World number one Iga Swiatek coasted to victory over Maria Sakkari to win the BNP Paribas Open final.

In a repeat of the 2022 final at Indian Wells, Swiatek proved too strong and won her second WTA title of the year with a straightforward 6-4 6-0 success.

Swiatek, 22, never looked in trouble and once again showed why she has spent nearly two years atop the women’s rankings.

The Polish star raced into a lead as stars including Zendaya and Tom Holland watched on, sealing the opening set with a perfect forehand drive after Sakkari had briefly looked to fight back by breaking to level at 3-3.

The second set was even more of a one-sided affair as Greece’s Sakkari, beaten in the final two years ago 6-4 6-1, could not win a game this time around.

Swiatek needed just 20 minutes to wrap it up and now plots victory at the Miami Open.

“Every year I come here, I feel a really positive vibe,” she said on court following her latest success.

“I want to thank my team, for every little thing we work on, which ends up working. For sure we’re going to celebrate – many things to celebrate.”

New world number one Carlos Alcaraz says he played "perfect" in Sunday's final demolition of Daniil Medvedev to cap a "perfect tournament" as he lifted the Indian Wells title for the first time.

Despite Medvedev coming into Sunday's decider on a 19-match winning streak, Alcaraz dominated 6-3 6-2 to win in 72 minutes.

Alcaraz's Indian Wells triumph was his third ATP Masters 1000 crown from three finals, not dropping a set in any of those deciders.

The 19-year-old Spaniard went through the Indian Wells Open without dropping a set and reflected that it was a "perfect" fortnight for him.

"It feels amazing to lift the trophy here [and] to recover the number one," Alcaraz told reporters, having reclaimed the top rank from Novak Djokovic due to his victory.

"It has been the perfect tournament. It was a goal for me, this tournament that I really wanted to win. For me, it's amazing."

The lopsided nature of Alcaraz's victory over Medvedev in the final caught many by surprise, hitting 19-4 winners against the in-form fifth seed.

"Honestly I didn’t expect that," Alcaraz said. "I expected a tough match but I played perfect. I said before against Daniil you have to play your best and tactically at your best level as well. I did perfect today. That's why it looks easy but it wasn’t."

Alcaraz added he was delighted to reclaim the number one rank which he had lost after Djokovic won the 2023 Australian Open which he missed due to injury.

Djokovic was unable to participate at Indian Wells due to being unvaccinated for COVID-19, with the pair actually not facing off at any events this year.

Alcaraz returned from abdominal and hamstring injuries last month at the Argentina Open and Rio Open before competing at Indian Wells, while Djokovic was in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The next opportunity for the pair to face off as at April's Monte Carlo Masters.

"Novak is one of the best players in the world," Alcaraz said. "That's obvious. I always say, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I really wanted to play against Novak again. We miss him on tour and hopefully to have him back very, very soon."

Alcaraz added: "It feels great to be back on the number one. Of course, every player on the ATP wants to be the number one. For me, it's a dream come true again. Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, the top player, it's an amazing feeling."

Despite Djokovic being unable to compete at Indian Wells, Medvedev said he felt Alcaraz's return to the top rank was a true number one.

"One hundred per cent," Medvedev said. "It's unfortunate Novak can't play all the tournaments. If you get injured, Rafa is injured for some time, we cannot say if Rafa isn’t injured he would be number one, because we cannot know. Same about Novak.

"For sure if he was able to play last year and this year all the tournaments there is a possibility that the rankings would be different but Carlos is deservedly number one, he won more points than everybody else in the last 52 weeks and he was also year-end number one last year."

New world number one Carlos Alcaraz says he played "perfect" in Sunday's final demolition of Daniil Medvedev to cap a "perfect tournament" as he lifted the Indian Wells title for the first time.

Despite Medvedev coming into Sunday's decider on a 19-match winning streak, Alcaraz dominated 6-3 6-2 to win in 72 minutes.

Alcaraz's Indian Wells triumph was his third ATP Masters 1000 crown from three finals, not dropping a set in any of those deciders.

