Borna Coric deems it “maybe the best tennis of my life”, breezing past the in-form Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open. Now, the gifted 21-year-old Croatian has the chance to back it up against #NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz on a blockbuster, action-packed Wednesday, with all fourth-round clashes due to take place.

A resurgent Coric, back up to No. 49 in the ATP Rankings, has dropped fewer games than any player in the top half of the draw in the desert. Fritz, by contrast, has had to rally his home crowd to get him across the line against #NextGenATP stablemates, Reilly Opelka and Andrey Rublev, before his gripping third-set tie-break triumph over experienced Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

Coric, a 2017 #NextGenATP Finals qualifier, leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head series over his 20-year-old opponent 1-0 after a straight-sets win in the opening round at Roland Garros in 2016. Much has changed since with a maiden Indian Wells quarter-final appearance on the line.

Five-time champion Roger Federer resumes his title defence against unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy on Wednesday. The top seed’s only defeat to the 31-year-old came at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Rome on clay nearly four years ago. He leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head ledger 3-1.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the fourth round & vote for who you think will win! 
Federer vs Chardy | Coric vs Fritz | Chung vs Cuevas

Should Federer win two more rounds he will hold on to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings. Four more match wins would see him pull clear of Novak Djokovic with an unprecedented sixth BNP Paribas Open title. Federer has not dropped a set in his previous two matches, while Chardy has gone the distance to get past seeds Fabio Fognini and Adrian Mannarino.

Last year’s inaugural #NextGenATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung is on the cusp of his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final berth. After a resounding straight-sets upset of No. 12 seed Tomas Berdych in the previous round, the 21-year-old South Korean squares off against last year’s Indian Wells quarter-finalist Pablo Cuevas. The 30^th-seeded Uruguayan advanced after No. 5 seed Dominic Thiem retired hurt while trailing a break in the deciding set of their third-round encounter. Chung and Cuevas have never met.

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On the heels of his biggest title in five years in Acapulco – in which he beat three straight Top 10 opponents (Thiem, A. Zverev and Andersson) – Juan Martin del Potro faces countryman and occasional doubles partner Leonardo Mayer for a place in the quarter-finals. The sixth-seeded Argentine beat Mayer in the 2012 US Open third round.

It is the first time since 2013 Del Potro has reached the fourth round in Indian Wells. That year he finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal. In his previous match, the 29-year-old won his fifth straight match against David Ferrer, while Mayer beat Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Taro Daniel.

After Federer (No. 1) and Del Potro (No. 6), Kevin Anderson is only the third of the Top 8 seeds to survive the third round. The South African seventh seed meets Spanish 11^th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in a rematch of their 2017 US Open semi-final, which Anderson won.

Last year, Carreno Busta reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Indian Wells, where he fell to Stan Wawrinka. Twice before (2013, 2014) Anderson has reached the BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals.

In his 16^th BNP Paribas Open, Feliciano Lopez is only one round away from recording his best result at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells. The 36-year-old Spaniard upset eighth seed Jack Sock on Tuesday evening, escaping a tight third-round match 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4.

Sock was looking to return to the semi-finals in Indian Wells (l. to eventual champion Federer in 2017). But Lopez was solid on serve and opportunistic with his return game during the pair’s fourth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting (2-2), which lasted almost two hours and 30 minutes.

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Neither player saw a break point in the opener, but Lopez came back in the tie-break after Sock led by a mini-break early. The American secured the lone break in the second on set point, knifing a backhand slice that curled inside the line. Up to that point, Lopez had erased all four break-point opportunities.

But in the second game of the decider, Sock slipped and lunged for the ball, landing on his right elbow. He said he was OK during the next changeover but later complained of pain and received treatment during a following break.

Lopez, however, stayed focused and created his opening, breaking Sock for the first time during a 15-point game at 2-2. He served out the set to love.

The Spaniard reached the quarter-finals in 2015 (l. to Murray) and made the fourth round in 2014 and 2016. He’ll try to reach the last eight again when he meets another American in Sam Querrey, who fought past Indian Yuki Bhambri 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 to make the fourth round in Indian Wells for the third time.

Querrey was locked in on serve after the first set, not facing a break point and finishing the third-round affair with 17 aces. The 6’6” right-hander won nearly 70 per cent of his service points (61/91).

It was still a notable tournament for Bhambri, who qualified and was the first Indian to reach the third round in Indian Wells since Somdev Devvarman, who advanced to the fourth round in 2011.

Former World No. 3 Milos Raonic, on the comeback from injuries in 2017, will be making his way up the ATP Rankings in the very near future.

