Il Nuovo Postiglione - Sabalenka, Gauff, Keys advance at Indian Wells

Sabalenka said the unpredictable breeze on Stadium Court, coupled with the determination of her 62nd-ranked opponent, left her glad to emerge with the victory in an hour and 14 minutes.

"She played an incredible match," the Belarusian said. "The score looks easy, but it wasn't an easy match.

"I had to fight for every point and I'm super happy with the win," added Sabalenka who next faces British lucky loser Sonay Kartal, who beat Polina Kudermetova 7-5, 6-3.

Meanwhile Australian Open champion Madison Keys's struggles were obvious, but the American who shocked Sabalenka in the Melbourne final gutted out a 6-2, 6-7 (8/10), 6-4 victory over Elise Mertens.

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

"It's just about surviving," said Keys, who admitted she was finding it tricky to manage her own expectations in her first tournament since capturing her maiden major.

"Today, obviously, I don't think I played my best level, and I think that was more frustrating just because I'm starting to expect a little bit more of myself," she said. "So just trying to navigate that."

World number three Coco Gauff cleaned up her service act to pull off a 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 victory over Greece's Maria Sakkari -- who beat Gauff in the semi-finals last year on the way to a second Indian Wells final in three years.

After coughing up 21 double faults in a three-set victory over 52nd-ranked Moyuka Uchijima, Gauff delivered a more assured performance.

There was a wobble as she closed it out, with six of Gauff's nine double faults coming in the final game before she secured the match with a forehand winner.

"Resilience I guess," Gauff said of what she'll take from the win. "Overall it was much better than the previous match.

"Just trying to keep getting better as the rounds go on. I lost to Maria last year in the semi-final so it felt good to get a little revenge today, even though I love her."

Gauff next faces Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Russian Diana Shnaider.

Two-time defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz highlighted the night session 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.

- Fritz survives scare -

The world number three 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.

World number four Taylor Fritz survived a scare but rallied to beat Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Fritz, runner-up at the US Open last year, is vying to return to the Indian Wells winner's circle after his 2022 triumph saw him become the first US man to lift the trophy since Andre Agassi in 2001.

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

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.

Cerundolo next plays Australian ninth seed Alex De Minaur, who cruised past Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-0.

R.Accetta--INP