INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Nick Kyrgios’s withdrawal because of illness before his quarterfinal with Roger Federer on Friday was a major letdown, no doubt.
But it was perfectly in tune with the tennis season to date: When you least expect it, expect it.
Even here in Indian Wells, where the tournament’s billionaire owner, Larry Ellison, keeps adding bricks and mortar and celebrity chefs, the tennis footing still does not feel secure.
“It’s been very unstable,” Tracy Austin, the former WTA No. 1, said of the 2017 season.
Who would have guessed that neither No.