After a comeback win kickstarted their title defence, Americans John Isner and Jack Sock have improved with each passing round at the BNP Paribas Open. The home favourites scored their most decisive win of the tournament on Wednesday night, beating Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-4 under the lights on the Indian Wells stadium court.
The two-time desert champions saved all three break points against them in the victory and converted on three of their five chances, much to the delight of the Southern California crowd. Isner/Sock stamped their authority on the match early on, when Sock whipped a backhand return winner on a deciding point to secure their first break of the match.
They will next meet Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden, who earned a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Canadian singles stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov earlier in the night. The Indian-Australian duo won both sets behind a single break and saved all four break points against them.
The remaining two quarter-finals, in the top half of the draw, will be played on Thursday. Top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski will meet Jamie Murray and Michael Venus, while fifth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara meet Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
The doubles semi-finals are scheduled for Friday, with the champions to be crowned on Saturday.
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