The 32^nd seed won his second match in a row in Indian Wells, beating Portugal’s Joao Sousa 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open for the first time since his final run in 2016 (l. to Djokovic). Raonic missed last year’s tournament because of an injury to his right leg.

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The 6’5″ right-hander was broken in the second set, but regrouped in the decider, not facing a break point to run away with the match. The Canadian finished with 12 aces and won 93 per cent of his first-serve points (39/42). It’s the first time he has won back-to-back matches since the Citi Open in August 2017.

Raonic improved to 4-0 against Sousa in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and is now 3-3 on the season. His other win came against Japan’s Taro Daniel at the Delray Beach Open in February.

Raonic, who beat #NextGenATP countryman Felix Auger-Aliassime to face Sousa, will next meet Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who improved to 3-0 against Dudi Sela of Israel in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series with a 7-6(5), 6-4 win.

Baghdatis qualified for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event and now has a chance of bringing his time in Indian Wells full circle. On debut, he made the quarter-finals in 2006. The 32-year-old, No. 102 in the ATP Rankings, is 1-3 against Raonic in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, with his lone win coming at 2012 Rolex Shanghai Masters.

In the beginning of their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, David Ferrer dominated Juan Martin del Potro. The Spaniard won six of their first eight matches. Yet in this “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” world, Del Potro can claim all the bragging rights.

The Argentine made it five in a row against Spanish veteran on Tuesday in Indian Wells, beating Ferrer 6-4, 7-6(3) to advance to the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open. It’s Del Potro’s first trip to the Round of 16 since 2013, when he made his first and only Indian Wells final (l. to Nadal).

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His seventh victory against Ferrer was all about persistence. Ferrer saved the first 10 break points he faced until Del Potro broke through in the seventh game. The Argentine wouldn’t break again – Ferrer saved 15/16 break points – but Del Potro didn’t need to as his forehand and always-improving backhand carried him to the straight-sets win.

“I couldn’t break at the beginning of the match. I lost many opportunities to start even better the match, and I got frustration after all those points. I was waiting on more chances, and the chances came in the end of the set, and finally I took one,” Del Potro said. “Then I played solid every service game, and I think I played much better than him in the tie-break.”

Del Potro will next meet countryman Leonardo Mayer, who didn’t face a break point in beating Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-1 in only 75 minutes. The 25-year-old Daniel had stunned World No. 13 Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

“I just want to keep winning. It’s good to feel with this confidence when I get to the court and I play well, but I’m going step-by-step. I will play another Argentinian guy… which is a special match for both. It’s not easy when you play against a friend,” Del Potro said. 

Mayer made the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open for the first time. He had lost in the third round two times in the past (2013, 2016). Del Potro leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 1-0, but their only contest came six years ago at the 2012 US Open.

“We practise a lot together. We train at the same club in Buenos Aires. We grow up together. We win the Davis Cup together. And we have dinners together and we spend a lot of time together,” Del Potro said. “It will be a special match for both. And I know if he has a good day, he’s a very dangerous guy, and he plays solid from the baseline. He plays very flat, and his serves are good enough to beat me or to beat anyone on tour.” 

It appeared that it would be another disappointing year at Indian Wells for 32-year-old Israeli Dudi Sela. After winning just five games in the quarter-finals of the Oracle Challenger Series Indian Wells, the veteran won just three games in the second round of qualifying at the BNP Paribas Open, held at the same site. But a late withdrawal allowed Sela into the main draw, and suddenly he is into the third round at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event for the first time since 2010 (l. to Robredo). 

Sela, who plays Marcos Baghdatis for a spot in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, spoke with ATPWorldTour.com about what would help his career, and what passion he wants to pursue in the future.

What’s your biggest passion outside of sports and why?
Now it’s my kids. I’m older, I want to spend it with my kids. I’m not even practising. My wife is working… when I’m in Israel, one hour practice, that’s it. I’m the babysitter, and I love it.

What’s the last book you read?
It’s an Israeli book, it’s called The Brain.

What’s your favourite book of all-time?
I’m not sure, I’m more into TV series now. My favourite is an Israeli show, ‘Fauda’.

Who is the world leader you admire most?
Yitzhak Rabin, he was the Israeli Prime Minister. I think he tried to make a difference in Israel.

What is the last concert or show you attended?
An Israeli singer, Omer Adam, two weeks ago. But in London I watched U2.

Favourite sport besides tennis?
I think football, soccer.

Your tennis career will be a success if ___________
If I have 10 more centimetres.

After my career I want to ___________
Be involved in tennis in Israel. I want to be a coach, or develop players in Israel.

