Alexander Zverev was put through his paces in order to reach the last 16 at Indian Wells after he eventually got the better of Brandon Nakashima over three sets. 

Zverev did not have a break point against the American until the deciding set, but got himself over the line with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-4 in two hours and 31 minutes. 

After a closely-fought opening set, the German got himself in front with a dominant tiebreaker, but Nakashima roared back in the second against the fourth seed. 

Nakashima converted his fifth break chance for a 6-5 lead in the second and levelled the match with a love game, though Zverev's experience told in the decider. 

A break of serve in a decisive 10th game proved to be the end of the road for Nakashima, as Zverev progressed when a backhand return from his opponent hit the net. 

"He has an incredible serve, and you don't think about that," Zverev said of Nakashima. "His placement on serve is probably the best in the world.

"What he's lacking in power he's definitely got in placement. I did not have any chances to break him for the first two and a half sets and the only chance I had was in the end.

"Definitely happy to get the win because that was a difficult match."

An important milestone for @AlexZverev

The No. 4 seed digs deep to defeat Nakashima 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-4 and reach the fourth round.@BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/4UM3Gp7Fmp

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 8, 2026

Data Debrief: Zverev hits a century of ATP 1000 wins

Zverev will take on either 15th-seeded Italian Flavio Cobolli or Frances Tiafoe for a place in the quarter-finals, and his latest victory here took him to a notable milestone. 

Indeed, Zverev has become the first player to claim 100 match wins at ATP Masters 1000 events since the start of the 2020 season.

But he was put through his paces by Nakashima, who fired off 17 aces to Zverev's 15, though the pair both won 81% of their first-serve points in the contest.