Murray posts another straight-sets win at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray went undefeated this season in matches leading up to a deciding set, either the third or fifth.

The Briton came from behind to beat Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4 in a first round match at the Indian Wells Open that lasted over three hours Thursday.

Murray, 35, who has an artificial hip, faced a pair of break points at 15-40. He trailed 4-3 in the final set.

Had he taken advantage of either of these opportunities, Etcheverry would have had the opportunity to win with his serve.

But Murray, Indian Wells finalist in 2009, got away with it. He started a three-match streak by beating the 21-year-old South American, ranked 61st after reaching the Chile Open final the week before.

Unlike Etcheverry, his compatriot Guido Pella moved on by beating Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka made a triumphant return to Indian Wells after a four-year absence by beating top qualifier Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

Wawrinka, the 37-year-old veteran who rose to No. 3 in the world and now ranks No. 100 after a series of left foot and knee surgeries, hit 10 aces, winning 28 of 33 first-serve points.

His previous match at the California desert hard court tournament was a loss to fellow Davis Cup winner Roger Federer in the third round in 2019.

Wawrinka, Federar’s runner-up at Indian Wells in 2017, will now face 26th-seeded Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round of the season’s first Masters 1000 tournament.

Two other major title winners who have suffered injuries in recent years, Andy Murray and Dominic Thiem, had first-round activity later on the second day of activity.

Emma Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open as a teenager out of qualifying, returned to the court for the first time since January after suffering from tonsillitis, trailing 2-0 in each set before winning by 6 -2, 6-3 over Danka Kovinic.

Another in his twenties, Ben Shelton, trailed Fabio Fognini 2-0 to start before winning 12 of the last 15 games to triumph 6-4, 6-1. Shelton, the 2022 NCAA singles champion with the University of Florida and who hadn’t won a match since reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, will face the fourth seed and champion in Taylor Fitz title.

Fognini received a warning for overheard obscenity and for taking too long to prepare to return the serves. He also whipped a racket during the match, but was not reprimanded by the chair umpire for it.

Thanasi Kokkinakis had 32 of 34 points on serve in a 6-4, 6-1 win over wildcard Brandon Holt. He will face defending US Open champion and top seed Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.

2022 Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins lost her second straight match to an opponent outside the world’s top 50, losing 6-4, 6-4 to world No. 80 Dalma Galfi. Galif had lost in qualifying but qualified for the main draw when there was a forfeit. Collins hit just nine game-winners while committing 43 unforced errors.

2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin defeated 2017 US Open champion Sloan Stephens 6-4, 6-1.

Varvara Gracheva, who qualified for Indian Wells after reaching the final in Austin, Texas last week, beat Ysaline Bonaventure 6-2, 6-2; Katerina Siniakova beat Jule Niemeier 7-5, 6-4 and Jil Teichmann beat Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-4.

In other results, Jack Draper beat Leandro Riedi 6-1, 6-1 for an all-British game against No. 24 Dan Evans and Mackenzie McDonald beat Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-0.