Early exits for reigning champs Sharapova and Nadal at Indian Wells

Sport360 staff 08:48 11/03/2014
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  • Huge scalp: Dolgopolov celebrates after his win over reigning champ Rafael Nadal.

    Both men's and women's reigning champions Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova were stunned in the third round of the Indian Wells ATP Masters today after respective defeats to Alexandr Dolgopolov and Camila Giorgi.

    Ukraine's Dolgopolov, ranked 31st in the world and seeded 28th in the first Masters tournament of the year, notched his first victory over the Spanish superstar after five prior defeats.

    The most recent of those was in the claycourt final at Rio de Janeiro two weeks ago. Dolgopolov next faces Italy's Fabio Fognini, a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 winner over France's Gael Monfils.

    Nadal had reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells every year since 2006, winning the title in 2007, 2009 and last year.

    Down a break at 5-3 in the third, Nadal broke Dolgopolov to get the get back on serve and from there they went to the tiebreaker.

    Dolgopolov kept his composure on the first match point, when he initially thought he had won the contest with a service winner only to see that call overturned on a challenge from Nadal.

    He put his second serve in play, and sealed the win with a blistering forehand that Nadal couldn't get back.

    Elsewhere in the men's draw, Swiss pair Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka both eased through to the next round with straight set wins.

    Four-time Indian Wells champion Roger Federer held on through two tie-breakers on Monday to beat Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets at the first ATP Masters of the year.

    It wasn't a dominant performance from the former world number one and 17-time Grand Slam champion, but it showcased the confidence he has regained with a strong start to 2014 that includes his win in Dubai last month.

    "Now I feel like I'm in a good place. Zen on the court," Federer said after his 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/2) victory. "I know what my solid level is. Even if I won six and six today, I just feel like I was calm and served for the set — OK, got broken, still managed to stay calm."

    Compatriot Wawrinka was far more comfortable in victory, dropping just two games en route to beating Italian Andreas Seppi 6-0, 6-2. 

    The biggest casualty in the women's draw was Maria Sharapova who was stunned by Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to end the Russian's hopes of defending her title.

    The 79th-ranked Giorgi needed two hours and 36 minutes to notch her third career win against a top-10 player, aided by an error-strewn performance from Sharapova.

    The Russian superstar hit only 16 winners and 58 unforced errors. Giorgi's stats weren't impressive either, and they combined for 15 breaks of serve.

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