Archive for the 'Indian Wells' Category

Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia upset second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Indian Wells final Saturday to win her first title in five years (6-3, 6-4). Hantuchova was seeded 14th, which happened to be the number of unforced errors she made that day. She will rise to number 12 in the world rankings today.

There’s something special about this place. I love it…I was just so confident from the first point, and I didn’t really think about the score. I just went out there and tried to play my game and really just enjoyed every moment on the court. Maybe this time I was much more confident, because I had so many matches this week already behind me already. Mentally, I was just not going to let it go, and I was ready to take whatever it takes to get through this one today.”
– Daniela Hantuchova

In the men’s finals at Indian Wells, Spaniard Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in just two sets on Sunday (6-2, 7-5). This was his first win since Roland Garros last June. For a record 86 consecutive weeks, Nadal has been ranked No. 2 in the world.

It was a very great week for me, a very, very important week. I have (gone) eight months without any title, but I came back with a big one. Sometimes you’re a little luckier, a little bit more confident. But, well, I wasn’t a disaster in those eight months.”
– Rafael Nadal

Men’s semifinals at Indian Wells features a clash between Spaniard Rafael Nadal and American Andy Roddick–hot, hot, hot!! Second seed Nadal made short work of Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in the quarterfinals (7-5, 7-5). Third seed Roddick beat Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in two tough sets that went to tie break (7-6 (7), 7-6 (8)).

I was excited because I was playing the way I wanted to in the breakers. I kept going forward. I won some points. I lost some points. I hit a new little chip short one, that won me a couple points. I was happy with that. I thought all in all, I gave myself a chance to win and eventually was able to do it.”
– Andy Roddick

The other side of the men’s bracket will be Novak Djokovic (12) of Serbia against either Andy Murray (13) of Scotland or Tommy Haas (9) of Germany.

In women’s semifinal action at Indian Wells, second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia defeated 33rd seed Sybille Bammer of Austria (6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1). Daniela Hantuchova, seeded 14th and hailing from Slovakia, overcame Na Li of China who was seeded 12th (7-5, 4-6, 6-1). Hantuchova and Kuznetsova battle tomorrow to see who will wear the ladies’ crown at Indian Wells in 2007.

In women’s quarterfinals action at Indian Wells, Li Na of China defeated Vera Zvonareva of Russia (6-4, 7-5) and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia overcame Shahar Peer of Israel in a match lasting 2 hours, 43 minutes (6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (5)). Still to play in the women’s quarterfinal round are Bammer vs. Golovin and Vaidisova vs. Kuznetsova.

With Federer out of the race, the men’s title is totally up for grabs. The men’s quarterfinal round will include Ferrer vs. Djokovic, Murray vs. Haas, Ljubicic vs. Roddick, and Chela vs. Nadal.

The underdog reigns supreme at Indian Wells this year. In women’s play, three of the four top seeds have been defeated in the initial rounds of the tournament. In fact, six of eight matches in the fourth round went to the player that was ranked lower. Maria Sharapova lost to Vera Zvonareva and will lose her world number one ranking as well now. Zvonareva was seeded 15th.

Even in the first two sets I didn’t feel like I was playing amazing tennis. After [I served for the match] I just deflated a little bit. I wasn’t moving well at all; I missed a lot of first balls. That obviously gives your opponent so much confidence. She just started swinging and wasn’t making a lot of errors. There was a lot of wrong things going on today. That was just one of them — especially in the third set. But like I said, it was more of a snowball effect than anything else.”
– Maria Sharapova

In the women’s quarterfinals, Zvonareva will face China’s Na Li (12th seed). Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia (14th seed) takes on Shahar Peer of Israel (11th seed).

Just when tennis fans were beginning to believe that Federer might have fathered the WiiBot, Roger faltered. In the men’s upset of the year, Guillermo Cañas of Argentina defeated Roger Federer in two sets in the second round of Indian Wells (7-5, 6-2). Cañas was impressive where Federer was immobile. Currently ranked 60th in the world, Cañas capitalized on Federer’s unusual propensity for errors to defeat him soundly (39-8 errors).

Is Federer disappointed that he didn’t break Vila’s record for longest winning streak? It seems he actually enjoys the rare defeat now and again.

It’s just a guy put me away when he had to. He played a perfect match in the end. He didn’t give me anymore chances. I was just playing too poorly in the end to come back. So the right guy won. I’m a very positive thinker, and I think it’s going to be good for me eventually this season. I’ve had a very relaxed opening to the season… just playing the Australian Open and Dubai and having enough time to rest. So I definitely won’t be worn out towards the end of the season. That’s a good thing. Over the last one-and-a-half years, I’ve been in all the finals except Cincinnati and now here. I was just pushing the limits all the time. So something like this is actually maybe good for me, (I can) just get away from it, have time to rest up again, and practice real hard before Miami.”
– Roger Federer

As for Cañas, he lost the next round to Carlos Moya (6-4, 6-4). At least he can enjoy the infamy of having cut short Federer’s winning streak.

In looking at the schedule for Indian Wells, a couple points jump out:

1. Being a resident of Indian Wells has serious perks:

Sony Ericsson WTA Main Draw – Monday, March 5
Free Admission at the gates to watch the WTA Qualifying Rounds

ATP Main Draw – Tuesday, March 6
Free Admission at the gates to watch the WTA Qualifying Rounds

City of Indian Wells Residents’ Day – Thursday, March 8
Residents of Indian Wells receive complimentary tickets to a full-day of matches. 

2. The well-known camera manufacturer’s campaign at Indian Wells creeps me out a bit:

Canon Maria Look-alikes – March 9-11 & 16-18
Join the Canon PowerShot team by celebrating one of the most loved champions in tennis today.  Maria Sharapova look-alikes will be canvassing the Tennis Garden grounds.  Stop them and say hello or simply get your picture taken with them.

Stay tuned for more Indian Wells drama, will it be Federer and Sharapova? Or Williams and Hewitt?