World number ones Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams had to dig deep at Indian Wells on Sunday to fend off a pair of unheralded but spirited opponents.  Williams stepped up her bid for her first Indian Wells title in 15 years with a straight-set 7-6 (7/2), 6-0 victory over 56th-ranked Yulia Putintseva. Djokovic dropped the first set before coming from behind to book his third-round spot in the ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over 149th-ranked qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo.
In the evening session, reigning champion Simona Halep steamrolled Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-4 to get her title defence off to a flying start. The two-time Indian Wells champion Williams had a difficult time with Putintseva in the opening set but then steamrolled through the second to wrap up the win in one hour, 15 minutes.
“The first set was a little tricky, then I had to find my inner tiger... and roar,” said Williams, who booked a fourth-round clash with Kateryna Bondarenko.  Williams has a chance to become the first three-time winner in women’s singles at Indian Wells, a feat she failed to achieve last year when she was forced to withdraw from her semi-final with a knee injury.
Williams, who won the event in 1999 and 2001, returned to the tournament last year, ending a 14-year boycott which began after she beat Kim Clijsters in the 2001 final. That year spectators at Indian Wells booed Williams during the final and jeered her sister, Venus, and father Richard Williams when the pair arrived to watch the match. Richard Williams alleges that racists comments were directed at them.
As the top seed and a 21 Grand Slam champion, Williams is the clear favourite this week. And her quest was boosted with the early elimination of two of the top five seeds in the women’s draw, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza. Although Williams got off to a poor start on Sunday, she closed out the contest in style with an ace on match point. “I was just trying to find my rhythm out there, trying my best to not get off to a slow start,” she said. “Just trying to fight.”
The defending two-time men’s champ Djokovic has now won 12 consecutive matches in Indian Wells and is seeking to become the first player in tournament history to claim five titles. Djokovic won 78 percent of his first serve points, made three double faults and had his serve broken three times including twice in the first three games.
He returned the favour in the deciding third set by breaking Fratangelo in games one, five and seven. “All in all, it was just not a great performance,” Djokovic said. “But you have to deal with it, accept it. A win is a win. Hopefully the next one will be better.”
After the victory in difficult, windy conditions, Djokovic next faces German Philipp Kohlschreiber who swept past Denis Kudla 6-0, 6-1. “Today is one of those days where you don’t feel the ball well,” Djokovic said. “You know, swirly conditions.”
World number five Rafael Nadal lost the first set but bounced back to subdue Gilles Muller 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Nadal, the former three-time Indian Wells champion, moves on to face fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the third round.
The draw sets up a possible semi-final showdown between Djokovic and Nadal. They’re nearly even in their 47 head-to-head meetings, with Djokovic owning a 24-23 edge.
Japanese star Kei Nishikori eased into the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin. The 26-year-old Nishikori, seeded fifth in his eighth appearance in Indian Wells, has never made it past the fourth round in the California desert. “It is not easy playing the first match of any tournament,” Nishikori said. “But I felt comfortable today. So I hope I can go further than the last couple of years.”  
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated French compatriot Vincent Millot 7-5, 6-1; Dominic Thiem beat Jozef Kovalik 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3); and Sam Querrey stopped Thiemo de Bakker 7-6 (7/5), 6-4. Elsewhere in women’s action, world number three Agnieszka Radwanska breezed past Romania’s Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-1 to reach the fourth round. Last year’s runner-up Jelena Jankovic crushed CoCo Vandeweghe 6-0, 6-1 and Czech Petra Kvitova defeated Swede Johanna Larsson 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
Results (x denotes seeded player):
Men’s second round: Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER x27) bt Denis Kudla (USA) 6-0, 6-1 Feliciano Lopez (ESP x18) bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 6-2, 6-2 Roberto Bautista (ESP x14) bt Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) walkover Dominic Thiem (AUT) bt Jozef Kovalik (SVK) 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3) Jack Sock (USA x21) bt Michael Berrer (GER) 6-2, 6-4 Sam Querrey (USA x31) bt Thiemo de Bakker (NED) 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x7) bt Vincent Millot (FRA) 7-5, 6-1 Rafael Nadal (ESP x4) bt Gilles Muller (LUX) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Martin Klizan (SVK x25) 5-3 retired Alexander Zverev (GER) bt Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x23) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 Adrian Mannarino (FRA) bt Benoit Paire (FRA x19) 6-1, 6-3 Gilles Simon (FRA x16) bt Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 1-6, 6-0, 6-1 Kei Nishikori (JPN x5) bt Mikhail
Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-3, 6-3 John Isner (USA x9) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 Steve Johnson (USA x30) bt John Millman (AUS) 6-4, 6-2
Women’s third round: Serena Williams (USA x1) bt Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 7-6 (7/2), 6-0 Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) bt Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x3) bt Monica Niculescu (ROM x32) 6-2, 6-1 Nicole Gibbs (USA) bt Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 6-0, 6-4 Petra Kvitova (CZE x8) bt Johanna Larsson (SWE) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) bt Kurumi Nara (JPN) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 Simona Halep (ROM x5) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x30) 6-2, 6-4 Jelena Jankovic (SRB x19) bt Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 6-0, 6-1