No. 9 seed Casper Ruud of Norway dropped the first against unseeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, but rebounded to win 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 and reach his first BNP Paribas Open quarterfinal on Wednesday at Indian Wells, Calif.
In a 2-hour, 27-minute match that produced a number of long rallies, Ruud prevailed despite producing only three aces to Monfils’ 14. Ruud saved three of four break points, while Monfils saved four of five.
Ruud’s lone break of the match came in the third game of the deciding set as he improved to 4-0 in deciding sets this season.
“I think last year it was the other way around, I lost many close matches and a lot of three-setters didn’t go my way,” said Ruud, who is ranked No. 8 in the world. “This year, the goal has been to get a good start in three-setters. When you’re kind of on a roll in three-setters, it’s easier to keep it going. In the back of your mind, ‘Last week, I won three three-setters, so why not do it again?’
After a tough opening set, Ruud altered his approach and went to the net often to cut off angles, which led to him winning 16 of 20 net points.
“I felt physically good and ready,” Rud said. “Really tough second set, it fortunately went my way. I saved a few break points there and was clutch enough in the tiebreak.”
Next up for Ruud will be No. 17 seed Tommy Paul of the United States, who cruised over lucky loser Luca Nardi of Italy 6-4, 6-3 with aggressive baseline play.
“It was a cool matchup today,” said Paul, who won 15 of 18 net points in the 1-hour, 20-minute match. “He played really well and we pushed each other early in the first set and then I started getting really comfortable coming to the net.”
In other action, No. 4 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia dispatched No. 13 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-4 thanks in large part to a dominant first serve.
In the 1-hour, 20-minute match, Medvedev won 26 of 31 points on his first serve and earned his first break in the fifth game of the opening set. Dimitrov had more winners (13 to 7), but committed 29 unforced errors, including 15 off his forehand, and couldn’t recover.
On to the quarterfinals, Medvedev awaits the winner of Wednesday’s match between No. 7 seed Holger Rune of Denmark and No. 12 seed Taylor Fritz of the United States.
–Field Level Media