Practices offer a glimpse of greatness
Roger Federer had a large and attentive audience while he was on the court Thursday, which is no surprise. But it wasn’t watching his first match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Federer drew a standingroom-only crowd to his practice, despite a fierce sun and temperatures near 90 degrees. Fans jammed into the bleachers, and those who couldn’t grab a seat peeked over the top row of the adjacent Stadium Court 4 or stood on a terrace across the walkway.
Well-attended practices are a common sight at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and the fans’ proximity and passion are among the reasons top players enjoy competing in the tournament. With that in mind, tournament officials — who have provided 2,700 seats at practice courts — post players’ practice times and locations on the tournament app and display the information on towers set around the grounds.
“We went from no seating to some temporary seating to when we replaced the seats in Stadium 1 we put them permanently in some locations and bleachers in others,” said Matt Van Tuinen, the event’s media relations director. “It becomes a great option. You get a grounds pass and maybe you’re not in Stadium 1 but you still can see a lot of the best players in the world.”
Wild card is winner American wild-card entrant Bjorn Fratangelo defeated Bernard Tomic of Australia, 6-2, 6-2, to set up a second-round match against 13th-seeded Tomas Berdych. Lauren Davis, No. 38 in the world, also advanced by defeating Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. But other Americans didn’t fare as well: Wild card Reilly Opelka lost to Peter Gojowicz, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Vania King retired from her match against Andrea Petkovic of Germany with Petkovic leading, 6-0, 2-0; Frances Tiafoe lost to Dusan Lajovic of Serbia, 6-3, 6-3; Taylor Townsend lost to Magda Linette of Poland, 6-4, 6-2; Alison Riske was beaten by wild-card entrant Donna Vekic, 6-3, 7-6; and Irina Falconi was beaten by Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. In a matchup of young Americans, Shelby Rogers defeated Jennifer Brady, 6-4, 7-6.