Gaël Monfils and Hugo Gaston qualified for the second round of Indian Wells Masters 1000. On the other hand, Arthur Rinderknech was eliminated, while Quentin Halys could not finish his match due to the rain. Finally, note the new abandonment of Nick Kyrgios.
Gaël Monfils returns to victory! Forced to abandon against Ben Shelton in the knockout stages of the Australian Open, then beaten in Dubai by Matteo Berrettini for his return to competition, the world n ° 42 won his first success since January 18, on the occasion of the first round of the Masters 1000 of Indian Wells, which he has disputed for the sixteenth time. The Frenchman was opposed to a player classified four rows behind him, Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he had already beaten three times out of three. And it won 6-4, 6-4 in 1h24. Gaël Monfils has notably been able to rely on a good service, serving 7 Aces, winning 83% of the points behind his first ball and losing only his putting into play.
“La Monf” “succeeded in the first break in the match at 1-1 in the first set, then missed a 5-2 ball, before letting Struff Recolle at 4-4. But the French veteran reacted well and breaking again in the process, before pocket the Channel at 5-4, not without difficulty. In the second set, Monfils again broke at 1-1, Sides. Up to 5-4 in favor of the French, which saved a Débreak ball and finally imposed itself on his first matching ball.
Gaston continues, Kyrgios abandons
Like Gaël Monfils, Arthur Son, Ugo Humbert, Corentin Moutet and Giovanni Mpeshi Perricard, Hugo Gaston will also see the second round of the Californian tournament. Coming from qualifying, the world 93rd has achieved a big performance by eliminating Luciano Darderi, 60th, who has won only two games out of 20 since August. The Toulousain won 6-3, 6-3 in 1h22 against this Italian who had beat him last year on the land of Cordoba. Hugo Gaston started the match very well, leading 3-0 then 5-2. He missed a first set ball on the service of his opponent, then had to save two bales of Débreak before winning 6-3. In the second round, from 3-2 for Darderi, Gaston raised his level of play and won four games in a row, and therefore the match! A victory that allows him to gain six places in the virtual classification and to challenge Hubert Hurkacz the next round.
The bad news of the day on the French side came from Arthur Rinderknech (73rd), beaten in three sets and 2h21 play by Nuno Borges (36th): 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. The Portuguese rolled out in the first set (Breaks at 1-0 and 4-1), before narrowly losing the second (Break at 6-5). In the last one, Borges took over, quickly leading 3-0 then 5-1 before winning on his fourth match ball. Next opponent: Grigor Dimitrov. Last French in the running this Thursday, Quentin Halys was interrupted by the rain when he led 6-3, 4-1 against Pablo Carreno Busta. Two more games to win and he will get the right to challenge Carlos Alcaraz in the second round. Finally, Nick Kyrgios, who had been beaten from the start to Brisbane and the Australian Open for his return to competition, could not go after his match against Botic Van de Zandschulp, due to a wrist pain. Cruel for the Australian, who cannot recover from his physical seeds, and who has not won a match since October 2022.
