Angelique Kerber has had to battle from a set down to overcome Russian qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the third round of the WTA event at Indian Wells.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Kerber required almost two hours to secure a 3-6 6-1 6-3 win in her toughest test of the fortnight so far.

“[Matches like this] give me again confidence that I can turn around matches; that I can play also three sets; also in the close moments that I’m there, that I can trust myself,”” German Kerber said.

In the round of 16, eighth-seeded Kerber will meet ninth seed Aryna Sabalenka after the Belarusian conquered Lesia Tsurenko 6-2 7-5.

The 20-year-old Sabalenka raced through the first four games of the match in just over 15 minutes and opened up a 6-2 4-1 lead before the Ukranian veteran fought back late in the second set.

Former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova eased through to the next round with a 6-3 6-2 triumph over Belgian qualifier Ysaline Bonaventure.

“The only good thing was my serve today, with a lot of aces and service winners,” Pliskova said during her on-court interview.

“Overall, I think my game was a bit bad today. The conditions changed from my last match, but hopefully in the next match I can play better.”

The fifth-seeded Czech Pliskova moved on to face Estonian 21st seed Anett Kontaveit, who was put through after her 11th-seeded opponent Anastasija Sevastova retired when trailing 5-0 in the first set.