Good news: Indian Wells finally gets the “Williams vs. Halep” match it missed last year. The two were set to clash in the 2015 Semifinals before Serena withdrew with a knee-injury. Simona would go on to win the title in three-sets over Jelena Jankovic. — With Serena and Simona’s wins on Tuesday, they’ll collide in the 2016 Quarterfinals Wednesday night.
Magdalena Rybarikova and Daria Kasatkina served Tuesday’s surprise upsets. World #97 Rybarikova advanced to the Quarterfinals Tuesday night after St. Petersburg champ Roberta Vinci retired from their match with an ankle injury in the second set. World #48 Daria Kasatkina downed the 12-seed Timea Bacsinszky in two.
Germany’s Alexander Zverev is the real deal. At just 18-years-old, he’s turning heads and felling seeds at Indian Wells. Tuesday, he defeated the 16-seed Gilles Simon in just over an hour to advance to the Round of 16. Both Tomas Berdych and Rafael Nadal have taken notice, telling those in press that Zverev is, without question, a future number-one.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori all found their way to the Round of 16 on Tuesday, while Jamie Murray locked-in a World #1 ranking. With he and Bruno Soares Round of 16 win over Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt, he will become the new #1 Doubles player in the World on Monday.
On Tuesday, Stadium-2 sent Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka into the Quarterfinals. John Isner, Dominic Thiem and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all advanced to the Round of 16…
[divider style=”solid”]
PETRA KVITOVA. Round of 16.
“Oh…a big one.”
After her 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over American Nicole Gibbs on Tuesday, I mentioned how empowered players outside the top-50 have felt with the volume of upsets on the WTA tour this year…and asked her what kind of mental impact that “new normal” has had on her, being a member of the top-10. A decorated resume doesn’t intimidate today, and every top-player has a target on her back. Couple that with remarkably talented, unfamiliar new faces and you have the perfect storm, raining upsets. While great for parity in the game, it’s a buzzkill for the casual tennis fan who simply wants to see her favorite superstars collide in major finals.
NEXT: Agnieszka Radwanska. Petra is 6-3 against Radwanska. Agnieszka won their most recent match in Singapore last year to capture the year-end championship at the WTA Fianls.
[divider style=”solid”]
JOHN ISNER. Round-3.
John Isner gave himself 9 break opportunities in the first-set and crushed 15-aces to take-down Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 7-6(4). He’s tied with Milos Raonic for #2 on the serve-speed leaderboard, clocking one of his 15 aces at 143-mph. Sam Groth is still on top, with a 144-mph missile early in the tournament. John’s dog has teamed-up with Nulo for a campaign called “Aces for Animals.” For every ace he hits throughout the year, Nulo is donating 10-meals to local animal shelters. So far here at the BNP Paribas Open, John has clocked 37 aces, ensuring 370 healthy meals for the Palm Springs Animal Shelter. Great initiative.
NEXT: Kei Nishikori. They split meetings last year. John defeated Kei in the Miami Quaterfinals, while Kei defeated John in the Washington D.C. Final.
[divider style=”solid”]
DOMINIC THIEM. Round-3.
Solid win. Impressive mental toughness in an entire stadium against him from ball-up. Dominic Thiem is the real deal, and with 22 match wins so far this year, including 2-titles and 2-semifinals, he is the “winningest” player on tour. He’s agressive on the court – but when you meet him, you can tell he’s even more agressive when it comes to preparation and the mental aspect of the game. His work-ethic and skill will continue to bring him opportunities. His head will make him a champion. Here’s Dominic’s recap of Tuesday’s win over Jack Sock – from Dominic’s Facebook page:
“7/6 6/7 6/1 against Jack Sock. It was a intense match today, especially the first two sets. Jack played really well and took advantage of his chances during the tiebreak. In the third set I had a real good start and made a break instantly. As I was serving for the match at 5-0 I made some unforgivable errors, and got punished immediately, thankfully I was able to re-break and winning the match. Now I am in the round of 16, which feels just great. Good evening from Indian Wells! #bamos #goodmatch #roundof16hereIcome”
NEXT: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. They’ve played once before, three years ago in Vienna. Jo-Wilfried won it in a third set tie-break.
[divider style=”solid”]
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA. Round-3.
