Aussie Jordan Thompson stuns Stefanos Tsitsipas at Indian Wells

Unseeded Thompson reaches third round after one of the biggest wins of his career

Jordan Thompson beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. USA TODAY Sports

Unseeded Australian Jordan Thompson grabbed one of the biggest wins of his career on Friday, ousting third-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7/0), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) to reach the third round of the Indian Wells WTA and ATP Masters.

"It's unreal at a Masters 1000 ... to have a win like that is incredible," said Thompson, the world number 87 whose only prior victory over a top-10 player came back in 2017 against Andy Murray at Queen's Club.

He admitted he felt a little lucky when a stinging forehand from Tsitsipas on match point was ruled a hair wide.

"I'm thankful that last ball was out - I thought it was in," Thompson told fans on court.

While Tsitsipas led the third-set tiebreaker 2-1 and 4-3, Thompson's coolness under pressure paid off as Tsitsipas belted a forehand into the net to give the Aussie a match point before succumbing with the near miss.

Thompson next faces Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo, who hung on to beat American Maxime Cressy 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (15/13).

For Tsitsipas it was another setback in the wake of his sparkling run to the Australian Open final in January.

He departed Melbourne energised despite falling to Novak Djokovic in the title match, but shortly thereafter suffered a shoulder injury.

Playing his first tournament since a second-round exit at Rotterdam, Tsitsipas admitted earlier this week that his shoulder was still troubling him and he didn't have high hopes of a third Masters 1000 crown.

Tsitsipas and women's second seed Aryna Sabalenka - playing just her second tournament since winning the Australian Open - headlined Friday's second-round action.

Sabalenka moved smoothly into the third round with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Evginiya Rodina, who was playing her eighth match since a return to competition at last year's US Open after three years away from the game.

"Happy to win this match in two sets without struggling too much," said Sabalenka, who has never made it past the round of 16 in the California desert.

Sabalenka next faces Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko, who beat 29th-seeded Croatian Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

In other women's matches, last year's runner-up Maria Sakkari salvaged Greek pride with a battling 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over American Shelby Rogers.

Sakkari, trailing 1-4 when rain halted play for about 90 minutes, managed to turn it around in the second set.