Bill Simons
WELCOME TO PARADISE: The Australian Open gets huge mileage out of its slogan, “The Happy Slam.” But, come on, no one milks their nickname more than the BNP Paribas Open. We’re continually reminded that this is “Tennis Paradise.” Never mind the occasional wind storms, blazing sun, frigid nights and the occasional swarm of bees, as well as plenty of random controversies.
LA MONF – THE MUSKETEER WHO WANTS TO BE A BANKER: The lean French kid was a phenom who’d just won three junior Slam titles. Early on, we saw Gael Monfils come to San Jose, and in 2005 he first played Indian Wells. Soon we learned that his mom was from the island of Martinique – and when it came to athleticism, he was on an island of his own.
Friday Monfils played his last Indian Wells match, losing to Felix Auger-Aliasimme, another appealing French-speaking star. We relished Gael’s movement, forehands and volleys, as we always have. As for his shotmaking, it was less a matter of whether his shots were good, than how many laws of physics he’d shatter along the way.
In 2009, in Paris, we saw the upstart showman play to his home crowd and frustrate our guy, Andy Roddick, who barked at the not very deferential Parisian, “You’re not that good to be that cocky!”
But soon, we began asking ourselves, “Is he one of the best enterainers in the game?” Is there any ATP player who is more athletic than La Monf?
He was a highlight reel in real time. One observer claimed, “If tennis ever awarded titles based on acrobatics, Gael would have a trophy case the size of the Louvre.” Along with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon, he became part of France’s new Four Musketeers.
At times he seemed like a Paris street performer – half sport, half spectacle, entirely entertaining.
Gael said he played to have fun. But while his somber coaches insisted he get more serious, his fans said, “No way.”
Poems were written. It was said that the ATP’s artist-in-residence chased balls like French impressionists chased sunlight.
Gael chased down titles, too. He won 12 tourneys, reached No. 6, banked $25 million and reached the semis of the US and French Opens. One headline read: “Oui, Oui – Monfils Razzles and Dazzles His Way to Semis.”
Of course, he regularly got battered by Djokovic, Federer and Nadal – who didn’t? But he does have wins over each of them. Only about 14 others can claim that trifecta.
Plus, except for Nick Kyrgios out on Melbourne’s No. 3 stadium, there was nothing in tennis quite like a rollicking Monfils night match at the French Open. The roars reverberated throughout the Bois du Boulogne. He told me, “Roland Garros is a magical place, where I go beyond myself and get things out of myself that I don’t think I can even do.”
Often he baffled players and commentators. Georgia native John Isner wondered why so many of the American fans at the US Open were rooting so passionately for a French guy.
Jim Courier said, “I’d pay money to watch Gael, and I’d pay money not to coach him.”
La Monf is fun-loving – his dance moves amaze. Improvisation is his art form. But don’t dismiss him as a clown. In 2014 he bravely called out for peace in Ukraine, and, with his wife Elina Svitolina formed, along with the Williamses, one of the most impactful biracial couples in tennis history.
Now, the teen we first saw in 2005, the talent who got to Indian Wells’ semifinal in 2016, is, at 39, a revered ATP elder, who won titles in both 2005 and 2023.
The French Open is now in the groove when it comes to staging grand retirement ceremonies: Tsonga in 2022 and Rafa last year. This May, it will be La Monf’s turn. Tears will flow for a musketeer, an athletic genius, a loving husband, a doting dad, and a guy who always got us thinking.
Now he wants to go into banking. But we never imagined a financial services exec who could hit such astounding leaping forehand volley winners.
THE RING THAT CAN BE SEEN FROM OUTER SPACE: Aryna Sabalenka’s agent told her that she needed to come right away for a brief meeting. “Oh it’s nothing,” said her handler. “Just throw something on.” So the world No. 1 hopped into some jeans, put on her flip-flops and passed on make-up. Little did she know that her hunky Brazilian boyfriend, entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis, was about to get down on his knee and propose. Aryna was elated, but not with her look. “I thought I looked ugly,” she confided. The two-time Indian Wells semifinalist admitted she hoped her new 12-karat Djokovic-approved ring would distract her foes. Some claimed the ring could be seen from outer space.
THE WORLD COMES TO PARADISE: Sometimes the griefs of our big, bad world drop by Paradise. In 2003 the Iraq War just after Indian Wells ended. COVID hit in late February 2020 on the eve of the tourney, and the BNP Paribas became the first global sports event that was canceled. In 2022, the Russians invaded Ukraine just before the tournament started. Russian players were grilled. Ukrainians were outraged, and their blue and yellow flag would fly for two years above Stadium 1.
This year, eight days before play began, the US and Israel started bombing Iran, and the Iranians unleashed a counterattack. The region was ignited. Once again our world saw the horrors of war. As Middle Eastern skies were darkened and airports closed, a handful of players, including Daniil Medvedev in Dubai, were stranded, and a Challenger was closed down as missiles exploded nearby.
