Tennis

Friday Report: Quarter final from the bottom of the draw.

From the get go Benneteau looked defeated. Maybe the accumulation of matches and the stress involved in such tournement caught up with him, maybe he knew he was not 100% fit and as a result did not believe in his chances today, but in any case he competed poorly. On the other hand, Djokovic played his best match of the week, so after barely an hour it was done and dusted.

Isner arrived in his quarter final as the leader in 2nd serve points won in the tournement, but a very focused and unexpectedly calm Gulbis managed to put enourmous pressure on the tall american's delivery that barely managed to win 20% of the points on his second delivery during the first set. A healthy first serve percentage allowed him to face only a single break point (that was also a set point). Gulbis was several time brought to 30-30, but he managed to reach the tie break without having to defend a break point. Isner served brilliantly though the tie-break, so a single mini-break was enough to earn him the first set.

Out of nowhere Gulbis broke Isner to love in the first game of the set and was very close to get a double break a little bit later. Sadly, both his first serve percentage and his efficiency behind his second serve plummeted, Isner proving to be very consistent in the baseline rallies. As a direct result, Gulbis found himself in very long service games where game points and break points were too plentiful for comfort. Here again, Gulbis proved a lot more level headed than his usual self, shrugging off big misses on big points to follow them by big serves or impressive winners. The poor quality of his play caught up with him as he was serving for the set: a double fault here, an unforced error there, some deep returns by Isner and that's all she wrote. In a second breaker in as many set, Isner once again raised the level of his game and left almost no opening on his serves while Gulbis served a double that propelled the american to a 4-2 lead that a couple unreturned serves brought to 6-3. On the first match point, on Gulbis' serve, Isner totally miss-hit a backhand that landed awkwardly short, forcing Gulbis to rush the net, but the lack of planning left him open for a down the line passing shot that Isner executed for his first backhand winner of the match.


So we have our semis:

FederervsDolgopolov

The swiss better manage his backhand well, because Dolgopolov demonstrated through the week how deadly his backhand down the line can be. Hit flat on high balls with a very compact movement, it really catches his oponents by surprise, so if Federer hits his backhand cross court with a lot of top spin and without finding a good angle, he will be put under pressure. The same is true if he goes down the line as Dolgopolov as a technically awkward but very efficient top spin forehand cross court that could force Federer to cover a lot of ground (too much in fact) to defend on his forehand side. I say: bring on the slice, all the better if they stay low, but even if they are somewhat floaty it will force Dolgopolov to generate his own pace instead on relying on the pace of the incoming shot.

As for Dolgopolov he better raise his first serve percentage significantly. Serving at 40ish percent can do the trick against a Nadal that is often content just to enter the point or against a Raonic that for most their match could not find the court with his groundies, but against an in-form and aggressive Federer, that could prove costly.


DjokovicvsIsner

The two of them met in the Indian Wells semi once before. Isner won 7-6 (surprise!) in the third that time. If Isner plays a solid match, it will be a good test to gauge Djokovic's level of confidence. If he is doubting, get agitated, tight and frustrated, he could very well drop serve and allow Isner to reach his third Master 1000 final.

Saturday report:

I saw nothing today (I blame PnPRPG), but apparently Dolgopolov helped Federer by making a lot of errors and Isner scared Djokovic by forcing a third set, but could not keep his momentum in it. So yeah:Federer vs Djokovicfinal. There will be blood! Federer clearly arrives as the more confident player as he cruised through his half of the draw and beat Djokovic in their last meeting. The whole week has been a struggle for Djokovic, but we can count on the serbian to compete hard, no matter his level of play. Also, Indian Wells being slower than Dubai might help him.

Final report.

