Boa Garoto!

You did it, kiddo!!! // Pic: Yahoo! Images

Whoa. I’m still shocked and can’t think in a proper way to start this one.

So, Bellucci, who had only an average record and cumulated sub-par exhibitions before Madrid recorded his second ever top-10 win – the first top-5 win for Brazil since Guga beat Federer in Roland Garros – against a Murray whose hair is drawing more attention than his game?

Wow.

To lose against players he should beat, it’s not something uncommon when we’re talking about Murray. But goddamit, none of them are from Brazil – until today. Therefore, I had no clear reasons to talk about it.

Just to situate you, Brazil is a small (tenistically speaking) country. We had Guga and pretty much only him. We’re not the biggest lovers of the noblest sport ever, true that, but the Braziliards who are, are die hard fans.

That being said, I shall continue.

Very well. I must admit Bellucci exceeded my expectations. Given his last matches – a.k.a. being easily beaten by Cuevas, after a three hour nail-biter against Edouard Roger-Vasselin – I didn’t even think he could get past Andujar – who’s having a great clay-swing for his standards. But he did.

I then thought Munich finalist would kill him in the second round. He didn’t. Ok, he retired, but since he walked onto the court, it counts as a win for Thomaz and a loss for him. Whatever. Murray next.

No clay genius, I thought. But he is still Murray. And Thomaz is known for having some meltdowns. During his matches, he shuts down the mental switch and goes for a walkabout. The match? Forget about it.

So, naturally, my only thought was: “If he holds on mentally, he can put up a fight today”.

And, well, he did. Even though I was paying more attention to Soderling-Tsonga clash (I’m glad you pulled it, Robin), I heard the millions of comments popping on my timeline. Bellucci served very well today – almost nullifying Murray’s returns – and also his returns were just as good. Best of it all, as I have probably already said, he kept mentally strong.

When had to save BPs. When Murray served at 4/5 in the first set. When he broke in the second. When he broke for it again in the second. To crown his best win EVER, I ought to say this was his better match EVER.

Result? 6/4, 6/2, and there is not a single person I know that is not surprised with this result. He will play Berdych next – they’ve already met this year, in Indian Wells, and after four or five tight games, Bellucci lost it mentally. Was a cakewalk after that.

We, tennisfans, know that some wins and some losses are career defining. That a single match, a single UFE can change a career, the professional life of one. For Murray, this loss won’t change much. But I hope the win will do it for Bellucci, transform him into a “serious”, more focused player, mentally stronger. That his coach, Larri Passos, will use this match to show him the talent is there, he just needs to learn how to use it properly and more often. I really wish we are going to see a new, better, Thomaz Bellucci after this Madrid QF run – his best result ever at a Masters.

Let’s not fool ourselves, though. The learning starts NOW. It’s not like “Oh, I beat Murray, I’m fine”. NOW is the time to work harder – so this win won’t be considered a casualty, a distant, nearly forgotten memory.

Tragedy

Photo: Yahoo! Images

I was expecting this to be a happy post. I had it all planned. But the only thing I could not control escaped. And, well, the worse happened

No, let me rephrase it. I’m still trying to figure what in the name of the American tennis happened.

Losses are part of the game. You win some, you lose some. You shed tears of joy for the winners, and the agony of the defeat and all that common places. But what I saw today was something else.

And I can’t I like it.

I’m beyond the sadness of the upset. I’m beyond that stage where you recognize the mistakes. I’m really pissed.

I know, I know. This is someone else’s life. Someone else’s decisions and technically, I have absolutely nothing to do with it. But as a fan of Andy Roddick, I’m really disappointed.

And don’t come to me saying it’s the clay factor. Because it is not. I have – we all have – seen crappy performances from Mr. Andrew on all surfaces. Recall the US Open? Recall Wimbledon? Recall Indian Wells? Also, even though he’s not a specialist, he never sucked that much on shattered brick so we could possible consider an Italian qualifier ranked no.160 as the favorite.

No. I dare to say there’s something else.

Let’s start with the volleys. I mean, really? Whodahell told him he could volley? Stefunk? Roddick can do many things. He can serve, he can have a massive forehand, he can storm at linesmen, but he can’t damn volley. He is no JMac. He doesn’t have the DNA. That simple. A few people do these days, anyway. Serve and volley is old fashioned, as the courts have become considerably slower. Even more on clay.

I’m starting to think Wade Phillips is doing Andy’s playcalling. Because, really. That’s beyond ridiculous. The revolutionary ‘push and volley’ style. It’s not working, goddamit. Can’t you just swallow your ego a bit and change the gameplan?

Advice him, Mo. Please?

Second, his attitude. Roddick hasn’t lost his fire. He’s just unleashing it at the wrong times. I mean, Rodman can’t bear falling behind in the scores anymore? A break is enough to force a meltdown?

Tennis is an individual sport. Hence, mental stability plays a pivotal hole in the damn thing. After forcing his gameplan – and failing – what does he do? Looks nervous. Looks like he just wants to get the hell out of there ASAP. That’s pretty stupid.

I can’t know, no-one can, what’s going through his almost-bald head. I don’t if he’s got problems at home, or physical issues, or if he’s simply aging and losing the will to travel 22 weeks a year.

Maybe he just wants to stay home with Brooke (that’s perfect reasonable, when you think about) and maybe become Papa Roddick. He’s almost 29 with little perspective on the tour, let’s face it.

Maybe tennis has become strictly business. And as the poet once said, “All the work and no joy…”, and I had this impression today, in the third set vs. Cipolla.

He had won the second, saving a match point in the tie-break. Following the logic, the qualifier would fade and he would roll into the second round. But that’s not what happened. Won’t recap it here, but arguing with Mo after breaking his racquet and over stupid line calls is just dull.

I didn’t watch Agassi, but reading his biography, I feel like Roddick is going through the same emotions.

And when he got the break back and went to the mound (can I do this? Call a service game going to the mound? Well, I just did that). That was ridiculous. It was like he was supposed to play, and shouldn’t have broken Flavio. I can imagine Gulbis playing like he did, anxious to hit the night. But not Roddick.

I repeat: it was one of the worst sensations I’ve ever had watching a tennis match.

Dunno what’s going on. Maybe he’s just tired and lost his patience entirely. I also know many articles like this one have already been published by specialists. Not that I care. Roddick is one of the reasons I like tennis. He is my fave – if he weren’t, I wouldn’t bother writing this.

And it deeply saddens me watching him playing like that. Like this. Too painful.

Just follow your heart, Andy, and I say that even though I know you will never read this or anything – and be happy.

If tennis doesn’t make you happy anymore…

The Master That Should Not Be

This article refelcts the writer’s point of view. Daily Scores, Inc. has nothing to do with it

~~

I’m a very musical guy. And in case you’re wondering where I got the title from, I say this time I came back to 1986 and borrowed it from a Metallica’s Master of Puppets song. Of course I just said that because I’m trying to find another metalhead tennis freak J

 

The Super 9 – as it was once called, but are better known as “Masters Series” – are part of the elite. The elite of the ATP tournaments – let’s not forget the Grand Slams are not ATP events. Hence, you expect them to draw a lot of attention, to award lots of points and money and be glamorous. You also expect the best players to sign in – since they ARE mandatory for the dudes who finished the year as no.30 or better – and tight matches to be played. Am I right?

