Marcos Giron won his first title last year, paving the way for a first top 50 finish in a season. But in a conversation with BNPParibasopen.com in the off-season, the 31-year-old called the 2024 campaign “bittersweet.”

While his trophy on grass in Newport — Giron saved a match point against fellow Californian Alex Michelsen with an ace — ticked one off the bucket list, he felt he underperformed at bigger events.

Giron, though, isn’t far away from making his first Masters quarterfinal. He backed up his victory over World No. 5  Casper Ruud  — the best ranking win of his career — by topping Alexei Popyrin 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to make the fourth round. Doing it in front of another packed house made it extra special.

After all, Indian Wells played a significant role in Giron’s tennis development. Giron didn’t watch many events in person but he did head to Tennis Paradise. The native of Thousand Oaks close to Los Angeles recalled the ferocity of ball striking by Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka.

“I have such a vivid memory of practice Court 1 here and watching Rafa absolutely annihilate the ball,” Giron told reporters. “It kind of opened my eyes, holy smokes, how big they were hitting. “Also, I didn't know Wawrinka at the time, I forget who he was playing, but he was just blasting winners on Stadium Court. I came with one of my childhood friends that I played tennis with, and it was, like, ‘Whoa, this is insane,’ and how good everybody is.”

Years later in 2019 — after a stellar career at UCLA but also two hip surgeries, one on Christmas Day — Giron took advantage of his fourth qualifying wildcard at Indian Wells. Ranked 217th and competing in only his fourth ATP main draw, he upset Jeremy Chardy and Alex de Minaur on the way to the third round. It gave Giron the confidence that he could cut it as a pro.

“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,” said Giron. “But I was able to at that point.” Yet as his years on the tour accumulated, Giron didn’t necessarily think he could hang with those at the very top of the game. That’s changing.

“I do have more belief in my ability,” said Giron, hypercompetitive on court but chilled and
friendly off of it. “There's a little bit of peace that comes with that, which is nice. “This year, I've been playing the best tennis of my career.”

By beating Ruud — for the second time — his section of the draw opened up and Giron kept it going Sunday afternoon.He remarkably saved 14 of 15 break points against Popyrin. This was the same Popyrin that enjoyed his finest season in 2024 and has, unlike Giron, made a Masters quarterfinal — and beyond. Popyrin won the title in Canada last August, pulling off the impressive feat of beating five straight top 20 players.

He almost completed a calendar year Slam of sorts against Novak Djokovic, facing the 24-
time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Popyrin won the last one in New York in another example of his ability.

But backing up 2024 has been tough — Popyrin entered Indian Wells with a 1-5 record. One of those break points Giron saved, at 3-3 in the third set, felt like it was the turning point. Popyrin saw a second serve but his backhand return went long. He glanced at his box in frustration — and only won two more points the rest of the match.

Giron once again had his nearest and dearest behind him. “There's a lot of family, there's a lot of friends, trying to organize tickets and all that, give everybody the time they deserve is
amazing and it's special — because it's special,” said Giron. “This is not something I can do forever. So I know each kind of moment is I've got to make the most of it. But I'm here for the tournament, for the job, and I love it. I want to perform.”

To reach that long awaited Masters quarterfinal, Giron will have to beat either Lorenzo Musetti or Arthur Fils.