Djokovic Goes Down To Kohlschreiber, Roger Federer Advances At Indian Wells Masters

Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany reacts after beating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in two sets during the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, USA, 12 March 2019. The men’s and women’s final will be played, 17 March 2019. EPA-EFE/LARRY W. SMITH

 

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Not even the No. 1 player in the world is immune to the upset bug at the BNP Paribas Open.

 

Reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open, and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic went down to Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4 in a rain-delayed third-round match on Tuesday afternoon. The 35-year-old Kohlschreiber finished off one of the biggest wins of his career–on game of which was played on Monday night–after a total of one hour and 38 minutes.

 

“I had two good wins (prior to this match),” said Kohlschreiber, who trounced Nick Kyrgios by the same 6-4, 6-4 scoreline during second-round action. “Everything came together. It’s a very special win today; very special to beat the No. 1. Unfortunately the tournament is not over. I have to get back tomorrow with a great mindset. Today I want to take the moment (to) celebrate with my coach. I’ve got a lot of messages. I know it’s a very special victory today.”

 

Next up for the world No. 39 is Gael Monfils, who is dominating their head-to-head series 13-2.

 

“Gael played better than me in these matches,” Kohlschreiber reflected. “He loves the big stage. He’s at the moment in a very good run–a lot of confidence. It’s going to be very tough, of course. I put all the pressure to him. He has great record against me. He’s higher-ranked. He has to win. I have nothing to lose tomorrow.”

 

Speaking of lopsided rivalries, Roger Federer improved to 22-3 lifetime against fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka with a 6-3, 6-4 victory on Tuesday night. Federer fired four aces without double-faulting a single time and he never faced a break point.

 

“I think I felt good from the beginning,” the 2018 Indian Wells runner-up commented. “The breeze picked up a little bit for the evening, I thought, but I didn’t feel like it had that much of a play in it. I think for me the plan worked. I was able to mix up my game, cover my serve, be dangerous on the return, maybe take some rhythm away from Stan like I always try to do. But you can’t always make it work.”

 

Federer goes up against Kyle Edmund on Wednesday for a place in the quarterfinals of the season’s first Masters 1000 tournament.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.