France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who competes on the ATP World Tour as both a singles and doubles player, gives ATPWorldTour.com an insight into his life off the court…

First moment I realised I loved tennis
Actually, it was the first time I had a racquet in my hand. Since I was a kid, I loved it from the very first time. When I was a kid, it’s amazing the pleasure I got from hitting the ball against the wall. I was born with a racquet in my hand and I loved it from the first time. My parents were both tennis coaches. As soon as I could walk, I had the racquet in my hand.

First coach and most important lesson he/she taught me
My first coach was my father, and one of the first lessons he taught me is that tennis is a game. You have to enjoy it. After the second lesson, it was if you work hard, it’s going to pay off one day.

First pinch-me moment on the ATP World Tour
My first pinch-me moment was my breakthrough in Paris-Bercy. It was 2013 or 2014, I don’t remember, but I was playing Benoit Paire on Court Centrale and then playing against Novak Djokovic. Beating Benoit Paire and then losing against Djokovic in a tight match, I think that was my first big moment on the ATP.

First time I was recognised
I have no answer to this. It would be sometime recently. I think it was the past two years that I started to be recognised. Not that much. Not like Rafa or Roger. Mostly in France, in my hometown.

First time I travelled abroad
Really, really soon. I remember one trip when I went alone to Latvia (for tennis), I was maybe 14 or 15. This was a big trip to go alone, at 14 or 15, to a country where you can’t speak the language.

First thing I bought with prize money
I don’t really know what I bought with prize money. I know I bought a computer, an [Apple] Mac, when I was 19 or 20. But I didn’t make that much money, so I don’t think it was the prize money that bought it!

First autograph/photo I got
One of the first pictures I took was with Arnaud Clement when I was a young guy. I was maybe 10, he played team matches in my region and I was lucky enough to get a picture with him. He had actually a sandwich almost in his mouth, so it was a funny picture. I still have it. I showed it to him.

First celebrity idols
I have a lot of actors that I like. Roman Joules, he’s playing in French movies. After this, I love Denzel Washington. In sport, I think we are lucky enough to have Roger Federer in tennis. I was a big fan growing up. I have a lot of people to look to for examples.

First album I bought
I didn’t buy that many albums, but I’m a big Coldplay fan. The first one, I didn’t buy it, I got it as a present, was a Michael Jackson album. It was one of his last ones.

First pet
In my family we had three cats. The first one died at age 18. I grew up with Mimi. Then there were two others, but they were not as lucky as Mimi. They died younger.

Two popular ATP World Tour stars – Juan Martin del Potro and David Ferrer – square off at the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday bidding to book a place in the fourth round. Del Potro, the power player who is back in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings, against the hard-working Ferrer, still a force at the age of 35, compete third match on Stadium 1.

In a rivalry that began 10 years ago, both players, with contrasting styles are tied at 6-6 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series (Del Potro 17-15 sets won) ahead of their third meeting of 2018. Del Potro has won their past four clashes, including a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win at their recent Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. World No. 8 Del Potro, who reached the 2013 Indian Wells final (l. to Nadal), is looking for his 20th career win here (19-7), while Ferrer is trying to reach the fourth round for the third time (2007 QF, 2009 4R).

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Second seed Marin Cilic comes face-to-face with a notoriously tricky opponent, No. 31 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, in the second match on Stadium 1 today. Kohlschreiber leads 6-4, but Cilic did win their last match in the 2017 Wimbledon first round. Cilic is attempting to advance to the fourth round for the third time in 11 appearances, while Kohlschreiber will look to break a 12-match losing streak against Top 10 opponents (22-87 lifetime). The German’s last victory came against then No. 7-ranked Tomas Berdych in a 2016 Davis Cup tie.

During the night session on the Indian Wells Tennis Garden’s main show court, eighth-seeded American Jack Sock will take his aggressive power game to No. 28 seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain, the serve-volleyer, who uses his sliced backhand to great effect. Sock, who competes in the 2017 semi-finals (l. to Federer), leads Lopez 2-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Lopez is making his 16th straight Indian Wells appearance and he has reached the fourth round three times (4R in 2014 and 2016, QF in 2015).

On Stadium 2, 2016 quarter-finalist Gael Monfils meets his fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert for the first time. In the next match, No. 32 seed and 2016 Indian Wells finalist Milos Raonic looks to remain unbeaten (3-0) against Portugal’s Joao Sousa, who upset No. 5-ranked Alexander Zverev on Sunday. In doubles, 2013-14 champions and seventh seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan challenge Pablo Carreno Busta and David Marrero in the second round on Stadium 2, during the night session.