The blow did not go far but Gaël Monfils failed to qualify for the third time for the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, after 2016 and 2019. Facing Casper Ruud (9th in the world), the Frenchman ( 54th) nevertheless clearly dominated the first set and held the shock until the tie-break of the second, but he ended up losing (3-6, 7-6 [3]6-4), after 2h27 of a nice fight from the baseline.
“La Monf” can always blame himself for having missed a break point in the second game of the third set, by redacting a forehand drop shot, but the Norwegian clearly dominated the debates at the end of the game. This is the first time that Ruud has reached the quarter-finals in Indian Wells. He will challenge the winner of the match between Tommy Paul and Luca Nardi, surprise winner of Novak Djokovic.
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The last Scandinavian player to reach the quarter-finals in Indian Wells was Robin Söderling. It was fourteen years ago, in 2010. The Swede lost in the semi-finals to Andy Roddick.
At 37 years and six months, Monfils launched his match like a boss. Faced with a rival who was unusually faulty on the forehand (11 unforced errors against only two winning shots during the first set), the Frenchman was solid in the rally and intractable on the serve (72% of first serves, six aces). Thirty-two minutes were enough for him to win the first set (6-3).
Insufficient resistance
Despite three break points to be put aside at 3-4 in the second set, Monfils faced an opponent who had finally found color and the virulence of his forehand. But he stalled during the decisive game (7 points to 3), probably dulled by the efforts made so far. Two judicious incursions to the net gave Ruud the decisive break at 1-1 in the final set.
With energy, “la Monf” then rejected two double break points but the double finalist of Roland-Garros (2022-23) proved intractable at 5-4. A service winner sent him into the quarter-finals on the first match point. Since 2021, in seventeen confrontations, only two French players have managed to beat him: Ugo Humbert at Wimbledon 2022 and Arthur Fils at Hamburg 2023.