Very strange match. It started with an energized Federer and a jaded Djokovic. The swiss rushed to a 3-0 lead was close to get a double break, did not have a break point to defend and closed the set 6-3. Djokovic served a lot better in the second, without necessarily playing a lot better. Federer though started to leak some errors here and there and miss in situations that ended in winners in the first set. He resisted for a while, but then got broken when serving at 3-4 and Djokovic closed the set to extend the match to a decider. Federer had the minor edge of being able to serve first except he turned a 40-15 lead into a lost service game. Federer reacted pretty well, raising his level of play, but Djokovic replied in kind by being extremely consistent from the baseline which resulted in a number of straining rallies. With his back against the wall, serving 3-5 down, Federer found an extra gear and summoned his first set self. Result: a barrage of winners and forced errors for a hold to love, a break to 15 and a hold to love! Suddenly it was 6-5 Federer and it was Djokovic's turn to have his back against the wall. Cold as ice, the serbe held to love with excellent serving forcing a tie-break.

F: A long rally behind a 2nd serve. A Federer backhand sail long. Mini break for Djokovic.
D: A good first serve to force Federer wide, an attack in the open court followed to the net and a smash to punish a failed lob attempt.
D: On the 2nd serve, Federer tries a good old chip and charge. The slice approach is not good enough, Djokovic is not surprised and fires a powerful backhand at Federer who can't control the volley.
F: Great wide serve that Djokovic touches but cannot return.
F: A long rally behind a 2nd serve. Federer goes down the line with a backhand, but it's a bit short so Djokovic attacks cross-court and Federer's defensive forehand is caught in the net. 2nd mini break for Djokovic.
D: A good first serve, a good forehand, Federer can't control Djokovic's attack.

We change side at 5-1 for Djokovic.

D: A kicked 2nd serve is returned with a high and deep forehand. Djokovic makes the strange choice of trying to attack it at shoulder height from behind his baseline. His attack sails long. In spite of a scary looking scoreline, Federer is only a single mini-break behind... so there is still hope!
F: A good first serve, a short reply and... an attack in the net. Mini-break for Djokovic who has 4 match points.
F: Ace out wide!
D: A rally starts behind the 2nd serve, but an early backhand error seals the match!

What a terrible terrible tie-break by Federer. 3 unforced errors and not a single point on his serve when it got returned. Clutch play by Djokovic though who did not dwell over the fact he failed to close the match on his serve and made just the one mistake in 10 points during the breaker.


Anyway... see you on Wednesday in Miami!

MIAMI!

Ferrer is back, Del Potro is not (left wrist still bothering him), Haas also has shoulder problems (let's hope it will get sorted sooner rather than later so he can at least play the grass season).

The draw after two rounds (R64):

Nadal vs Istomin: Nadal, as per usual, made light work of Hewitt. Istomin won two good matches to reach this stage against S&V master Mahut and 29th seed Tursunov.

Fognini vs Bautista-Agut: The seeded italian did the job and the spaniard on the rise beat the 19th seed Janowicz comprehensively.


Raonic vs Garcia-Lopez: the canadian edged past Sock, the american qualifier while the big serving Garcia-Lopez dominated twenty-third seed Monfils.

Bedene vs Becker: a qualifier vs a lucky loser. Bedene beat the 27th seed Pospisil who at least seems injury free now.


Wawrinka vs Roger-Vasselin: Roger-Vasselin surprisingly beat an in form Cilic to reach this spot.

Dolgopolov vs Lajovic: Dolgopolov continues his good run of form with a clean win over Nieminen and he will face serbian lucky loser Lajovic (doubly lucky because he won the previous round by retirement).


Isner vs Almagro: The american beat his compatriot Young (not without losing a set for which he served!). Almagro lost three matches in a row in south america so he skipped Indian Wells to... rest? train? Anyway it payed off because he beat Querrey in straight sets. NB: Only match of the top half of the draw where both seeds reached the round of 64!

Berdych vs Sousa: Different opponents, different results. Sousa got spanked in Indian Wells by Gulbis and this week he outlasts 26th seed Simon!





