The View from the Desert
With Nadal out of the picture
INDIAN WELLS – It was a downer of a day in the place that bills itself as tennis paradise.
It started brightly enough as I made the morning drive from sea level in San Diego into the high desert on one of my favorite stretches of winding road, which twists past ranches, Indian reservations and the occasional bighorn sheep before descending to the Coachella Valley.
Sunglasses were required (see above) and the men’s field at the BNP Paribas Open looked fully loaded with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in residence to take on the new duo of Grand Slam champions: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.