Gael Monfils lost in straight sets to Jordan Thompson in the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 hardcourt tournament in Indian Wells. For the Frenchman, it was the first game after a seven-month break. The talented Yibing Wu has been promoted.

Gael Monfils’ previous official match was August 12 against Jack Draper in Montreal. The Frenchman has since been ruled out with a foot injury. He resumed competition on Wednesday. In the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, he lost 3:6, 1:6 to Jordan Thompson.

During the seven-month break in Monfils’ life, several changes took place – including becoming a father. What hasn’t changed is that he still wants to be a showman on the pitch. On Wednesday, however, he was neither glamorous nor effective. It started well, but after about ten minutes the shortcomings resulting from insufficient play appeared. Result, on 3-2, the French won only one of the 14 games played.

Thompson served two aces in 64 minutes, made ten finishes, never had to defend against a break and converted four of six break points. The Aussie’s next rival will be second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas.

WATCH THE VIDEO: #dziejesiewsports: the brilliant creation of Serena Williams. Delighted fans

Yibing Wu and Jiri Lehecka claimed their first victories at the ATP Masters 1000 level. The Chinese wild card holder, after almost three hours of battle, beat Jaume Munar 6:7(6), 6:0, 7:6( 3) and his next opponent will be number 23. Alejandro Davidovich. In turn, the Czech proved to be better than Arthur Rinderknech and will fight with Andrei Rublev, the “six” of the tournament, for promotion to the 1/16 finals.

The qualifiers performed well on Wednesday. Cristian Garin defeated Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4, 6-2 and will face 29th seed Yoshihito Nishioka in the 1/32 finals. In turn, Taro Daniel won 6:1, 7:5 with Roberto Carballes and in the next phase he will face Matteo Berrettini scored “20”.

In the duel of playoff players, Alejandro Tabilo served six aces, converted four of 13 break chances and beat Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 6-3. In the second round, the Chilean will play with the No. 32 seed Maxime Cressy.

BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells (USA)
ATP Masters 1000, Hard Court, $8.8 million prize pool
Wednesday, March 8

1st singles round:

Jordan Thompson (Australia) – Gael Monfils (France) 6-3, 6-1
Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) – Federico Coria (Argentina) 6-1, 6-2
Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic) v Arthur Rinderknech (France) 7-6(4), 7-5
Cristian Garin (Chile, Q) v Daniel Elahi Galan (Colombia) 6-4, 6-2
Taro Daniel (Japan, Q) v Roberto Carballes (Spain) 6-1, 7-5
Alejandro Tabilo (Chile Q) v Maximilian Marterer (Germany Q) 6-4, 6-3
Yibing Wu (China, CM) – Jaume Munar (Spain) 6-7(6), 6-0, 7-6(3)

free prizes: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain, 1); Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece, 2); Casper Ruud (Norway, 3); Taylor Fritz (US, 4); Daniel Medvedev (5); Andrei Rubov (6); Holger Rune (Denmark, 7); Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada, 8); Hubert Hurkacz (Poland, 9 years old); Cameron Norrie (UK, 10); Jannik Sinner (Italy, 11); Alexandre Zverev (Germany, 12); Karen Khachanov (13); Frances Tiafoe (USA, 14); Pablo Carreno (Spain, 15); Alex de Minaur (Australia, 16); Tommy Paul (USA, 17); Borna Coric (Croatia, 18); Lorenzo Musetti (Italy, 19); Matteo Berrettini (Italy, 20); Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria, 21); Roberto Bautista (Spain, 22); Alejandro Davidovitch Fokina (Spain, 23); Daniel Evans (UK, 24); Denis Shapovalov (Canada, 25); Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia, 26); Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina, 27); Botic van de Zandschulp (Netherlands, 28); Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan, 29); Sebastian Baez (Argentina, 30); Tallon Griekspoor (Netherlands, 31); Maxime Cressy (USA, 32 years old)

Schedule and results of the men’s tournament
Watch WTA Tour matches with Iga Świątek, Magda Linette and other top players on CANAL+ online (Sponsored link)