Former winners Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal breezed through with straight-set wins Sunday as a flu bug wreaked havoc on the men's and women's draws at the Indian Wells tournament. Reigning Wimbledon champion and WTA Player of the Year Petra Kvitova was knocked out early when 19-year-old American Christina McHale fought back to beat the Czech in three sets.
But the biggest problem eating into the draw Sunday was a stomach virus that has forced at least eight players to withdraw or retire within the last two days, including men's 14th seed Gael Monfils and women's ninth seed Vera Zvonareva. Third seed Federer defeated wild card Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-1 in a second round night match on centre court.
The Swiss master said he was also feeling a bit sick, but not as bad as his family members and not enough to be thrown off his game. Federer, who won Indian Wells three straight years from 2004-2006, advances to the third round where he will face hard-serving Canadian Milos Raonic, who beat Carlos Berlocq in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.
Nadal advanced to the third round, where he will face fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers, who beat Tommy Haas of Germany 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Ninth seed Juan Martin del Potro defeated Australia's Marinko Matosevic 7-5, 6-2 in their second round match. On the women's side, McHale rallied to upset Czech Kvitova in three sets 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. Top seed Victoria Azarenka defeated two-time grand slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-2, extending her season-long winning streak to 19-0.
Comments
Comments are closed.