Federer vs De Bakker: the swiss was extremely dominant on serve to beat the always tricky Karlovic. De Bakker somehow beat Verdasco.

Gasquet vs Anderson: top two seeds.


Dimitrov vs Nishikori: top two seeds and that should be a good match to see.

Ferrer vs Seppi: top two seeds. A clean win for Ferrer who dropped only 4 games against Gabashvilli which means he must be injury free.


Murray vs Lopez: Top two seeds. Murray dropped his opening set against unheralded aussie Eben, but then he woke up and left just the one game!

Tsonga vs Baghdatis: a very serious and clean match by Tsonga against the tricky Mannarino. Baghdatis escaped 24th seed Kohlschreiber by winning the second and third set breakers.


Robredo vs Benneteau: The frenchman provided a lesson in competitive spirit against 21st seed Gulbis as he managed to claw his way back from a 2-5 deficit in the third set to close it 7-5!

Djokovic vs Mayer: to continue the trend of draws opening up before him, Djokovic already won this match by walk-over...

The bottom half of the draw played today. Federer, Gasquet, Ferrer, Murray and surprisingly Robredo cruised through to join Djokovic in the round of 16. Tsonga found himself a set down and 5-1 down in the breaker of the second against Baghdatis, but help by some serious brain cramping from his opponent, he managed to win the second set without even facing a match point and bag the decider 7-5!

The Nishikori vs Dimitrov match was a very tight affair, with both players playing some clean aggressive tennis. It's Dimitrov who blinked though and he did twice: by serving two double faults in the first set breaker to lose it 7-1 and by losing 5 points in a row at 5-6 40-0 in the second! On top of Nishikori's composure and his trademark wristy forehand (allowing him to find short angles with safety and making his opponents run ragged), it's his serve that impressed today. The japanese player is far from being a giant, but the accuracy of his first serve allowed him today to win an Isner-like 85% of point behind his first serve, frustrating Dimitrov to no end.

Top seeds all won in the top half, so we have our round of 16:

Nadal vs Fognini: the italian almost rolled over his ankle at the start of his match. While hot, it did not bother him, but it might be a problem tomorrow.

Raonic vs Becker: tennis will lose once again.

Wawrinka vs Dolgopolov: both had ups and downs during their last match. Let's hope both play well tomorrow.

Isner vs Berdych: a game of who blinks first.

Federer vs Gasquet: the frenchman can give a lot of volume to his shots which could cause Federer issues on his backhand side. If he can't find the backhand or can't find enough depth, he'll get in trouble.

Ferrer vs Nishikori: The japanese N?1 impressed against Dimitrov. It could well be a stern test for Ferrer.

Murray vs Tsonga: nice opposition of styles for two players that are having a so-so start of the year.

Djokovic vs Robredo: underestimating Robredo lead many to early losses, but the serb is the heavy favorite.

We have our quarters!

Nadalplayed great tennis so easily disposed of a slightly injured Fognini who had too few moments of brilliance to get anything out of the match.
vs
Raonicbeat veteran Becker.

The canadian has a shot at winning, especially in a best of three sets match, but I would be surprised if he does. If he mixes his serve well enough to prevent Nadal to get into a good returning rhythm, if he is aggressive to the right targets (play the backhand to attack the forehand) and consistent enough, he certainly has the power to bother Nadal. How many meaningful returns will he be able to produce though? I suspect not enough.


Dolgopolovplayed well enough to not allow Wawrinka to find his rhythm. The swiss just could not find consistency on his groundstrokes. He played well for a stretch and then disappeared in the 3rd.
vs
Berdychdid not blink and even managed to not have to go into a breaker.

How will Berdych deal with Dolgopolov's variations? How will Dolgopolov deal with Berdych's power? I am looking forward to it!


