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3/18/09 3:37 PM | Ricky Dimon
Rafael Nadall rolled into the Indian Wells fourth round on Tuesday. Plenty of other favorites also advanced, but an American wild card is still looming large in the draw.
Taking care of business
There have been plenty of upsets at the Masters Series Indian Wells, but the world's best have been immune to it all so far. After Roger Federer and Andy Murray advanced to the fourth round on Monday, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic joined them in the last 16 of the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday. Nadal eased past Dmitry Tursunov and Djokovic did not have too much difficulty for Tommy Haas. Next up for Nadal is David Nalbandian, against whom the world No. 1 is 0-2 lifetime. Djokovic meets Stanislas Wawrinka for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Go the distance
Two players went to third-set tiebreakers on their way to the Indian Wells fourth round. Wawrinka came back from a set down to outlast Sam Querrey 10-8 in the decisive 'breaker. The Swiss even saved two match points--both of which he saved in impressive fashion by enduring relatively long rallies--before putting Querrey away with a forehand winner at 9-8. Juan Martin Del Potro survived his second straight three-setter, taking out Jurgen Melzer in a third-set tiebreaker one round after going three with heavy underdog Ryan Sweeting. Next up for Del Potro is big-serving John Isner.
Davis Cup hangover?
France has to be considered the deepest country in men's tennis, and quite possibly the best. Look no further than the Top 100--and even the Top 10--of the world rankings to see just how dominant the Frenchmen have been. In the Davis Cup first round, however, visiting France got bounced by the Czech Republic. This week in Indian Wells has been equally disappointing for the Frenchmen. On Tuesday, Jeremy Chardy fell to David Ferrer in three sets; with that, any and all Frenchmen were gone. Yes, that's zero Frenchmen in the last 16 of the BNP Paribas Open.
Cinderella story
Isner, the 6'9'' American with a massive serve, stormed onto the tennis scene in the summer of 2007 with a runner-up finish in Washington, D.C. and a third-round appearance at the U.S. Open (where he took the first set from Federer). Since then, however, Isner has all but disappeared. Until now. Isner is in the midst of his first real news-making performance in an ATP event since that 2007 summer. He dispatched an in-form Christophe Rochus in round one, shocked world No. 9 Gael Monfils in the second, and on Tuesday blitzed Marat Safin 6-4, 6-4 to reach the fourth round. Who says Cinderella stories are limited to college basketball this time of year?
Quote of the day
"I think he's good for the lower-ranked players to play against just because you'll always have a chance." -- Roger Federer, on third-round opponent Ivo Karlovic. Federer went on to say that Karlovic is not good for the top-ranked players to play against.
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I think Isner may have a shot against Delpotro - perhaps it is a long shot, but it seems like Juan Martin is at a temporary plateau. That being said, I'm really hopeful that Delpotro can build on his remarkable 2008.
Great observations on the French hangover. I think that Spain is the only country with more in the top-100 (I count Spain 16 to France 13) - Both are really strong right now, and impressively so.
thefanchild , 3/18/09 11:03 PM