Bill Simons
Let’s face it – over the centuries, Britain and America have been curious frenemies. For starters, we fought the mother country to gain our freedom. Then the Brits rudely returned, and, during the War of 1812, tried to burn down our White House.
But, no hard feelings. We bailed them out in a couple of World Wars. Still, our spats go on, and, most recently, the American president took it to the British Prime Minister in the Oval Office.
Just maybe, a 6’ 4” British patriot, who’s No. 14 in the world, was paying attention. He went on a tear against Americans. He took out Northern California’s best player, Jenson Brooksby. He then sent Southern California’s finest warrior, Taylor Fritz, packing, and foiled Florida’s best player, Ben Shelton.
But, hold on. Now the Brit would have to play one considerable Spaniard. It has not only been a long time since Britain changed world history by sinking Spain’s formidable armada in 1588 – this desert is Carlos’ turf.
After beating Francisco Cerundolo in the quarterfinals, the two-time Indian Wells champ wrote on a TV lens, “Should I buy a house here?”
“Hell, yes!” shouted the California Desert Association of Realtors. “Have we got a listing for you!” But tennis fans have long been listing the appealing attributes of the game’s most charismatic superstar: mind-boggling athleticism, oh-my-God-did-you-see-that shot-making, defense to offense wonders, a still unspoiled zest and a beaming smile that always lifts spirits. Plus, he loves the big stage and has the best smile in tennis.
“So what?” the 23-year-old Draper seemed to say. The Londoner sprinted out of the gate and took full advantage of two Alcaraz double faults, winning eight of the nine opening points en route to claiming a 3-0 first-set lead.
Draper shocked the Carlos-adoring crowd as he took the set 6-1 in just 23 minutes. He was now a set away from cracking the top 10. The Armada was sinking, right?
Jack soon had yet another breakpoint. But Carlos blasted a 137 mph ace – what a statement. And two mind-boggling drop shots shifted the momentum in a flash, which only a four-time Slam champ can do.
“That’s the Carlos Alcaraz we’ve come to know and love at Indian Wells,” gushed the Tennis Channel. With the crowd at his back, Carlos soared. Flawless and in full ascendance, Alcaraz defused Draper’s big serve with ease, and took the second set 6-0. Now the Spaniard, who’d won 16 straight Indian Wells matches, was certainly bound for his third straight desert final.
But, in the second game of the deciding set, Draper prevailed in a long controversy over whether he’d reached a drop shot. For the first time in history, a video was reviewed twice on a point, and this was also the first time that a video review overturned a point. The tough Brit soon broke Alcaraz to go up 2-1.
“I’m British – I’m expecting Jack to win,” whispered commentator Jason Goodall. As if on cue, Draper blasted a fierce backhand that flattened Carlos and then hit an adept running backhand to break again to go up 5-2, just one game away from victory.
Well, not yet. Carlos hit a brilliant stab volley and broke Jack to come back to 5-4. But the Brit was clutch. Serving brilliantly, he held, to score a 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 win. “It feels incredible to beat someone like Carlos…I’m incredibly proud of my competitiveness and my attitude.” And why not? The powerful but soft-spoken lefty is now the talk of the town.
Of late, whiz kids have grabbed a hefty chunk of the tennis limelight. The weepy farewells of Roger, Rafa and Murray are in our rear view mirrors, and Novak’s almost Shakespearean, age-defying pursuit of records has hit a pause button.
Now we’re noting the bright lights of young, rather dazzling phenoms. Learner Tien taught tennis a lesson or two in Melbourne. A Brazilian kid named Joao Fonseca has been in the fast lane of the hype highway. And teen Mirra Andreeva has yet to lose at this year’s tourney.
A few years ago, a Danish prince promised to be the best tennis Viking since a Swedish fellow called Bjorn. Teen phenom Holger Rune took Paris by storm. At the 2022 Paris Masters, he became the first player (outside of the ATP Finals) to beat five Top 10 players in a row.
Tennis sages agreed the great Dane was sure to reach the top. But not so fast, declared the tennis gods. The teen with his hat on backward soon appeared baffled – his efforts plateaued. For many a perplexing season, his career was a study in dysfunction.
Plus, there were questions about Rune’s mom, Aneke. A former Copenhagen ballerina, she was his manager, and often lurked, before she confided, “Everything became a little more chaotic than expected,” and stepped back. More than any other young star, Rune rode on a coaching carousel, going from one coach to another, including Patrick Mouratoglou, Boris Becker and Severin Luthi, among many others. Jim Courier quipped, “Holger’s coaches last as long as a Spinal Tap drummers.”
All the while, Holger’s swagger, an “I’m champ and you aren’t” ‘tude and his immaturity were dissed online, and there were spats with players. Stan Wawrinka complained, “Holger proved, once again, that he is a baby and a brat. He needs to grow up and show respect for other players.” Last year, Daniil Medvedev mocked Rune for his short shorts.
The Dane, who once reached No. 3, saw his ranking fall to No. 17, and he hasn’t done much damage at the Slams. But, at Indian Wells, he gained confidence as he downed the considerable Frenchman, Ugo Humbert, hit a tweener lob for the ages to upset the streaking No. 9 Stefanos Tsitsipas and stopped Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor. But Rune had lost his last two matches against his next foe, Daniil Medvedev, who was seeking to reach his third straight Indian Wells final.
The Russian gave us the celebration of the year when he leapt in joy after Arthur Fils botched a forehand volley on the last point of the quarterfinal. But, today, Daniil muffed an easy backhand volley deep into the first set to hand the Dane a break.
Relaxed and unafraid, the confident and steady 6’ 2” Rune sensed that the defensive-minded counterpuncher he faced couldn’t overwhelm him. Serving well, showing variety, athleticism and “Wow, has he matured!” composure, Holger’s slices were mean, and his drop shots frustrated his foe.
The No. 13 player in the world attacked the Russian’s forehand and won the first set 7-5. Stats gurus reminded us that Holger was 14-1 when he won the first set. He was hoping to become the first Scandinavian to reach the Indian Wells final since Thomas Enqvist won in 2000.
Always a great analyst, Medvedev said it best: “Holger’s talent is really strong. He has every shot that you can have. Good slice, good dropshot, good volley. He can spin, he can play flat, he can serve well, he can kick well.
“I wonder if maybe sometimes [having so many shots] disturbs him, because when you have that many arms, it might be tricky.”
But not today. Yes, Rune had faltered seven straight times when he reached the semis. But he broke in the first game of the second set, and in a contained, workmanlike performance, he proceeded to prevail in both inventive cat-and-mouse points and in nerve-racking marathon baseline exchanges as he won 7-5, 6-4 to reach his fourth Masters 1000 final.
Now, for the first time since 2022, Indian Wells will have a first-time men’s and women’s champion. And, far more and importantly, for the first time in history, we think an Indian Wells final will feature two warriors, Rune and Draper, who wear white baseball caps backward – What a record.