The 19-year-old Spaniard went through the Indian Wells Open without dropping a set and reflected that it was a "perfect" fortnight for him.

"It feels amazing to lift the trophy here [and] to recover the number one," Alcaraz told reporters, having reclaimed the top rank from Novak Djokovic due to his victory.

"It has been the perfect tournament. It was a goal for me, this tournament that I really wanted to win. For me, it's amazing."

The lopsided nature of Alcaraz's victory over Medvedev in the final caught many by surprise, hitting 19-4 winners against the in-form fifth seed.

"Honestly I didn’t expect that," Alcaraz said. "I expected a tough match but I played perfect. I said before against Daniil you have to play your best and tactically at your best level as well. I did perfect today. That's why it looks easy but it wasn’t."

Alcaraz added he was delighted to reclaim the number one rank which he had lost after Djokovic won the 2023 Australian Open which he missed due to injury.

Djokovic was unable to participate at Indian Wells due to being unvaccinated for COVID-19, with the pair actually not facing off at any events this year.

Alcaraz returned from abdominal and hamstring injuries last month at the Argentina Open and Rio Open before competing at Indian Wells, while Djokovic was in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The next opportunity for the pair to face off as at April's Monte Carlo Masters.

"Novak is one of the best players in the world," Alcaraz said. "That's obvious. I always say, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I really wanted to play against Novak again. We miss him on tour and hopefully to have him back very, very soon."

Alcaraz added: "It feels great to be back on the number one. Of course, every player on the ATP wants to be the number one. For me, it's a dream come true again. Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, the top player, it's an amazing feeling."

Despite Djokovic being unable to compete at Indian Wells, Medvedev said he felt Alcaraz's return to the top rank was a true number one.

"One hundred per cent," Medvedev said. "It's unfortunate Novak can't play all the tournaments. If you get injured, Rafa is injured for some time, we cannot say if Rafa isn’t injured he would be number one, because we cannot know. Same about Novak.

"For sure if he was able to play last year and this year all the tournaments there is a possibility that the rankings would be different but Carlos is deservedly number one, he won more points than everybody else in the last 52 weeks and he was also year-end number one last year."

Daniil Medvedev joked about a love-hate relationship with the Indian Wells Open court and his failure to create an entertaining final after his heavy defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.

Medvedev's winning streak was halted at 19 matches by the sensational Alcaraz, who claimed his third Masters 1000 title in style on Sunday.

Alcaraz won 6-3 6-2 in just 72 minutes to return to the summit of the ATP rankings, with Novak Djokovic having been unable to feature in the United States due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

Medvedev had won three titles in a row – at the Rotterdam Open, Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships, where he beat Djokovic – ahead of competing at Indian Wells, yet proved no match for the imperious Alcaraz, who he had beaten in their only previous meeting, at Wimbledon in 2021.

The Russian had to overcome several hurdles to reach the final, having rolled his ankle in his fourth-round win over Alexander Zverev while he also hurt his thumb in a quarter-final defeat of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Yet despite the trials and tribulations, and his humbling loss in the final, Medvedev was in good spirits.

"I had a pretty toxic relationship here with the courts, a love-hate relationship," Medvedev chuckled. "So I'd like to thank the court!

"I only played on this court. I gave it a hard time so it gave me a hard time also. Rolled the ankle, the thumb... but it gave me the chance to finish the tournament.

"Thanks a lot to this court, I'll definitely be back.

"I really love this tournament, I'll be happy to come back many more years to come and hopefully I can start to love this court and Indian Wells together."

Addressing the crowd, Medvedev quipped: "Sorry I didn't make this final entertaining. I tried, I don't like to lose, but today was unfortunately pretty easy. I hope you still enjoyed it."

Alcaraz is one of only three players to hold a 100 per cent record in multiple ATP Masters 1000 finals, having now won in the finals of the Miami Open, Indian Wells Open and Madrid Open without dropping a set.

"I'd like to congratulate Carlos," said Medvedev. "You already have amazing achievements in your career and I'm sure many more to come.

