Indian Wells, CA, Oct. 18 (BUS): A few tennis stars have skipped the BNP Paribas Open, which has been postponed due to the coronavirus. A series of upheavals led to other big name packages as well. He remained standing at the end as the champions were two players ranked outside the top 25.
Britain’s Cameron Nouri beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday, giving the tournament the first-ever men’s winner ranked outside the top 25 since 2010, The Associated Press reports.
Spain’s Paula Padusa beat Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-6 (2) to become the third woman to win her debut in Indian Wells.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams were among those who missed the tournament, which was delayed by two and a half years due to the Corona virus. The two-week event saw a string of surprises, including top seed Daniil Medvedev and Karolina Pliskova.
This paved the way for the rising Nouri and Padusa to win the biggest trophies of their careers. They earned $1.2 million each.
“Obviously, it was a miracle that all the top players lost,” Nouri said. “When I look at the four semi-finalists, it’s a good opportunity here.”
Nuri, seeded 26th, only had two sets from the final set and won when Basilashvili’s backhand sailed long on match point. Basilashvili, ranked 36, was the first player from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia to reach the ATP Masters 1000 final.
Nuri and Ivan Ljubicic in 2019, Alex Kuritiga in 2000 and Jim Courier in 1991 – they were all ranked 26th – have won the title while ranking outside the top 25 since the tournament moved to Indian Wells in 1987. Larry Stefanke was 143 when he won the 1985 nearby La Quinta.
Padusa joined forces with Bianca Andreescu in 2019 and Serena Williams in 1999 in winning the title on her debut. It was the second title for Dosa in her career, after she won in Belgrade earlier this year.
Nouri handled Basilashvili’s big punch power from the baseline by working on the corners. The Georgian broke in love with Basilashvili’s forehand error to take the second set.
“It’s hard, and it doesn’t give you any rhythm,” Nouri said. “I was able to put my foot in the door, I was able to hang out, and cause some problems in the third set.”
Nouri had broken a break at 2-0 in the second when he battled a rare break point on his serve to take a 3-0 lead. Basilashvili won his only match with a forehand cross from Nuri’s falling shot to trail 3-1. Nouri won the last three matches to take the match in less than two hours.
Basilashvili said he had “health problems” in the third group.
“I was very tight. I wouldn’t say what it was, but I didn’t feel good,” he said. “I have nothing left.”
Badosa and Azarenka struggled for more than three hours, as successive service trading was interrupted five times. The last time Azarenka broke the 5-4 lead in the third game, Padusa broke the right-back for five goals.
“We were walking in our shots, really pushing each other to the limits,” Azarenka said.
Padusa’s foul on a backhand allowed Azarenka to hold up by six goals.
Badosa dominated the tiebreak, leading 6-2. Azarenka threw a forehand into the net to give Padusa a match point.
Badosa cracked a forehand winner, then collapsed at the baseline. She lies on her face, crying and trembling before she gets up. Azarenka approached the net and hugged the 23-year-old Spaniard.
A two-time main champion and former number one player, Azarenka has been chasing only her second title since 2016. She last won in 2020 in Cincinnati. The 32-year-old Belarusian failed in her bid to become the first woman to win Indian Wells three times, having won the title in 2012 and 2016.
Azarenka’s season was halted due to injuries and she was knocked out early in the Grand Slam events. Her best result was to reach the fourth round of the French Open.
“It’s been a bit challenging this year, but I finished strong, not necessarily with the result I wanted but with the progress I wanted to strive for, that’s really positive,” she said.
In the first set tiebreak, Padusa was leading 4-0, 5-3. Azarenka tied 5-all with a forehand from Padusa. Azarenka missed a backhand to give Padusa a set point and the Spaniard won with a backhand to win the set.
Padusa defeated fifth seed Barbora Krejsikova in the fourth round, 15th seed Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals and 14th seed Ange Jabeur in the semifinals – all in straight sets – to reach the final.
“The first thing I learned this week is that nothing is impossible,” Padusa said.
Padusa came to the world-ranked 27th tournament. A year ago, it was ranked 87. Padusa is expected to rise to number 13 as career best in the WTA Tour rankings on Monday.
The joint ATP and WTA Tour event was one of the first major sporting events to be canceled in March 2020 when the coronavirus spread in the United States, and will return to its usual spot in March of next year.