Around the grounds of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, flags — and national pride — are woven into the fabric of the tournament. On an idyllic Tuesday in Tennis Paradise, fans celebrated their favorite players, many wrapped in their national colors as they mingled among the buzzing crowds.

It started in the early afternoon, as chants of “USA! USA!” rattled around Stadium 1 while 20-year-old Learner Tien was pulling off a Houdini act that brought fans out of their seats. The Irvine, California native saved two match points before surging into the quarterfinals for the first time in his career. Now the last American man standing in the draw, Tien has quickly become a hometown hero in the California desert — and one of the newest fan favorites in Tennis Paradise.

The buzz was everywhere. Canadian snowbirds watched 19-year-old Victoria Mboko notch yet another impressive win on her debut. Italian enthusiasts pulled for defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori as they defeated Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski on Stadium 6.

There was a French feel on Stadium 2 as Arthur Fils stormed past Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the quarterfinals, a few hours before cousins Valentin Vacherot (of Monaco) and Arthur Rinderknech (of France) took out Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Allez! Forza! Let’s go. Vamos! The grounds echoed with chants as five stadiums hosted singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The sun shone like a beacon as crowds roared and milestones were achieved.

And it was only the beginning.

Just getting started

Even in a losing effort in the night session, Joao Fonseca’s thunderclap forehands raised the decibel level to chilling heights inside Stadium 1. The sheer joy of the crowd flowed in waves that pierced the desert evening.

Even in defeat, Fonseca lifted the spirits of the crowd as he and Jannik Sinner captured the imagination with high-octane tennis that points to a bright future for the sport.

The same could be said for Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, who drew crowds throughout her debut in Tennis Paradise with her gritty tennis. Though she wasn’t able to match the power of Linda Noskova in the second match of the evening session, she can hold her head high. She is a pioneer for the Philippines who is helping introduce a wave of new fans to the sport. Flags were flying high for her on Tuesday night — and they will again when she returns.

When it was all said and done on Tuesday, the real winner was tennis — and the fans who came to celebrate it.