Indian Wells, Darderi out in his debut. Alcaraz and Djokovic advance

Rome, 8 March (LaPresse) – Luciano Darderi was knocked out during the night in Italy, defeated in his debut at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open, the first Masters 1000 of the season (prize money €9,415,725) held on the hard courts of Indian Wells in the Californian desert. The 24-year-old from Villa Gesell (Argentina), ranked 21st in the ATP rankings and seeded 20th, ended up losing 46 62 64 to Australia’s Rinky Hijikata, ranked 117th, who stopped Francesco Maestrelli (ranked 114th in the ATP rankings), also a qualifier, in the first round. Carlos Alcaraz began his California campaign with a flawless match. The Spanish ATP No. 1 defeated Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov for the fifth time in seven head-to-head matches on the ATP Tour, winning 6-2, 6-3. Novak Djokovic returned to winning ways at Indian Wells. Defeated in his debut a year ago, the five-time champion and world number 3 struggled more than expected, beating Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak (No. 57) with a score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. At 38 years and 8 months, Djokovic claimed his 419th Masters 1000 victory and became the second oldest player to reach the third round of the Californian tournament.