Federerwas extremely dominant. In fact, not too far from some of his vintage bloodbath performances where he can seemingly turn any shot into winners. He stunned Gasquet right from the start and the frenchman did not compete all that well it should be said.
vs
Nishikoriproved supremely clutch. He found himself with a sizable lead in the first set thanks to an uncharacteristically error prone Ferrer, but he kept his cool when the spaniard reeled him back in and forced a tie-breaker. He kept his cool when his lead in the breaker evaporated, he kept his cool set point down and did not blink when he finally got a set point of his own. When a much better Ferrer dominated the second set it was a foregone conclusion that he would win the match, but in the third it's Nishikori who again took the lead twice only to be broken back twice. There was very little to choose between the two, but some timely move to the net by the japanese at the end of well constructed points allowed him to earn a tie-breaker. Clutch again: he started it with an ace, took an early lead, again kept his cool when Ferrer caught up with the help of the net, saved three match points and finally got some luck of his own on a match point where he shanked twice!

Nishikori is fast, makes few unforced errors, plays well tactically, has a sneaky good serve, his wristy forehand allows him to dictate play efficiently and on top of that he already beat Federer in the past. Still, I feel the match is in Federer's racket: a clean offensive performance will result in a win, but if he plays bellow his 2014 standard, it could turn into a real battle.


Murrayplayed a solid enough match against an up and down (but mostly down) Tsonga. He seemed to not be 100% fit though.
vs
Djokovicdid not stumble against veteran Robredo.

Djokovic must be the favorite here, but it's also a very important match for Murray and his confidence considering his so-so start of 2014. If he wins, it's a great boost. If he loses a close match, it will hurt his ranking as defending champion, but he will take comfort in the fact his game is competitive. If he gets destroyed, then it could be very very hard for him. He would lose confidence, lose a lot of points, play the clay court season with 'bad' seeding on top of it being his worst surface and then have to defend his Wimbledon title! Add some residual fitness issues and that could mean being out of the Top 10 after Wimbledon...

The bottom two quarters were played today:

The Murray vs Djokovic match was a very tight affair. As often with these two, we got a number of very athletic rallies where one wonder why someone is not trying something (the answer generally coming when someone follows a brilliant shot to the net only to be at the receiving end of an even more brilliant passing shot produced at full stretch from 3 meters behind the baseline). Djokovic seemed the slightly better player, hitting the ball a little more cleanly, but that did not translate into an advantage on the scoreboard. The match turned deep in the first set with one of the most botched call you will ever see: With a deep and pacy attack, Djokovic forced Murray to hit a defensive lob. The lob was very short, so much so that it was unclear if it would pass the net or not. A third possibility is the nightmare scenario: it hits the tape and becomes super awkward to play. To make sure this did not happen, Djokovic took it in the air above the net, just to play a winning drop volley cross court. The thing is, you can't hit the ball before it crosses the net. That's the kind of call the chair umpire has to make on his own, just like double bounces, touches, or whether a point is replayed or given after a successful challenge. Verdict of the man on the chair: the ball was hit on Djokovic's side of the net and the continuation of the movement brought the racket on the other side of the net, so it's a legal shot. Problem: the replay got shown on the big screen inside the stadium and it was painfully obvious that Djokovic played the shot far into Murray's camp (the hilt of the racket is above the net when he makes contact with the ball). Obviously Murray sees the replay and asks the ref wtf is going on. The ref is forced to stay with his first call, because he can't change the call based on a video replay and frankly does not explain the situation very clearly to Murray who, as a result, becomes very frustrated and loses the plot totally, gifting the set to Djokovic (who, by the way, could have given the point to Murray).

It felt like Murray managed to put the incident behind him as he broke early in the second set, but Djokovic broke back soon after that, and at the change of ends, Murray started once again to argue with the ref about that call! A botched call costs a single point (and in this case it was not a critical point, it was the first or second in the game), but getting bothered by it, keeping it on your mind, arguing about it again and again, that costs a lot more. In this case: the match.


