Andreeva Exits Indian Wells in Third Round to Siniakova

Indian Wells, California - Defending champion Mirra Andreeva crashed out of the BNP Paribas Open in the third round on Monday, suffering a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 defeat to unseeded Katerina Siniakova in a tense match marked by the 18-year-old Russian's visible frustration.

Andreeva, the eighth seed and the youngest winner of the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999, started strongly by breaking Siniakova twice early before securing the first set. The pair traded breaks in a competitive second set that went to a tiebreaker, which Siniakova won 7-5 after Andreeva had been two points from victory. In the decisive third set, Andreeva broke for a 3-2 lead but lost four straight games as Siniakova capitalized on her opponent's errors. The match concluded with a lucky net cord on match point for the Czech player, ranked 44th in the world, prompting Andreeva to toss her racket toward the net.

Throughout the nearly three-hour encounter, Andreeva smashed her racket multiple times, earning a code violation after the second set. Following a brief handshake with Siniakova, she exited the court amid boos from the crowd, gesturing and shouting obscenities that appeared directed at the spectators....