"Today's one more of them, winning Indian Wells. I also dream of it – maybe next time you'll give me the chance!

"Congrats to you and your team. You're probably the most respectful player on Tour, you probably say hi to 300 people a day. I've rarely seen it!"

Alcaraz returned the plaudits, telling Medvedev he serves as an inspiration to be "better on the court and off the court".

"It has been a really amazing run here, such an amazing experience," the 19-year-old added.

When asked if he had played a near perfect match, Alcaraz told Amazon Prime: "Yes, probably. I played really, really well.

"I made no tactical mistakes, which is really important against Daniil. I would say I was perfect in that way.

"I'm really happy with the way I played, the trophy and of course to be world number one."

While Alcaraz will return to the top of the world on Monday, compatriot and idol Rafael Nadal is set to drop out of the top 10 for the first time since April 2005.

Carlos Alcaraz reclaimed the world number one ranking after dominating the in-form Daniil Medvedev to lift the Indian Wells Open title for the first time on Sunday.

Medvedev came into the decider with 19 straight ATP Tour wins, but Alcaraz made light work of the Russian, winning 6-3 6-2 in 72 minutes.

Alcaraz's triumph means he has three Masters titles from three finals, not dropping a set in any, while it ensured he returns to the rankings' summit ahead of 2023 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who did not participate at Indian Wells.

The 2022 US Open champion has won two of three events since returning after three months out with abdominal and hamstring injuries that forced him to miss the Australian Open.

Alcaraz had labelled Medvedev the "best player right now" in the lead-up to the match, but was on top immediately, opening up a 3-0 lead as he hit 10 winners to the Russian's two in the first frame.

The Spaniard's dominance continued, winning the first 10 points of the second set, taking a 4-0 lead before prevailing with his second match point.

Alcaraz finished with 19-4 edge in the winner count, while Medvedev did not manage one ace for the match, marking the first time that has occurred since February 2020 against Gilles Simon in Marseille.

Medvedev had won in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai recently and was gunning to be the first man to win four titles in five weeks since Andy Murray in 2016, but was completely outclassed by the 19-year-old.

Elena Rybakina is targeting consistency and staying fit over becoming world number one, for now.

Rybakina defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (13-11) 6-4 on Sunday to clinch the Indian Wells Open title.

It brought up a fourth singles title of her career, her maiden WTA 1000 trophy and her first success since winning Wimbledon last year.

Rybakina overcame Iga Swiatek in the last four, making her the first player since Garbine Muguruza at the 2017 Western & Southern Open to beat the world number one and two in the semi-finals and final of a single tournament.

The Kazakh will rise to world number seven after her success in the Californian desert, but when asked if the top of the rankings was her next target, Rybakina told Amazon Prime: "I'll try but first of all I just want to have the consistency, the most important thing is to stay healthy because it's still the beginning of the year.

"If I continue like this I have all the chance to be higher in the top 10, we'll see how it's going to go."

She added: "It feels amazing. I didn't expect two sets, I thought it would be a three-set battle. It wasn't easy, it was a bit windy, I lost the two games, I was getting nervous, but I managed to sort it out."

The two games Rybakina referred to came in the second set, when she went from 5-2 up to 5-4 before regaining her composure.

Rybakina had also come out on top in an almighty tussle in the first-set tie-break, with Sabalenka unable to then rediscover her best form during the second set.

Sunday's success marked Rybakina's first victory over Sabalenka – who she lost to in the final of this season's Australian Open – in five attempts.

Though Sabalenka is not planning on losing another one, as the Belarusian comically interjected during Rybakina's post-match on-court interview.

"I'll make sure it was the last one," Sabalenka quipped after Rybakina had explained "it was the first time it went my way" in a meeting with the 24-year-old.

"It's been always a pleasure to play against you and always the toughest battle," Rybakina continued.

"Hopefully I'll be back next year to defend this result."