Less drama in the Federer vs Nishikori match, but it was also pretty strange. Federer started by playing brilliantly, being very aggressive from both wings, putting Nishikori under a lot of pressure and as a result, bagging the first set 6-3. The only blemish was a surprisingly low first serve percentage. Still, he lead by a set and break before it started to get to him. First it costed him a break and then unforced errors started to creep in, adding a lot of tension to the situation because Nishikori, unlike Gasquet the other day, did not fade away at all. This composed with score board pressure at 5-6 resulted in a break for the set by Nishikori, with the added benefit of serving first in the decider. Federer served a little better and also played better in the third, but both players took care of business on their own serve. With the advantage of serving first, Nishikori used the score board pressure to good effect late in the set: a deep aggressive return allowed him to dictate with is forehand, a shanked shot resulted in a short ball full of spin that Federer could not handle and an untimely unforced error from the swiss gave three match points to the resilient japanese. Federer, true to his legend, saved the first two with great serves, but could not save the third. Once again, very good performance by Nishikori (who just beat Dimitrov, Ferrer and Federer in a row!) even if it feels like Federer also had a hand in is own downfall.

Soon to be a giant himself I am sure if he manages to stay healthy. We knew the forehand and court coverage were world class, but he showed how precise his serve has become, how effective he can be at the net and how venomous his backhand cross court can be. Not only when taking it early to turn short balls into winners, but also when he is under a lot of pressure. Great attitude on the court too. Never getting to high or too low, always fighting, not cracking under pressure... The question mark is the ability to stay healthy, to perform at a high level when you go deep into each tournament you play, week after week after week. If he does, I would not be surprised to see him at the Masters Cup at the end of the year.

Top two quarters are done:

Berdych was just a tad too consistent for Dolgopolov.

Nadal outlasted Raonic in three sets. I must say I found Raonic's game a lot more watchable than usual, with more variations and a broader array of shots. It's possible that the quality of the opposition forced him out of a basic 'big serve, big forehand' gameplan.


So:Nadal vs BerdychandDjokovic vs Nishikori. I have not seen Berdych play this week but I suspect both matches could end up being less one-sided than one would think.

In what I believe must be a (regrettable) first, no semi final was played today. Nishikori withdrew because of a left groin injury (once again stringing victories proves too straining for him) and Berdych is sick. We get a modern classic: Nadal vs Djokovic in the final.

Wow... when is the last time that has happened?

I can't say I remember ever seeing that before. There have been tournaments with a lot of injured or sick players, but both semi final not being played? I never saw that and checking some articles, no one mentioned an earlier occurrence.

On a more positive note, but not less surprising, Martina Hingis will play the women double final in Miami! Not of the invitational event for retired stars (I am not sure there is one in Miami anyway), but the main draw! She teamed up with Lisiki; I guess the power of the german mixed with Hingis' deft touch is a deadly combo.

I did not see the final (I was watching some good and not so good korean movies at a festival), but, asked about it, a friend told me Djokovic returned well and put a lot of pressure on the Nadal forehand (to the point of barely making him play backhands!) and broke it down. 6-3 6-3 for the serb.

Oh and Hingis teamed with Lisiki won the double title! A title the swiss already won... in 1999 with Kournikova!

<3 Hingis

Friday to Sunday: Davis Cup Quarter Finals!

Japan vs Czech Republicin Japan:
As I expected, Berdych did not do the trip to Tokyo. Sadly, Japan is a one man team and Nishikori is injured. Soeda and Ito will have to face Rosol and Stepanek... Maybe the savior of Japan will be the american born and spain trained Daniel, a 21 year old on the rise.

France vs Germanyin France:
Gasquet is injured. But since Haas just got a surgery and Kohlschreiber passed, it leaves Tsonga, Monfils and Benneteau to take on journeyman Kamke and youngster Struff.