 

So, would you bother telling me why Monte Carlo is still a Masters? The glamour is there, as always – and you can clearly see that in the F1 Grand Prix held in the streets of the Principality. The money? Okay, there’s a lot of money involved. Also a friendly environment – how many players live there? I can think of Nole, Soderling and Stepanek without even pushing. But there’s something wrong.

 

The wrong “thing” is Rafael Nadal. I’m sorry if you’re a fan. Really am. But you should be pleased. Nadal is ruining and ruling Monte Carlo – he only lost there ONCE, in ’04 and is seeking his 7^th title there. And wanna know something? He will clinch it. Nadal is right now way better than anyone else on clay, and playing in Monaco (in fact, it’s not Monaco, but let’s pretend) gives him an absurd, immense, unfair and many other adjectives, advantage.

 

I’m overreacting? So is ATP then. Because essentially, the Rolex Masters (sponsoring win… Rolex and Monte Carlo have everything to do) are not a Masters anymore. Yes, don’t call me sucker yet. I know, it still awards 1,000 points (but in the past five it awarded none – only kept Rafa’s points) and there’s plenty of money involved. But it’s not mandatory anymore. This means that a top-30 player can very well skip the week and replace its point with an ATP-500.

 

Please, understand I’m not criticizing Rafael Nadal – not his fault he’s that good. I just don’t see why it should still be part of the elite. Tradition? Don’t even bring that one. Otherwise, Beijing would never have a 1-thousand-points tournament. Money from the sponsors? Yeah, I’ll buy that one.

 

But there’s not enough money in this world that can buy you a thrilling and competitive event. And, right now, I don’t see how Monte Carlo contributes to the ATP pro circuit – besides feeding Rafa’s ego and giving him at least one Master title per year (as if he needed some help). Also don’t think choosing another location for the third Master (possibly, where? Barcelona? Only US can have multiple events) would fix the problem.

 

Of course, this is just my opinion. But the way things are right now, I don’t think the European pre-Roland Garros clay swing would be much different with Monte Carlo as an ATP-500 – not a Masters. I ALSO think would be awesome to have a bigger event on grass as a preparation for The Championships. But this is not going to happen. And this, my friends, is a pity.

Bring Your Popcorn

Will be just like that tomorrow

Photo: Yahoo! Images

 

 

I’m no marketing genius, but I seriously think Indian Wells tournie organization should sell popcorn before tomorrow’s men’s final between Novak Djokovic, the no.2-to be, and the only man currently ranked ahead of him, Rafa Nadal (Rafa, the monster, leads the H2H, 16-7, with five of these wins coming in finals).

It doesn’t need to be something fancy or expensive. Only three buckets, red ones, like those you can buy in the cinema. Two sizes, maybe. One for couples, one for those who will watch by themselves. And, oh, a third size, for children – and this could be ornamented with pictures from Indian Wells’ previous editions, like a celebrating Chang or Federer lifting all the trophies of his three-peat.

Yes, they should totally go ahead with that. And the players should walk onto the court just like it happens at the World Tour Finals. Ok, Indian Wells is not played on an indoor court, like in the O2 Arena, but this is America, find a way. There should be spotlights and all the stuff.

And why? Well, because this is the more anticipated match of the year – and we’re less than four months into 2011. Squaring off, like two boxers, the no.1, who’s always at an outstanding level (Nadal compiled over 12,600 points in the last 52 weeks – and this can’t be legal), despite having an ill-induced fall to Davydenko at his first event of ’11 and an injury to once again deny him something further than the quarters at the first Major of the year, and, in the red corner, the challenger, who is showing some heavyweight skills in this new decade, and is yet to be beaten.

Tennis is a psychological game. And even though nowadays everybody is friends to each other, things are different when they are on the courts all around the globe, only them, their racquet bags and thousands of fans in the stands.

So, if Nole is making a new statement every match he wins – like when he won the Australian Open. Was a clear message: “I’m here to stop Fedal”. Or when he clinched the third straight title at Dubai. Wasn’t that something like “Meh. The ‘Fed’ part of it ain’t match anymore. Bring on the Spaniard”? And the bagels, breadsticks, cakewalks he had at Indian Wells, anything but a proud Nole advertising his fitness? “Heat can’t beat anymore. Neither heat or Golubev, Troicki, Gulbis, Gasquet… I’m starting to yawn”. Finally, today’s semifinal win over Federer can not be the last. Even though he clearly said, when all was said and done, and he hit his chest, shouting come ons all around, “This is getting ugly for the Swiss. Three in a ro-wow. I’m the number two and the number one better watch out. Bring on the steak!”.

It can’t be the last because Nole must survive the final test. The final test and Rafael Nadal – the Wonder Kid from Manacor (Can I call him that way? Will do it anyway. Have already seen too many stupid nicknames… plus, how many people will actually read this?) – is also up to some statements. He had a slow start tomorrow, got broken the first time he served, but slowly got into it, and was too much for nearly back to top-50 Del Potro – some kind of nemesis, who had won their last three meetings, including a triple-2 at the US Open two season ago. Nadal has a physical style, not so classy as Federer, but even haters probably shift on their seats when he reaches those impossible balls half a second before they double-bounce and hit a winner that shatters his opponent’s confidence.

Confidence not an issue. For none of them. Nadal’s mentally strong as…don’t wanna say rock. Like stainless steel. Can you break stainless steel? Or diamonds. Yeah, Nadal can be compared to a diamond – tough, rare, unbreakable, and it’s hard to find a girl who doesn’t like. And Nole, well, he showed all this confidence today, even though it was accompanied by some shakiness – in a given moment of the second set, Nole started hitting UFEs, struggled to hold serve and got broken twice. But this, you all know, because you probably watched the match. You also know Djokovic got through all of it, and then counted with a not common shakiness by Federer’s part to win the third set and seal his way to the final.

To be honest with you, prior to the semifinals, I thought whoever won the lower half would get the title. But after watching Rafa and Nole, I tend to think Nadal is the favorite. OF COURSE, a blog is for personal opinions, but I’m not THAT famous yet – and not sure I will ever be – so I need readers who are both Nadal and Djokovic fans. That said, won’t tell my preferences – even though all of you who follow me on Twitter will discover that tomorrow.

Closing it, a curious fact – or useless stat, you choose. Djokovic’s 17-0 kickstart is the best since Federer’s 16-0 in 2006. After recording sixteen wins, and winning two tournaments, one in the Middle East, and the Australian Open – just like Nole this year – Federer played Nadal in his third final of the year (sounds familiar already?) and fell. Nadal has also won the last two Indian Wells played in odd years (2007 and 2009 – defeating Djokovic himself in the first) and holds a 5-0 record in finals vs. Djokovic. Also, a last one: Djokovic never beat Nadal in a match he lost a set – all his seven wins came in straight sets and on hard courts.

