March 6, 2026; Indian Wells, California, USA; Jannik Sinner (ITA) plays in his second round match against Dalibor Svrcina (CZE) at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Image Second-seeded Jannik Sinner needed just 64 minutes to cruise through his opening match, defeating Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina 6-1, 6-1 in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on Friday.
The Italian, who received a first-round bye, won 81% of his first serves and 75% of his second serves, saving the lone break point he faced.
Sinner is making his second competitive appearance since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Doha, Qatar, two weeks ago.
“I feel like I’m in a good place mentally,” Sinner said. “I’m calm and relaxed, but I’m very happy to compete. We’ve done a lot of work. We’ve spent a lot of time on the court. We’ve spent a lot of time in the gym. We’re trying to get a little stronger (physically). We’ve done double sessions without a few days off.”
Italy’s fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti is facing an unexpected vacation after losing 7-5, 6-1 to Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
Musetti returned for the first time since retiring from the Australian Open quarterfinals due to a core muscle injury and took a two-set lead over Djokovic.
Fucsovics finished with more winners and fewer unforced errors (26-22) than Musetti (19-10).
Today’s slate included two All-America matchups.
Eighth-seeded Ben Shelton edged Reilly Opelka 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-3, before Opelka escaped serving at 5-3 in the second set.
“I’m excited to advance to the next round, especially the opportunity to compete and win on a court like this against a tough opponent,” Shelton said.
No. 21 seed Frances Tiafoe beat Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-2.
Learner Tien, seeded 25th, beat Australia’s Adam Walton 7-6(3), 7-6(8) to set up another all-American showdown with Shelton.
American Brandon Nakashima, seeded 28th, defeated Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-3, 6-4.
Ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada beat France’s Gael Monfils 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4. Another Canadian, Denis Shapovalov, won 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5) over 29th-seeded Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Also advancing were Germany’s 4th seed Alexander Zverev, 15th seed Italy’s Flavio Coboli, 18th seed Spain’s Alejandro Davidovic Fokina and 30th seed Arthur Phils of France.
–Field level media
