Third seed Stan Wawrinka defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 6-3 on Monday to reach the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Wawrinka stayed perfect against Kohlschreiber, improving to 5-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. The third seed created 10 break points, converting two of them for victory in 78 minutes and finishing with a trademark backhand winner on the line. “It was a really good match. I’m very happy… I was serving well. I think I’m moving better and better, and it’s all positive so far,” Wawrinka said.

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The Swiss star is bidding to win his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, adding to his 2014 Monte-Carlo title. Wawrinka’s best result at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden is a pair of quarter-final showings in 2008 (l. to Djokovic) and 2011 (l. to Federer).

The 31-year-old Wawrinka, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals at the start of the year (l. to Federer in five sets), goes on to face lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka, who saved one match point to upset Tomas Berdych.

“I know how he’s playing – more from the baseline, using his power. It’s going to be interesting,” Wawrinka said. “I never practise with him, so it’s going to be the first time we’re going to be against each other. So I’m sure it’s going to be a good match.”

Belgium’s David Goffin edged Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(3), 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes, saving five of the seven break points he faced in the pair’s first meeting. The 26-year-old Goffin, who made his Top 10 debut last month, improved to 15-5 on the season.

The right-hander was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open (l. to Dimitrov) before finishing runner-up in Sofia (l. to Dimitrov) and Rotterdam (l. to Tsonga). Goffin, a semi-finalist in the desert last year (l. to Raonic), goes on to face Fabio Fognini or Pablo Cuevas.

At first glance it is a rivalry that reads heavily in Novak Djokovic’s favour, but a closer inspection of the Serbian’s encounters with Juan Martin del Potro reveals a very different state of affairs. For nearly a decade the two have waged a string of epic battles and after their respective second-round triumphs at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, they will lock horns for a 17th time this week.

Djokovic leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head series 12-4, but five of their past six matches have gone the distance. The only match in those six that hasn’t was del Potro’s narrow 7-6(4), 7-6(2) shock win in the first round of last year’s Rio Olympic Games. It was a victory the Argentine used as a springboard to claim the Olympic silver medal (l. to Murray).

Djokovic gained revenge in their most recent outing, a high-quality 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 match in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel second round in Acapulco little more than a week ago. Read & Watch Highlights

“I have to give it my all,” said Djokovic. “That’s what it takes to beat this guy. Even though he is not ranked as high and he hasn’t played that many tournaments [he was] definitely one of the best players in the world last year, especially in the second part of the year, winning Davis Cup, silver medal for his country – beating myself – and [beating] Wawrinka at Wimbledon.

“He’s a tough player to beat. He’s a big guy, big serve, big forehand. Definitely not the draw that you like early in the tournament and that you wish for, but it is what it is.

“I have played him some weeks ago in Acapulco. Very close match. It went down to the last couple of points. I don’t expect anything less than that.”

Injuries to del Potro have surely robbed the pair of adding to that rivalry. They did not play each other for nearly three years from the 2013 ATP Finals round-robin stage, which Djokovic won, until their Rio Olympics clash.

It was a rivalry arguably stymied at its peak, with the pair duelling five times in 2013. Djokovic may have claimed the Fed Ex ATP Head2Head bragging rights that year 4-1, but four of the five encounters went the distance, including one of the greatest semi-final battles seen at Wimbledon when the Serbian emerged triumphant after four hours and 43 minutes, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-3.

The pair has played once before at Indian Wells and del Potro will be hoping it proves a good omen. The Argentine claimed that battle in the 2013 semi-finals in three sets.

Taylor Fritz played the match of his life to fight back and stun World No. 7 Marin Cilic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday. It was the first Top 10 victory for the 2016 ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates.

“Just the whole experience with the crowd, how I came back in the match, words can’t describe it, really,” said Fritz.

Late-night matches in Indian Wells are a special treat for not only the spectators, but the players as well. In the shadow of the San Jacinto Mountains, Stadium 3 was abuzz with excitement on a warm evening in the California desert. Chants of ‘Taylor! Taylor!’ rang out as fans shuffled over from witnessing fellow American Jack Sock defeat Henri Laaksonen on the adjacent Stadium 2.      

As the clock struck 10pm, the last match of the second round finally reached its conclusion. Cilic was in cruise control from the first ball, surging to a set and a break lead. But Fritz stormed back, drawing level at a set apiece and grinding again from a break deficit in the decider.

With friends and family in attendance, forehands exploded off the California native’s racquet and he would serve for the match at 5-3. Cilic would break back, but Fritz had the last word, breaking for the match in the very next game. He would survive after just over two hours, reaching the third round at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event for the first time.

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“It was amazing, especially with all the crowd support,” Fritz added. “And just being at this tournament, my whole family was there. [My wife] Raquel was going crazy. It was amazing.

“I started off definitely slow. I thought I was going to get bageled in that first set. Then I was just making a lot of balls… I thought the main thing today was how I returned serve. Also, I thought I did a pretty good job of competing and just sticking in the match and staying solid.

“Instead of getting really down on myself, I just told myself, ‘You know what? At least I put myself in that opportunity to serve out the match’. I thought I had been doing a really good job of returning his serve, so I thought there was a chance I could break back. And especially after I lost my serve, I said, ‘Oh, now I really, really don’t want to lose this match.’ I would be thinking about it for the next week about how I choked.”

It was a big win for Fritz, who is looking to regain his top form after falling out of the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings just a month ago. The #NextGenATP star showed why he is considered one of the bright rising talents on the ATP World Tour, becoming the first teenager to defeat a Top 10 player this year.

With significant points up for grabs in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, Fritz puts himself in strong position after reaching the third round at the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year.

