Upsets, near upsets, and simply very entertaining matches took place in Indian Wells this week. Here is a countdown of the best five through four rounds of action.

5) R1: Alejandro Gonzalez d. Adrian Mannarino, 5-7 6-4 7-6(6)

Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez earned his first career ATP main-draw victory at the age of 25. His three-set victory came over middling Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, whom Gonzalez was playing for the third time in his career. Gonzalez was 0-6 at the ATP level before this match, but he came back from a set down and saved four match points to grab the victory in a third-set tiebreak. 

One Mannarino match point came at 4-5 on the third set on Gonzalez’s serve, and then three more came in the final-set tiebreak, when Mannarino at one point held a 5-1 lead. Gonzalez recovered well to upset Ivan Dodig in three sets in the next round and take a set off Novak Djokovic in round three. This was his best week of play at the ATP level in his career.

(4) R3: Andy Murray d. Jiri Vesely, 6-7(2) 6-4 6-4

This was not a high-quality match statistically at all, nor was it easy to watch. But it’s notable because the Czech youngster could have upset Murray, if only he hadn’t choked under pressure. Murray was leading early in the first set but dropped it to Vesely, and then the Czech had chances in the second and third sets to take the match. He led 4-3 with a break in each set but failed to close out either of them, double-faulting in the third for Murray to break back.

Both players struggled mightily on serve as Murray faced 12 break points and Vesely faced 20 throughout the course of the match. Neither player hit the ball with much pace, and Murray’s first serve was poor, while the match produced 99 unforced errors. In a way, then, it was so bad that it was good.

(3) R2: Rafael Nadal d. Radek Stepanek, 2-6 6-4 7-5

Radek Stepanek fell short of two big upsets in consecutive tournaments as he lost to Roger Federer in Dubai and Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells after winning the first set in both matches. Stepanek blitzed an utterly listless Nadal in the first set to the shock of everyone, including tournament owner and Nadal fan Larry Ellison. His serve-volley style, combined with a forehand approaches down the line, stymied Nadal for much of the match. Nadal would work himself back into the match, getting a key break to take the second set. Stepanek showed signs of being gassed but hung around after Rafa broke at the start of the third set and quickly regained the break.

Both players fared well at saving break points. Nadal struck eight double faults, a career high, but held serve well enough in the second and third sets, including a hold at 4-5 to stay in the match. This hold was the second time in the third set that Stepanek had a chance to take a decisive lead. Earlier, he led 0-40 on the Nadal service game at 2-3 but couldn’t get over the hump. 

(2) R3: Fabio Fognini d. Gael Monfils, 6-2 3-6 7-5

Two showmen, the upright Fognini and the flexible Monfils played a highly entertaining match in the third round. The first set was not much to note, as Fognini was in solid control of proceedings. But his game slipped up and Monfils took advantage to take the second set. The third set was where the best action came. Monfils led by a break early in the set, but a double fault and another unforced error saw him give up the lead. The two men later would exchange breaks again before Monfils served for the match at 5-4. 

 Monfils would serve for the match at 5-4 and earn two match points, but he would double-fault one chance away and miss the other on an unforced error. It was one-way traffic from there as Fognini took control to win the next two games and the match.

(1) R3: Alexandr Dolgopolov d. Rafael Nadal, 6-3 3-6 7-6(5)

The talented shot-maker Dolgopolov continued his recent streak of high-quality play with a three-set upset of world No. 1 Nadal, his first win in six encounters against the Spaniard and the first time he took a set off him. Nadal struggled as he did against Stepanek, again playing a poor first set. The Spaniard and the Ukrainian traded breaks for much of the set until the Ukrainian broke for 5-3 and held serve to take it. As he did in the Stepanek match, however, Nadal would fight back in the second set. He broke Dolgopolov for a 4-2 lead and held serve the rest of the way to take it.

Again, the third set was where the biggest drama came. Dolgopolov raised his movement and groundstrokes to the quality of the first set, while Nadal was looking to finish the match off. Both players had belief they could win at this point, and Dolgopolov was still playing some of his best tennis. He would break for 4-2 in the third set and serve for the match at 5-3, but then he seemingly lost the plot under pressure. A double fault and a slew of errors led to break at love, and Nadal drew level at 5-5. Both men produced strong holds to reach a decisive tiebreak.

Nadal got a mini-break in the tiebreak on the first point, but once again his consistency faltered as they ended up back on serve, Dolgopolov would rally from 2-4 to eventually hold a match point at 6-5 in the tiebreak. He fired a near-ace that was overturned on a challenge, the ball having missed clipping the line by no more than a fingernail. Dolgopolov thought he had won, only to have to step up to the baseline again to hit a second serve. He won the ensuing rally with the same flat, angled hitting, smooth movement, and whipping forehand that had been working for him all night

Dolgopolov’s win was the upset of the tournament and one of the best upsets of the year, produced with swagger and flair. At times, his shot selection results in patches of low-IQ tennis, but his aggressive rallying is what won him the day against an overly passive Nadal.