A key stat for this final: the winner of the first set won all the titles since 2000, and only once in this span the Indian Wells final went to three: it was in ’08, when Djokovic outlasted Mardy Fish.

 

The preview part of it ends now. Will present you some stats from both Nadal and Nole

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Rafael Nadal final stats

Finals this year: Indian Wells (v. Djokovic)

Finals in 2010: Doha (l. to Davydenko), Monte Carlo (d. Verdasco), Rome (d. Ferrer), Madrid (d. Federer), Roland Garros (d. Soderling), Wimbledon (d. Berdych), US Open (d. Djokovic), Tokyo (d. Monfils), Masters (l. to Federer)

Career finals: 43-13 – 11-9 on Hard

 

Vs. lower ranked players: 31-9

1- Sopot-04 – d. Acasuso

2- Costa do Sauípe-05 – d. Martin

3- Acapulco-05 – d. Montañes

4- Barcelona-05 – d. Ferrero

5- Roma-05 – d. Coria

6- Roland Garros-05 – d. Puerta

7- Bastad-05 – d. Berdych

8- Stuttgart-05 – d. Gaudio

9- Canada-05 – d. Agassi

10- Beijing-05 – d. Coria

11- Madrid-05 – d. Ljubicic

12- Barcelona-06 – d. Robredo

13- Indian Wells-07 – d. Djokovic

14- Barcelona-07 – d. Cañas

15- Rome-07 – d. Gonzalez

16- Stuttgart-07 – d. Wawrinka

17- Barcelona-08 – d. Ferrer

18- Queen’s-08 – d. Djokovic

19- Canada-08 – d. Kiefer

20- Beijing Olympics-08 – d. Gonzalez

21- Australian Open-09 – d. Federer

22- Indian Wells-09 – d. Murray

23- Monte Carlo-09 – d. Djokovic

24- Barcelona-09 – d. Ferrer

25- Rome-09 – d. Djokovic

26- Monte Carlo-10 – d. Verdasco

27- Rome-10 – d. Ferrer

28- Roland Garros-10 – d. Soderling

29- Wimbledon-10 – d. Berdych

30- US Open-10 – d. Djokovic

31- Tokyo-10 – d. Monfils

 

1- Auckland-04 – l. to Hrbaty

2- Paris-07 – l. to Nalbandián

3- Chennai-08 – l. to Youzhny

4- Miami-08 – l. to Davydenko

5- Rotterdam-09 – l. to Murray

6- Madrid-09 – l. to Federer

7- Shangai-09 – l. to Davydenko

8- Doha-10 – l. to Davydenko

9- Masters Cup-10 – l. to Federer

Nadal reaches his 25^th Masters final – has a 18-6 record, and his 18 titles stand alone as the record since this category of event was created, in 1990. Nadal holds the record since winning Madrid, over Roger Federer, last year.

Indian Wells:

- His first Hard Court Masters final since Shangai-09 – l. to Davydenko (to whom lost two finals, tied with Federer for most)

- 3^rd final there – tying Agassi (90/95/2001), Chang (92/93/98), Sampras (94/95/2001), Federer (04/05/06), Djokovic (07/08/11) and Hewitt (2002/03/05) for most.

- 5^th Masters final in the USA – 2 for 2 at Indian Wells, 2-time Miami runner-up.

- 6^th time Spain is represented in the final of Indian Wells – 2^nd most; now accounts for exactly half of USA appearances (All-American 95 and 2001 finals count as two, not four).

- Indian Wells also the last Hard Court Masters event won by Nadal – in 2009

- A third title would tie him with Chang and Federer for most since ’87.

Career:

- 44^th tournament would tie him with Thomas Muster for 2^nd most among actives, 23 behind Federer.

 

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Novak Djokovic final stats

Finals this year: Australian Open (d. Murray), Dubai (d. Federer), Indian Wells (v. Nadal)

Finals in 2010: Dubai (d. Youzhny), US Open (l. to Nadal), Beijing (d. Ferrer), Basel (l. to Federer). Record: 2-2, all on hard

Career finals record: 20-13 – 16-8 on Hard

 

Vs. higher ranked players: 3-8

1- Canada-07 – d. Federer

2- Basel-09 – d. Federer

3- Dubai-11 – d. Federer

 

1- Indian Wells-07 – l. to Nadal

2- US Open-07 – l. to Federer

3- Queen’s-08 – l. to Nadal

4- Monte Carlo-09 – l. to Nadal

5- Rome-09 – l. to Nadal

6- Cincinnati-09 – l. to Federer

7- US Open-10 – l. to Nadal

8- Basel-10 – l. to Federer

 

Novak Djokovic reaches his 12^th Masters final – and will try to even the record; also his first final appearance in exactly one full season – last got there in Paris, the last Masters of ’09 season; absent during entire 2010. Djokovic will also try to win a Masters more than once for the first time – all his five titles came in different cities – Indian Wells, Miami, Paris, Rome and Montreal.

- Has a 4-4 record in finals at hard court Masters, 2-4 in the United States.

- 21^st title would untie him with Davydenko, putting him as no.6 with most titles among actives (Federer, Muster, Nadal, Roddick and Hewitt).

- Tries to win a final vs. Nadal for the first time.

- 17-0 start of year a ATP best in the last five years.

- Can join Agassi as the only players to have won two Indian Wells title after losing their first final there.

 

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Head to head:

- Nadal leads the overall, 16-7;

- Rafa can also win three-straight vs. Nole for a 4^th time – did it in Rome-Roland Garros-Wimbledon in 2007, Hamburg-Roland Garros-Queen’s in 2008 and the record of the match up, five straight starting in Hamburg-08 and finishing at Madrid-09.

- Nole leads the Hard Court H2H, 7-5.

- They never played before quarterfinals (but played twice in the round robin of Masters Cup)

- Third Indian Wells meeting – Nadal won the finals in ’07, but Djokovic returned the favor in 2008 semifinals.

- Will play for the 7^th time in the USA – Djokovic leads, 4-2, but Nadal won the most important US meeting: US Open final last year.

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/64/fullj.cb396c5a655e6b698cd1e672fc49cd19/cb396c5a655e6b698cd1e672fc49cd19-getty-104428163rl005_bnp_paribas.jpg

Juicy! – ATP semifinal preview

Class. He haz it.

Photo: Yahoo! Images

Juicy!

If I had the power to make this call, it would be a go. The landscape is there – all the peculiarity of the blazing sun of California in opposition of the mountains whose peak is filled with snow. The traditions are there too – the small city in the Coachella Valley, inhabited by no more than 4,000 soul when ATP&WTA are not there, and with them, all the hype, TV and tennis freaks. And, as if Indian Wells still needed an ultimate probation, we have this year’s semifinal lineup.

