ATP MASTERS 1000 Indian Wells: Let The Party Commence!

First topic message reminder :

At last!

Tennis is back in town. And sleepless nights, and bags under the eyes in the mornings.

For a fortnight or so, we'll forget about fast courts and GOATs and watch some good tennis for a change.

Indian Wells first 1000 Masters event of the year, first "big" tournament after AO.

All players are there, fit and raring to go, the "come-backers": Davydenko, Querrey, Simon, the "newcomers": Tomic (I think he's already out), Raonic, Dolgopolov, and last , but not the least the "big" 4.

I'm sure you'll forgive me for focusing on the top 4 players, because at the moment, they all seem be pretty keen to win this tournament (which is not always the case when it comes to non-slam tournaments).

Nole, who loves slow hard-courts of IW, will want to continue where he stopped in Melbourne, and should he bump into Murray in the semis, show him who's the boss.

Nadal, match-free for nearly 6 weeks, must've worked on his game or serve in the meantime, 2012 is his make or break season in many ways, and it's usually this time of the year he gets going as a warm-up for clay season.

Federer, on a good winning streak since last autumn (lost only two matches, one to Nadal one to Djokovic), will want to get a good result and possibly close the points gap between him and Nadal, or at least keep Murray at bay.

Murray, with, I believe Lendl again by his side, must be hoping that this 2012 is his slam-break-through year: he has been working very hard for several years and generally improving his game and shots. His win over Novak in Dubai must have boosted his confidence immensely, still, he failed to capitalise on it and win Dubai, failing to Federer.
He has few points to defend in IW and Miami, and a great opportunity to move up the rankings.

The players have had a party last night, and all seem to be happy to be there and play.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv8T10SOE

Indian Wells has apparently continued to improve their facilities and make life nicer both for players and fans :

( http://blogs.tennis.com/thewrap/2012/03/nice-work-if-i-can-get-it.html )

In today's order of play, we have some interesting matches, and Novak and Murray out on central court.

Order of play for Friday, 16th of March:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2012/404/op.pdf



So, let's enjoy the return of tennis and may the Best win

Finally, last but not the least:

GO NOLEEEEE

LuvSports! wrote:

amritia3ee wrote:NITB
Nadal lost to Ljubicic and Roddick in 2010 IW and Miami.
IMHO his best HC performance of his life came against fed in the semi this year AO.

really???? better than his aus 09 or us 2010 wins?

Yes.

socal1976 wrote:Exhausted and physically spent Nalbandian breaks back, is this what exhaustion looks like?

No. THat's Nadal choking!

socal1976 wrote:

bogbrush wrote:

JuliusHMarx wrote:socal, it's at times like this your desire to denigrate Fed overcomes your desire to be seen as relatively neutral.
Personally, I find the honesty refreshing.

Me too, it was fun when it became uncontrollable after he dumped him out the French last year.

You mean the asteriks FO of 2011? Fogninni!!! give me my 4th slam back!!!!!!!

Socal, why do you keep saying 4th??

1. Aus 2008
2. Aus 2011
3. (would have been French 2011)
4. Wimby 2011

Am I right or is there another slam that Fognini stopped him from getting?

This could get a little tight in the last game. A very entertaining match.

Harpo that would have been Novak's 4th slam of 2011 to complete the set, it was the only slam he didn't get last year that is why I keep saying 4th, I know technically, time order wise it would have been his 2nd slam of 2011, but in retrospect it would have allowed him to win all 4 in that year.

Nadal is just exhausted, he can't keep up with the colin of tennis and he is doing his best of choking it away.

Aha I see! That makes sense

Oh wow! tanked the overhead for double break point. What a match, neither guy wants to win this. It was a very tough overhead though.

Wow what a missed opportunity. Both guys getting a little tight

wow what a boring match! But I will stay up past midnight to watch it (sarcasm).....vamos RAFA

Well played Nalbandian!

Match to Nadal finally....but on this form he's not likely to get past tomorrow. Woeful #UEs really. But great to see Nalby playing well.

Ow shame
But still, I can go to sleep now. Night all.

Welcome back 10IS

That was a rather cool handshake. Congrats Nadal fights back. Shows us the heart and courage he has. By the way I really hope that young lady next to ellison is his daughter or grandaughter and not his gf.

Nalbandian reminds me of Murray a bit: gets himself into a sitter situation and doe not know what to do with it.
That drop-shot stupidity is a classic and sums him up perfectly.

He'll make the final but against the superior stamina and retrieving of Djokovc he has no chance.

lol 1015, yes I see Nadal's biggest "fans" on here stayed up til almost 1am to watch him...lol. They love him really...

