BNP Paribas Indian Wells 2025: Sonay Kartal & Jack Draper fight into fourth round with impressive victories
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Sonay Kartal’s dream run at the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells continues as she joined fellow Brit Jack Draper in the fourth round of the singles.
Having come into the tournament as a lucky loser from qualifying, Kartal has gone on to book a place in the last 16 with a gutsy 7-5, 6-3 win against world No.60 Polina Kudermetova.
Kartal could face world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the next round if the top seed manages to come through against Lucia Bronzetti today.
Meanwhile, British No.1 Draper put in a mature performance to see off American Jenson Brooksby 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 42 minutes.
The Brit will take on either world No.4 Taylor Fritz or the 30th seed Alejandro Tabilo for his place in the quarter-finals.
This is the third time in four years that a British woman and man have made the fourth round at Indian Wells.
Kartal stuns Kudermetova in straight sets
Kartal showed her quality to nullify Kudermetova’s heavy ball-striking and needed just under an hour and a half to seal the win.
Kudermetova looked almost untouchable through the opening stages against Kartal, not only breaking the Brit on her opening service game but delivering winner after winner of her huge forehand.
Kartal however did extremely well keep within touching distance and was rewarded late in the set. The Briton saved three set points on Kudermetova’s serve to go on a win the last four straight games.
Kudermetova’s low percentage shot making only backfired early in the second as Kartal broke twice again take full command. With the pressure on to see out one of the biggest wins of her career so far, Kartal showed no signs of wavering – serving out the victory with an ace.
This is the first time that Kartal has made the fourth round of a WTA 1000 in her first main draw at Indian Wells. She’s currently at a career-high world No.62 in the live WTA rankings.
Draper comes through Brooksby test with flying colours
2024 US Open semi-finalist Draper is into round of 16 at Indian Wells for only the second time in his career as the Briton continues his campaign in the Californian desert.
“I felt confident,” Draper said. “Jenson is someone who makes life very difficult for players. I didn’t really know what to expect.
“It wasn’t the cleanest performance from my side today, there’s a lot I could have improved on and chances I missed but that’s tennis, you can’t play your best all the time. I’m glad I managed to stay calm, keep going and got the win in the end.
“I feel physically good, I feel mentally good. I’m hitting the ball well, I feel good but sometimes it’s just not coming off the racket the way I want it to. I accept that and hopefully in the next round I can get better again.”
Brooksby made a confident start to the match and his mix of pace and different spins caused Draper a lot of issues as the British No.1 quickly found himself a break and 4-1 down.
After a small show of frustration Draper’s level began to pick up, while the errors started to kick in for Brooksby. Despite the American picking on it all match, it was the Draper backhand that dealt the first blow to get a break back, before he clinched the set after a second break at 5-5.
Both players made a solid start to the second but it wouldn’t take long for Brooksby to crack. Draper found an acute angled passing shot to set up three break points at 3-3, which he took at the first time of asking.
Draper’s serve picked up in the second as well – winning all 12 points on his first serve – and a second ace of the match booked his place in the fourth round.