Putting it all together: Heavenly city, big tournie, big money, big names and probably the four best gems of men’s tennis these days left on the draw, chasing the title. Enough for me. Make official the “5^th Grand Slam” thing. Make it a logo, a slogan, whatever.

Or maybe not. Because we, tennis fans, always knew this without anyone trying to tell us. So, let it be.

Let it be Indian Wells, and let it be Rafa. The world no.1, who holds nothing less than 7 titles and over 12 thousand points (of a 20k maximum) is there again. The two time winner – all the titles came in odd years, ’07 and ’09 – fell before the semifinals only once: in his first appearance, in ’04. Ever since, has recorded six straight semifinals. To be one of the last four men alive, Nadal merciless steamrolled over Rik De Voest, ended the not-so-young Ryan Sweeting’s dream, had some troubles against the former NCAA champion Somdev Devvarman, and, on his last test, rebounded from one set down to bounce HUGE server Dr. Ivo in a third set tie-breaker.

Ok, true, his draw wasn’t THAT thing. Even more after the seeds placed on his quarter started falling. In the second round, Nadal found himself without the threat of the 5^th and 6^th seeds; the 4^th and the 9^th fell right after. In the end, the highest ranked player he faced en route to the semifinals was Somdev Devvarman – ranked no.84, who came from the qualifying. But, to be honest, do you think he’d be already gone had he faced Almagro, Simon or Ferrer before the semifinals?

Nadal will now play his 2^nd semifinal this year – fell to Davydenko at Doha. That’s pretty much the same campaign he had in the start of 2010: a loss to Nikolay in the Middle East, an Australian Open QF run hampered by injuries and now the semifinals at Indian Wells. If you, Nadal fans, are superstitious, last year he had a perfect year, compiling a 8-5 semifinal record (3-5 on Hard with Tokyo and US Open titles) and seven titles; If Rafa beats Del Potro for the first time after three losses tomorrow, Spain will be represented in the final for the 6^th time (beside Rafa in ’09 and ’07, Corretja won the title in ’00, Moyá was runner-up in ’99 and Emilio Sanchez, the first of them, fell to Becker in ’88).

Nadal kinda rocks doesn’t he? What about Del Potro? The 22-year old Tandil born Argentine remains as the only man ever to beat Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at a Grand Slam. DelPo is also the only player other than Nadal to beat Federer in a Major final so far. His talent is obvious. But when a wrist injury plagued his 2010, sidelining him from great part of the year and causing him to fall behind the top-200, the doubts were everywhere – even more after his two disappointing losses in Asia, to Feliciano Lopez and Olivier Rochus. This year didn’t start much better too – only modest runs at Sydney and the Australian Open, he fell behind the top-400, and, with no more points to defend for the rest of the year, Del Potro had nowhere to go but up.

And, boy, he did. After nearly one year far from the wins, JMDP found his mojo back in the same country that gave his first and, so far, only, Grand Slam. The fast courts of Memphis and San Jose did nothing but good to him, and, after falling short to Roddick and Verdasco, respectively, Del Potro finally lifted a trophy at Delray Beach – his first since the US Open – and is now enjoying a 4^th straight semifinal spot and a rise just as meteoric as his first back in ’08 – he’s now no.51 and haven’t stopped using the ladder yet. Del Potro will now play Nadal – whom he schooled with a triple 6/2 at the US Open ’09, the last of three straight meetings won by him – for his second ever Masters final – he lost to Murray in Montreal, the same year. An Argentinean never made it to the finals of Indian Wells before, and only three Latin Americans did: Marcelo Ríos, winning the title in ’98 and Gustavo Kuerten, who lost to Hewitt in ’03.

Head to head:

- Nadal has already played a player from South America this year: Brazilian Marcos Daniel in the 1^st round of the Aussie Open. However, the last Argentine he played is Horacio Zeballos, in the 2^nd round of Roland Garros last year; and let’s say Nadal has some history with players from Argentina, like Nalbandián, Coria and Del Potro himself.

- Del Potro had a meeting with a Spaniard at Indian Wells. He had: Robredo retired due to an injury before the quarterfinal match up. Other than that, Del Potro lost to Verdasco in the semis of San Jose and defeated Feliciano Lopez in his first match in 2011 – 1-1 vs. Spain, since the quarterfinal won’t count for the H2H, or as a win for DelPo nor a loss for Robredo.

- Last time Rafa lost to a player ranked as low as Del Potro: Queen’s 2007 – when fell to the world #107 Nicolas Mahut.

- Del Potro is 0-2 vs. top-10 this year: lost to #9 Verdasco and #8 Roddick; However, back in the ’09 Masters Cup, he defeated a top-10 (#9 Soderling) and a top-5 (#1 Federer) for the last time.

Rafael Nadal 4-3 Juan Martin Del Potro

- ’07 Miami R16 – Nadal, 6/0, 6/2 – Hard

- ’07 Roland Garros R128 – Nadal, 7/5, 6/3, 6/3 – Clay

- ’07 Queen’s Club R32 – Nadal, 6/4, 6/4 – Grass

- ’09 Indian Wells Quarterfinals – Nadal, 6/2, 6/4 – Hard

- ’09 Miami Quarterfinals – Del Potro, 6/4, 3/6, 7/6 (3) – Hard

- ’09 Montreal Quarterfinals – Del Potro, 7/6 (5), 6/1 – Hard

- ’09 US Open Semifinals – Del Potro, 6/2, 6/2, 6/2 – Hard

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Think fast: What’s better than an 18-2 YTD record, with one title, one final and one Grand Slam semifinal? If you had to think twice, you’re not into ’11 men’s tennis. Those two brief lines account for Roger Federer. Thing is, his only two losses came by the hands of the same player, who happens to be still undefeated since the last WTF – and whose last defeat were imposed by Federer himself. Yes, I’m talking about the 16-0, Slam, Dubai and Davis Cup champion, Novak Djokovic. Nole doesn’t know the feeling of leaving a court defeated since November.

Want to make it more interesting? Ok. The world no.2 is on the line. They already played for the second biggest prize twice last year – the last, in Shangai, resulted in Federer prevailing, but losing the final do Andy Murray. Novak played Roger in 6 of his last 7 semifinals or finals: Canada (Federer won), US Open (He won), Shangai (Federer won to regain no.2), all these in semifinals, then in Federer’s backyard, in the final (homeboy won), Masters Cup semifinal (another Swiss party), then the two times this year: Aussie Open and Dubai, all won by the Serbian – last time they were drawn in different halves was in Cincinnati. They are both former champions – Nole won it in 2008, as his 3^rd ever Master Series; by the time, Federer had already his record three-peat from 04/05/06; ever since their last titles, this means, five years for the Swiss and three for Nole, they haven’t came back to the final. And, finally, Nole is FLYING – the guy is on fire, en fuego, voando, and whichever they call it in Serbia. Nole bageled Golubev, Gulbis and Troicki in the first set of their matches and also won six straight games vs. Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals – only this time he dropped the first two. Nole is beginning to exhale that aura that rounded and still rounds both Nadal and Federer: the impression they’re invincible floats in the air, the fear and the respect they impose. Federer is yet to drop a set too – faced some problems vs. Andreev in the debut, Mr. MaKiri always hardens things for him; schooled his old friend Chela in the third, dropping only two games, in less than one hour; suffered against the audacious wildcard Ryan Harrison and, in the quarterfinals, bounced his doubles partner and eternal bestie, Stan.

