Australian Open champion Madison Keys needed six match points as she clawed out a 6-2, 6-7 (8/10), 6-4 victory over Elise Mertens on Monday to reach the fourth round at Indian Wells.

Unable to convert two match points as she served at 5-3 in the second set, the fifth-seeded American blew two more in the tiebreaker before finally polishing off the 28th seed from Belgium in two hours and 48 minutes.

“It’s always tough when you feel like you’re not playing your best tennis against someone who’s really tricky,” Keys said. “Definitely really frustrating, lots of ups and downs.

“It’s just abut surviving,” added Keys, who had lost twice to Mertens since beating her at Wimbledon in 2021.

Keys is playing her first tournament since capturing her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne. She has found the California desert inhospitable in the past and is in the last 16 for just the third time.

She’ll face either compatriot Emma Navarro or Croatia’s Donna Vecic as she tries to seal a quarter-final berth.

Two-time defending men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz and women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka highlighted Stadium Court action in the combined ATP Masters and WTA 1000 event.

Spain’s Alcaraz, vying to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men to win three straight Indian Wells titles, takes on 27th-seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada.

The world number three from Spain is the highest-ranked player remaining in the men’s draw after No. 2 Alexander Zverev’s second-round exit. Top-ranked Italian Jannik Sinner is serving a belated three-month drugs ban.

Third-seeded American Taylor Fritz, last year’s US Open runner-up who won the Indian Wells title in 2022, took on Chile’s 31st-ranked Alejandro Tabile.

The winner of that match next faces 14th-ranked Jack Draper of Britain, who shook off a slow start to beat Jenson Brooksby 7-5, 6-4.

Trailing 4-1 in the opening set, Draper found his groove to fend off the American who is ranked 937th in the world after missing two years during which he had two wrist surgeries, rehabbed a shoulder injury and served suspension for missing multiple anti-doping tests.

“Jenson is an unorthodox player, he makes life really difficult,” said Draper, who flung his racquet in frustration at one point in the first set.

“He doesn’t make the rhythm easy. I got off to a slow start, I missed a couple of opportunities early on.

“But I’m glad of the way I fought and competed. Even though it wasn’t my best tennis today, I’m really happy with the way I tried my best to stay cool.”

In other early matches, Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, ending the run of the Dutch lucky loser who toppled 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the second round.

American Coco Gauff overcame late nerves to beat Greek Maria Sakkari 7-6(1) 6-2 and reach the last 16 at Indian Wells on Monday, as her compatriot Madison Keys held off Belgian Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-7(8), 6-4.

Third seed Gauff was in fine form until the final game, where she produced six double faults before closing it out on her sixth match point. She will next play Swiss Belinda Bencic.

“Except the last game I thought I played a great match. Just trying to look at the positives,” Gauff said after securing the win with a forehand winner.

“Obviously I was a bit disappointed with the last game but that’s just the perfectionist in me.”

Gauff had revenge on her mind in front of the home crowd after losing to Sakkari in the semi-final last year and showed her mettle as she won six points in a row to triumph in the tiebreak.

After trading breaks again early in the second set, Gauff broke Sakkari to love in the fifth game and looked ready to run away with the momentum from there.

But the serving struggles she has fought mightily to overcome undermined her best efforts at the finish line and she was forced to save four break points in the final game to keep it to two sets.

“Always an honour and privilege to play in front of this crowd,” said Gauff, giving credit to the partisan U.S. crowd that powered her over through the finish.

Earlier in the day, Keys saved 12 of the 15 break points she faced to secure her 14th straight match victory, despite letting four match points slip through her fingers in the second set.

The fifth seed, who lost to Mertens in their two previous meetings, sent over five aces to set up a fourth-round meeting with the winner of a match between compatriot Emma Navarro and Croatian Donna Vekic.

On the men’s side, Briton Jack Draper took down home hope Jenson Brooksby 7-5 6-4, winning more than three-quarters of his service points.

Highlights for the evening programme include a clash between Canadian Denis Shapovalov and four-times major winner Carlos Alcaraz, while Italian sixth seed Jasmine Paolini plays Romanian Jaqueline Cristian.

Carlos Alcaraz kept his Indian Wells “three-peat” campaign on track with a pristine 6-2 6-4 win against Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the third round on Monday, as a crowd of Americans fed off the home fans to reach the final 16.

The second-seeded Spaniard Alcaraz was never in doubt as he won the first five games, sending over 10 winners in the first set alone, as Shapovalov – who was fresh off a confident win in Dallas – struggled to find his usual intensity.

The four-times major winner never faced a break in a nearly flawless second set and he held to love in the final game, clinching the affair in under 90 minutes with a mighty overhead smash.

He will play the winner of a match between Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and France’s Gael Monfils.

“I knew at the beginning of the match that I had to be really focused. I had to start the match really strong, knowing it was going to be a really tough battle,” said Alcaraz.

Alcaraz wants to become only the third man to win three straight titles at the Masters 1000 tournament after retired great Roger Federer and former number one Novak Djokovic, who crashed out in the second round.

“I’m just really pleased about my performance today, about everything I have done,” said Alcaraz. “Few things that I have to improve, but I’m really happy.”

Belarusian world number one Aryna Sabalenka used her powerful serve to wallop Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-1 6-2, bringing her best form to the tournament after suffering early exits at the Qatar Open and in Dubai.

It took little time for Sabalenka to find her footing, as she sprinted through the first set and quickly recovered after dropping her serve early in the second. She will play British lucky loser Sonay Kartal next.

“It wasn’t as easy as the score looks like. It was tough conditions out there, and happy with the way I managed that,” she said.
So I came to get the experience, so I’ll go back and learn from my mistakes.’