Indian Wells Masters (2R) - Mar 12-22 Season I
Indian Wells Masters
2nd Round - Indian Wells
Top Half
Bottom Half
Seeds
In an action-packed second round at the Indian Wells Masters, CWLand players had mixed fortunes as one secured a massive upset, and another suffered the indignity of being 'double-bagelled' in his match. World number 82
Roy Daniels produced the upset of the day as he defeated fifth seed
Zhijun Sun in straight sets to advance to the third round. Daniels came into the match as overwhelming underdog, but quickly asserted himself in the match as he broke Zhijun's service early. Taking the first set 6-3 with some very steady tennis, Daniels pressed his advantage into the second set and again edged ahead 2-0. Whilst Zhijun broke back, the highly ranked youngster's confidence was clearly shot and a lazy overhead smash had him staring down the barrel of a loss. After breaking serve, Daniels' nerve proved enough as he secured a
6-3 6-4 win and a third round clash with 28th seed
Becker Haas.
Also successful was 22nd seed
Brett Read who produced a steady display against big-serving Norwegian
Haiku Morkel. Despite being broken early, Read fought back against Morkel to get the unlikely break of service twice to seal the first set 7-5. The normally impenetrable weapon of Morkel faltered and soon the world number 47 was packing his bags as Read grew from strength-to-strength as the second set wore on. In just over an hour and twenty minutes, Read set up a bumper third round clash with
Davis Kennedy with a
7-5 6-2 win. Another big scalp for the CWLanders came in section 5 as
Jamee Hancianu upset eighth seed
Daniel Páez Blanco. The veteran Spaniard again struggled to impose himself on the faster surfaces and duly suffered as Hancianu produced a dominant display in the first set. The Romanian-born CWLander had things tougher in the second set, but prevailed in the tiebreaker to seal an unlikely
6-3 7-6(4) victory.
If all goes to plan, a fourth round clash between Hancianu and
Sven Oxenstierna awaits as the CWLand number 1 proved too strong for Turkey's
Aksu Emrem. Oxenstierna was pushed in his first match of the tournament by the grizzled Turk - the pair trading tight sets to send the match into a decider. But Oxenstierna continues to prove he is good on surfaces outside of his clay court stomping ground as he rallied in the third to clinch a tight
6-3 4-6 7-5 victory. The Ox now faces American 17th seed
Morgan Carter in the third round.
On the other side of the coin, 14th seed
Jefferson Drake's post Delray Beach slump continued as he bowed out in three sets to Switzerlands's
Almen Benaglio. Drake again looked out of sorts and struggled to find his range against the Swiss 23-year old as he dropped the first set 6-3. Drake managed to regain some touch in the second, but a late break forced him to the wire - eventually edging clear 7-5. But in the decider, Benaglio found his second wind and raced to an unassailable 4-0 lead to seal a fantastic
6-3 5-7 6-4 victory. It was a similar story for
Heath Davis who also fell in three sets. Facing 24th seed
József Boros, Davis struggled early against the quiet Hungarian. In a tight opening set, Davis unfortunately double faulted at a crucial time to hand the Hungarian the first set - but the disappointment seemed to increase the big-serving CWLander's confidence as he raged back into the match to claim the second set 6-0. But ever the professional, Boros didn't let the loss faze him as his superior fitness helped him through a marathon third-set tiebreaker to seal an amazing match
7-5 0-6 7-6(10).
Twentieth seed
Li Wang was forced to come back from a set down to defeat CWLand's
Randy Smeltz in section 8 of the draw. Smeltz took the opener 7-5 and looked in a good position early in the second set as he found himself ahead on Li's service with two break points. But the Chinese ace managed to keep some steel about him (unlike his compatriot Zhijun) and not only held service - but broke back to set up a second set win. Whilst the decider went to a tiebreaker, Li's superior experience allowed him to take a relatively easy breaker to advance to the third round
5-7 6-4 7-6(2). For qualifier
Rob Bowenburg... the less said the better. He was dispatched by 30th seed
Jason Bradley in straight sets -
6-0 6-0.
Seeds Out: 5-Zhijun Sun (CHN); 6-Rasmus Olesen (NOR); 8-Daniel Páez Blanco (ESP); 14-Jefferson Drake (CWL); 15-Juan Moreno (ARG); 18-Dwayne Murdoch (USA); 25-Ross Onwye (MAR); 26-Maarten Berg (NED); 31-Tom Vollan (NOR).