Crafty Murray underscores value of experience in win over Alcaraz

 LOS ANGELES - Andy Murray rallied to win an inter- generational battle against teenager Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday, reaching the

third round at the Indian Wells Masters along with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev.

Murray, who has touted Alcaraz as a future world number one, defeated the
talented 18-year-old 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 to set up a meeting with third-seeded
German Zverev, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 winner over American Jenson Brooksby.

  Greece's Tsitsipas, the second seed, advanced in the combined WTA and ATP
hard court event with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Spain's Pedro Martinez.

  Murray, still battling to return from injuries that have seen his ranking
fall to 121 in the world, raced to an early 3-0 lead before Alcaraz -- who
reached the quarter-finals of the US Open last month -- found his range and
regained a break.

  After saving a set point, the Spaniard broke Murray for a second time to
take the opening set.

  In the second set, the former world number one deployed a rare underarm
serve on game point for a 2-1 lead, and this time held on.

  "I thought if he's going to stand that far back and I'm getting no love
from the court and the conditions, why not try it and see if I can bring him
forward a little bit again?" Murray said of the underarm serve -- his first
in an ATP match.

  "Wasn't expecting, obviously, to get an ace out of it," he added.

  The 34-year-old Briton, who accepted a wild card into the draw, had just
eight unforced errors in the second set to Alcaraz's 14.

  He broke 30th-seeded Alcaraz to open the third set then saved four break
points in the next game to maintain the advantage.

  A second service break gave Murray a comfortable cushion, and it was the
teen requiring late treatment on an injured foot before the oft-injured
Murray sealed the victory after three hours and four minutes.

  "I felt like in the second set he played maybe better," Murray said. "First
set I felt like I had more of the opportunities but didn't get it so, yeah,
happy with the way I fought."

  Murray can expect a stern test in the third round from Zverev, winner of
titles in Madrid and Cincinnati this season.

  Zverev fired 28 winners against Brooksby but his 35 unforced errors were 14
more than his energetic opponent delivered.

  "Especially in the second set I didn't see the ball well on (one) side of
the court because of the sun," Zverev said. "It wasn't an easy match, but I'm
happy to be through, I'm happy to be in the third round and playing Andy
now."

  Zverev noted that Murray was the only one of the "big four" of men's tennis
-- Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Murray -- that he was yet
to beat. "I hope I can change that," Zverev said.

  Fifth-seeded Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini of Italy also advanced,
beating Chile's Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 7-5.

  Italy's Jannik Sinner, seeded 10th, downed Australian John Millman 6-2, 6-
2.

  Spain's Albert Ramos Vinolas sprung an upset, ousting seventh-seeded
Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2.

  - Swiatek into round of 16 -

  In women's action, second-seeded Iga Swiatek roared to a 6-1, 6-0 third-
round victory over Veronika Kudermetova.

  The win came on the anniversary of Swiatek's victory in the pandemic-
delayed 2020 French Open and put her into the round of 16 in her Indian Wells
debut.

  Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus continued her upset run with a 7-5, 6-4
victory over 2015 Indian Wells champion Simona Halep of Romania.

  Sasnovich, ranked 100th in the world, posted her second straight win over a
Grand Slam champion, having stunned recently crowned US Open champion Emma
Raducanu in the second round.

  Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who fell to Raducanu in the US Open final,
rallied to beat French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.BSS/AFP