Murray Opens Play At Indian Wells Seeking 700; Kyrgios, Korda, Brooksby First Day Winners

The men’s side got underway Thursday in the wind and sun at Indian Wells. While the seeds were not on the court — and won’t be until Saturday for the men — there was plenty of intrigue.

Young American stars Sebastian Korda and Jenson Brooksby were both comfortable winners.

Korda cruised past qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-4 to set-up a Saturday date with Rafael Nadal. Brooksby blew away Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-4.

Speaking of blowing away, with the wind howling, Nick Kyrgios completely ripped apart recent Santiago finalist Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-0.

“I’m just going back to basics,” said Kyrgios after his 72-minute win. “He’s had a great couple of months. He’s No. 60 in the world for a reason. He’s a young guy, he’s got a great future.”

Kyrgios moves on to face another Argentine in Federico Delbonis.

Filip Krajinovic, Lorenzo Musetti and Americans Jack Sock, JJ Wolf, Chris Eubanks and Mackenzie McDonald were also winners.

Today, the first round concludes with the return of Andy Murray. The former No. 1 will open play on Stadium 1 against Taro Daniel seeking his 700th career match win.

“Getting back to playing better tennis is the aim,” Murray told ATP Media this week of his goals with Ivan Lendl. “I have had good results over the past couple of years but the consistency of them has been poor and I think that is because the level of tennis I have been playing has not been that high. I trust a lot of what Ivan says. We have had excellent results together in the past.”

Americans Brandon Nakashima, Steve Johnson, Tommy Paul and Sam Querrey are also featured.

FRIDAY INDIAN WELLS SCHEDULE
STADIUM 1 Starts At 11:00 Am
(WC) Andy Murray v (Q) Taro Daniel
Not Before 1:00 PM
11 Emma Raducanu v Caroline Garcia
Alison Riske v 8 Garbiñe Muguruza
Not Before 6:00 PM
(WC) Claire Liu v16 Cori Gauff
Adrian Mannarino v Brandon Nakashima

STADIUM 2 Starts At 11:00 Am
3 Iga Swiatek v Anhelina Kalinina
1 Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic v (WC) John Isner/Jack Sock
(Q) Mikhail Kukushkin v Tommy Paul
Not Before 6:00 Pm
Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo v (WC) Thanasi Kokkinakis/Nick Kyrgios
Not Before 8:00 PM
25 Madison Keys v Misaki Doi