At 22, Ben Shelton is youngest American man since 2004 to reach quarterfinals at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Ben Shelton became the youngest American man since Andy Roddick in 2004 to reach the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open, beating Brandon Nakashima in straight sets Wednesday.

The 22-year-old Shelton cruised in the second set of a 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory. After a 61-minute opening set, he took a 5-0 lead in just 20 minutes in the deciding set. The 11th-seeded Shelton hasn’t dropped a set in five career matches against Nakashima, a 23-year-old American.

Second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t dropped a set on his way to the quarterfinals. The four-time Grand Slam champion breezed to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over No. 14 seed Grigor Dimitrov.

On the women’s side, No. 3 seed Coco Gauff was upset in the round of 16 by unseeded Belinda Bencic. The 28-year-old wild card from Switzerland rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Bencic returned the favor from the Australian Open in January, when Gauff won after dropping the first set. The defeat came the day before Gauff’s 21st birthday as the 2023 U.S. Open champion was broken at 4-4 in the final set after going up 40-0.

Gauff struggled with her serve throughout the tournament and had eight double-faults against Bencic, with just four aces.

Australian Open champion Madison Keys, the No. 3 seed, rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3 victory over 19th-seeded Donna Vekic. The 30-year-old American extended her winning streak to 15 matches after trailing 5-3 and being two points from defeat in the second set.

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Sonay Kartal, who was facing an opponent ranked in the top 10 for the first time.

Jack Draper of Britain beat third-seeded American Taylor Fritz — a past champion at Indian Wells — 7-5, 6-4. Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina topped Australian Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-3.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis