There were mixed emotions for the American contingent in third round action in Indian Wells, as Donald Young and Taylor Fritz put up opposing scores. Donald Young upset 14th seed Lucas Pouille 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, whilst Fritz went down to Malek Jaziri 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Young managed to edge the first set despite Pouille putting up better numbers in the set. He earned one break point, and proved ruthless in taking it. The single break proved sufficient for the first set as Young managed to save the single break point he faced.
Pouille seemingly turned the match around by racing clear of the erratic Young with two breaks. The Frenchman lost just a single point on his first serve in set two.
Young then surprisingly found his form again, with the American earning the first break of the decider. Young then saved break points in his next service game, before earning yet another break thanks in part to an untimely double-fault from Pouille.
Pouille managed to retrieve one break, and saved match points on his own serve to force Young to serve for it again. The American duly managed it the second time for a fourth round berth.
One American did lose in early third round action though, as Taylor Fritz fell to Malek Jaziri. Both men traded breaks in the opening service games, before Jaziri broke again and held for the set.
Fritz replied by racing out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, and Jaziri was unable to break back, resulting in the scores being levelled at a set apiece.
The more experienced Jaziri was the one who will progress to a fourth round match-up with either Jack Sock or Grigor Dimitrov, as he dropped just four points on serve in the close deciding set. Fritz dropped just seven himself, but was broken to end his run in the tournament.
