TENNIS: Djokovic and Draper set up last-16 showdown, Siniakova ousts defending champion Andreeva

INDIAN WELLS, California – Third seed Novak Djokovic overcame a second-set setback to defeat American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 on Monday, reaching the last 16 at Indian Wells for the first time since 2017. Djokovic will face defending champion Jack Draper, who defeated 19th seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 7-5.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion, who has won a record-tying five titles at the California desert event, claimed the opening set before dropping the second. He regained control in the decider to seal victory in two hours and two minutes.

"Great performance from Alex," Djokovic said. "We know each other, we speak the same language, obviously, his whole family is Serbian. He's one of the best talents we have out there, especially with his one-handed backhand, which is rare nowadays. He’s played a great tournament so far."

Djokovic added, "Today I knew if he serves well and picks his spot, it’s going to be hard to break. And that’s exactly what happened. He was serving extremely well."

Britain’s Draper was in commanding form, easily taking the first set before fending off a stronger challenge from the Argentine in the second.

American Alex Michelsen made headlines by upsetting seventh seed and home favorite Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6(6). Briton Cameron Norrie continued his strong run with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Australian sixth seed Alex de Minaur.

Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata also impressed, coming back from a first-set tiebreak loss to defeat Kazakh 10th seed Alexander Bublik 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 in a grueling match lasting over two and a half hours.

Women’s Matches

In the women’s draw, Katerina Siniakova pulled off the biggest upset of the day, eliminating Russian eighth seed and defending champion Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3.

"I had no pressure at all. It was all on her. I just focused on fighting for every point and changing the rhythm," the Czech said after the nearly three-hour match. "I’m really proud of my performance."

Czech Karolina Muchova also impressed, defeating Croatian Antonia Ruzic 6-0, 6-3, while Swiss Belinda Bencic cruised past Belgian Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-3.

Second seed Iga Swiatek, a two-time Indian Wells champion, dominated Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2. Fifth seed Jessica Pegula showed resilience, coming from a set down to beat Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and advance to the fourth round.

Pegula dropped the opening set to the hard-hitting Latvian and former French Open champion but recovered to take the next two sets and secure a hard-fought victory.

-Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Ken Ferris and Shri Navaratnam/Reuters