INDIAN WELLS: Gael Monfils played near-perfect tennis to crush Australia’s Max Purcell 6-1 6-2 to reach the second round of Indian Wells on Thursday, but three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka was far from flawless as he ran into Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic.
Frenchman Monfils, 37, fired 10 aces and deployed the kind of creative shooting that has endeared tennis fans in the California desert for years, soaking up the applause on sunny Center Court after sealing a dominant victory. His 19-year-old compatriot Arthur Fils, who advanced with a straight sets win over Nuno Borges, said Monfils was an inspiration.
“I don’t know how he did it because we were talking before the game about how Purcell is a very good opponent,” Fils told reporters. “Then I went to take a nap and I woke up and it was 6-1 5-2? I think everybody on the tour wants to see him play more and more years.” “It would be really nice to play doubles with him one day.” Monfils will face eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the second round, while Fils will face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovic Fokina, who is seeded 23rd.
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Earlier, Wawrinka lost 7-6(3) 4-6 6-2 to Machac as the Swiss continued his recent poor form. Wawrinka, who ten years ago reached a career-high number three in the world, could not match the level of the 23-year-old Czech in the deciding set, his typical one-handed backhand flying into the air.
Wawrinka lost in the first round of this year’s Australian Open, the second round of the Argentina Open and the first round of the Rio Open before coming to the California desert where he was a finalist in 2017. Machac will face French 21st seed Adrian Mannarino in the second round on Saturday. Croatia’s Borna Coric, Russia’s Roman Safiullin, China’s Shang Juncheng and American teenager Alex Michelsen were among the other players to advance to the second round on Thursday before play was suspended for the second consecutive day due to rain.
Osaka, Raducanu and Wozniacki reach Indian Wells second round
INDIAN WELLS: Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu and Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the second round of Indian Wells on Thursday as former world number one Venus Williams cruised to victory before losing the last 10 games to Japan’s Nao Hibino.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who returned to the tour in January after a maternity break, trailed qualifier Sara Errani 2-1 in the first set when she mistimed a header into the net in windy conditions.
But the Japanese player settled in there, using her strength to push the Italian down the court and winning 10 of the last 11 games to advance 6-3 6-1. “It was really difficult for me in the first set,” she told reporters.
“I didn’t know if I should play her and then go for my shots, or if I should go for my shots right away. That took a little bit of time and that’s why the first set was tighter than I would have liked.” .”
Osaka, who received a wild card to play in the event she won in 2018 for her first professional title, will next face 14th seed Liudmila
Former US Open champion Raducanu defeated Spanish qualifier Rebeka Masarova 6-2 6-3 earlier in the day to face 30th seed Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine in the second round.
The British wild card broke serve six times but also served eight double faults and needed four match points to close out the match, which ended when Masarova’s backhand sailed long.
Raducanu is playing her fifth tournament since returning to action in January after being out for eight months due to wrist and ankle surgeries.
Wozniacki, 33, recorded her first victory in the California desert since 2019 when she beat Zhu Lin 7-6(6) 6-1 in a match that started on Wednesday before being suspended due to rain.
The Dane returned to the tour last year after leaving the sport in 2020 to start a family. The 2011 tournament champion and former world number one will next face Croatia’s Donna Vekic, who is seeded 25th.
