Third round singles action concludes on Monday.
Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, and Carlos Alcaraz will all contest their third round matches on Monday, with all three being significant favorites in those matchups. But a few other top names may face a bit more resistance. Defending champion Jack Draper takes on the formidable forehand of Francisco Cerundolo, while recent Duabi Champion Jessica Pegula faces the always-dangerous Jelena Ostapenko.
Here’s a rundown of the most notable matches on Monday (in chronological order, all times local):
Novak Djokovic (3) vs. Aleksandar Kovacaevic – 11:00am on Stadium 1
Djokovic actually hasn’t won a Masters 1000 tournament since 2023, and hasn’t advanced beyond the fourth round of Indian Wells since he last won the title here back in 2016. Novak came back from a set down in his opening round to defeat Kamil Majchrzak in three. He is 1-0 against Kovacevic, a 27-year-old American who is making his debut in the third round of a Masters event.
Jessica Pegula (5) vs. Jelena Ostapenko (26) – 11:00am on Stadium 2
Pegula also came from a set down in her opening round, to overcome Donna Vekic. As per Tennis Abstract, Ostapenko is just 19-19 across the past 52 weeks in singles, and while she was an Indian Wells semifinalist in 2021, Jelena hasn’t advanced beyond the third round since. Their tour-level head-to-head is tied at 2-2.
Francisco Cerundolo (19) vs. Jack Draper (14) – Second on Stadium 2
Draper’s come-from-behind victory over Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday was just his third match win since withdrawing from the US Open last summer with a bone bruise in her serving arm. Cerundolo scarcely survived his opening round, requiring a third-set tiebreak to beat Benjamin Bonzi. But Cerundolo is 2-0 against Draper, which includes a straight-set victory two years ago on a hard court in Davis Cup.
Maria Sakkari (32) vs Iga Swiatek (2) – Third on Stadium 1
Swiatek is vying to reach the semifinals or better at Indian Wells for the fifth consecutive year. She won her opening round in straights, though she has split her eight previous meetings with Sakkari, with Maria upsetting her 7-5 in the third just a few weeks ago in Doha. However, Maria had lost their four other most recent matches in straights, and the Greek has underperformed the last few seasons, to the point where her ranking was recently outside the world’s top 50.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Arthur Rinderknech (26) – Not Before 6:00pm on Stadium 1
Alcaraz comfortably dismissed Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday, and just like Swiatek, has advanced to the semifinals or better here in all of the last four years. He is yet to lose a match this season, and is a perfect 5-0 against Rinderknech, who is yet to play a singles match this fortnight, after receiving a walkover in his opening round.
Marta Kostyuk (28) vs. Elena Rybakina (3) – Not Before 8:00pm on Stadium 1
Rybakina passed a stern test in her opening round from Hailey Baptiste, who pushed her to three sets. Kostyuk was an Indian Wells semifinalist just two years ago, and she started of her 2026 with a run to the final of Brisbane, where she earned three top 10 victories (Anisimova, Andreeva, Pegula). Rybakina is 3-1 against Kostyuk, having easily claimed their last three encounters.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
