Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton lead American men’s charge at Indian Wells

Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton gave the home fans at Indian Wells plenty to cheer about Monday, taming wind-whipped conditions in the California desert to reach the fourth round.

Fritz, the 2022 BNP Paribas Open champion and No. 3 seed, overcame a slow start to beat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

He said he expected a tough fight in the next round against Britain’s Jack Draper, who dimmed the Americans’ joy as he beat home hope Jenson Brooksby in straight sets.

“It’s going to be a tough match. I think it’s a tough draw to get him in the round of 16 as a top-four seed. He’s a very good player,” Fritz said. “I think he’s probably better than his ranking is … we have had some tight ones.”

Shelton, 22, got the crowd on its feet as he played with power and poise to defeat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-5, despite dealing with blisters on his hand.

Down a break in the second set, Shelton won the final four games of the match and clinched it with one of eight aces and a mighty cheer. He will play fellow American Brandon Nakashima in the round of 16.

In the evening session, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz breezed past Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-4.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: espn.com