Sabalenka was courteous in defeat, saying: "First of all Elena I want to congratulate you and your team on another amazing week. Hopefully we'll play in many more finals, hopefully next time it'll go to me!"

However, she was already focusing on putting the defeat behind her, with the Miami Open next up.

"For me it's quite easy. I think it's gonna stay in my head until tomorrow, and tomorrow we are flying to Miami and I will forget this one," she told reporters.

"The thing is helping me to stay focused and to keep winning is just to focus on myself and focus on the game and focus on things what I have to do on court to keep winning.

"This one was tough, especially in the finals, it's always tough to lose. You're one step to the trophy and you lose it. This one is really tough. But she's a great player."

The last five WTA titles at Indian Wells have now been won by players yet to turn 24, while Rybakina became the 25th female player to win the title.

Iga Swiatek is unsure whether she will be fit to defend her Miami Open title after a rib injury hampered the world number one during a semi-final defeat at the Indian Wells Open.

A savage 6-2 6-2 thrashing at the hands of Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina came while Swiatek was suffering physically.

She was emphatically outplayed, and how much of a factor the injury was is unclear, with tests in the coming days set to dictate what happens next for the 21-year-old Pole.

Swiatek was asked about what Rybakina did well and said: "I feel like it's still more me and my mistakes. I'm also not feeling 100 per cent physically. I have a little discomfort in my rib, and we're going to consult with the medical team."

She said she would use the days leading up to next week's event in Miami as a chance to recover.

"In terms of the rib, we'll see, because I still have to run some tests and see what's going on. I don't know yet," she said after Friday's defeat.

"Honestly, I haven't played with a lot of injuries. It's a new situation for me. The last time I played with an injury, the only tournament I can remember, is Roland Garros in 2019, so I was pretty young.

"Now it's a totally different level. I have been playing, so there has been some fatigue all the time. I would say it's kind of constant, but I'm pretty sure that tomorrow or the day after will help in recovery."

Asked whether it was a problem that could prevent her playing in Miami, Swiatek said: "No, for now I'm preparing to play, but we'll see what the next days are going to tell us. I don't know yet."

Swiatek last year won both Indian Wells and Miami to complete the 'Sunshine Double' in the early stages of a 37-match winning run that ended with a third-round Wimbledon defeat to Alize Cornet.

While Swiatek seeks medical expertise, Rybakina goes on to face Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday's Indian Wells trophy match, a repeat of the Australian Open final that Sabalenka won to earn a first grand slam singles title.

It is the third time this century that the WTA Indian Wells showpiece match has featured the same line-up as the Melbourne Park final after 2000 (Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis) and 2012 (Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka).

Elena Rybakina is through to her second final of the year after upsetting world number one Iga Swiatek 6-2 6-2 in Friday's Indian Wells Open semi-final.

Rybakina, 25, added to her terrific recent head-to-head record against the 21-year-old Polish superstar, now with three consecutive straight sets victories since December.

The reigning Wimbledon champion, who became Kazakhstan's first grand slam winner, was all over Swiatek's serve from the jump.

The top seed ended up winning just 42 per cent (18-of-43) of her total service points, with Rybakina converting all five of her break point opportunities.

After taking the opening frame, Rybakina slammed the door shut by running out to a 5-0 lead in the second, hitting five aces in the set while Swiatek had just one for the match.

Rybakina will next face world number two Aryna Sabalenka in the decider after the Belarusian made similar light work of world number seven Maria Sakkari.

Sabalenka, who has dropped only one set en route to the final, needed just 85 minutes to advance 6-2 6-3. She created 10 break point opportunities compared to Sakkari's four, with the Greek talent not able to pull another rabbit out of the hat after four consecutive three-set victories.

It will be the sixth overall meeting between Rybakina and Sabalenka, and a rematch from the Australian Open final, when Sabalenka took it 4-6 6-3 6-4 to extend her head-to-head advantage to 4-1.

Novak Djokovic has been ruled out of the Miami Open after tournament organisers "exhausted all the options" in an effort to secure him a travel exemption.

The 22-time grand slam winner withdrew from the Indian Wells Open as he is unable to play in the United States.