Some stats now, how about it? Djokovic plays his 4^th straight semifinal, 3^rd this year – and I don’t even have to glorify his well-known record. But with this 16 straight wins, Nole has the best start of the year for an ATP player since Federer himself in ’06 – back then, Roger won two titles, including the Aussie Open, and made it all the way through Dubai final (l. to Nadal), compiling the same 16 wins. Djokovic also plays for his 12^th Masters final (5-6 record), and the first since Paris in ’09; Nole tries to win at Indian Wells the same Masters event more than once. Last year, Djokovic went 4-6 in semifinals – a levelled in 4 on hard courts, with his only two titles coming on that surface.

With this Indian Wells semifinal, Federer has now reached a dozen straight – last time he missed it, when fell to Berdych at Wimbledon; if he defeats Djokovic tomorrow, will reach his 30^th lifetime Masters Series final, plus setting a new Indian Wells record with four final appearances, surpassing Michael Chang (1992/97/98), Pete Sampras (1994/95/2001), Andre Agassi (90/95/2001) and Lleyton Hewit (2002/03/05)

Head to head:

- Aside from Djokovic, Federer has only played one other Serbian this year: Viktor Troicki, in the quarterfinals at Doha, and he won, 2 and 2.

- Djokovic, however, last played a Swiss not-named Roger Federer at Monte Carlo last year, when defeated Wawrinka; Nole and Stan even have some history – and by this you can read three finals, including Wawrinka’s only Masters final so far and one semifinal, at the same Monte Carlo, but in 2009 – all won by Djokovic, who leads the series 8-2.

Roger Federer 13-8 Novak Djokovic

- Played their last 10 meetings on Hard – Federer leads by 6-4

- All their meetings but the first four were played either in the semifinals or the finals – Federer leads, 9-8

- Lifetime Hard Court record: Federer 11-7

- Lifetime semifinals record: Federer 6-5

- Three-win streaks: Only Federer – Monte Carlo and Davis Cup in ’06; Australian Open and Dubai in ’07 accounted for their first four meetings and the biggest streak by either of them; three years later, in ’10, the Swiss won three straight in the semifinals of Shangai and the Masters Cup, with the Basel final between them.

Desert fortunes

Wait, I just won?

Photo: Yahoo! Sports

 

I quote the old Arabic proverb to start this one. It says: “What the desert, in all his mystery and magic, saves for the fortunate men is, always and will always be, unknown and dark for the blind humans, but clear as the Dakar’s sun for the wise Tuaregs”. Not really. I made it up. But you liked, didn’t you?

Well, I came up with that to talk about the first and the second days of seeding activity at Indian Wells, a lovely place I’ve never been to. I’m clearly trying to make up for the ATP preview I never wrote. I can live with that. I can live with my pageviews going downhill without an intriguing post you’d like to read. Here it is. So, read, grasshoppers. Read and enjoy.

To tennis, then. Isn’t it a lovely, yet so deadly sport? (took it from Alice Cooper’s Black Widow, and will stop with the digression, otherwise this will get a little bit too long). When the draw was first announced, and you pick your players – the one who have the conditions to advance to the further rounds – you always think the best. Let’s say you’re a Murray fan. And at the first glance you took at it, BAM, Qualifier or an Italian player (I could call them all Seppi, btw). “He’s the Mr. Masters 1000”, you thought. “Potito ain’t a new Pannatta, and there are no scary faces on the qualy draw”, you so naively wondered, and then clicked on Murray’s rectangle, and advanced to him to the third round, to the fourth and who knows how further.

The updated draw is out, and the qualifier is Donald Young. Who? Some people might have though. Donald, the not so Young anymore prospect, in whom was put whole lots of money, and no decent results ever came, a more experienced tennis fan would point. And someone who’s “in” tennis news would remember the episode when DY publicly criticized P-Mac, then USA Davis Cup capt., on Twitter, because he had called Harrison not him to go to Colombia. That’s the D.Young who could play Andy Murray, ’09 finalist at Indian Wells and five-time Masters Series champion. Cakewalk.

Yeh, but heh, when the green balls are flying and being hit and propelled over 200 km/h, one should take nothing as guaranteed money. Nah, joking. Would never pick De Voest over Nadal, and right now Rafa is leading him 6/0, 4/1. So, there are few surprises in the early rounds, mainly over the highest seeds – read here Murray, Nadal, Nole, Federer. Taking Nadal as an example, do you guys have an idea when he last dropped an opener? Her second round at Rome, 2008. Yes, 2008. So, no surprised 99,8% picked Muzz’o to win his 1^st match. This 99,8 percentage is the very same of people not reading this piece. Life, deal with it

But this match was one of those you watch and just can’t believe the outcome. Murray lost. Yes, that’s right. Murray lost his 3^rd straight match – and is yet to win after the Australian Open final run – and his first Masters’ opener since Miami 2010. Donald Young is also the lower ranked played he has lost to in almost four years – when was downed by a world no.139, Fabio Fognini, in the second round of Montreal. Wrist injury or AO hangover, I don’t believe there are enough excuses for this. It was a near perfect opener, and Murray blew it.

Game on. He will rebound. All in all, he has no points to defend in Key Biscayne, the next tournament of his agenda – hence, nowhere to go but up. But this loss will always be there for both Andy and Young. For the first, probably as “the match I shouldn’t have lost”. And for the latter, “the biggest win of my life”. And now the 5^th seed is down, we ought to turn our eyes to the guy who defeated him. Not only at Indian Wells – big wins can do wonders for players that need confidence. And Donald Young knows – more than anyone else – how HUGE this win was. Who knows if he can now finally grow and develop as a player, and soon get in the top-100 for good, maybe even becoming the top-flight player the United States need and want?

Curiously enough, only to close this one out, last year, when Baghdatis pulled the first of a series of upsets Federer suffered, at the same Indian Wells Masters, he fell in the next round to Tommy Robredo – which happens to be Donald Young’s 3^rd round opponent

Murray’s upset was the headline of the day so far, and since Nadal and Caro both got past their openers without any trouble – Rafa barely broke a sweat vs. the 30-yo S.African qualifier – is likely to remain. But it’s not like nothing interesting also happened today. What to start with? Let’s see…

 

A streak that remains – for the 5^th straight year, a champion won’t defend his Indian Wells’ title – since Federer won the last of his three-peat in 2006. Ljubicic, the kind and experienced Croat who triumphed over Andy Roddick last year, said hello and goodbye in the very same day. Of course, wasn’t like “Hey, hello, goodbye” – he didn’t easily go down to DelPo. No, no, au contraire, mons amis. And that’s the best part of it. Ljubicic is not on his heir (or hair) day, fact. But he’s a former no.4, currently ranked inside top-20 (will brutally fall in the next rankings), and JMDP is still making his comeback tour – other former no.4, but he went where Ljubi has never been, a Grand Slam final, and more than this, won the title. So, it was more a “Hey, hello, will stay here for two hours and a half playing a helluva match with this young beast, then I say goodbye” from Ivan.

