Indian Wells Masters: Jannik Sinner advances, Learner Tiem upsets fellow American

By SABC Sport
9th March 2026

Jannik Sinner was dominant in his third-round clash at the Indian Wells Masters, while Learner Tien upset fellow American Ben Shelton.

Sinner was superlative on serve, offering up just one break point opportunity in his 6-3, 6-2 victory over Denis Shapovalov. That opportunity came in the very first game of the match, where the Canadian star broke Sinner's serve.

But the Italian broke back immediately and it was plain sailing for the rest of the one-sided affair.

"Denis is a high-quality player, as we know," said Sinner afterwards.

"He's an in-form player, so I'm very happy with my performance. I tried to stay solid at the baseline, but also a bit more aggressive in the second set, which helped me. It was a tough start for me, but I'm happy with how I reacted."

Sinner will next face Brazilian Joao Fonseca, who defeated Tommy Paul in a similarly dominant fashion, 6-2, 6-3.

Meanwhile, Tien suggested he could be the future of American tennis as he beat his fellow young gun Shelton. The latter appeared to lose belief that he could win the match long before the final point of a compelling contest, with Tien quelling the fire coming from his big-serving opponent to seal a 7-6(3) 4-6 6-3 win.

"It's great," said Tien after booking his place in the last 16.

"I just want to say, Ben came out not feeling 100 per cent. I don't think he's been feeling great all week, but he's an amazing competitor and he came out and gave it his all. So I just want to say, huge props to him."

Tien's win fires him closer to a place in the top 20 of the ATP Rankings for the first time in his career and this latest win ensured he won his second career meeting with Shelton.

Elsewhere, fourth seed Alexander Zverev worked hard to defeat Brandon Njakshima 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-4 and Daniil Medvedev beat Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 6-2.