Daniil Medvedev underlined his standing as a scorching favorite this week within the desert with a 6-4, 6-3 opening win in opposition to Brandon Nakashima on Friday night time. The fifth seed entered the BNP Paribas Open because the ATP Tour’s most in-form participant, profitable three consecutive titles and 14 straight matches, and his profitable streak — now at 15 — was by no means in jeopardy because of an assured efficiency in opposition to the San Diego native.

Nakashima gave his dwelling crowd a lot to cheer about, firing massive forehands and defending brilliantly at instances, and even hitting a tweener that his opponent volleyed into the online in set two. However Medvedev had all of the solutions when he wanted them, saving all six break factors in opposition to him to safe the win in a single hour, 26 minutes on the 12 months’s first ATP Masters 1000.

“We had some good factors,” Medvedev mentioned in his on-court interview. “That is in all probability the slowest arduous court docket on the Tour. So many matches I see it is like rallies, rallies, rallies, so we will have some good factors. There have been some powerful ones within the match, powerful break-point saves. I am joyful that I managed to battle by way of.”

Medvedev received the opening set by breaking at love for 3-2, claiming the lone break level of the set, and he drove his benefit dwelling with an on the spot break in set two. He then escaped 0/40 at 2-1 and 15/40 at 4-3 earlier than wrapping up the win along with his third break in seven possibilities.

“I really feel like on such a court docket you can’t play your greatest tennis each level,” Medvedev added. “That is why [there are] so many break factors for everyone and so many alternatives. On the finish of the day, it’s important to play your greatest… He additionally performed nice factors so it was a superb battle, particularly extra within the second set I’d say.”

Medvedev will subsequent face Ilya Ivashka, who moved previous twenty eighth seed Botic van de Zandschulp when the Dutchman retired whereas trailing 5-7, 2-3.

Earlier on Thursday in Indian Wells, Alexander Zverev made an equally easy begin to his Indian Wells marketing campaign with a 6-3, 6-1 win in opposition to Pedro Cachin. From 4-3 within the opening set, the German received seven straight video games to maneuver to the brink of victory.

Zverev fired seven break factors within the win and saved each break factors he confronted — one in every set. He transformed on 4 of six break factors to safe the victory in a tidy one hour, 17 minutes.

The German meets Emil Ruusuvuori subsequent after the Finn’s 7-6(5), 6-2 win in opposition to twenty second seed Roberto Bautista Agut. Past that, he may face a fourth-round assembly with Medvedev if each males advance.