The early rounds of Indian Wells gave us some classic ATP Masters 1000 tennis contests, while numerous other matches were memorable. Here are the five best that made the cut from the early rounds of the 2015 BNP Paribas Open.

5) R2: Robin Haase d. Stan Wawrinka 6-3 3-6 6-3 

This was the most shocking result from the early rounds of the tournament. Haase had played the top-10 Wawrinka close in previous meetings but was 0-5 in their previous matches. Before going into Indian Wells, he had an 0-7 ATP record. Yet even in poor form with the odds stacked against him, Haase played by far his best match of the year, while Wawrinka played his worst, with his level of play reminiscent of his shocking loss to Tatsuma Ito in Tokyo last fall. In the first set, Wawrinka was haphazard, getting broken at 3-3 and again at 3-5 to drop the set while generating no break points of his own. In the second he returned to form, saving a break point chance at 1-1, and then breaking midway through the set for a 4-3 and later a 6-3 result.

Going into the third set, nearly everyone expected Wawrinka to escape with a hard-fought victory, but Haase remained solid as a rock, with his deep baseline groundstrokes staying within the court and pushing Wawrinka deep. Wawrinka overhit on his returns, and his trademark backhand was poor. Haase broke for a 4-3 lead and never looked back in the third set. In the end, though the stats were close, Wawrinka never seemed comfortable with himself, and Haase walked away with one of the best wins of his career.  

4) R2: Grigor Dimitrov d. Nick Kyrgios 7-6(2) 3-6 7-6(4)

In a very high-quality contest with an unfortunate ending, young guns Dimitrov and Kyrgios both put it all on the line in their second-round meeting, with Dimitrov posting 47 winners and Kyrgios throwing up 33, along with double-digit ace counts for both players over the course of three sets. The first set was all about good serving, as neither player had a break point chance. It went into a tiebreak, and Dimitrov got off to a fast start in that tiebreak, holding all of his serves as Kyrgios took just two points.

In the second set, Kyrgios saved a break point early and maintained the lead on serve, until a late break for 5-3 that he served out to take the set. In the third set, the deep topspin forehand of Kyrgios was bothering Dimitrov, who had to fend off three break point chances to get it to 4-4. That was when the drama began, as Kyrgios broke for 5-4 and had a chance to serve out the match. But on that final point that resulted in the break, in which Dimitrov hit an unforced error, Kyrgios fell and injured his ankle.

Standing up and limping in great pain as he walked to his chair. Kyrgios called the trainer at first, but by the time the trainer had arrived, he chose to wave him off and attempt to serve out the match while hobbled. That didn’t go so well, as with his mobility clearly hampered and his groundstrokes limited, Dimitrov got lucky to break back and go up 6-5. Amazingly, Kyrgios did manage a hold on one good ankle to force a tiebreak, but the result never seemed in doubt in that tiebreak, as the uninjured Dimitrov avoided a shocking collapse and put himself into the third round. The young Aussie Kyrgios’ inexperience showed, as his decision to waive off the trainer and not even get his ankle taped may well have cost him a quality win. Furthermore, his slip resulted in damage to his ankle that will keep him out in the coming weeks of the season.

3) R4: Bernard Tomic d. Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4 4-6 6-4

It was a good tournament for Bernard Tomic, who fended off his younger countryman Kokkinakis to reach the quarterfinals. Tomic served well and was in relative control over the match throughout, as he saved four break point chances in the first set, breaking Kokkinakis for 4-5 late and then serving the set out. Kokkinakis, however, played considerably better against the junkballing Bernie than he had earlier in the year in Brisbane. He fought back to generate a 5-2 lead in the second, and though Tomic clawed it back to 5-4, denying Thanasi from serving out the set, he got broken again to force a third set. In that set, Tomic got out to an early lead and fended off the best efforts of Kokkinakis the rest of the way, managing holds of serve and not letting his failure to convert a match point at 3-5 get him down.

Tomic had trouble closing the match out, since he failed to convert three more match points and had to save a break point at 5-4 before finally winning. But all in all it was a very good showing, in a matchup that is sure to be a hallmark on the ATP Tour for years to come. Both players have great promise, and Tomic’s experience helped him win the day.

2) R2: David Ferrer d. Ivan Dodig 4-6 6-1 7-6(6)

This was a massive battle on one of the smaller courts that really engaged the crowd. The contest between the veterans Ferrer and Dodig was everything pure and good about tennis, since both players showed their quality and tenacity, with Ferrer eventually gritting out a very tough win in the end. Dodig got off to a strong start breaking in the opening game of the match, and though he lost that break, his belief clearly showed as he broke again for a 4-3 lead and then served it out the rest of the way.

A frustrated Ferrer recommitted himself in the second set, having won multiple previous contests with Dodig in three sets. He breadsticked the veteran Croat, who is ranked just inside the top 100, and appeared well on his way to what would have been a comfortable win in the third set. However, Dodig would simply not go away, and they were neck and neck to 5-5.

Ferrer broke rather easily for a 6-5 lead and had his chance to serve out the match. Then, Dodig would save two match points and break to force a tiebreak, thrilling the fans, who were split between the Spaniard and the Croat. Dodig built up a 5-3 lead in the tiebrea, but collapsed from there, winning just one more point, as Ferrer won five of the next six to take the match on his fourth match point. In the process he hit an incredible passing shot against Dodig, who was at the net and looked ready to put the match to bed. Ferrer also had to deal with Dodig’s skill at the net, which greatly troubled him, since Dodig is a very accomplished doubles player.

1) R3: Thanasi Kokkinakis d. Juan Monaco 6-2 5-7 7-6(5)

This compelling match ended up mired in controversy. The young gun Kokkinakis reached the round of 16 with a huge win over the in-form veteran Monaco. Kokkinakis got off to a strong and confident start, easily taking the first set 6-2, but Monaco chose not to bow out meekly after going 2-6 2-3 down. He broke Kokkinakis three times in the second set, and he came back from being broken serving for the set at 5-4 and failing to convert three set point chances to eventually take it 7-5 with a late break.

Going into the third set, Kokkinakis had called the doctor, complaining of dizziness, stoking fears he had suffered a heat stroke and would be unable to continue in the challenging conditions. However, after a short rest to gather himself, Kokkinakis recovered fantastically, eventually breaking Monaco for a 3-2 lead in the third set that erased any concerns about his physical condition. Kokkinakis actually should have won the match when serving at 5-4, as a ball that Monaco returned landed just out on the left singles line. However, Kokkinakis and Monaco were both out of challenges, and umpire Mohamed Lahyani failed to overrule a call that the video review system would determine was out. Kokkinakis, along with the crowd, was shocked and despairing, and it looked as if he could be robbed of a match he had won.

However, Kokkinakis managed a hold from deuce to force a final-set tiebreak, and in that tiebreak he generated two more match point chances at 6-3 and 6-4. Although he lost those chances, Monaco failed to hold his serve on the third match point at 6-5 and lost the tiebreak 7-5, in a match that resulted in the proper victor no matter the situation with the challenge. This match raised questions about the challenge system in major points, such as match point, and if reforms should be made to prevent an unfortunate result, such as what could have occurred.

Regardless, Kokkinakis is a true warrior of a player, and even as a teenager he has proven to be resilient and unfazed when dealing with pressure. He showed maturity well beyond his years in this match and never let his fatigue or frustration get in the way of a win. His return of serve was excellent, and though Monaco had more flashy shots, including an incredible tweener winner, he also produced more errors in a match that featured many long rallies.