Third round singles action concludes on Monday in Indian Wells.
Coco Gauff scarcely survived her opening round on Saturday, eventually winning in a third-set tiebreak despite striking a career-high 21 double faults. Now she faces Maria Sakkari, who has advanced to the semifinals or better at this event for three consecutive years. Major champions Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys will also play their third round contests on Monday.
The ATP singles draw is filled with fascinating matchups on Monday. Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz take on a resurgent Denis Shapovalov. In a battle between two big ball strikers, Ben Shelton goes up against Karen Khachanov. And popular veterans Grigor Dimitrov and Gael Monfils will square off for the seventh time.
This preview will analyze the two most prominent matches of the day, while taking note of the other singles quarterfinals. Monday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Coco Gauff (3) vs. Maria Sakkari (29) – Not Before 1:00pm on Stadium 1
Watching Gauff’s previous double faulting issues come back to life on Saturday was quite troubling. She was obviously rattled by it, and baffled by how to address it. Tennis Channel noted how the majority of her opponent’s points won were due to Coco’s errors. While Gauff started the season on a nine-match winning streak, she arrived here on a three-match losing streak.
Sakkari has struggled significantly at Majors of late, failing to advance beyond the third round at that level in over three years. And she went a modest 23-15 during 2024, shutting down her season early due to a lingering shoulder issue. Her form has worsened thus far in 2025, with a record of 5-9, though she usually thrives in “Tennis Paradise.” Maria was the runner-up in both 2022 and 2024, and also reached the semifinals in 2023.
Sakkari leads their head-to-head 5-3 overall, and 4-2 on hard courts. That includes a tight semifinal just a year ago at this event, which Maria claimed after nearly three hours of play. But considering her current form, it’s hard to pick her to defeat Gauff again, even considering Coco’s serving woes in the last round.
Denis Shapovalov (27) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Not Before 6:00pm on Stadium 1
Alcaraz is now on a 13-match winning streak in Indian Wells, and hasn’t lost since the infamously windy semifinal against Rafael Nadal back in 2022. His 17-2 record here is his best at any Masters tournament. Carlitos defeated Quentin Halys on Saturday in straight sets, bringing his 2025 record to 12-2, after securing a hard court title last month in Rotterdam.
Shapovalov was a top 10 player as recently as 2021, and seemed to be on the verge of becoming a fixture at that level. But across the last few years, his level dipped considerably, as a knee injury ended his 2023 season after Wimbledon. It wasn’t until the last few months when Denis began to regain his confidence, with a title last November in Belgrade, and another one just last month in Dallas. Like Carlitos, Denis also won his opening round in straights, though he’s only 7-6 lifetime at this tournament.
Their only prior encounter occurred two years ago at Roland Garros, where Alcaraz easily prevailed, dropping just seven games across three sets. I expect a tighter match on Monday from a healthy Shapovalov, especially on a hard court, but Alcaraz remains a solid favorite.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Elise Mertens (28) vs. Madison Keys (5) – Keys dropped just three games against Anastasia Potapova on Saturday, in her first match since winning the Australian Open. Mertens is coming off a title run of her own in Singapore. Madison leads their head-to-head 3-2, though Elise has claimed their last two meetings, including a third round encounter at last year’s US Open.
Alejandro Tabilo (30) vs. Taylor Fritz (3) – Fritz is now 21-7 in Indian Wells, and he’s 3-0 against Tabilo, taking all seven sets they’ve played.
Hubert Hurkacz (21) vs. Alex de Minaur (9) – These men have split two prior matchups, but they surprisingly haven’t played in nearly six years.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Lucia Bronzetti – Sabalenka won her first 11 matches of the year, but she’s only won two of her last five. Last season she easily defeated Bronzetti twice, via set scores of 6-3, 6-0, 6-3, and 6-1.
Karen Khachanov (22) vs. Ben Shelton (11) – Shelton achieved his second Major semifinal in Melbourne, yet went just 2-2 during February, with losses to players ranked 63rd and 64th in the world. Khachanov earned a solid three-set victory in the last round over Jakub Mensik. This is their first meeting.
Belinda Bencic vs. Diana Shnaider (13) – Bencic impressively overcame recent Doha champ Amanda Anisimova on Saturday, bringing her record this year to 15-4. This is her first time playing Shnaider, who is just 7-6 thus far in 2025.
Emma Navarro (10) vs. Donna Vekic (19) – Navarro narrowly escaped defeat on Saturday night against Sorana Cirstea, prevailing in a third-set tiebreak. Emma is 0-1 against Donna, who defeated her two years ago on a hard court in Monterrey.
Grigor Dimitrov (14) vs. Gael Monfils – Monfils played some scintillating tennis at crucial moments to oust Sebastian Korda in two tiebreaks on Saturday night. Gael is 4-2 against Grigor, in a head-to-head that dates all the way back to 2011.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
