Qualifying for BNP Paribas Open concludes in Indian Wells

By City News Service

The Board of Supervisors Tuesday signed off on contracts between the Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District and a Corona nonprofit, permitting the latter to begin the process of recreating an iconic patriotic mural on the crest of the Prado Dam spillway.

"The mural serves as a beacon of pride and patriotism for the surrounding communities," Flood Control & Water Conservation District General Manager Jason Uhley said in a statement posted to the board's policy agenda.

In a 4-0 vote without comment, the supervisors authorized the district to enter into a four-month compact with the Bicentennial Freedom Mural Conservancy, establishing that the conservancy should have unfettered access to Prado Dam and that all rights and licenses stemming from the nonprofit's work on the spillway will be reserved to the district.

Prado Dam is the property of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but the Flood Control & Water Conservation District operates within the space.

The Corps last fall initiated the removal of the nearly five-decade-old Bicentennial Mural painted on the spillway crest in celebration of America's 200th birthday in 1976.

The Bicentennial Freedom Mural Conservancy intends to create a mural that's virtually identical to the previous one, utilizing more environmen- tally friendly products and relying on mostly private funds to complete the project.

"The mural will be restored to its bright red, white and blue hues... for another generation to enjoy," according to a district statement released in September.

The Corps has granted the district a license for repainting the mural, which is expected to require at least two months' work, entirely through volunteer labor. The new display will be permitted to remain in place for at least five years.

The Corps was impervious to requests for the original mural to remain in place, citing lead paint hazards and related reasons. Preservation advocates sued in federal court seeking to prevent the Corps from proceeding with dismantling the display, but the litigation ended in 2021 in favor of the Corps.

Efforts to have the National Park Service declare the former mural a national landmark did not gain traction. Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places Joy Beasley said in 2019 that it did not qualify for special protected status because there had been "massive over-painting, loss of original paint through normal wear, and the addition of other nonhistoric graffiti."

In 2017, the Corps received over 200 letters and a petition containing 30,000 signatures, urging the government to find exceptions that would permit the Bicentennial Mural to be maintained.

Chilean Alejandro Tabilo and Katie Swan of Great Britain were among the 24 players earning spots in the BNP Paribas Open's main draw with victories Tuesday on the final day of qualifying play in Indian Wells.

According to the Corps, the first criterion for preservation was that the structure be at least 50 years old, and the old mural fell short of that.

Officials further stated the commemorative aspects of the original mural, which was 106 feet tall and stretched 2,280 feet across, were insufficient for federal recognition because it was created to honor one thing — the nation's 200th birthday — and that was done with celebratory intent, not because the people behind the artwork were endeavoring to create something permanent.

In July 2015, the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles federally sued the Corps to halt moves toward removing the mural. A U.S. District Court judge in Riverside issued an injunction barring any work at the site until all options for the mural's future were explored. The injunction was lifted in 2021.

The original mural, which had been situated inside the flood control channel for the Santa Ana River, was painted in May 1976, when more than 30 Corona High School students spent several weekends voluntarily working on the project.

Upon completion, it read "200 Years of Freedom," with a space depicting the Liberty Bell, followed by "17761976" painted in red, white and blue.

The spillway is visible from portions of the Corona (71) Expressway and the Riverside (91) Freeway.

Tabilo was a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 winner over Zachary Svajda, a two-time U.S. Tennis Association Boys' 18 national champion who was seeking his sixth berth in an ATP Tour main draw.

Tabilo had 12 aces to seven for Svajda in the one hour, 58-minute match.

The 25-year-old Tabilo has dropped from a career-best 64th on the Association of Tennis Professional singles rankings on July 25, to 187th. He is 0-2 in ATP Tour singles main draw matches in 2023. Tabilo was born in Toronto and represented Canada throughout his junior career, peaking at 29th in the junior rankings in 2015.

Svajda, a 20-year-old from San Diego, was 227th in the rankings released Monday, one spot lower than his career best, achieved Feb. 27 after he reached the final of the Challenger Tour tournament in Rome, Georgia.

Svajda received a wild card into qualifying because he wasn't ranked high enough, as did American Tennys Sandgren, who advanced when the top-seeded player in qualifying, Serbian Dusan Lajovic, retired when he was trailing 6-2, 4-1, in a night match Monday.

Sandgren lost to Australian Rinky Hijikata, 6-3, 6-3, Tuesday. Hijikata is seeded 16th in qualifying and ranked 130th, four spots lower than his career best, which came on Feb. 13.

The 31-year-old Sandgren -- who grew up in Tennessee, where he still resides -- has not played in the singles main draw of an ATP Tour event since February 2022 and is ranked 224th after reaching a career-high 41st in 2019. He is named after his great-grandfather and not the sport he plays.

The 22-year-old Hijikata teamed with fellow Australian Jason Kubler to win the Australian Open men's doubles title, defeating Hugo Nys of Monaco and Jan Zielinski of Poland, 6-4, 7-6 (4), in the final.

Other men's winners Tuesday included Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, who defeated Italian Matteo Arnaldi, 6-4, 6-4; Chilean Cristian Garin, a 6-4, 6- 2 winner over Austrian Filip Misolic; and German JanLennard Struff, who defeated Radu Albot of Moldova, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Swan defeated Hungarian Dalma Galfi, the top-seeded woman in qualifying, 6-4, 7-6 (6). The 23-year-old Swan is 156th on the Women's Tennis Association rankings, the 24-year-old Galfi is 80th. She reached the third round of the U.S. Open and second round of Wimbledon last year.

Other women's winners included 18-year-old American Ashlyn Krueger, who defeated Magdalena Frech of Poland, 6-2, 6-0; and German Laura Siegemund, a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 winner over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of the Slovak Republic.

Tuesday's losers will receive $9,440 while the winners will earn at least $18,660.

Men's and women's main draw play and the fourth edition of the Eisenhower Cup were set to begin Wednesday. The Eisenhower Cup features a mixed doubles format for the first time in the $200,000 winner-take-all event. Scheduled participants were:

-- Iga Swiatek, who is first in the WTA singles rankings, and will team with her Polish countryman Hubert Hurkacz, 11th on the ATP singles rankings;

-- Ons Jabeur, fourth on the WTA singles rankings, who will team with Casper Ruud, fourth on the ATP singles rankings;

-- Taylor Fritz, fifth on the ATP singles rankings; who will team with 2023 Australian Open women's singles champion Aryna Sabalenka;

-- Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open women's singles champion, who will team with Cameron Norrie, the 2021 BNP Paribas Open men's singles champion;

-- Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open women's singles runner-up, who will team with Felix Auger-Aliassime, 10th in the ATP singles rankings;

-- Jessica Pegula, third on the WTA singles rankings, who will team with Tommy Paul, a 2023 Australian Open men's singles semifinalist

-- Stefanos Tsitsipas, third on the ATP singles rankings, who will team with Maria Sakkari, seventh on the WTA singles rankings; and

-- Stan Wawrinka, a threetime singles Grand Slam champion, who will team with Belinda Bencic, ninth on the WTA singles rankings.

The Eisenhower Cup will be played under the Tie Break Tens format of first to ten-point tie break matches, with an eight-team singleelimination draw.

Tickets begin at $50. Parking is free. All proceeds go to local charities, including The Champions Volunteer Foundation.