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Italy’s run at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 has come to an end. With Jannik Sinner sidelined until mid-April, Matteo Arnaldi was the country’s last remaining hope in the men’s draw, but his journey ended in the third round. The 24-year-old, ranked 35th in the world, fell in straight sets to American Brandon Nakashima (33 ATP), who dominated the match 6-2 6-4 in just over an hour. With Arnaldi’s exit, no Italian players reached the last 16 in the men’s event.
Carlos Alcaraz, on the other hand, showed no signs of slowing down. The world No. 3 and defending champion, now the tournament favorite following Alexander Zverev’s exit, breezed past Canada’s Denis Shapovalov with a routine 6-2 6-4 win. Next up for the Spaniard is Grigor Dimitrov, the 14th seed, who battled past Gael Monfils in a grueling 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(2) encounter. Also moving on is Taylor Fritz, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, who came from behind to defeat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 4-6 6-3 6-1.
On the women’s side, Italy still has a contender in Jasmine Paolini. The world No. 6 fought through a tough three-setter against Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian, ultimately prevailing 6-4 3-6 6-4 after a marathon two-hour battle. Up next for the Tuscan is Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, who leads their head-to-head 2-0. However, there was no luck for Lucia Bronzetti, who suffered a heavy 6-1 6-2 defeat to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in just over an hour.
