The China Mail - Qualifier Parry ends Venus's desert dream

The 45-year-old Williams, playing on a wild card at the prestigious ATP/WTA Masters 1000 event, rallied from a set and a break down to force a third set, but Parry, ranked 111th in the world, stormed through the decider for a 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1 triumph.

Williams, who won the first four of her Grand Slam titles before 23-year-old Parry was born, remains in search of a first victory of 2026 after first-round defeats at the Australian Open and in Austin, Texas.

Parry gained the upper hand with a break for 4-2 in the first set, then saved three break points in the next game.

Williams regained a break in the second set and leveled the match when Parry put a volley into the net.

But Parry, shaking off the difficult, windy conditions, regrouped quickly to race away with the third.

She'll next face another Grand Slam winner in 15th seeded American Madison Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion.

Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov booked a second-round meeting with top-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory in a grudge match against Terence Atmane.

Dimitrov was unable to convert any of five break points at 5-5 in the second set and was broken in the next game as Atmane forced a decisive third set.

The 38-year-old former world number three responded to avenge a loss to Atmane in Acapulco last week.

"I think I started the match really well, but it was just difficult to maintain a solid level," Dimitrov said.

"I knew that I would get a few chances at some point, so I was just holding onto those moments. It could have gone either way, but I was able to stay very strong in the most important moments."

Dimitrov, who reached the Indian Wells semi-finals in 2021, now gets a shot at Alcaraz, who is undefeated in 12 matches in 2026 and beat Dimitrov in the fourth round here last year.

Alcaraz, whose Australian Open triumph in January made him at 22 the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam, will launch his bid for a third Indian Wells title on Saturday.

So will third-seeded five-time champion Novak Djokovic, who will take on Kamil Majchrzak after the Pole beat France's Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

- Sinner under the lights -

Second-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy will open his campaign for a first title in the California desert on Friday when he takes on Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina in the night session on Stadium Court.

Fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev will open second-round action on Stadium Court on Friday against Italian Matteo Berrettini, with women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka up next against Japanese qualifier Himeno Sakatsume.

Like Sinner, Sabalenka is chasing a first Indian Wells title. She fell in last year's final to Russian teen Mirra Andreeva and in 2023 to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina.

Two homegrown hopes swing into action on Friday as fourth-seeded Coco Gauff takes on qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan and sixth-seeded fellow American Amanda Anisimova faces Hungarian Anna Blinkova.

Second-seeded Iga Swiatek learned her second-round opponent as US qualifier Kayla Day defeated Britain's Francesca Jones 6-3, 6-1 to line up a meeting with the Polish star.

A.Zhang--ThChM