By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday March 7, 2025
Indian Wells, California – Marcos Giron grew up dreaming about what it would be like to play tennis on the biggest stage in California. The Southern California native used to come to the BNP Paribas Open and marvel at the sight of tennis heroes Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka as they practiced and played on the tournament’s big showcourts.
Now he’s a part of the show, and on Friday, he realized a dream as he notched his first career Top-5 win with a 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-2 win over fifth-ranked Casper Ruud to reach the third round.
“To beat a top-5 player in the world, my first time, is amazing, but then to be able to do it here at home is even better. So, yeah, with family, friends, this is a tournament I came to when I was younger, seeing Federer, Nadal, Novak, Wawrinka, all those guys growing up.
“So I remember watching on Stadium Court, Stadium 1, Stadium 2, and just seeing them all, and to actually be able to go out there and play, and to beat a top-5 player here is really amazing.”
Giron dominated off the forehand wing, firing 25 forehand errors, which was eight more than Ruud’s total. The 31-year-old American will face Alexei Popyrin in the third round.
First top 5 win + at home = 🥰#TennisParadise | #MarcosGiron pic.twitter.com/GG0Bp9j7NX
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 8, 2025
It was a remarkable performance for a player that had lost his first 23 sets against Top 5-ranked players.
Ruud is into the third round at Indian Wells for the second time. He made his career breakthrough here in 2019, when he reached the third round from qualifying as the World No. 217.
“I think my game has evolved a lot since then,” he said. “I think I’ve got a lot more weaponry. Yeah, and I guess also more belief.
“At that point in time I was kind of trying to convince myself that I had the level. And winning matches maybe that I didn’t necessarily know that I could do before, but I was able to do at that point. But now I’ve been Top 100 for the last five years, and I’ve been playing only ATP events. So this is kind of the level in terms of the guys I’ve been competing against week in, week out for the last five years.
“It gives me a lot more belief. I have a lot more, you know, top-level wins. This is my best win on ranking. So it’s amazing here at home and everything, but I do have more belief in my ability.”