Italy vs Great Britainin Italy:
No one is injured here, but with Great Britain being a one man team, Murray is expected to win both his singles and then it's fingers crossed for a miracle in one of the other three matches, with the option of boosting the double with Murray at the risk of consuming energy that might be needed on day three. With Fognini and Seppi on the italian team, both able to slay giants as well as get slain by mice, this tie is pretty open.

Switzerland vs Kazakhstanin Switzerland
Also no injured here. Even if Wawrinka was not convincing these past few weeks and Federer ended Miami on a sour note (serve going AWOL, clusters of unforced errors), Kukushkin and Golubev would pull quite the upset by winning even one of the four single matches. Stranger things have happened in Davis Cup... on the up side, it will be played on rebound ace so it will not be the great equilizer that can be a temporary clay court and its many bad bounces.

The beauty of Davis Cup is that you can expect the unexpected:

Czech Republic leads Japan 2-0
Daniel pushed Rosol to a 5th set after being lead two sets to love and Ito won the first set in a breaker, reached another breaker in the second set... but it was all downhill from there! If Japan find a way to win the double, sunday might still be very interesting.

Germany leads France 2-0
Did not see that one coming! Kamke fought hard to reach a tie-breaker in the first set, won it and that suddenly was too much pressure for Benneteau or something who lost in straight sets. All the pressure fell on the shoulders of Tsonga, the huge favorite against Serve & Volley journeyman Gojowczyk (honestly the first time I ever saw the name). The thing is Tsonga is not exactly known for the quality of his return of serve so the german reached two tie-breaks out of four sets and won them both. No breaker in the fifth, but as the set advanced, the pressure built up on Tsonga who blinked first and lost it 8-6. Funny thing is that they are still the favorites. Them winning 3-2 is still the most likely outcome, but it went from a 90/10 proposition to a 55/45!


Italy leads Great Britain 1-0
Fognini beat Ward and Murray was at 5-5 against Seppi after winning the first set. Play was suspended. I guess they tried playing outdoor (very mild weather in Europe at the moment) and got some rain?


Switzerland and Kazakhstan are tied 1-1
As feared, Golubev played well enough to find a way to beat Wawrinka, defending his serve well and winning both sets that went to a tie-break. Federer set things straight with a clean victory against Kukushkin. The swiss team is still the favorite, but now Federer and Wawrinka are forced to play the double which is not ideal. I would say that even if they lose the double they are still the favorites, but winning Saturday would certainly make things a lot easier.

Czech Republic beat Japan 3-0
A straight set victory in the double sealed the deal.

Germany leads France 2-1
Llodra/Benneteau was the big favorite against Kamke/Begemann (never heard of that guy, but ranked 48 in doubles it seems). Things almost got awkward at the end of the fourth, but the french duo managed to avoid a very tricky tie-breaker to seal the deal. On paper, France remain the favorites, but a nervous Tsonga can lose to just about anybody and if Gojowczyk defend his serve as well as he did Friday he has a shot at beating Benneteau.


Great Britain leads Italy 2-1
Murray finished his single in straight sets and helped winning the critical point of the double. Fognini vs Murray should prove interesting and if the italian forces a fifth rubber, it could be a choke fest of epic proportion between Ward and Seppi.


Kazakhstan leads Switzerland 2-1
I actually saw the double and it was a pretty frustrating experience. The swiss duo only showed its brilliance in few and far between occasions, but mostly struggled with the return of serve and had some momentary drops in level that proved costly. Frustrating to see them play somewhat poorly, but also frustrating to see how opportunistic the kazakhs managed to be: almost all the stats are slightly better for the swiss team yet they lost! Nedovyesov, an unkown player that comes from the american college team tennis circuit, proved coller than a cucumber the whole way through, getting weak replies from his many body serves that his buddy Golubev dealt with with ease. Like the french, Switzerland is still the favorite, but losing, that once was a remote possibility is now a clear and present danger. The killer stat after three matches: Regular sets are at 5-2 Switzerland, but tie-break sets are at 4-0 Kazakhstan...