Andy Roddick defended Coco Gauff after her Oscar appearance on the eve of the Indian Wells. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev opened up about his bizarre Mexico Open exit last week.
In other news, Naomi Osaka labelled her Indian Wells exit as the 'worst match of her life.' Also, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray arrived at the Indian Wells ahead of the Serbian's second round match.
On that note, here are today's top tennis news:
Andy Roddick defends Coco Gauff against Oscar criticism
Andy Roddick has defended Coco Gauff after the American received criticism for attending the Oscar party before Indian Wells. Gauff made an appearance on the Oscars red carpet along with Aryna Sabalenka and Serena Williams.
During the latest episode of his podcast 'Served with Andy Roddick', the former World No. 1 touched on the subject. He suggested that attending the Oscars would not have changed her day to day schedule. Roddick further suggested that Gauff is making a brand for herself and her appearances at big events are important for her.
"I think we should focus on people who are actually struggling with being professional when training. I'm not sure Coco is the target for that, but in reality, when you're a global superstar, stopping in LA to promote any brand or business and then heading to Indian Wells is about as tight of an operation as you're going to get," Roddick said (37:43).
Alexander Zverev explains his surprise exit at the Mexico Open
Alexander Zverev opened up about the issues he faced during his early exit from the Mexico Open. The German star lost in the second round of the competition before storming out of the stadium.
Addressing the issue before the start of the Indian Wells, Zverev revealed that he was ill during his match. Like Zverev, other starts like Holger Rune and Casper Ruud also withdrew due to a stomach bug.
"Two out of the last three weeks (during the Latin American swing), I wasn't feeling great. Acapulco, also, a lot of players got ill there. It was a bit of an unfortunate tournament, because I felt like, especially after the first round, I felt like, okay, maybe I got through a tough match, and I can go deep in the tournament. But then it hit me in that night, same as a lot of other guys," Zverev said.
Naomi Osaka apologises for the 'worst match of her life'
Naomi Osaka apologised to the fans for playing the 'worst match of her life.' The Japanese star lost in the first round at the Indian Wells against Camila Osorio in straight sets.
After the defeat, Osaka took to social media and made her feelings known. The former World No. 1 posted a message on her 'Thread' and apologised to the fans by writing:
"Worst match I've ever played in my life. Wow, I'm so sorry to everyone who watched that," wrote Osaka on Threads.
Read more: Naomi Osaka issues apology after playing the "worst match" of her life at Indian Wells
Novak Djokovic arrives at the Indian Wells with Andy Murray
Novak Djokovic arrived for the BNP Paribas along with his coach, Andy Murray. The Serbian star was spotted with Murray for the first time since their Australian Open run.
Following his disappointing run at the Qatar Open, Djokovic will start the Indian Wells as the sixth seed. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was spotted training at the Indian Wells under the watchful eyes of Andy Murray.
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