Big Men Del Potro, Querrey, Raonic Advance At Indian Wells, Cilic Out; Federer Leads 4th RD Wed.

The big men took the center stage Tuesday at the Indian Wells Masters, and three advanced while recent Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic fell to Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4.

It was the German’s fifth win in six tries on hard courts against Cilic, and ends a streak of 13 straight losses to Top 10 players.

“Very happy,” Kohlschreiber said. “I think my performance worked quite well from the start. I felt like Marin was maybe a bit nervous. I felt good. Played aggressive.”

Kohlschreiber next takes on Pierre-Hugues Herber who advanced when his countryman Gael Monfils retired with a back injury down 6-3, 2-1.

“I hurt my back in the second game, then it got worse and worse,” said Monfils. “I couldn’t really move on the court. I asked Carlos to call the trainer because I couldn’t move.”

Recent Acapulco champ Juan Martin del Potro ran his win streak to seven after beating David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6(3).

“I couldn’t break at the beginning of the match,” said del Potro who was just 1-of-16 on break chances. “I lost many opportunities to start even better the match, and I got frustration after all those points. I was waiting on more chances, and the chances came in the end of the set, and finally I took one,” Del Potro said. “Then I played solid every service game, and I think I played much better than him in the tie-break.”

Del Potro, who made the Indian Wells final in 2013, will battle countryman Leonardo Mayer today.

“We practice a lot together. We train at the same club in Buenos Aires. We grow up together. We win the Davis Cup together. And we have dinners together and we spend a lot of time together,” del Potro said. “It will be a special match for both. And I know if he has a good day, he’s a very dangerous guy, and he plays solid from the baseline. He plays very flat, and his serves are good enough to beat me or to beat anyone on tour.”

In was a mixed day for Americans. Sam Querrey was a winner edging in three but 2017 semifinalist Jack Sock fell to Feliciano Lopez 6-4 in the third.

2016 runner-up Milos Raonic quietly moved on beating Joao Sousa 7-5, 4-6, 6-2. Raonic has former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis today in the fourth round.

Also today, Roger Federer returns hoping to up his win streak to 15 against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. Australian Open semifinalist Hyeon Chung challenges Pablo Cuevas, former semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta tests US Open finalist Kevin Anderson and the hot-handed Borna Coric tries to stop Taylor Fritz’s best Masters.

WEDNESDAY INDIAN WELLS SCHEDULE
STADIUM 1 Starts At 11:00 Am
4th Rd Taylor Fritz VS Borna Coric
Not Before 1:00 Pm
QF -1 Simona Halep VS Petra Martic
Followed By
4th Rd -1 Roger Federer VS Jeremy Chardy
Followed By
4th Rd -6 Juan Martin Del Potro VS Leonardo Mayer
Not Before 7:00 Pm
QF Naomi Osaka VS -5 Karolina Pliskova
Not Before 8:30 Pm
4th Rd (Q) Marcos Baghdatis VS -32 Milos Raonic

STADIUM 2 Starts At 11:00 Am
4th Rd -23 Hyeon Chung VS -30 Pablo Cuevas
Not Before 1:00 Pm
4th Rd Pierre-Hugues Herbert VS -31 Philipp Kohlschreiber
Followed By
4th Rd -11 Pablo Carreno Busta VS -7 Kevin Anderson
Not Before 6:00 Pm
4th Rd -28 Feliciano Lopez VS -18 Sam Querrey