Thanks Amrit. I have been around. Just dont post that much.... you know why!

You say that BB but Fed is on top form and Nadal was anything but tonight...

Epic choke in the 2nd set by the really talented player.

Fed has probably already got his plane tickets now.

Tennis = joke sport.

10IS wrote:Thanks Amrit. I have been around. Just dont post that much.... you know why!

Yh, I know what you mean.

lydian wrote:You say that BB but Fed is on top form and Nadal was anything but tonight...

Match up, high bounce and tough to hit winners here.

You saw that tonight; far more errors than winners.

HarpoMars wrote:Ow shame
But still, I can go to sleep now. Night all.

Goodnight harpo, visit us more often.

bogbrush wrote:

lydian wrote:You say that BB but Fed is on top form and Nadal was anything but tonight...

Match up, high bounce and tough to hit winners here.

You saw that tonight; far more errors than winners.

It didn't look that tough for fed to hit winners on the same exact court.

lol JM, "like the Murphy's you're not bitter".

BB, that applies to Nadal too...but the guys are hitting through the court well enough.
Nadal's UE count tonight was shocking really, Fed is the form player no doubt.

Goodnight Arthur, from your brother Julius

Well done Rafa. Entertaining stuff, if not great tennis.

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:[Fed has always been super-fit. I still believe he caved in to Nadal mentally. There's nothing stopping him from swallowiing some pride and start sending Nadal mid-court balls, he of all the guys has virtually limitless options. Somehow, his mindset is cemented into forward moving where his SBH fits best, with the serve like his, I don't know why he doesn't try a bit more aggressive volleying. I know it's tiring, but he could at least mix it up a bit.
His game of early dominance does not work against Nadal, but even with pure baseline he shouldn't have any problem beating him in IW tomorrow. Nadal's far, far from his old form.
I'm sure Federer is able to beat Nadal without needing to rush him ALL the time, for that's why he tires most.

I am surprised you don't see it. You can't send Nadal midcourt balls unless you can rally for ever like Djoko and for that you need a DHBH. It's a sheer necessity.

And Federer is not super fit. He is very fit but his game is much more sensitive to fitness and needs a clam breathing.

You still cannot explain why Djoko, your titanium ball man was also losing many close matches on many key points. ...and only managed to reverse it when Djoko got suddenly much fitter and lost that urgency to close the key points..cause he coudl win over the distance.

Nole did not only get fitter he filled out, as well, I said it many times. And the matches he lost were very close, anyway. He also turned pro later than Nadal, and was still picking up big match playing experience. He is peaking at the moment in every way as a player which is why he is performing like he is.
What makes you think Federer is less fit than Nole or Nadal?

lydian wrote:lol JM, "like the Murphy's you're not bitter".

BB, that applies to Nadal too...but the guys are hitting through the court well enough.
Nadal's UE count tonight was shocking really, Fed is the form player no doubt.

Right, Nalbandian was hitting through the court really well the first two sets. Fed hit through it pretty well today. Fed is in better form, but how many times have we seen fed look great in tourney raise expectations and then play Nadal and look completely ordinary. Nadal wins and in straights. That is how I see it.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Epic choke in the 2nd set by the really talented player.

Fed has probably already got his plane tickets now.

Tennis = joke sport.

Josiah,

you're sounding like a distraught irrational woman at the moment. Pull yourself together !

Nitb, because although we have never seen fed cramp or get ill on the court, according to Tenez he loses every match due to exhaustion as a result of unfairly slowed conditions. Of course Novak's development is not simply because of fitness. As a Djoko fan that is well respected on this site, how much better is his serve now than what it was in early 2010 and all of 2009?

Tenez has always gone on about Federer being some lightweight ballerina when the rest of us know he puts himself through gruelling fitness regimes (as well documented), last for 5hrs+ matches with Nadal in heat in Rome2006, and carries the Bemer3000 magnetic recovery machine around with him. You dont survive as Fed has done at the top without being one of the fittest guys on tour. The guy never ever even sweats.
Federer set out to achieve being the fittest "with no loss of performance in 4 hr matches" and he succeeded with his training programme which continues to this day.

Night all....looking forward to the semis tomorrow.

Night lydian, looks like a great couple of semis we have to look forward to.

socal

noleisthebest wrote:

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Epic choke in the 2nd set by the really talented player.

Fed has probably already got his plane tickets now.

Tennis = joke sport.

Josiah,

you're sounding like a distraught irrational woman at the moment. Pull yourself together !

LOL! Nitb you are cracking me up today. Seriously, JM chill out man the sport isn't tainted because Nalbandian choked away a match.

Nadal won by default and it irks me as it should irk any true appreciator of the game.

