World No. 2 Jannik Sinner has already captured many of the biggest titles in tennis, but the ATP Masters 1000 crown at Indian Wells remains one trophy missing from his collection. The Italian began his quest to change that in dominant fashion.
In his opening match, the second seed completely thrashed the Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina with 6-1, 6-1 victory on Friday to advance to the third round.
The Italian, who received a first-round bye, won 81% of the points on his first serve, 75% on his second serve and saved the lone break point he faced.
Sinner is beginning his second event since losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open. He fell in the quarterfinals at Doha, Qatar, two weeks ago.
“I feel mentally I’m in a good place,” Sinner said. “I’m calm, I’m relaxed. But I’m also very happy to compete. We did a lot of work. Many, many hours on court. Many hours in the gym. I’m trying to get a little bit stronger (physically). We did double sessions, not many days off at all.”
This rocket forehand right before Jannik Sinner broke! 🎾🚀
Sinner leads 3-1. pic.twitter.com/CL8vlQSxIG
— jannik sinner files (@jannik_files) March 7, 2026
Unexpected days off are coming for another Italian, fifth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti, after he lost 7-5, 6-1 to Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
Musetti was back in action for the first time since a core muscle injury forced him to retire from the Australian Open quarterfinals while up two sets to love on Djokovic.
Fucsovics finished with more winners than Musetti (19-10) and fewer unforced errors (26-22).
The day’s slate featured two all-U.S. matchups.
Eighth-seeded Ben Shelton overtook Reilly Opelka 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-3, escaping despite Opelka attempting to serve for the match at 5-3 in the second set.
“Just happy to be through to the next round, that I went out there and gave myself a chance to compete and get a win against a tough opponent, especially on a court like this,” Shelton said.
Frances Tiafoe, the 21st seed, got past Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-2.
Also Read: Aryna Sabalenka Opens Indian Wells Bid With Dominant Win — BNP Paribas Open 2026
Learner Tien, seeded 25th, nipped Australia’s Adam Walton 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8) to set up yet another all-United States clash vs. Shelton.
Brandon Nakashima, a U.S. player seeded 28th, downed Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-3, 6-4.
Ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada rallied for a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 win over France’s Gael Monfils. Another Canadian, Denis Shapovalov, eked out a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5) victory over 29th-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina.
U.S. players split the last two matches of the night. Tommy Paul, the 23rd seed, blitzed Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-1, 6-2, but 12th-seeded Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic eliminated Marcos Giron 7-5, 7-6 (4).
Also advancing were fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany, 15th-seeded Flavio Cobolli of Italy, 18th-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain and 30th-seeded Arthur Fils of France.
