Djokovic lavishes praise on Alcaraz, Sinner easily defeats Shapovalov, Sabalenka and Anisimova serve up bagels.

Three minutes a day, know all tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Monday, March 9, 2026. Welcome to the News Midday Report provided by "Tennis Home".

After winning his IW debut in a three-set comeback, Serbian tennis king Novak Djokovic attended the post-match press conference. When asked by a reporter whether he believes Carlos Alcaraz can break his record for the best season start in history set in 2011, Djokovic stated, "He can do it. I mean he possesses all the necessary conditions, including his technique, adaptability to different surfaces, and the physical fitness and recovery ability he has demonstrated over the years which is becoming more mature." "If he can stay healthy, he can win any tournament he enters, so who knows? After all, at such a young age, he has already created some historic achievements for our sport."

Djokovic once started the 2011 season with a 41-match winning streak, including four wins over Nadal, three over Federer, two over Murray, and a run of 13 consecutive victories against Top 10 players. This record for the best season start remains unmatched to this day. Alcaraz currently has a 13-match winning streak at the start of the year, still far from 41 wins. Now, with Djokovic showering such heavy praise again, pressure mounts on Alcaraz. Do you think the Spanish youngster has the potential to break this astonishing record?

Back to the matches. This morning Beijing time, the ATP 1000 Indian Wells Masters singles third round matches commenced. In a key matchup, the No.2 seed and world No.2 Jannik Sinner performed steadily, defeating Canadian star Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-2 to smoothly advance to the round of 16. Next, he will face the winner between American Tommy Paul and Brazilian newcomer João Fonseca.

The No.4 seed, German Alexander Zverev, battled through three sets to narrowly defeat American Brandon Nakashima 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-4, maintaining a perfect 6-0 record against him and also securing a spot in the round of 16. Next, he will face American Frances Tiafoe, who swept past Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 6-2.

The No.30 seed, French newcomer Arthur Fils, defeated Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 7-5 to reach the round of 16 for the second consecutive year; the No.18 seed, Spanish veteran Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, defeated the No.12 seed Czech newcomer Jakub Mensik 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, achieving five consecutive wins against him, and will face the No.25 seed American newcomer Lenna-Chang in the round of 16. Lenna-Chang defeated the No.8 seed compatriot Ben Shelton 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 to make her first appearance in the tournament's round of 16.

Doubles court: In a key first-round match, the newly paired "Med-Chang duo" Daniil Medvedev/Lenna-Chang had an unfortunate start, defeated by the cousin duo Lindner/Vasello 7-5, 6-3, exiting in their debut.

Turning to the women's matches. This morning Beijing time, the WTA 1000 Indian Wells singles third round matches commenced. In completed matches, the No.1 seed and world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka served a bagel, defeating Romanian Ana Cristian 6-4, 6-1 to率先 advance to the round of 16. Next, she will face Japanese star Naomi Osaka, who defeated Colombian Camila Osorio 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the tournament's round of 16 after seven years. Both Sabalenka and Osaka are four-time Grand Slam champions, making this key matchup highly anticipated!

The No.6 seed Amanda Anisimova was in fiery form, taking only 52 minutes to serve a double bagel, sweeping British No.1 Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-1 to reach the tournament's round of 16 after eight years. Next, she will await the winner between Canadian newcomer Mbouko and Russian Anna Kalinskaya.

The No.7 seed Jasmine Paolini, Czech newcomer Linda Noskova, and qualifier Gibson also won successively to reach the round of 16; while the No.3 seed Coco Gauff retired due to injury when trailing 2-6, 0-2, sending Philippine No.1 Eala into the next round.

Doubles court: In a second-round match, the Chinese-French duo Guo Han煜/Mladenovic defeated Panova/Siegmund 6-4, 6-3 to secure a quarterfinal spot. In a first-round match, Jiang Xinyu/Akeli were reversed by the No.2 seed Dabrowski/Stefani 5-7, 6-3, 10-5, failing to advance to the second round.

Finally, a guess and recognition game. The image below shows a player covering her face in celebration after a match. Without hints, can you recognize who she is?

Last period's guess, tennis friends provided the correct answer. Indeed, the person in the image is Italian Matteo Berrettini.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)