Rafa should really be dead on his feet tomorrow but somehow that won't be the case will it?

socal1976 wrote:Nitb, because although we have never seen fed cramp or get ill on the court, according to Tenez he loses every match due to exhaustion as a result of unfairly slowed conditions. Of course Novak's development is not simply because of fitness. As a Djoko fan that is well respected on this site, how much better is his serve now than what it was in early 2010 and all of 2009?

I don't think Tenez talks about physical tiredness when it comes to Federer.
Federer's peak winning game was always ultra aggressive, no calculations.

When that game now is pushed back to the baseline and engaged into prolonged rallies, it slowly gets blunted and almost neutralised.

Obviously, the slower the courts, theoretically the longer the rallies and easier it is to tire him.

My point is that by varying his game, Fed could keep himself alive all through a match. For some reason, he does not do that.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Nadal won by default and it irks me as it should irk any true appreciator of the game.

Rafa should really be dead on his feet tomorrow but somehow that won't be the case will it?

It's not Nadal's fault stupid Nalby chose that idiotic drop-shot and missed the opportunity to return the second break. the guy is a problem himself. Does not have the belief, that's the problem.

NITB I stopped watching after 3-1 final set so I didnt see anything else it is however laughable that the number 2 player needs just under 2 hours and 50 min to beat the number 74 player.

Isner is still in the doubles tournament aswell...he should be too tired against Djokovic in the singles (he's playing doubles with Querrey and in the semi's or finals).

Sorry, Nitb I have had this discussion with Tenez he views all of feds losses to Novak and Nadal in the last few years to exhaustion as a result of slowed conditions. I think we have all heard enough of his argument over the years to know it backwards and forwards. It is ok, i get it you don't want to be hard on your friend. But just ask him, he will tell u himself that is what he believes. When Nalby lost it today you heard him equate it to exhaustion.

Personally, I don't care if you don't train hard enough and your job is to be a pro athlete I don't want to hear any excuses.

socal1976 wrote:Sorry, Nitb I have had this discussion with Tenez he views all of feds losses to Novak and Nadal in the last few years to exhaustion as a result of slowed conditions. I think we have all heard enough of his argument over the years to know it backwards and forwards. It is ok, i get it you don't want to be hard on your friend. But just ask him, he will tell u himself that is what he believes. When Nalby lost it today you heard him equate it to exhaustion.

Personally, I don't care if you don't train hard enough and your job is to be a pro athlete I don't want to hear any excuses.

The argument seems to remain your blind spot Socal, I bet you're a counter-puncher.
Anyway, you don't need to involve Tenez into this dialog. My point was Federer not Nalbandian. We don't have identical views there, but do have a decent overlap.

Not really Nitb, I myself don't have patience from long points and not to toot my own horn but I got a mean forehand. I actually win and lose every match pretty much dictating with my forehand and I got a good return as well.

Wonder what Socal said after this gem:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2009-01-26-australian-open-day-9_N.htm

socal1976 wrote:Not really Nitb, I myself don't have patience from long points and not to toot my own horn but I got a mean forehand. I actually win and lose every match pretty much dictating with my forehand and I got a good return as well.

Yes, but why do you LOSE when you dictate with your forehand?

By the way Nitb, I disagree with you on the Tenez thing. But lets just agree to disagree. I don't actually have any animosity towards the guy, I find his energy and delusional views about tennis quite amusing.

Well, because I get tired due to unfairly slowed conditions and big fluffy balls and I lose to a less talented moonballer. Isn't that the only way people lose now a days, because they get tired from slowed down conditions and untalented moonballers.

No seriously, I usually win with a lot of winners or lose with a lot of errors.

socal1976 wrote:Well, because I get tired due to unfairly slowed conditions and big fluffy balls and I lose to a less talented moonballer. Isn't that the only way people lose now a days, because they get tired from slowed down conditions and untalented moonballers.

No seriously, I usually win with a lot of winners or lose with a lot of errors.

what brings out the inconsistency?

Nitb, I am not that inconsistent. My two handed backhand is rock solid. My serve is good although I don't have a big first serve unfortunately. I just lose to the better player on that day. That is tennis, it is a timing sport, somedays you have great timing and beat players you have no reason beating and other days you don't and lose to players you should never lose to.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Wonder what Socal said after this gem:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2009-01-26-australian-open-day-9_N.htm

Well I wasn't happy about it, I was actually quite concerned for Novak's health as he seemed to be having a lot of respiratory issues at the time which thank god seem to have been addressed properly.

I can't believe I'm still WIDE awake. Bed time. Bet Nole's playing the evening match tomorrow.