The unpredictable Englishman suffered his first career defeat in May when Usyk won by split decision to become the first undisputed champion of the four-belt era
sports2 days ago
Carlos Alcaraz beat Fabian Marozsan to avenge his loss to the Hungarian at the Italian Open last year, while Jannik Sinner won his 18th straight match as both players cruised into the Indian Wells quarter-finals with straight-sets victories on Tuesday.
Alcaraz never looked in any trouble against Marozsan, pounding forehands and confidently holding serve to take another step towards defending his title in the California desert with a 6-3 6-3 win.
A crosscourt forehand on match point sealed the victory for the second-seeded Spaniard, who nodded to his team and yelled "Vamos".
Marozsan was a qualifier when he stunned Alcaraz in straight sets in Rome last May but the world number two turned the tables under sunny skies on centre court with a clinical performance.
"Honestly I was nervous before the match, I'm not going to lie," Alcaraz said.
"Playing against someone who beat you easily — I remember I had no chances in the match in Rome. It was difficult for me today to approach the match, but I'm really happy with the way that I did.
"I started pretty well, playing my style since the beginning. Today I knew what I had to do better than I did in Rome."
Alcaraz continues to gain momentum at the tournament and since dropping the first set in the first match he played, he has not lost one since. The victory was his 50th match win at a Masters 1000 event.
The two-time Grand Slam winner is on course for a possible collision with Australian Open champion Sinner in the semifinals but will first need to get past Alexander Zverev.
The big-serving German sixth seed wore down Australian Alex de Minaur with his relentless power to claim a 5-7 6-2 6-3 victory.
Sinner shaded a tight first set against American Ben Shelton in windy conditions and met with little resistance in the second, securing a 7-6(4) 6-1 win to maintain his perfect record in 2024.
"I just tried to stay positive," Sinner said.
"There were tough moments, especially in the first set, and I'm really happy that I won that and started really positive in the second set, which gave me a lot of confidence."
Third seed Sinner will be the favourite when he faces Jiri Lehecka for the first time in the quarters.
Lehecka, seeded 32nd, backed up his upset of fifth seed Andrey Rublev with another over 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a dominant 6-2 6-4 win to reach his first ever quarterfinal at a Masters 1000 event.
The 22-year-old Czech piled up 25 winners against the Greek player and has not dropped serve in his last two matches.
The unpredictable Englishman suffered his first career defeat in May when Usyk won by split decision to become the first undisputed champion of the four-belt era
sports2 days ago
The team from Portugal also claimed the championship title after a hard-fought four-round season
sports2 days ago
Tristan Jass and Jesser, who continue to captivate millions worldwide with their innovative content, encourage young basketball enthusiasts in the Middle East to come forward and create content
sports2 days ago
Fresh off his birthday, the teenager delivers consistency to lead the Boys 15-18 Elite Division, while Russia's Ailsa Molokanova dominates the Girls 15-18 field
sports3 days ago
Terry Fox launched an epic run on a prosthetic leg in 1980 across Canada to raise money and awareness for cancer research
sports3 days ago
With new faces participating this year, the teams have been reshuffled to make the league more thrilling than ever
sports3 days ago
Spain win the mixed team event in trials
sports3 days ago
Antetokounmpo scored 26 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and dished 10 assists and to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Cup title
sports3 days ago