After a dark and stormy night, the sun shines at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — "Ladies and gentlemen," said the guy with the microphone at courtside, "Andy Murray."

Indeed, it was, specifically, Sir Andrew Baron Murray OBE. Except instead of entering, he was departing.

A quick turn, a wave of appreciation to fans who had just seen another one of their favorites lose in semi-rapid fashion — Leylah Fernandez was the other — and the BNP Paribas Open was without another top attraction.

That's the way it is so often is in tennis, where the talent is relatively balanced — especially with no Serena, Roger or Rafa — and a double fault or wide backhand may be the difference between staying around or moving on.

It's been said perhaps all too often: Tennis is as much a sport of names as much as games. It's Hollywood in sneakers, a legitimate analogy down here in the desert where streets are names for Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra.

The star system is paramount, and that is why Leylah Fernandez, who got prime time during the U.S. Open, got most of the cheers Tuesday on Stadium Court One, even though Shelby Rogers got their match, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), to advance to the quarterfinals.

A short time later, Alexander Zerev, who was a finalist in this year's U.S. Open, which did get him some status even if it didn't get him the title, defeated Murray, 6-4, 7-6. Promoting a tennis tournament ain't easy even if the tournament's held at Larry Ellison's expensive and magnificent facility near Palm Springs.

This comeback year — the BNP used to be in March, until it was halted by the Covid-19 surge in 2020 — it happens to be the same time and not too far away from the Giants-Dodgers playoffs.

Then on Monday night, it had weather woes. Up in L.A. for Game 3, there was high wind. Down here, we had rain in the desert. In October. Tuesday, as a sparse few spectators huddled under stairways and entrance tunnels, I was tempted to borrow from Snoopy, the familiar beagle and begin a story, "It was a dark and stormy night...”

Of course, Tuesday, like the lyrics of a song, the clouds were gone from around 10,000-foot Mount San Jacinto, skies were blue and the athletes and fans could shed their jackets and their doubts.

Poor Francis Tiafoe, the American. He got soaked literally and figuratively, beaten by Hubert Hurkacz, 6-3, 6-2. The match started in a downpour at 6:10 p.m., and after starts and stops and splashes and drips ended in a mist at 9:15.

Tough luck for the contestants and fans, but the next morning the courts were dry, and Rogers was en route to a victory over Fernandez.

"She's had such an incredible season," Rogers said of Fernandez.

Rogers' season was maybe less incredible, but it included an upset of the world's number 2 ranked female player, Ash Barty, in the U.S. Open.

"I thought it was an incredible battle (Tuesday). And we both played really well at times. It was a sort of tug-of-war at times. It was really about who was dictating play."

But it usually is. Once in a while, a great counter-puncher takes the match. Usually, it's the player who has control.

So often in sports the comments deal with possibility and no reality, about what might have been had a ball not gone out. So perhaps it is best to ignore the idea that Murray, working his way back from two knee surgeries, would have returned to the top 100 with a victory over Hurkacz.

"I don't want to get back to the top 100," Murray said. "I want to get back to the top 10."

Laylah Fernandez is almost already is there.