He is not vaccinated against COVID-19, which remains a requirement of international travellers, but Djokovic had hoped to be granted special permission to enter the country.

US tennis authorities and a number of politicians also expressed support for an exception being made for the 35-year-old Djokovic, with US president Joe Biden urged to reconsider policy.

Even last week, Serbian superstar Djokovic was clinging to hopes of playing the Miami Open, which he has won six times.

However, tournament director James Blake told Tennis Channel there is no chance of that happening, despite extensive efforts.

"Obviously, we're one of the premier tournaments in the world, we'd like to have the best players that can play," said Blake, a former world number four.

"We did all that we could. We tried to talk to the government, but that's out of our hands. We tried and he wasn't able to play."

Blake said he was in the same position as Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas, being unable to influence government-level decisions.

"We tried to get Novak Djokovic to be allowed to get an exemption, but that wasn't able to happen," Blake said. "We'd love to have him, and he’s our greatest champion, won it six times here.

"Unfortunately, that's way above my pay grade."

Blake added: "We exhausted all the options we knew of. Hopefully Novak will be back this year and hopefully he will be back for all the later events in the States including Cincinnati and the US Open."

Maria Sakkari prioritised a pedicure after earning a shot at Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells Open semi-finals.

Thursday was to be a recovery and re-setting day for Greek Sakkari, one of the stars of the Netflix 'Break Point' series, who is through to her third semi-final of the year.

She booked a last-four spot thanks to a stunning fightback from a set and a break down to Petra Kvitova, but Sakkari's efforts this week in California have left her with bleeding toes.

It is hardly surprising, considering she has taken a long route through to the semi-finals, reeling off four consecutive three-set wins.

Sakkari has lost the first set in three of those four matches but found a way to battle back, but she will want to start strongly against a dialled-in Sabalenka.

After coming through 4-6 7-5 6-1 against Kvitova, Sakkari said in an on-court interview: "I need a pedicure because my feet are bleeding so badly."

Asked about that comment later, she said in a press conference: "It's just my nails. It's not ideal, but nothing bad, like I can properly play and run and everything, but it's not nice."

It sounds far from pleasant, yet Sakkari fights on, aware that despite not playing her top-level tennis so far this fortnight, resilience has pulled her through.

"It is strange, but at the same time, I'm just telling myself, look, you're not playing your best tennis and you're still winning and beating amazing players," Sakkari said.

"By just surviving and just finding ways, eventually I'm sure that my game is going to get better. I really want to see how it's gonna be when I will start feeling good with my game.

"But of course I don't want to say that like I was playing s*** and I won. That's not the case. That's also very bad for the opponent."

Considering Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon champion and a 29-time singles title winner on tour, Sakkari ranked Wednesday's win as one to log alongside her finest victories.

"For me coming back against her, now that she's playing good, now that she has beaten so many good players, it's a bloody good win," Sakkari said. "The fact I found a way was one of the best comebacks of my life."

Sakkari trails 4-3 in the career head-to-head against Sabalenka despite winning their last two encounters, both at the WTA Finals in each of the past two seasons.

They have not faced each other since Sabalenka became a first-time grand slam champion in Melbourne at the start of the year.

Sakkari was runner-up at Indian Wells 12 months ago, losing to Iga Swiatek in the final, and she has designs on beating Sabalenka to earn another crack at the title match.

Asked about the Belarusian, Sakkari said: "She's an amazing player. I knew that she was gonna win a grand slam. It actually came, and I was very happy for her.

"She's very fun to be around. It's going to be very, very tough, because she's feeling the ball really well."

Australian champion Aryna Sabalenka made light work of sixth seed Coco Gauff in a dominant straight-sets win to clinch her spot in the Indian Wells Open semi-finals on Wednesday.

Sabalenka improved her 2023 season record to 16-1 with a 6-4 6-0 win over the 19-year-old American in only 65 minutes.

The Belarusian will face seventh seed Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals after the Greek edged out 15th seed Petra Kvitova in three sets in the evening quarter-final.