They went to three, and I didn’t watch the match, so can’t make any further comments, but before the start of the third set, Ljubicic asked for the trainer – let’s not forget he’s nearly 32. Despite that, he put up a good fight, eventually losing to the once again ascendant DelPo, who’s climbing the ladder up in the rankings and has no more points to defend until the end of the year. Ljubi’s probably saying goodbye to the pro circuit, and this Indian Wells much likely to be his last chance to defend a title – which he only successfully did once -, but on the other side of the weighing machine, Del Potro says “hello” again to the circuit – he’s definitely back, but don’t expect him to win three Masters and the US Open again this year, these things take some time. And even though he lost to the only top-10s he played this year – Roddick, whose form is improving (I hope) and Verdasco, who’s not the most reliable top-10 (Can’t be unbiased) – I bet NONE of the top-players would like to face DelPo in an early round at any given tournament.

And you know what? I will love when Martin gets back to the top-10, but I’m already loving the excellent match ups we could get in the early rounds with him as a sleeper. Not that much at Indian Wells, because he’s in the same quarter as Soderling, and the odds on a 4^th round match up are fair.

Closing this one out, Del Potro’s imposed to Ljubicic the first opener loss to a defending champion at Indian Wells since ’07 – when Roger Federer lost to Guillermo Coria – curiously, also an Argentine.

 

A giant win – How bad was this topic’s name? I bet you got it from the moment you read it… Dr. Ivo – a Florida resident to whom was denied a QUALY WC for Miami (Shame on you) – may not be back for good (still a long way back from outside top-200), but he recorded a win just as big as himself today – his first over a top-10 in nearly two years, since Verdasco in Wimbledon – over David Ferrer, who never got along very well with Indian Wells, given he lost his last two openers. Ferrer, the first top-10 to leave the singles draw, lost the first set in a tie-break and got broken only once in the second, but that was enough. As for Ivo, whose ’10 season was hampered by injuries, he wins back-to-back Masters matches for the first since 2008, when beat Soderling and Djokovic to reach the Quarterfinals at Madrid (still as the 8^th Master), before falling to eventual runner-up Gilles Simon. Karlovic will now play Gilles Simon again, who dumped Opa Schuettler in two sets.

 

Not backing me anymore… – Richard Berankis, one of the most talented prospects of the past years, and serious candidate to join the top-10 in one or two, played today Fernando Verdasco, who had troubles with another prospect, Milos Raonic, not so long ago. FeVer, as the chicks (that accounts for… hmm… can I say 95% of his fans?) call him due to his tennis skills, soon found himself troubled, as he was one break down and Rykas served for the 1^st set, but managed to break, won three straight games and the set. And then the secret was unveiled: Berankis was fighting an opponent ten times (at least) tougher than Lil’ Nando – his own body; the back, to be more specific. And Ricardas-turned-Richard can perfectly beat a top-10 any time he wants, but can’t himself. The trainer wasn’t enough, but being as gentle as a tennis match requires, he came back to the second set, got broken to start – all in all, you just can’t serve with back problems – and by then he already have had it. Called it ballgame, shook hands and Verdasco is through to play Sam Querrey, who beat Tipsarevic 4&4.

 

The first time – The exotic Alexandr Dolgopolov won today his first match at Indian Wells, defeating a never threatening Victor Hanescu in two sets decided by a single break – 6/4 both; Dolgopolov will have a REAL test now as he faces Juan Martin Del Potro, trying to equal his best result at a Masters event – the R16, or the 4^th round, as you please – where could face Robin Soderling – who’s playing later vs. Michael Berrer; The Dog set his best performance at Toronto last year, ousting Petzschner and Youzhny before losing to Berdy Boy.

 

Slow and easy – THAT UNIMPORTANT – Rafael Nadal’s cakewalk over some South African qualifier whose name I will only mention because I felt sorry for him today (just like I felt over Marcos Daniel at the AO) – Rik de Voest. Even though Nadal already entered the court with an assured win, he kept working hard (the dude just never slows down) en route to his 500^th straight opener win – congratulaciones, Rafa! – with a 6/0, 6/2 (so merciful, letting De Voest get on the board) scoreline, and now waits for either Ryan Sweeting – whom he totally schooled at the Australian Open – or Juan Monaco – whose Latin origins can’t deny: he will lose to Nadal just like the Spaniards do. Nadal’s last opener loss was to Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2008, and each day I get even more amazed by his capability and mental strength. The guy never chokes, never leaves a door open. He just goes there and does his thing. In other news, sorry to disappoint you, but he’s an android, and when the machines take over the control of the world, he will be crowned King of the Planet Earth. U just wait n’ c.

 

Look what you just did, Alexa – There will be a topic for the ladies, but I can’t avoid mentioning here what Alexandra Dulgheru – that cute Romanian – did today. She blew a one set, one break in the second AND in the third en route to her SIXTH LOSS TO ONLY ONE WIN IN 2011. Get yourself together, Alexandra, or you’ll soon join Pironkova as the former top-30s who faded into irrelevance. By the way, she lost to Lucie Hradecka, who hadn’t defeated a player ranked this high in ages – until today. Hradecka will now be crushed by a rising Shuai Peng, who handed the fourth straight loss to Li Na (she might be asking if the next Australian swing is still far away).

Did I miss anything? No? Right. Tomorrow’s preview will be up shortly after. Stay tuned!

 

Peter Stevenson Liguori, aka the guy behind Daily Scores, hopes Soderling gets to the SF, but fears the possibility of seeing him losing to Nadal again

Indian Wells – Men’s preview

I like this pic

Photo: Google Images

 

After a one-week break for most of top-players, the patriotic duty is over, and now everyone must fight alone for the singles title of the first Masters 1000 of the season. Hosting a top-flight ATP tournament for the 25^th time, this year’s edition is much more exciting than ‘10s, in my humble opinion. Ok, what happened back then, all the upsets, Ljubicic’s effort and finally his 1^st Masters title after two finals will surely safe a place for the 2010 edition in the history books. But who could call that before play started? Maybe not even Ivan himself.

Well then. My point is, at least before the first chair umpire calls “time”, this Indian Wells tournament is one of the best. Ever. Just take a look at the line-up.

