It is the day of upsets on the ATP side of the draw in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. World No. 5 Casper Ruud, a quarterfinalist in last year’s tournament, is the latest to fall to World No. 48 and native Californian Marcos Giron in three sets. This match occurred just hours after Tallon Griekspoor took out World No. 2 and Indian Wells top seed Alexander Zverev.
Wow.
World #5 Casper Ruud is OUT in the 2nd round of Indian Wells.
7-6(4), 3-6, 6-2 to Marcos Giron.
Both top seeds (#1 and #4) of the top half out in their first matches.
#5 Medvedev, #8 Tsitsipas still to play… pic.twitter.com/5OyHs2nB6w
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 8, 2025
Giron, 31, won the first set in a tiebreak.
Marcos Giron saves 4 set points at 4-5 (0-40) down on serve and goes on to win the first set 7-6 (4) against Caper Ruud.
1 hour 23 minutes in set 1. pic.twitter.com/IVraXVn2fG
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) March 7, 2025
He suffered a bit of a letdown in the second set, but Ruud never seemed to take control of the match despite the two splitting the first two sets.
The third set was all Giron making the shots, and Ruud’s service and unforced errors were problematic.
Ruud was seeded fourth in the tournament because of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s suspension. He was the top seed in his quarter of the draw. Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev is now the highest seed left in his quarter.
Giron turned professional in 2014 but is somewhat of a late bloomer due to serious injuries that affected him in his 20s. He earned his first ATP title win at the 2024 Hall of Fame Open over fellow American Alex Michelsen. With his victory over Casper Ruud, Giron achieves her first win over a Top 5 player.
Marcos Giron will face Australian Alexei Popyrin in the next round. Popryin has a 1-0 lead over Giron in ATP matches with a 2023 win at Adelaide.
