The third round of the 2013 BNP Paribas Open continues Monday, with a lot of heavy-hitters still in play. Nine players seeded in the Top 10 in either the men’s or women’s draws will take to the courts in Indian Wells, including men’s No. 2 Roger Federer and women’s No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.
BNP Paribas Open 2013: Monday schedule features defending champs Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka
The third round of the 2013 BNP Paribas Open continues Monday, with the likes of men’s No. 2 Roger Federer and women’s No. 1 Victoria Azarenka taking to the courts in Indian Wells.
Harry How
Federer will take on unranked Ivan Dodig of Croatia after the 5:30 ET match between No. 29 Elena Vesnina and No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki finishes up. Dodig has been an intriguing player so far in the tournament. He has yet to drop a set, and is coming off a 6-4, 6-2 upset win over No. 28 Julien Benneteau of France. Federer, meanwhile, had to win a tiebreak in his first set against Denis Istomin before winning 6-3 in the second set to advance to the third round.
Earlier in the afternoon, No. 5 Rafael Nadal will continue his comeback from a knee injury against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina. Nadal needed to win a first set tiebreak to defeat Ryan Harrison in the second round, though he went on to win the second set 6-2.
Azarenka’s match against No. 28 Kirsten Flipkens highlights the women’s schedule Monday. Azarenka is looking to defend her 2012 title, which she won in straight sets over Maria Sharapova. So far so good, as Azarenka handled Daniela Hantuchova--6-4, 6-1--to advance to the third round. Flipkens needed three sets to beat Monica Niculescu in the second round, dropping the first set 6-4 before going on to win the second two sets 6-4 and 6-3.
The match between No. 4 Angelique Kerber and No. 30 Yanina Wickmayer should be a solid undercard to start play Monday at 2 p.m. ET. Kerber got off to a solid start in 2013, progressing to a career-best fourth round exit at the 2013 Australian Open. She hopes to build off her 6-3, 6-2 win over Irina-Camelia Begu in the Round 2 to make a deep run in Indian Wells.
You can find a full version of the match schedule at the official site for the 2013 BNP Paribas Open. Live coverage will run on the Tennis Channel from 1:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. ET. Live streams of the actions will be available online at BNPParibasOpen.com and ESPN3.com.
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