A sponsor box went flying across the court during Arthur Fils’ service game (Image: Sky Sports)
Players have been battling the elements in Indian Wells this week. The tournament is usually referred to as ‘Tennis Paradise’ thanks its location in the sunny Californian desert. But there have been plenty of rain delays – and there was a “mini storm” during Arthur Fils’ quarter-final showdown with on Thursday.
The French star was serving at a crucial moment at 4-4 in the third and final set when he claimed a towel had started blowing in the wind. A huge gust of wind suddenly swept across the main stadium court and a huge sponsor box on the side of the court went flying. The umpire told players not to play until the weather changed. And there was more chaos when Fils had a nosebleed a few games later.
The rain had already been a problem earlier in the day, with and Qinwen Zheng made to wait during the first match on Stadium 1 Court. The skies cleared in time for Fils to take on fifth seed Medvedev but the freak weather made it a tough contest, with both players fighting against the wind.
But it didn’t become a real problem until they reached the business end of the match. Fils forced a decider but quickly went a break down, trailing 1-2. He put in a huge effort to win three games on the bounce, taking a 4-2 lead. But Medvedev refused to go away and drew level again.
Fils was under pressure serving at 4-4 after a tricky couple of games. After losing a point, he approached chair umpire Fergus Murphy and pointed out that the towels by the player’s benches were starting to flap in the wing.
It was like Mother Nature heard Fils’ comments and tried to prove him right – a huge gust of wind swept through and items went flying. A bin and water bottles were tipped over while a ball kid was left chasing a large box next to the net, bearing the logo of title sponsor BNP Paribas.
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Locked at 40-40 on his serve, Fils didn’t know whether to continue. And the umpire stepped in, telling both players to briefly wait at their benches until the “storm” passed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re just going to wait until the mini storm blows through,” Murphy announced to the crowd.
It was only a brief delay, and Fils was undeterred by the interruption, holding serve to lead 5-4 when play resumed. However, the 20th seed found himself facing a new issue in the next changeover, when he sat down while 6-5 up on serve.
The 20-year-old started having a nosebleed and the physio was called to the court. But there wasn’t much they could do – Fils simply sat with a tissue stuck up his nose until the bleeding stopped before informing everyone in French that he was all good.
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