Badosa wins a match that was matchless

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — It took two and a half years to get tennis back to Indian Wells, and once it returned it seemed determined never to end.

On a Sunday blessed by the weather that makes the California desert so attractive in early autumn, Paula Badosa and Victoria Azarenka played a match that would be attractive any time, any place.

Badosa, a 23-year-old Spaniard, outlasted — and the term is more than a cliché in this instance — Azarenka, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (2), to win the BNP Paribas Open.

The final took 3 hours 4 minutes, the longest ladies’ match ever at Indian Wells. And had it been at a Grand Slam, say Wimbledon or the U.S. Open rather than the tournament nicknamed “The Fifth Slam,” it could have been historic.

Commenting for the Tennis Channel, Lindsay Davenport, who did win those two Slams, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, described the match as one of the best she had seen.

Apropos of nothing on this 86-degree afternoon except the idea that greatness attracts, nine-time Grand Slam winner Monica Seles was part of the crowd that filled a good part of the 16,100-seat main stadium at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Held for years in March — it will be back in March 2022, not that far away — the tournament was wiped off the sports map in 2020 because of Covid-19. The tennis people and BNP decided to try a one-off return this October. No Serena Williams, Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal. No Novak Djokovic, a former Indian Wells winner, who chose not to enter. And early on, no Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, who lost in the first few days.

But the tournament not only survived, it prospered. So the men’s final, in which Cameron Norrie defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili, 3-6. 6-4, 6-1, wasn’t what they call glamour stuff in Hollywood, 150 miles up Interstate 5.

But, ah, the women’s match was brilliant.

Azarenka, 32, is from Belarus, but she lives in southern Cal and twice previously won Indian Wells singles.

While she wasn’t pleased with the result of this match, she was pleased it was held — and that it was so competitive.

As Chris Clarey of the New York Times pointed out, both Azarenka and Badosa were stuck in long quarantines when they went in January to play in the Australian Open.

On Sunday, they remarkably — and deservedly — ended up facing each other in what will turn out to be the final event of the tennis season, an event that came through persistence and hard work by the BNP and Indian Wells staffers.

When someone told Azarenka the tennis Sunday was extraordinary, she said, “I would agree with comparing it to the match of the year. I think the entire match, the quality of tennis was super high level.

“We were both going for our shots, really pushing each other to the max. I think that's what made it super entertaining, that competitive spirit, really fighting for every ball, not giving in anywhere. It's very challenging to maintain that. I think that we both did that really well.”

Badosa, younger, seemed stronger in the last game, not holding anything back. She called the match a roller coaster, the way she would take charge and then lose control.

The majority of fans cheered loudly for Azarenka, but they never held their cheers or applause for Badosa following a big shot.

“I was playing Vika,” said Badosa, using the name by which the players call Azarenka. “She's a great champion. I‘ve admired her since I was a little girl, so that's another thing.

“Yeah, it was amazing. I'm still a little bit in shock about what happened right now. But in that moment, I was super excited and super proud of what I did after three hours fighting on court.”

The BNP people should be no less proud of the fact that the tournament was played.