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3/12/09 8:56 AM | James Munoz
Not to take anything away from the day's competitors, but today was more about player watching than observing the last day of qualifying.
On hand were no less than Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych, Fernando Gonzalez, Andy Murray, Lleyton Hewitt, Nikolay Davydenko, and Richard Gasquet, just to name a few. This is typical of the final day of qualifying and the fans were treated to great shows and extended (informal) autograph sessions. With such great--but not too hot--weather today, there were smiles all around the courts and practice field.
The fans were not the only ones to take in the sunshine, as Igor Andreev enjoyed the scenery and fan attention while watching his girlfriend Maria Kirilineko. I asked Andreev about the event and he was definitely looking forward to it. "I have a good time here and may play doubles too, although it is tough to get in with so many doubles teams competing," he said. Andreev will hopefully have more time later this week for a one on one interview.
On the practice field were numerous players doing drills as can be seen in the attached videos.
http://www.imeem.com/people/qkNRGm8/video/7DpkbW18/kei-nishikori-practicing-march-11-2009-sports-video/
http://www.imeem.com/people/qkNRGm8/video/fuNTvkGr/mathieu-llodra-and-others-training-sports-video/
http://www.imeem.com/people/qkNRGm8/video/1siofyup/andy-murray-practicing-bnp-paribas-march-11-2009-sports-vid/
Day 3’s matches could end up being a day of reckoning of sorts. Has time caught up to former stars like Lleyton Hewitt, Ivan Ljubicic, Jarkko Nieminen and Nicolas Lapentti? Are Ernests Gulbis, Kei Nishikori, and Simone Bolelli ready to step up and make bigger names for themselves in a big event. Two other intriguing matches are Julien Benneteau vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber and Michael Llodra vs. Feliciano Lopez.
Lifetime Records at Indian Wells (best result and year):
| Hewitt | 27-9 | (W 2002-03) |
| Ljubicic | 10-6 | (QF 2006-07) |
| Nieminen | 5-6 | (QF 2006) |
| Lapentti | 10-7 | (SF 2000) |
| Gulbis | 1-1 | (R64 2008) |
| Nishikori | 0-1 | (R128 2008) |
| Bolelli | 0-1 | (R128 2008) |
| Benneteau | 5-4 | (R16 2007) |
| Kohlschreiber | 4-3 | (R32 2006, 2008) |
| Llodra | 3-3 | (R32 2005) |
| Lopez | 3-6 | (R32 2003, 2005) |
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Thanks for the update, James.
That is the right question about Bolelli. Gulbis and Nishikori, however, have already showed their potential at big events (Gulbis 2008 French Open QF, 2007 U.S. Open fourth round and Nishikori 2008 U.S. Open 4th round).
Gulbis is actually better at "big" tournaments (also a QF at 2008 Cincinnati). The question with him (at least right now) is will he break out of his current slump at Indian Wells and beat Kim and then Andreev.
I don't know what the question with Nishikori is, but he is also in a bit of a slump right now.
RickyDimon , 3/12/09 1:34 PM