Indian Wells 2026 Day 2 Recap - The Player Lounge

Day 2 at Indian Wells brought the top half of the draw into action, with Round 128 now complete and a solid day for the homegrown with four Americans entering Round 2.

Grigor Dimitrov got payback at Terence Atmane just eight days after Acapulco, digging out a three-set victory to book a second-round date with top seed Carlos Alcaraz.

The upset of the day belonged to Aleksandar Kovacevic, who outlasted Hubert Hurkacz in back-to-back breakers for his first ever Indian Wells victory and sent the Pole sliding deeper into the red.

There was also a statement from California local Mackenzie McDonald, who absolutely surprised Matteo Arnaldi, while Sebastian Korda continued to roll, and Kamil Majchrzak got the “reward” of a Novak Djokovic match-up.

Next Up: The Round of 64 begins on Day 3, but the schedule is easier than expected. Only 14 matches are on the list instead of the usual 16, with Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev arriving late from the Middle East swing, forcing a couple of tweaks to the order of play.

Day two 2026 BNP Paribas Open round of 128 results

Winner	Loser	Score line
Grigor Dimitrov	Terence Atmane	6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Juan Manuel Cerundolo	Botic from Zandschulp	7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3
Nuno Borges	Emilio Nava	7-6(9), 7-5
Alexander Shevchenko	Sho Shimabukuro (Q)	6-4, 3-6, 6-2
White Kopřiva (LL)	Michael Zheng (WC)	7-6(1), 7-5
Rinky Hijikata (Q)	Francesco Maestrelli (Q)	7-6(5), 6-4
Mackenzie McDonald (Q)	Matteo Arnaldi	6-0, 6-1
Sebastian Korda	Francisco Comesana	7-5, 6-0
Kamil Majchrzak	Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard	6-3, 1-6, 7-5
Aleksandar Kovacevic	Hubert Hurkacz	7-6(6), 7-6(4)
Benjamin Bonzi (Q)	Valentin Royer	6-4, 6-3
Roberto Bautista Agut	Fabian Marozsan	6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4
Alejandro Tabilo	Rafael Jodar (WC)	6-1, 6-2
Sebastian Baez	Chun-Hsin Tseng (Q)	6-3, 6-2
Alex Michelsen	Daniel Merida (Q)	6-3, 6-4
Jacob Fearnley	Damir Dzumhur	6-3, 6-3

Key matches

Grigor Dimitrov def. Terence Atmane 6-4, 5-7, 6-4

Dimitrov avenged his last loss to Atmane of Acapulco just eight days earlier, rallying in a tight three-setter to set up a second-round showdown with top seed and two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz.

The 34-year-old Bulgarian started strongly but dropped the second set after failing to convert any of seven break points at 5-5, which saw Atmane break him. Dimitrov recovered and stayed calm in key moments to end it.

Aleksandar Kovacevic def. Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(6), 7-6(4)

A major upset in two tight tiebreaks, marking Kovacevic’s first ever win at Indian Wells and adding to Hurkacz’s problems with the pole now on a five-match losing streak.

Sebastian Korda def. Francisco Comesana 7-5, 6-0

Korda, fresh off her Delray Beach title, extended her winning streak to six with a dominant finish after a competitive first set. This marked his first hard-court Masters 1000 victory since Miami last year. The American will next face sixth seed Alex de Minaur. Four Americans advanced overall during the day.

Kamil Majchrzak def. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-3, 1-6, 7-5

Majchrzak battled back from dropping the second set to earn a second-round matchup with third-seeded Novak Djokovic, who is returning from his Australian Open final (lost to Alcaraz). Djokovic’s first match since January, and overall I think he will prefer Majchrzak to GMP.

Other notables from day 2

Mackenzie McDonald (Q) def. Matteo Arnaldi 6-0, 6-1 — A dominating bagel-and-breadstick win to qualify.
Jacob Fearnley def. Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-3 — Advance in straight sets against 2022 champion Taylor Fritz.
Alexander Shevchenko def. Sho Shimabukuro (Q) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 — Sets up a meeting with 13th seeded Casper Ruud.
Roberto Bautista Agut def. Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4 — Veteran grits in three sets.
Sebastian Baez def. Chun-Hsin Tseng (Q) 6-3, 6-2 — Effective progress for the Argentine.