Soon-to-be World No. 1 Angelique Kerber crashed out of Indian Wells on Tuesday falling to former Wimbledon semifinalist Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-3.

Kerber, who’ll replace the injured current No. 1 Serena Williams in the top spot on Monday, is now just 9-6 on the season with only one semifinal, that coming in Dubai.

“It was actually not my day,” Kerber said. “I was doing a lot of mistakes. I was not moving …

Roger Federer had to work hard but got through Steve Johnson in two tiebreakers 7-6(3), 7-6(4). With no breaks of serve in the match — just 4 break chances held by Federer — it was the Swiss who capitalized in both breakers over the American.

The win sets up the much-anticipated fourth round against Rafael Nadal. Earlier, Nadal won his 16th match over countryman Fernando Verdasco with a 6-3, 7-5 victory.

“I …

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal meet for the 36th time Wednesday in the Indian Wells fourth round. It’s their earliest meeting at an event since their first collision in the third round of Miami in 2004.

Nadal leads Federer 23-12, 12-4 at Masters 1000s, 9-8 on hard courts and 1-1 at Indian Wells taking their 2013 quarterfinals after losing in the semifinals in 2012.

But Federer has won the last two …

A hot topic this last week in tennis has been tournaments giving Maria Sharapova wildcards into their events.

Of course her sponsor and Stuttgart was the first to do it, and since Rome and Madrid have followed suit, granting the megastar entry into their events without ranking. Now the French Open and Wimbledon are debating the matter, and my guess is both will give welcome her back.

However, some players …

An “embarrassment of riches”, I believe is the phrase, and it’s suitable for the schedule on tap Tuesday at Indian Wells where the Group of Death starts to live up to the billing. The Madness!

All of the top eight players won their second rounders setting up four really great matches today in that bottom quarter. And even the third quarter has some decent fare with Jack Sock taking on Grigor …

Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro collide again later today at Indian Wells. Djokovic leads 12-4 in their head-to-head but del Potro knocked him off at the Rio Olympics first round and then had a break advantage in the third in Acapulco before letting it slip away a few weeks ago.

And in their only Indian Wells meeting, del Potro came out on top in the 2013 …

Roger Federer weighed in on the Maria Sharapova wildcard debate, calling it a “tricky one” and one that needs to be examined further.

“It’s a tough one,” Federer said Sunday at Indian Wells. “She paid the price for what she did, so that’s all you can say there.

“I see the argument of players being or people being turned off by it to get wildcards, to others who believe, well, she …

Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka’s stock keeps rising as the No. 70-ranked 20-year-old lucky loser on Monday saved a match point in upsetting No. 13-ranked Tomas Berdych 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to move into the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

“I tried to do my best, but today I couldn’t figure out how could I beat Berdych,” Nishioka said. “I tried to find a way, and then I …

Upsets were the name of the game on Monday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in third-round play as No. 4 Simona Halep, who has been suffering from knee and Achilles issues, and No. 6 Aggie Radwanska were sent packing.

Halep fell 6-3, 6-3 to No. 28 seed Kristina Mladenovic, while Radwanska was out-steadied by Chinese qualifier Peng Shuai 6-4, 6-4.

“Based on how much I was able to practice …

With players getting taller and stronger, Rafael Nadal suggested that in the future tennis might need to make some changes to combat faster serving.

Specifically, Nadal think the net needs to be higher to account for players just being taller.

“Is true that looking forward, you know, looking five, ten years in front, you see every time the people is taller,” Nadal said Sunday after beating Guido Pella at Indian Wells. “Every …

All his rivals – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – have won Indian Wells multiple times, yet Andy Murray is still winless. With perhaps the best draw he’s had in the desert and having just won Dubai for a first time, Murray was a popular pick to finally join the group and win his first title at Indian Wells.

But the trend held again as Murray was stunned …

Just 17, Kayla Day had now fear of reigning French Open champion Garbine Muguruza Sunday in the third round at Indian wells. The young American took the opening set, fought hard in the second but came up short in the third in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss to the Spaniard.

“Obviously I was pretty upset after my match, because it didn’t go the way I wanted it in the end,” said …

The “Quarter of Death” officially began Sunday at Indian Wells and things went according to plans with all higher seeds advancing.

Rafael Nadal went down an early break to Guido Pella before getting back into gear for a 6-3, 6-2.

“It was a solid match,” said Nadal. “It was a first-round match where I didn’t try to do amazing things. I tried to play solid. I tried to find the rhythm and …

A growing number of players have voiced their disapproval of Maria Sharapova making use of wildcards in her return to tennis from a 15-month drug ban …

Just 19, Taylor Fritz is already juggling more than most of his peers. Among the best of a young group of hopefuls, Fritz already has the expectations of carrying the American flag in men’s tennis, and now he has the duty of being a father.

Fritz and wife Racquel Pedraza welcomed a new baby boy to their family in January. Fritz, however, says the baby won’t change much as far as …