Sabalenka will be tough to beat, however, maintaining her strong season form against Gauff who had little answers despite boasting a 3-1 head-to-head record coming into the clash.

The second seed crushed 18 winners compared to Gauff's 12, while she committed 14 fewer unforced errors across the match.

Sabalenka opened up a 2-0 lead in the first set and maintained that buffer to take the opening frame, before a 25-minute second-set bagel underlined her dominance.

"I feel a little bit different on the court this year," Sabalenka said after the match. "I feel like I'm a little bit different player. I wasn't really focusing on the last matches against her. I was focused on myself."

Sakkari came from behind to defeat two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova 4-6 7-5 6-1 in two hours and 17 minutes.

The Greek, who finished as last year's Indian Wells Open runner-up, was broken twice in the first set and dropped serve again in the opening game of the second frame, before finding a way to flip the match on its head.

Sakkari broke back for 3-3 in the second set, winning 12 of the final 15 games for victory in an impressive turnaround. All four of Sakkari's matches in Indian Wells this fortnight have gone to three sets.

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev brushed off an ankle concern and booked his spot in the Indian Wells Open semi-finals after a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday.

The 2021 US Open champion triumphed 6-3 7-5 over the Spaniard in one hour and 44 minutes, securing his 18th straight victory.

Medvedev will face Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals after the American beat Briton Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-4 in the other quarter-final in that half of the draw.

The Russian had suffered an ankle injury during Tuesday's last-16 win over Alexander Zverev but played on to clinch a hard-fought three-set win.

But Medvedev alleviated any injury concerns, although he required treatment on a bloody right thumb in the second set while escaping from 0-40 at 3-4.

"I'm actually happy the ankle didn't hurt much because when I warmed up, it was hurting pretty bad," Medvedev said post-match.

"I knew I was going to play, I knew I was going to try. But I couldn't move well on the warm-up. I tried to warm it up as long as possible, took one painkiller so that probably helped. I was actually feeling better and better during the match."

Medvedev raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set and never looked back, although Davidovich Fokina fought hard in the second frame but missed his big chance in the eighth game.

The pair both hit 24 winners for the match, but the Spaniard's 24 unforced errors compared to Medvedev's 12 was a key difference.

Tiafoe, who made last year's US Open last four, awaits after needing only one hour and 25 minutes to eliminate 2021 Indian Wells champion Norrie and reach his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

Norrie had been on an eight-match winning run but the American hit 22 winners and only gave up nine unforced errors.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz moved into the Indian Wells Open quarter-finals after Jack Draper retired down 6-2 2-0 due to an abdominal injury in their last-16 clash on Tuesday.

Alcaraz was in control, winning the first set in 36 minutes before racing to a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes before the Briton withdrew. Draper had battled the injury in the latter stages of Monday's win over Andy Murray.

Despite that, the Spaniard looked in good touch, setting up a quarter-final meeting with eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has a 3-0 head-to-head record against him.

"I felt the ball really well. I'm really happy with that part," Alcaraz said. "I would say I returned well, I hit great shots. I finished the match with confidence in my shots, to come into the next round with more confidence."

Auger-Aliassime saved six match points in a dramatic triumph over 17th seed Tommy Paul to reach the last eight, winning 3-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in two hours and 48 minutes.

The Canadian trailed 0-40 on serve at 5-6 in the deciding set before winning the next five points. He repeated that feat, down 3-6 in the tie-break, capitalising on his first match point. Auger-Aliassime hit 31 winners for the match, along with 51 unforced errors.

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev fought back from a set down and a rolled ankle to progress past Alexander Zverev 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 in three hours and 10 minutes.

Medvedev rolled his ankle in the sixth game of the second set, going down in pain but played on, in his longest-ever three-set match. The victory is the Russian's 17th in a row. Zverev committed 50 unforced errors across the match.

The Russian will take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last eight, with the Spaniard winning 6-3 6-4 over Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin.