About everybody is there. After having the “Rafa Slam” denied by both an injury and David Ferrer, the world no.1 Rafael Nadal will return to ATP action after making his return last week vs. Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium for the Davis Cup. And we all know Rafa’s never beaten by injuries – he always returns, always stronger – and this time, he has a positive draw – the most dangerous players he could face in early rounds are Baghdatis and Tsonga, in the 4^th. With the comfortable lead in the rankings assured until, hmm *thinks* Wimbledon, he plays to join Connors, Chang and Federer as the only players to lift the trophy three times.

Nadal plays to tie, Federer plays to untie. The world no.2 seeks his 4^th title at the Californian desert, which would put him above everyone else. But more than this, the man who already won a title this year and reached the final at Dubai will fight to remain as the 2^nd best ranked player in the world. His opponent? The only player who beat him this year (and twice!), Novak Djokovic. The Serbian is En Fuego in 2011. In fact, since the end of 2010 – he won his last 14 matches, a personal best, capturing Davis Cup, the Australian Open and the third Dubai title on the way. You might remember who was the last guy to impose Nole a defeat. In case you don’t, was Federer himself, back in the Masters Cup (or the What The Fuck World Tour Finals, as you wish). Sharing the same half of the draw, Nole and Fed – the hottest rivalry of the moment – could play another semifinal – they already played at the US Open (EPIC), Shangai, Tour Finals and the Aussie Open.

Also sharing the same quarter of the draw, Robin Soderling – who won a tour best three titles this year and is yet to lose a non-Slam match – and Andy Murray, who failed (again) to capture his maiden Major and has left the top-4 for the first time in a year (this time for more than a week). Together, the Swede and the Briton combine for two Slam finals, seven titles (of which three are Masters) and a quarterfinal match at the very same Indian Wells in the past 52 weeks. Not overreacting when stating this is the strongest quarter of the draw. Take a look at this: After a bye, Soderling will either way play a German – Berrer or Phau. In the third round, the seed on his way is Philipp Kohlschreiber (amazing how Germans are always drawn in the same part of the draw), ever dangerous player who one day will pull a Melzer and get to a Slam SF (I truly believe this); second section of this draw, 20^th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov – The Dog, an entertainer, peculiar strokes and playing style, the only man to beat Sod this year – may play in the third round Ivan Ljubicic, the defending champion, who will debut vs. either the Don Juan from Prague Stepanek or the resurgent, hard-hitting, Slam champ, Del Potro – two sleepers, even though Stepanek already sees the twilight. Lower part of this quarter. Who’s there? Fernando Verdasco, to whom I will not attribute any adjectives since he has many fans. Versus who he debuts? Richard Berankis. Yes, it’s not Raonic, but another youngster anyway. Either Berankis or a qualy – I pick Rykas anyway. Verdasco’s third round? Tobias Kamke, who had a great year at CHs in 2010, but is yet to do something productive at ATP level, Janko Tipsarevic, the Robin Hood of modern tennis or Sam Querrey, who…won four ATP 250 last year. Whoever reaches the 4^th round there will be on the way of Tommy Robredo, who came back from the (tennistically) dead (retired) and is seeded again (!!!) or Andy Murray, 2009 finalist, whose titles in 2010 were only Masters. Good enough. Tough enough for you?

And then there’s Roddick. With 1600 points to defend in the next couple of weeks, I’m ready to pull back my comments (re: “Revolutionary push and volley style”) and start rooting as hard as I can for him. What can I do? Never said I was unbiased. But, really, reach the finals again looks nearly impossible, even though Andy Boy looks better since winning Memphis title. In order to win his half of the draw, Roddick will have to defeat (probably) James Blake, John Isner, Melzer/Gasquet and (*SIGH*) Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. So, yeah, I’m like, if he can do it, he can win Wimbledon and the US Open this year. But let’s keep it positive, no?

If you want more reasons to watch: David Ferrer and Nadal may rematch their AO match in the quarterfinals; the biggest challenge for David to get there in normal conditions is Gilles Simon, seed #28; Troicki and Llodra could rematch the 5^th rubber of the Davis Cup final in the third round – The Serb must get through a qualy or Bernard Tomic (whose white glasses he wore at the AO in the match vs. Feli makes me hate him a little), and Llodra will have to win his opener vs. either Giraldo or Daniel Gimeno-Traver (really Llodra, please); Benneteau and Feliciano Lopez has drawn each other in the opener – this means one of them will finally win a match this year. Please do it, Jules; Gulbis has a bye, will play Lleyton Hewitt or Yen-Hsun Lu – really, a Gulbis-Hewitt match would be a blast (and I still can’t believe Lu is ranked higher than Hewitt); Kukushkin and Berdych can play again in the 2^nd round – Kazakhstan defeated Czech Republic at the Davis Cup, but for this the Kazakh must prevail over Kubot; Raonic and Fish can rematch their Memphis SF – Anyone else excited to see Missile Milos playing for the first time as a well-known player at a big event? Nisihikori can play Federer in the second round – I like Kei, and that’s all.

 

The preview part ends here. You should proceed and keep reading only if you’re a stats freak. Consider yourself warned.

 

#1 (1) – Rafael Nadal

YTD Win/Loss: 9-2, highlighted by Doha semifinal (l. to Davydenko)

Career titles: 43

Career Win-Loss: 481-103

At Indian Wells – last year: Semifinalist – lost do Ivan Ljubicic

Indian Wells appearances and record: 6 (2004, ’06-), with 26-4 record (’07 and ’09 champion)

 

#2 (2) – Roger Federer

YTD Win/Loss: 14-2, with a title at Doha and final at Dubai

Career titles: 67

Career Win-Loss: 757-156

At Indian Wells – last year: 3^rd round – lost to Marcos Baghdatis

Indian Wells appearances and record: 10 (2001-), with 29-7 record (‘04/05/06 champion)

 

#3 (3) – Novak Djokovic

YTD Win/Loss: 12-0, with titles at the Australian Open and Dubai

Career titles: 20

Career Win-Loss: 336-105

At Indian Wells – last year: 4^th round – lost to Ivan Ljubicic

Indian Wells appearances and record: 5 (2006-), with a 16-4 record (’08 champion, d. Fish)

 

#4 (4) – Robin Soderling

YTD Win/Loss: 18-1, with titles at Brisbane, Rotterdam and Marseille

Career titles: 9

Career Win-Loss: 290-162

At Indian Wells – last year: Semifinals – lost do Andy Roddick

Indian Wells appearances and record: 6 (2004, ’06-), with a 9-6 record (Best: ’10 semifinal)

 

#5 (5) – Andy Murray

YTD Win/Loss: 6-2, Runner-Up at the Australian Open

Career titles: 16

Career Win-Loss: 273-96

At Indian Wells – last year: Quarterfinal – lost to Robin Soderling

Indian Wells appearances and record: 5 (2006-), with a 15-5 record (Best: ’09 final, lost to Nadal)

 

#8 (8) – Andy Roddick

YTD Win/Loss: 14-2, with a title at Memphis

Career titles: 30

Career Win-Loss: 569-183

At Indian Wells – last year: Runner-up – lost to Ivan Ljubicic

Indian Wells appearances and record: 8 (2003-), with a 25-8 record (Best: ’10 Final)

