One wouldn’t have expected a battle royale to develop between Ana Ivanovic and Elina Svitolina by looking at their relative resumes.  Moreover, Ivanovic had swept both of their previous meetings in two routine sets, including a match last year at the US Open. 

On the other hand, one never knows quite what to expect from Ivanovic, who has defeated Serena Williams and lost to Klara Zakopalova this year.  The former No. 1 had started the season in sparkling fashion with an Australian Open quarterfinal appearance, and she has produced some of her most consistently impressive results at Indian Wells, where she won the 2008 title.  For a set and a half, however, she could not eke out even a break point against the serve of Svitolina, a teenage talent from Ukrainian with two titles already to her name.  But the youngster floundered through a disastrous service game on the brink of a second-set tiebreak, showing her inexperience. 

Not deflated by that collapse, Svitolina continued to battle deep into the final set.  That set ended with six consecutive breaks as she spurned two attempts to serve out the match.  Svitolina’s wasted opportunities finally seemed to take their toll on her emotions in a desultory tiebreak.  Sweeping the tiebreak for the loss of one point, Ivanovic rallied from losing the first set for the fourth time this year. 

The 2008 Indian Wells champion kept alive her quest for a second title in the desert, albeit barely, on a day when several seeds struggled.  Among them was 2009 finalist Andy Murray, whose results in the desert have fallen short of his usual standards over the last few years.  Two quarterfinal losses and two second-round shocks set the stage for Murray’s meeting with giant-killer Lukas Rosol. 

While the Czech remains a rough-hewn talent lacking in versatility, his raw power famously plowed through Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012.  The slow hard courts at Indian Wells favored Rosol’s boom-or-bust style less than grass, yet he hammered flat groundstrokes past Murray with ease during the first set.  In four tournaments this year, the Scottish star has produced tennis several degrees below his best as he recovered from back surgery.  It became clear that this level would not suffice as Rosol continued to deliver clutch serves and forehands in the second set.

The tide finally turned when Murray burst from behind the baseline into the forecourt to track down a mediocre volley.  Not slowed by his healing back, he broke serve at that stage and flowed more freely through the rest of his game as Rosol’s confidence flagged.  Murray again broke serve to open the third set, signaling the routine end to a once-promising upset bid.

Here are some further brief thoughts on key results of the day.

Li Na d. Zheng Jie:  Like second seed Agnieszka Radwanska, top seed Li seemed to prefer returning to serving in her opener.  Half of the six games that she lost to Zheng came as service breaks, and she won a higher percentage of points on her opponent’s serve than on her own.  Also like Radwanska, though, Li avoided extending herself to a third set by producing a strong service game when she most needed it.  Facing a countrywoman is always a challenging task for a player from a nation as proud as China, especially in the position of a favorite.  Li’s ebbs and flows thus might have resulted as much from complex emotions as any shortcomings in her technique.

Alejandro Falla d. Jerzy Janowicz:  This match marked a demoralizing missed opportunity for Janowicz, who entered it as the clear favorite over a South American clay specialist.  After he lost the first set, last year’s Wimbledon semifinalist appeared to solve Falla by winning nine of the next 11 games.  His small but tenacious opponent hung within range, however, keeping the pressure on Janowicz as he served for the match.  Fiddling with his sunglasses, Janowicz never looked at ease in that game or in the decisive tiebreak that soon followed.  He double-faulted on match point to suffer his fourth straight loss in North America, a region where the hard courts should suit his game.  One of the next generation’s brightest talents, Janowicz still has much work to do in developing the consistency needed to fulfill his potential.

Kevin Anderson d. Lleyton Hewitt:  Two finals in the previous two weeks had positioned Anderson for a strong run at Indian Wells.  A quarterfinalist at this tournament last year, he eased past two-time former champion Lleyton Hewitt while facing only a single break point.  To his credit, Hewitt protected his serve own relentlessly through the first set and a half.  He also saved a string of match points in a display of his trademark grit.  But the disparity in first-strike power between the two men proved too much for Hewitt to overcome. 

Ekaterina Makarova d. Monica Niculescu:  It may have unfolded on the distant Stadium 8, but the epic of the day came from these two women.  Experienced in doubles, both Niculescu and Makarova are comfortable in every area of the court.  Makarova had won her first hard-court title in February and owns a much stronger resume in singles, so her eventual victory came as no surprise.  What did surprise was the 192 minutes that it required, making it the longest match of the main draw so far.

Andreas Seppi d. Sam Querrey:  The American No. 2 had won only one match since the Australian Open heading into the tournament.  Even holding double match point in the second set did not inspire much confidence in Querrey, who suffered yet another painful loss after a promising start.  His deflated body language whenever adversity arose showed how much confidence he had lost during his recent woes.  Memories of meltdowns past must have haunted the American’s mind, and Seppi is too experienced a veteran not to capitalize. 

Samantha Stosur d. Francesca Schiavone:  The rematch of the 2010 Roland Garros final did not live up to the original.  Schiavone has faded sharply since then, and she could not earn a break point against the woman whom she defeated in Paris.  Stosur dropped just 10 service points in total as the former US Open champion started her desert campaign in style.