in straight sets by Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, who won the match’s first four games before rolling to a 6-3, 6-3 win over the young American. Lajovic will take on 30th seed Feliciano Lopez in the next round.

The lone American man to win his first-round match on Thursday was Bjorn Fratangelo, who cruised past struggling Australian Bernard Tomic 6-2, 6-2. He faces a stiff test next against 13th seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, who is a former semifinalist making his 13th straight appearance in the tournament.

Darian King, a qualifier from Barbados, moved into the second round by beating fellow qualifier, Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, 7-5, 7-5. He will play 10th seed Frenchman Gael Monfils in the next round.

Karen Khachanov, Jeremy Chardy, Vasek Pospisil and Alexandr Dologopolov were other notable winners on the men’s side on Thursday.

The second day of action on the women’s side saw American Lauren Davis advance to the second round with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Viktorija Golubic. Davis draws a second round match up against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova.

Competing in her record 16th time in Indian Wells, Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic held off American Irina Falconi 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to advance.

“I just try to fight and play point by point and hope for the best,” Jankovic said afterwards. “Irina’s a great player and such a nice girl; I’m happy I could win in the end.”

Jankovic will take on another American next: Venus Williams.

Eugenie Bouchard was defeated by Annika Beck of Germany. Beck fought back from a set down to beat the Canadian 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

“It was a really difficult match, but I’ve played her twice in the past so I knew what to expect,” Beck told WTA Insider. “She’s had solid results this year so she had a lot of confidence going into it. I knew first round are never easy.”

Beck will play recent Acapulco finalist Kristina Mladenovic in the second round.

In an all-American opener, Shelby Rogers edged Jennifer Brady 6-4, 7-6(4) to set up a matchup with Elena Vesnina.

Americans Alison Riske, Vania King and Taylor Townsend were eliminated on Thursday, while Varvara Lepchenko came back to beat Yaroslava Shvedova 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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