Teenagers shine as tournament heats up at Indian Wells

The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells completed another eventful day with Nicolas Mahut and Leonardo Mayer winning on the men’s side Thursday.

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Teenagers Frances Tiafoe and Brona Coric grabbed the center-court spotlight when the men joined the women for first-round play Thursday in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Tiafoe outlasted Taylor Fritz 3–6, 6–2, 3–6, in a battle of 18-year-old Americans, and Coric, a 19-year-old Croatian, beat Lucas Pouille of France 6–2, 7–5.

Those two matches helped kick off a formful opening day for the men, with Nicolas Mahut of France, Leonardo Mayer of Argentina and Robin Haase of the Netherlands also advancing. Mahut beat qualifier Renzo Olivo of Argentina 6–2, 6–4; Mayer ousted Sam Groth of Australia 6–4, 6–3; and Haase toppled Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6–3, 6–4.

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Daniela Hantuchova, a two-time tournament champion, lost to Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6–2, 6–4 as the women completed their first round. It was the second straight first-round loss for Hantuchova, who won her titles in 2002 and ’07.

The women will begin second-round play Friday with Venus Williams scheduled to play her first match at the tournament in 15 years in the afternoon and top-ranked Serena Williams on the schedule for the night session.