In the end, everyone got out. BTW: Roger Federer’s former coach Ivan Ljubicic managed to catch the last boat out of Croatia during the 1991 Balkans war, escaping to Italy. When the 1968 “all power to the imagination” student uprising in Paris crippled transportation, some players took a taxi from Brussels to Roland Garros in order to play.
THE NEW BAKER IN TOWN: Hold on! Iga Swiatek has long been the WTA’s reigning baker. It’s not really a tournament if the Pole doesn’t score a 6-0, 6-0 win. But now, last year’s finalist Mirra Andreeva has stolen her thunder. The Russian beat Solana Sierra 6-0, 6-0.
NEW BALLS, PLEASE: There always seems to be a ball controversy at Indian Wells. This year, one match in the opening round was delayed for nine minutes because officials couldn’t find new balls.
SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE? The USTA has a long marketing history. It all began with a cute little kitty swiveling its head as it followed a tennis ball – how quaint. Then came Borden milk and Juan Valdez promoting Colombian coffee. Now the US Open has sent out a celebratory press release saying they’ve signed up a new Legal AI sponsor who gets plenty of high-profile signage at the Open.
CONSONANT CLUSTER CAUSES A SCARE: Kamil Majchrzak is hardly a household name. The Pole has won nine Challengers and in February rose all the way to No. 55. But no worries. Before his match against Djokovic today, Jim Courier offered reassuring words, saying, “Kamil does not have the type of skills that will worry Novak.”
In fact, the 30-year-old had drawn our attention more for the fact that he has an amazing five consonants in a row in his name and that he’d endured a 13-month drug suspension.
But today we had to suspend belief. Majchrzak powered out of the starting gate, broke early twice and stunned the crowd by claiming the first set 6-4.
Then again, of late, Novak’s had a penchant for dropping sets to little known players. At Indian Wells last year, he lost to journeyman Botic van de Zandschulp, and before that he was sent packing by the lowly Italian Luca Nardi, who was ranked No. 123.
But then, the five-time Indian Wells champion, who last won the title here in 2016, battled back to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. He’ll next face New Yorker Aleksandar Kovacevic, who has eight vowels in his name.
ALEXANDRA THE GREAT: Born in the Philippines, trained at Spain’s Nadal Academy, 5’9” Alexandra Eala is a phenom who draws attention and crowds around the world, despite never getting beyond the second round of a Slam.
The internet was filled with stories that fans of the fleet, hard-working 20-year-old, would overrun Indian Wells. That didn’t happen. But as Alexandra battled the powerful Ukrainian, Dayana Yaztremska, Court 3 saw many a fluttering Filipino flag. And even though the stadium had plenty of empty seats, her loyal fan base was rowdy and gleeful as Eala rode the emotions and ultimately muted Yastremska’s power to win the late-night battle 7-5, 4-6, 7-5. She’ll next face Coco Gauff.
SPOTTING VENUS IN THE DESERT DUSK: Thirty years after she first appeared at Indian Wells as a teen prodigy, and 25 years after she pulled out of her semifinal against Serena, sparking the tournament’s most controversial moment, Venus Williams returned to the desert as the oldest player in the draw.
Despite many appreciative fans, the iconic 45-year-old fell in the first round to French qualifier Diane Parry. Venus won her last Slam at Wimbledon in 2008, and her most recent tour title was in Taiwan in 2016. She once said, “I don’t have time to retire.” Now she’s proving it again.
Venus and Leylah Fernandez are slated to play in doubles, and Williams probably will play Miami.
COCO WATCH: While Coco Gauff was talking about life inside escape rooms at tennis tournaments, we reflected on her recent on-court commentary in the Middle East when, after yet another double fault, she blurted out to her coach, “I’ve been doing everything you’ve said for six months, and nothing has changed!” And goodness, she’s outside the Top 30 in service games won. But the No. 4 player in the world won her opening match, and still hasn’t ever lost a first-round match at Indian Wells. Her best BNP Paribas result was in 2024, when she reached the semis.
JUST WONDERING: Will the marvelous 20-year-old, Learner Tien, reach the Top Ten?…Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t lost an outdoor hard court battle since last year’s Miami Open. He took the Aussie Open, and is 15-0 this year. Indian Wells’ slow court is right up his alley. When will this appealing young superstar next lose?
TRUST US, THIS IS NOT ISTANBUL: Istanbul’s Zeynep Sönmez beat American McCartney Kessler to become the first Turkish player to claim a singles main draw victory at the tournament. And, for all you adoring Andorra fans out there, Victoria Jimenez Kasinteva, who’s from that tiny land with 89,000 folks, became the first Andorrean male or female to break into the Top 100. Speaking of Victoria, Victoria Azarenka, who beat Maria Sharapova and Serena to win her two Indian Wells titles, isn’t playing this year. And now that Victoria Jimenez Kasinteva lost to Naomi Osaka, Canada’s Victoria Mboko is the only Victoria left in the draw. Queen Victoria once presided over an empire on which the sun never set – this Victoria now presides over a draw where the other Victorias already have.
Also reporting: Vinay Venkatesh
