Tristan Boyer’s two experiences as a wildcard at the BNP Paribas Open have been a little different. Boyer recalled 2018, when as a 16-year-old he earned a late call to compete in qualifying at his home tournament after exiting in pre-qualifying. Scrambling, the native of Altadena close to Los Angeles arrived in the area at about 9 p.m. The next day, Boyer — a top junior back then — lost to Belgian lefty Ruben Bemelmans.

“Obviously, this is a little different,” said Boyer. “I feel a lot more prepared and ready to do well.” Now 23 and with a two-year NCAA stint at Stanford behind him, Boyer received an early wildcard and this time for the main draw. Call it a reward for his climb up the rankings, with much of his success in 2024 coming on clay courts in South American Challengers.

Boyer took advantage Wednesday by beating the more experienced Aleksandar Vukic 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4), backed by a full house at Stadium 4, to set up a match with 2024 semifinalist Tommy Paul.

Adjusting his return stance and better footwork helped in his comeback, he said, as did finding the range on his powerful forehand. He hit six aces, too, which means $2,400 went to fire relief efforts in the LA area. Boyer is donating $200 for every ace he hits in Indian Wells to the relief efforts and 24 Hour Fitness in Altadena is matching his tally.

The World No. 117 — coming off a frustrating loss at the San Diego Challenger — had never previously competed in the main draw in Tennis Paradise (or in any Masters). But like most of his fellow Californians, Boyer regularly attended Indian Wells as a child. 

He remembers watching Stan Wawrinka, and through his dad, got to meet Max Mirnyi — a singles and doubles threat in his day who made the doubles final with Roger Federer in 2002. 

“I don’t remember playing him because I was super, super, super young but I remember him saying hello to us every year and showing us around a little bit, until I was maybe like 10 and he was sort of retiring,” said Boyer.  “I’ve seen so much tennis in Indian Wells. It’s a special place. Being from LA, almost all the LA tennis players go out to see it pretty much every year if they’re in town.”

Tennis players aren’t often at home. It’s all part of the job, though. 

Australia proved to be fruitful for Boyer in January, as he landed in the main draw of a major for the first time, then picked up his first Grand Slam win against veteran Federico Coria. He rallied like he did against Vukic, as Coria led 2-1 in sets and 4-2 in the fourth. 

Boyer went on to lose to home favorite Alex de Minaur in straight sets yet that experience in a big stadium might bode well for his encounter with Paul. De Minaur was ranked eighth at the time, by far the highest ranked player Boyer ever played. Paul, a New Jersey native, currently sits at No. 11. 

“We’re going to go over the strategy and get some practice in and see what we can do,” said Boyer, who is coached by South Americans Marcelo Filippini and Alejandro Fabbri and speaks Spanish. 

“Obviously, it’s going to be a tough match. He’s extremely tough. I guess I have the advantage of having a match under my belt on these courts and in these conditions.  “But he did really well here last year.”

Boyer’s live ranking inched up to 110th after his win over Vukic, so he isn’t far away from cracking the watershed top 100 for the first time. He’s aware of how close he is but “the most important thing is to keep working hard and improving, then those numbers will improve,” he said. 

“I try to focus on the process as much as possible.”