 

#14 (16) – Ivan Ljubicic

YTD Win/Loss: 7-5, highlighted by Rotterdam semifinal (l. to Tsonga)

Career titles: 10

Career Win-Loss: 408-276

At Indian Wells – last year: Champion – defeated Andy Roddick

Indian Wells appearances and record: 8 (2002, ’04-), with a 20-7 record (2010 champion)

 

Other top-10 seeds:

 

#6 (6) – David Ferrer

YTD Win-Loss: 14-2, with two titles, at Auckland and Acapulco

Career Win-Loss – titles: 367-214 – 11

At Indian Wells: 8 apps (2003-), with a 8-8 record (Best: ’07 Quarterfinals, l. to Djokovic)

Last year: 2^nd round – lost to James Blake (out of Bye)

 

#7 (7) – Tomas Berdych

YTD Win-Loss: 14-5, highlighted by SF at Chennai

Career Win-Loss – titles: 276-173 – 5

At Indian Wells: 6 apps (2005-), with a 7-6 record (Best: ’10 Quarterfinals, lost to Nadal)

 

#9 (9) – Fernando Verdasco

YTD Win-Loss: 8-5, Runner-Up at San Jose

Career Win-Loss – titles: 290-200 – 5

At Indian Wells: 7 apps (2004-), with a 8-7 record. (Best: ’09 Quarterfinals, lost to Federer)

Last year: 3^rd round – lost to Tomas Berdych

 

#10 (10) – Jurgen Melzer

YTD Win-Loss: 6-4, highlighted by Australian Open 3^rd round

Career Win-Loss – titles: 258-226 – 3

At Indian Wells: 7 apps (2004-), with a 5-7 record (Best: ’10 R16, lost to Roddick)

 

Other seeds:

#11 (12) – Nicolas Almagro

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 204-147 (18-3) – 9 (2)

Indian Wells: 3-3 record (Best: ’10 R16)

 

#12 (14) – Stanislas Wawrinka

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 191-138 (14-3) – 3 (1)

Indian Wells: 7-3 record (Best: ’08 Quarterfinals). DNP in ‘10

 

#13 (15) – Mardy Fish

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 240-178 (8-4) – 5

Indian Wells: 13-9 record (’08 Runner-Up). ’10: 2^nd Round

 

#15 (17) – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 144-67 (10-4) – 5

Indian Wells: 5-3 record (Best: R16 in ’08 and ’10)

 

#16 (18) – Viktor Troicki

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 108-92 (12-5) – 1

Indian Wells: 6-3 record (Best: R16 in ’10)

 

#17 (20) – Marin Cilic

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 156-98 (12-5) – 5

Indian Wells: 2-3 record (Best: ’09 R32). ’10: 2^nd round (out of bye)

 

#18 (21) – Richard Gasquet

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 230-148 (8-5) – 6

Indian Wells: 7-5 record (Best: ‘06/07/08 R16). ’10: R128

 

#19 (22) – Marcos Baghdatis

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 184-115 (6-4) – 4

Indian Wells: 7-4 record (Best: ’06 Quarterfinals). ’10: R16

 

#20 (23) – Alexandr Dolgopolov

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 35-34 (13-6) – 0

Indian Wells: Debuting

 

#21 (24) – Sam Querrey

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 136-11 (3-5) – 6

Indian Wells: 6-5 record (Best: ’09 R32). ’10: R32

 

#22 (25) – Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 139-154 (7-6) – 2

Indian Wells: 6-4 record (Best: ’10 R16)

 

#23 (26) – Albert Montañes

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 184-199 (4-5) – 5

Indian Wells: 2-3 record (Best: ’10 R32)

 

#24 (27) – Michael Llodra

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 145-170 (4-4) – 5

Indian Wells: 6-5 record (Best: ’05 R32). ’10: R128

 

#25 (28) – Tommy Robredo

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 410-255 (13-4) – 10 (1)

Indian Wells: 11-9 record (Best: ’10 Quarterfinals)

 

#26 (29) – Thomaz Bellucci

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 68-64 (9-5) – 2

Indian Wells: 2-2 record (Best: ’10 R32)

 

#27 (30) – Juan Monaco

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 192-152 (6-6) – 3

Indian Wells: 3-4 record (Best: ’10 Quarterfinals)

 

#28 (31) – Gilles Simon

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 194-137 (10-6) – 8 (1)

Indian Wells: 4-4 record (Best: ’07 and ’09 R32). ’10: 2^nd round (out of bye)

 

#29 (32) – Juan Ignacio Chela

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 301-247 (10-6) – 6

Indian Wells: 11-10 record (Best: ’04 and ’07 Quarterfinals). ’10: R128

 

#30 (33) – John Isner

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 88-71 (4-5) – 1

Indian Wells: 6-3 record (Best: ’09 and ’10 R16).

 

#31 (34) – Ernests Gulbis

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 94-91 (5-5) – 1

Indian Wells: 3-3 record (Best: 08/09/10 R64)

 

#32 (35) – Philipp Kohlschreiber

Career Win-Loss (YTD) – Titles (YTD): 192-164 (7-6) – 2

Indian Wells: 8-5 record (Best: ’09 R16). ’10: R32

 

That’s it!

 

Peter S.

 

I want YOU to participate!

Guten Tag, Meine Damen und Herren.

As we all know, the first of the Masters 1000 Master Series event is just around the corner. Taking place in the heavenly city of Indian Wells, California (The Green Bay of the American tennis… can I put it this way?), the BNP Paribas Open is one of the most important tournaments in the calendar, and is one of the only two Masters to have a bigger draw (96 players, with 32 getting a 1st round bye) and be played in more than only one week (11 days, if I’m not wrong), and the only ATP event (along with Miami; Davis Cup is organized by the ITF) to start in the middle of the week.

Also, the 2011 Indian Wells Masters is a special occasion – it will be the first tournament I will cover for my blog (even though at distance, but a coverage anyway) and I’m planning something special.

And for this, I need you, and your help would be much appreciated. Of course, I love my job (so much I even want to get paid for it, so I can dedicate 100% to it), but you, dear readers and friends, are a HUGE part of it. Without you, I wouldn’t have created this blog, that’s for sure.

Here’s the deal, short and simple: I’m going to do a series of special posts about Indian Wells, with previews, stats and all those things I usually do. I also want to write a post compiling your favorite Indian Wells memories!

Easy, no? All you have to do is tell me what is your unforgettable match. You can post it on the comments here, or send me a reply on Twitter (@Daily_Scores) or smoke signs, morse code, whatever pleases you. Will give you four days – want to have it done by Tuesday or Wednesday.

So, make this blogger happy and send me your memories! You don’t have to say much. Only the match and the year. If you want to justify, be my guests.

Thanks in advance, hope you like the idea and cooperate! It ain’t hard, is it?

All the best,

Pete S.