Thursday was the final day of match play on Stadium-2 here at the BNP Paribas Open, featuring a doubles Semifinal between U.S. Open Champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina vs. Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Andreja Klepac…SEE YOU NEXT YEAR, INDIAN WELLS. KEEP BEING AWESOME. – Andy
It’s been six years. Andy Murray is finally back into the BNP Paribas Open Semifinals. In 2009, he defeated Ivan Ljubicic (2010 Champion) in the Quarters, Roger Federer (4-time Champion) in the Semifinals and fell to Rafael Nadal (3-time Champion) in the Final. On Thursday, he dissected Feliciano Lopez for the 10th time in his career 6-3, 6-4.
Novak Djokovic is back in the Semifinals, as well…after Bernard Tomic withdrew. Bernard woke up with back, tooth, face, leg and “holy-crap-I-have-to-face-Novak-Djokovic” issues on Thursday morning and determined it was best to take the day off.
In doubles, Wimbledon Champions Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil upset 2-time and defending Indian Wells Champions Bob and Mike Bryan in the Quarterfinals. The kids are now 2-1 against their elders. Bob and Mike won their previous meeting in Cincinnati over the Summer. It was a convincing win for Jack and Vasek: 6-4, 6-4. They’ll face doubles legends Nenad Zimonjic and Marcin Matkowski next, who won their QF Wednesday night on Stadium-2.
Australian Open Champions Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini keep winning. Their SF match was moved to Stadium Court after tournament officials learned of Berard Tomic’s withdrawl. The big stage suited them well…they annihilated the 2-seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 6-3.
Thursday was Lesia Tsurenko’s 7th match of the tournament. She played through qualifying, took-out Anika Beck, then upset Andrea Petkovic, Alize Cornet and Genie Bouchard. She carried an ankle sprain from the Bouchard match into her Quarterfinal match with Jelena Jankovic…and simply couldn’t move freely. She’d retire down a set and 1-4 in the second. Hell of a tournament for the Ukrainian – she definitely earned some new fans here, including myself.
The match of the day featured a remarkable third-set tie-break win from Sabine Lisicki over defending champion Flavia Pennetta. Tears…lots of tears during and after the match. Lisicki’s year has completely sucked. This is her 7th tournament of the 2015, and she came into Indian Wells with only one win, over Monica Niculescu in Dubai’s first round. That’s bad – though in her defense, she’d been drawing tough opponents for 1st-round matches like Suarez Navarro in Sydney, Mladenovic in Melbourne, and Zahlavova Strycova in Doha. Here in Indian Wells, she’s posted wins over Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani, Caroline Garcia, and now Pennetta. She’s 1-4 against her next opponent, Jelena Jankovic – her one win coming in Stuttgart two years ago.
The doubles final is set. The #1-seeds and ultimate dream team Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis felled 2-time BNP Paribas Open Champions Sam Stosur and Lisa Raymond. Lisa has actually won this tournament an amazing seven times over the course of her storied career. On Stadium-2, we hosted the other Doubles Semifinal where the reigning US Open Champions, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina dominated Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Andreja Klepac.
From our post match interview on Stadium-2:
Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina certainly showed why they’re one of the most difficult outs in doubles on the WTA Tour. They won the title here just two years ago. Vesnina has won the title here three times with three different partners. She says Indian Wells feels like a home court for her…she came here for years before she was even on tour, observing, shaping her game, dreaming of competing at the top-level. She’s earned a fourth stab at the title, second with partner Makarova. NEXT: [1] Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis in the Final
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ATP. Indian Wells 2015. Updated Singles Draw.
ATP. Indian Wells 2015. Updated Doubles Draw.
WTA. Indian Wells 2015. Updated Singles Draw.
WTA. Indian Wells 2015. Updated Doubles Draw.
Indian Wells. Friday. Day-10. Order of Play.
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FULL RESULTS: Indian Wells 2015. Thursday. Day-9.
ATP Singles Quarterfinals
[1] N. Djokovic (SRB) d [32] B. Tomic (AUS) walkover
[4] A. Murray (GBR) d [12] F. Lopez (ESP) 63 64
ATP Doubles Quarterfinals
[8] V. Pospisil (CAN) / J. Sock (USA) d [1] B. Bryan (USA) / M. Bryan (USA) 64 64
ATP Doubles Semifinals
S. Bolelli (ITA) / F. Fognini (ITA) d [2] I. Dodig (CRO) / M. Melo (BRA) 64 63
WTA Singles Quarterfinals
[24] S. Lisicki (GER) d [15] F. Pennetta (ITA) 64 67(3) 76(4)
[18] J. Jankovic (SRB) d [Q] L. Tsurenko (UKR) 61 41 Retired
WTA Doubles Semifinals
[1] M. Hingis (SUI) / S. Mirza (IND) d L. Raymond (USA) / S. Stosur (AUS) 60 64
[2] E. Makarova (RUS) / E. Vesnina (RUS) d K. Jans-Ignacik (POL) / A. Klepac (SLO) 64 61