Jannik Sinner cruised past Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 39 minutes to move into the last eight where he will face reigning champion Taylor Fritz. The American won 6-4 6-3 over Hungary's Martin Fucsovics in one hour and 41 minutes.

British 10th seed Cameron Norrie will play 14th seed Frances Tiafoe in the other quarter-final, with the former winning 6-2 6-4 over the higher-ranked Andrey Rublev. Tiafoe won 6-4 6-4 over Alejandro Tabilo in 83 minutes for his 150th career win.

Top seed Iga Swiatek will be hard top stop in her title defence at the Indian Wells Open after a straight-sets thrashing over Emma Raducanu in Tuesday's last 16.

The Polish world number one eased to victory 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 25 minutes over the 2021 US Open champion, who has enjoyed an improved run this week in California.

Swiatek offered few weaknesses in a strong disciplined display, converting four of 10 break points, including three in a one-way second set.

The three-time major winner won 88 per cent on her first serve while she was impressive on return and able to win the longer rallies. Swiatek hit 22-9 winners while Raducanu made 22-14 unforced errors.

Swiatek will take on Romania's Sorana Cirstea in the quarter-finals, after she upset fifth seed Caroline Garcia 6-4 4-6 7-5 in two hours and 24 minutes.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina also progressed in that part of the draw, setting up a last-eight clash with unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova.

Rybakina won 6-3 6-0 over qualifier Varvara Gracheva in a similarly strong performance, needing only one hour and 21 minutes.  Muchova beat compatriot Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 in two hours and 37 minutes.

Third seed Jessica Pegula was the major casualty of the day's play, going down 6-2 3-6 7-6 (13-11) to 16th seed Petra Kvitova in a dramatic two-hour-and-16-minutes clash.

Pegula had opened up a 5-3 third-set lead and squandered a match point on serve, before two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova squared it up at 5-5. Kvitova, however, was broken immediately to offer Pegula another chance to serve out the match again, which she was unable to take.

The American generated another three match points in the tie-break but could not convert before the Czech eventually prevailed on her own fourth match point, with the deciding set lasting one hour and 12 minutes.

Kvitova will face seventh seed Maria Sakkari in the quarters after she triumphed in a lengthy clash 6-4 5-7 6-3 over Karolina Pliskova, lasting two hours and 43 minutes.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka also needed three sets to beat Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 2-6 6-4 in two hours and four minutes. Krejcikova had been responsible for Sabalenka's lone loss this season, in a 15-1 year.

Sabalenka, who won this year's Australian Open, will face sixth seed Coco Gauff who defeated Rebecca Peterson 6-3 1-6 6-4. Gauff won the last four games for victory, having trailed 4-2 in the deciding set.

Daniil Medvedev expects to have a scan on his right ankle to see if he can continue his Indian Wells Masters campaign after injuring it in defeating Alexander Zverev.

Medvedev progressed to the quarter-finals for the first time at Indian Wells by coming from behind to defeat Zverev in three sets.

The 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 victory looked unlikely in the second set, when Medvedev hit the deck in obvious pain after turning his ankle.

It was subsequently taped by a physio, with Medvedev then coming through in three hours and 16 minutes, marking the longest three-set match of his career.

Medvedev has now won 17 matches in a row and is scheduled to face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last eight.

But it is not yet clear whether he will be fit to play that match.

Speaking after the win over Zverev, Medvedev said: "When I twisted it, I thought I was going to stand up fine, then the pain started going fast, so I thought, 'oh no, that's not a good sign'.

"So, I honestly thought maybe one of the ligaments is a little bit injured, so I thought I'm not going to be able to play.

"That's probably one of the first times in my life where a physio taped my ankle, so I decided to give it a try, and it was very surprising. It was much easier to move and to run than to walk. When I was walking, I was limping, and then I was running fine.

"I can understand how frustrating it is for the opponent, but I was not faking it. It was tougher for me to walk.

"When the adrenaline goes down, the body cools down, it's going to be pretty painful, and I'm going to probably do a scan, see what it is and if I can continue to play."

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