“If I am going to be totally honest, I check it a lot,” Fritz said, referring to the Emirates ATP Race To Milan standings. “I do want to be there. It’s something I feel like would be a huge honour to be there, because there’s so many new people that came up at the end of last year and this year in the whole the NextGen campaign. So many new, amazing players that just make the Race so much tougher.

“I think it would be really cool to be in it the first year. I’m just working really hard. I do check it a lot. I’m definitely looking at it. This result is helping me a lot for Milan.”

Fritz will face Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri on Tuesday, with a coveted spot in the Round of 16 on the line.

•    Third round action in the top half of the draw at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday is headlined by No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka, No. 8 Dominic Thiem, No. 10 Gael Monfils and No. 11 David Goffin. They are the highest seeds of the 12 remaining in the top half of the draw.

•    In the first men’s match on Stadium 1, No. 29 seed Mischa Zverev looks for his second win against Thiem. Zverev won the previous meeting on grass 76 62 in the 1R of Stuttgart in June 2015. The 29-year-old German is trying to earn his seventh career Top 10 win (6-13) and second this season. He beat No. 1 Andy Murray in the 4R at the Australian Open in January. Thiem, who is 9-3 against Germans since the beginning of last year, is attempting to reach the 4R in Indian Wells for the second straight year.

•    In the next men’s match on Stadium 1, Wawrinka brings a 4-0 head-to-head record against No. 28 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who is coming off his 400th career match win on Saturday (vs. Dolgopolov-ret.). Wawrinka is trying to snap a three-match losing streak against Germans going back to last year. Wawrinka is a two-time quarter-finalist (2008, 2011) in Indian Wells and one of two players (No. 13 Berdych) in the top half of the draw who has won an ATP Masters 1000 title.

•    In the last match of the night session, Monfils and No. 20 John Isner square off for the ninth time (tied 4-4). Isner has a 13-12 lead in sets. This is their first meeting since 2014 ATP Masters 1000  Paris where Monfils won 64 76. They played here in the 2R in 2009 and Isner won 67 61 64. Monfils reached the quarter-finals here last year, his best result, while Isner advanced to the final in 2012 (l. to Federer). He is the only player left in the top half of the draw who is a former finalist here.

•    On Stadium 2, second round doubles action features three of the top six singles players with No. 1 Andy Murray (w/Evans), No. 2 Novak Djokovic (w/Troicki) and No. 6 Rafael Nadal (w/Tomic). The lone singles match is under the lights between No. 27 Pablo Cuevas and Fabio Fognini, who has won three of the previous four ATP World Tour level meetings.

•    On Stadium 3, Japanese lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka takes on No. 13 Berdych, who won the previous meeting, and Goffin plays No. 22 Albert Ramos-Vinolas for the first time. On Stadium 4, No. 21 Pablo Carreno Busta meets No. 16 countryman Roberto Bautista Agut (tied 1-1), and qualifiers Vasek Pospisil and Dusan Lajovic battle for the second time (Pospisil leads 1-0).

•    THIRD ROUND REMAINING BY COUNTRY: There are 18 countries represented in the third round, leading with Spain and the U.S. with five players each, followed by Germany (3), France, Japan, Serbia and Switzerland (2 each).    

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Watch your favourite players work on their games by taking in a live stream at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

When the BNP Paribas Open draw was released on Wednesday, jaws plummeted to the floor at the sight of the star power in the bottom quarter.

Novak Djokovic could set a rematch against Juan Martin del Potro in the third round and Roger Federer has longtime rival Rafael Nadal in his sights in the fourth round. But perhaps the most intriguing match-up is the under-the-radar clash between Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev, set for Tuesday in Indian Wells.

Youth will be served when the two youngest players in the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Rankings lock horns for the first time at the professional level. Kyrgios took their lone encounter in the juniors 6-3, 6-1 on the grass of Roehampton, England, in 2013.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Kyrgios. “We have been obviously close mates for a long time. I played juniors with him. I played him once in juniors and I thought he had a big game then. He’s obviously put it together now. He’s had some great results and beaten some big names.

“I know it’s going to be tough, especially on this surface. If he plays his aggressive game, it’s not going to be easy to get looks on his serve, and it’s the same for me. If I go out there and play my style of tennis and I lose, I won’t be surprised. But if I win, I won’t be surprised as well.”

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Brash bashers from the baseline, 21-year-old Kyrgios and 19-year-old Zverev are two of the hottest rising talents on the ATP World Tour, soaring up the Emirates ATP Rankings to the Top 20 in the past year. Both players exude confident and stong personalities on and off the court and are fast becoming fan favourites. It is undoubtedly their first of many FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters, with their career trajectories pointing skyward.

“I will be very excited, because I think we are the two young guys talked about the most, with Dominic Thiem,” Zverev said to the assembled media at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday. “It will be a very exciting match, because he’s played well this year and I’ve played well this year too. We’ll see.”

Kyrgios, seeded 15th, opened his BNP Paribas Open campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Horacio Zeballos on Sunday afternoon, while 18th-seed Zverev kicked off his bid with a win over another Argentine, downing Facundo Bagnis 7-6(10), 6-3.

Following a breakout run to the fourth round last year, Zverev is hungry to go one step further. The German came up just short to Rafael Nadal in a three-set thriller, falling despite holding a match point. He was one missed volley from becoming the youngest quarter-finalist in Indian Wells since Michael Chang and Andre Agassi in 1989.

“I don’t want to say I can be the champion by the end of the next week, but I feel I can play great tennis and I can beat anybody,” Zverev added. “I have the toughest quarter of the draw and I have a feeling the champion will come out of this section. The next few rounds will be very, very difficult for all us.”

With a Round of 16 blockbuster against either Djokovic or Del Potro at stake, expect plenty of fireworks on Tuesday in the southern California desert.