Jo-Wilfried did not play the same Sam Querrey that he faced in 2014 at Wimbledon. That match went 14-12 in the 5th-set. Here at Indian Wells on Tuesday, Jo-Wilfried seized break opportunities late in the first and early in the second set to throw-down a 6-3, 6-4 win in just over an hour. He’s into the Round of 16 here at Indian Wells for the 5th-time, looking for his 2nd appearance in the Quarterfinals. He fell to Nocvak Djokovic in the Quarters three years ago.
NEXT: Dominic Thiem. They’ve played once before, three years ago in Vienna. Jo-Wilfried won it in a third set tie-break.
[divider style=”solid”]
VICTORIA AZARENKA. Round of 16.
Outgoing. Effervescent. Animated. COMPETITIVE. Victoria wears her emotion on her sleeve. It’s why fans love watching her play and why press is stoked that she’s back in the top-15. All of these inate characteristics seem amplified at this year’s BNP Paribas Open. Just in the way she’s carried herself over the past 10-days, Vika appears more determined than ever to reclaim her 2012 title. The fact is – a win launches her back into the top-10 – a goal she’s been chasing since returning from injury at the start of the 2015 season. She won her 10th career battle with Sam Stosur on Tuesday night to reach the quarterfinals 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.
NEXT: Magdalena Rybarikova. They’ve played twice before. Victoria Azarenka won both matches, most recently in Cincinnati in 2013.
[divider style=”solid”]
RESULTS. BNP Paribas Open 2016. Day Nine. Round of 16 WTA Singles.
- [1] S. Williams (USA) d [Q] K. Bondarenko (UKR) 62 62
- [3] A. Radwanska (POL) d [19] J. Jankovic (SRB) 63 63
- [5] S. Halep (ROU) d B. Strycova (CZE) 63 10 Retired
- [8] P. Kvitova (CZE) d [Q] N. Gibbs (USA) 46 63 64
- M. Rybarikova (SVK) d [9] R. Vinci (ITA) 62 20 Retired
- D. Kasatkina (RUS) d [12] T. Bacsinszky (SUI) 64 62
- [13] V. Azarenka (BLR) d [26] S. Stosur (AUS) 61 46 61
- [18] Ka. Pliskova (CZE) d [25] J. Konta (GBR) 76(2) 36 63
RESULTS. BNP Paribas Open 2016. Day Nine. Round-3 ATP Singles.
- [1] N. Djokovic (SRB) d [27] P. Kohlschreiber (GER) 75 75
- [4] R. Nadal (ESP) d F. Verdasco (ESP) 60 76(9)
- [5] K. Nishikori (JPN) d [30] S. Johnson (USA) 76(6) 76(5)
- [7] J. Tsonga (FRA) d [31] S. Querrey (USA) 63 64
- [9] J. Isner (USA) d A. Mannarino (FRA) 64 76(4)
- [11] D. Thiem (AUT) d [21] J. Sock (USA) 75 67(5) 61
- [18] F. Lopez (ESP) d [14] R. Bautista Agut (ESP) 76(5) 67(10) 64
- A. Zverev (GER) d [16] G. Simon (FRA) 62 62
RESULTS. BNP Paribas Open 2016. Day Nine. Quarterfinal WTA Doubles.
- [3] T. Babos (HUN) / Y. Shvedova (KAZ) d A. Klepac (SLO) / K. Srebotnik (SLO) 57 64 10-3
- B. Mattek-Sands (USA) / C. Vandeweghe (USA) d [8] R. Atawo (USA) / A. Spears (USA) 75 61
RESULTS. BNP Paribas Open 2016. Day Nine. ATP Round of 16 Doubles.
- [4] J. Murray / B. Soares d D. Inglot / R. Lindstedt 46 63 10-4
- [7] P. Herbert / N. Mahut d D. Nestor / R. Stepanek 46 64 10-5
- [8] E. Roger-Vasselin / N. Zimonjic d D. Goffin / J. Sousa 61 63
- [Alt] J. Chardy / F. Martin d [PR] J. Del Potro / L. Mayer 67(5) 63 10-6
[divider style=”shadow”]
BNP Paribas Open 2016 – Wednesday Order of Play
BNP Paribas Open 2016 – Updated WTA Singles Draw
BNP Paribas Open 2016 – Updated ATP Singles Draw
BNP Paribas Open 2016 – Updated WTA Doubles Draw
BNP Paribas Open 2016 – Updated ATP Doubles Draw
[divider style=”shadow”]
