Indian Wells: It was a tough day for seeded players at the BNP Paribas Open, with Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka, the world’s top-ranked players, ushered out in the desert.
Djokovic and Philipp Kohlschreiber resumed their third-round match that was suspended because of rain a night earlier. The unseeded German knocked off the five-time tournament champion 6-4, 6-4. Osaka lost to Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-1 in just over an hour in the fourth round of the first title defense of her career.
The bottom half of the men’s draw still includes No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal and fourth-seeded Roger Federer, both of whom breezed to victory.Djokovic owned an 8-1 record against Kohlschreiber, who beat a No. 1 player for the first time. Kohlschreiber liked the weather, sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s, much better than the cold and rain on Tuesday night.
“I liked my chances more at night against Kohlschreiber, but it wasn’t to be last night,” Djokovic said. “Completely different conditions today. I congratulate him for playing tactically really well and getting me out of my comfort zone. He deserved to win.” The 35-year-old German started thinking he had a chance early in the first set when he survived a handful of break points on his serve.
Djokovic remains alive in doubles with partner Fabio Fognini. Djokovic returned about an hour after his loss for their match. Also ousted were No. 6 Kei Nishikori, No. 10 Marin Cilic and No. 14 Daniil Medvedev. Nadal eased by 25th-seeded Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-1, while Federer defeated Swiss countryman Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4.
In women’s fourth-round matches, No. 2 Simona Halep lost to Marketa Vondrousova 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 and No. 7 Kiki Bertens was beaten by 20th-seeded Garbine Muguruza 5-7, 6-1, 6-4. Venus Williams reached the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Mona Barthel. Bianca Andreescu, an 18-year-old Canadian, beat 18th-seeded Wang Qiang 7-5, 6-2.
