Light earthquake in Indian Wells: Daniil Medvedev, one of the favorites for the title, was knocked out in the third round by Frenchman Gaël Monfils, and will return Novak Djokovic to his place as world No. dethroned.
The earth shook at 3.1 on the Richter scale very close to this Californian tennis paradise. Not sure, however, that this explains the poor performance of the Russian, but after a solid start, he gradually faltered against the 26and seed of the tournament, which ended up overthrowing him with nerve and panache.
Is it the new pressure on his shoulders, linked to this new status which will have been ephemeral? The necessarily difficult context resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
No one knows, but one thing is certain: Medvedev was not on his plate, he who had to reach the quarter-finals this year to ensure he remained at the top of the ATP rankings, ahead of Djokovic, absent from the tournament, because not vaccinated against COVID-19 and, in fact, not authorized to travel to the United States. However, he had never passed the round of 16 before, and this fifth participation has again shown that the Californian desert does not succeed for him.
His first set, however, gave a glimpse, not a walk in the park, but a better outcome than defeat. Well-adjusted in defense, returning almost all the balls, he waited for Monfils to crack on his serve in the ninth game, with four consecutive unforced errors (including two double faults), to then pocket the first set on another shutout.
Rise in intensity
But the Parisian bravely played his luck, increasing in intensity in the second set, while changing pace with mounted on the fly, drop shots and even underhand serves.
The second, on a set point, pushed the Russian to the fault, to equalize at one set everywhere. And the public, amateur of twists, to exult.
After a visit to the toilets of the two players – longer for Medvedev (about six minutes) – the Frenchman, very fit despite five weeks without playing due to illness, continued to take the lead by always varying his strokes. And his rival, guilty of yet another unforced error – which he is not used to – smashed his racket to the ground in anger, receiving a warning.
The sequel saw Monfils never loosening the noose, playing just when necessary, to offer himself on his sixth match point, after 2:07 a.m., the second victory of his career against a world No. 1, after that won in 2009 against Rafael Nadal. “It was awesome. I feel good. I had a good start to the year, I felt strong, I was moving well. I’m pretty happy right now. I am in my zone and I am a difficult opponent for anyone, ”commented the Frenchman, already convincing for his entry into the running on Saturday against the Serbian Filip Krajinovic.
He will have to quickly evacuate any feeling of euphoria, because a very tough round of 16 awaits him, against the great Spanish hope Carlos Alcaraz (n ° 19), who made short work of it (6-2, 6 -0) of his compatriot Roberto Bautista (n° 15).