Djokovic, Sharapova advance to quarters

INDIAN WELLS, United States — World No. 1 Novak Djokovic survived a rocky start to beat Gregor Dimitrov 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 on Tuesday, March 12, and reach the fourth round of the Indian Wells ATP Masters.

Djokovic trailed 4-1 in the opening set, but a welter of errors from his 21-year-old Bulgarian opponent was all the opportunity the Serbian star needed and he battled back to win in 67 minutes.

Djokovic improved to 15-0 in 2013 and 20-0 since October 31 — when he lost to American Sam Querrey in the Paris Masters.

He’ll get a chance to avenge that defeat in a fourth-round meeting with Querrey, who edged Australian Marinko Matosevic 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (7/9), 7-5.

Sharapova moves forward

French Open champion Maria Sharapova booked her quarter-final berth at the Indian Wells ATP Masters and WTA tournament with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino.

Sharapova, ranked third in the world and seeded second here behind defending champion Victoria Azarenka, will face sixth-seeded Italian Sara Errani in a rematch of their French Open final last year.

Sharapova defeated Errani 6-3, 6-2 in the title match at Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam. She also beat Errani last October in first-round group play at the season-ending WTA Championships.

Errani, who won the women’s clay-court title in Acapulco in the build-up to Indian Wells, advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over ninth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France. – Rappler.com