Americans, Aussies, and veteran players highlighted notable top performers in Indian Wells outside the usual suspects. Young guns stepped up, while veterans found a fountain of youth this week in the desert oasis of Indian Wells. Here is a look at some of the unsung heroes of the BNP Paribas Open.

Americans Sock, Johnson, Isner, and Young post strong showings in the desert

Overall, Indian Wells was a good tournament for American men, since four reached the third round or better in the desert. Jack Sock was the most notable of the bunch. In his first tournament back from hip surgery, along with a harrowing situation where his brother faced a life-threatening illness, Sock played inspired tennis to reach the fourth round. His journey began with a three-set victory over Yen-Hsun Lu, and in round 2 he scored a spirited win over the big-serving Gilles Muller, rallying to come back from a set down and win a third-set tiebreak 9-7. He would notch a place in the round of 16, where he fell to Roger Federer in straight sets, by defeating top-20 player Roberto Bautista Agut from a set down. Given this was just his first tournament back, the rest of the year is looking bright for Sock, who has a chance to break into the top 25 by its end. His fitness and net skills have markedly improved, the latter likely helped by his success in doubles, while his game remains focused around an elite forehand that generates as much spin as Rafael Nadal’s.

California boy Steve Johnson also enjoyed a good tournament as he continues to post reliable results under the radar, making his case to make the US Davis Cup team. Johnson beat veterans Marcel Granollers and Ivo Karlovic rather comfortably. He would be outplayed by Tomas Berdych in the third round, but he still has to relish his two solid wins over veterans who have troubled him in the past.

John Isner snapped out of a poor run of form and played well enough to reach the round of 16 in Indian Wells, a tournament that has treated him well over the years. Although his ranking has now fallen below the top 20, he beat Jurgen Melzer and Kevin Anderson, both opponents who had beaten him before, without dropping a set, and then gave Novak Djokovic a competitive match, losing in a second-set tiebreak. Isner is now facing challenges from Sock and Johnson for the title of American No. 1, and how he responds to that pressure in the coming months will be interesting to watch.

Last but not least, Donald Young kept his ATP mojo flowing and continued to extend the best long-term run of form in his career. Calm, collected, and focused, he dominated both Pablo Carreno Busta and Jeremy Chardy to reach the third round. Although he played very poorly against Rafael Nadal at that stage, he never lost control of his emotions and still showed positive signs of improvement for the future. These four American men are all players to watch over the coming months, but the clay court season is unlikely to be kind to them.

Rosol, Haase, Robredo snap poor runs of form

Three mid-tier ATP veterans rejuvenated their seasons in Indian Wells. Lukas Rosol, the 29-year-old power hitter from the Czech Republic, snapped a six-match losing streak with a pair of wins over Martin Klizan and Robin Haase. Rosol recovered from a break down in the third set against Klizan to win the next four games and the match, and he saved match points against Haase in the third set. He remains one of the streakiest players in the ATP, who can beat some of the top players with raw power on a good day, but lose to just about anyone on a bad day.

Haase ended a seven-match losing streak, since he hadn’t won a match this season, to reach the third round. He shocked Stan Wawrinka for one of the biggest wins of his career before falling to Rosol. Haase was very solid from the baseline this tournament and let his opponents make the mistakes. Time will tell if this is the start of a recovery for his career, or simply a blip on the radar of decline.

Tommy Robredo joined in the veteran resurgence as the 32-year-old who had struggled with an injury in January posted his best result of the year with a round of 16 result. Robredo survived Andrey Golubev in a nail-biting three-setter and then upset Grigor Dimitrov in three sets.

Big servers Raonic and Lopez continue consistent form

Milos Raonic has reached the quarterfinals or better in eight of his last 10 Masters 1000 events, and he reached his fifth Masters semifinal with a massive win over Rafael Nadal. Raonic also took out defending semifinalist Alexandr Dolgopolov this week and dropped just one set and one service game en route to the semis, where he lost to Roger Federer. Raonic has cemented himself as a top-10 player and is looking to take the next step now, but his results will need to improve against the rest of the top 10 for him to get there. Milos has proven to be generally upset-proof, however, and it’s been a solid season for him thus far.

Lefty slice server Feliciano Lopez also continued his success as a top-15 player. He reached the quarterfinals with a pair of hard-fought three-set wins and a straight-sets upset of world No. 5 Kei Nishikori that shocked just about everyone. Lopez would fall meekly to Andy Murray in the quarters, but the 33-year-old has reached four quarterfinals in Masters 1000 events since Indian Wells 2014.

Qualifier Berrer reaches Masters third round at 34

Veteran serve and volleyer Michael Berrer of Germany has already announced his retirement at the end of this season, but he’s having one of the best years of his career in the final year of it. Berrer, who has never reached the top 40, posted his best Masters 1000 hard-court result with a third round showing as a qualifier in Indian Wells. Berrer scored two wins in qualifying without dropping a set and then outlasted fellow inspiring veteran Victor Estrella in three sets to reach the second round. Berrer scored his second notable win of the year after defeating Nadal in Doha when he defeated Richard Gasquet in three sets with a retirement due to a back problem by Gasquet. He would fall to Gilles Simon in the third round, but he’s still proving to be an inspiring story in the ATP this year, having already qualified for three main draws. If you get the chance to watch Berrer play, enjoy it while you can, since he is a one of a kind player.

Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis becomes first teen to reach Masters 1000 round of 16 in three yearss

Kokkinakis, who is just 18, became the first teenager since the player he lost to in the round of 16, Bernard Tomic, to reach a Masters 1000 fourth round. Tomic did so in 2012 in Cincinnati, and no teenager had done so since then. Although his fellow young gun Nick Kyrgios draws more attention, the lanky Kokkinakis continues to make tremendous strides. He may well have the best career of any of the young Australians on tour right now. Kokkinakis scored wins over veterans Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Juan Monaco during Indian Wells. The wins over those opponents were both in three sets, and he has already shown in just two seasons that he is a warrior of a player who knows how to deal with pressure and fight back when he’s up against it.

Kokkinakis has already qualified three times this year for ATP main draws, and he is almost certain to break into the top 100 by the time Roland Garros gets underway. The young guns are starting to assert themselves at the ATP level, and Kokkinakis is quickly becoming a must-watch player who pours great passion and desire along with raw talent into every match.