Indian Wells: Seeds fall, Press-Conference Crashed

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Day-7 of the BNP Paribas Open 2014 saw it’s share of upsets and surprises at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both fell, qualifier Dominic Thiem continued to impress with a win over Gilles Simon, Eugenie Bouchard upset Sara Errani, while Casey Dellacqua took-out Roberta Vinci. Lauren Davis’s fairy-tale continues. She followed-up her 2nd-Round win over Victoria Azarenka by beating Varvara Lepchenko in the 3rd-Round on Stadium-1.

Photo: @TennisConnected
Photo: @TennisConnected

On Stadium-2, Simona Halep steam-rolled Lucie Safarova in the first set, then started struggling with the heat and wind. She eventually won 6-4 in the third. After the match, we talked briefly about her retirement from Dubai – says the Achilles feels fine, she just needs to get used to the conditions here in the desert. After her first Grand Slam Quarterfinal at the Australian Open and her 7th WTA title in Doha, Simona’s one to watch this year at Indian Wells.

John Isner looks strong. After a cluth first-set tie-break win over Nikolay Davydenko, he finished with confidence 6-3 in the second. John’s had success here in Indian Wells, reaching the 2012 Finals in both Singles and Doubles…and for that reason, the BNP Paribas Open is one of his favorite stops on the tour. After the match, he said the conditions here are right up his alley, and he’s feeling fit. He reached his second Masters-1000 Final last Summer in Cincinnati…and said after the match: “Yeah, as long as the matches are in the U.S., in front of these fans, I always seem to play well.”

Photo: @RD_Tennistalk
Photo: @RD_Tennistalk

With Juan Martin del Potro’s retirement from the tournament yesterday morning (wrist issues), Great Britain’s James Ward stepped-in as the “Lucky Loser.” Feliciano Lopez struggled against the #160 player, eventually overcoming San Diego’s U.S. Davis Cup spoiler 6-4 in the third. My first question after the match: “Would you have rather played Juan Martin del Potro?” With a wry smile, Feliciano said it was a good question…because it was difficult to adjust to Ward’s game after preparing for del Potro. Feliciano’s been fortunate in his quarter. After upsetting the #25-seed Vasek Pospisil, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin will be Feliciano’s 3rd-Round opponent.

Agnieszka Radwanska made it a quick afternoon on Stadium-2, dominating German’s Annika Beck 6-0, 6-0…delivering only the second shut-out in the tournament’s history. The funny thing is, Beck played well. Radwanska simply won every long rally; every key point. Last year at this time, Agnieszka had already won two titles. After the match, she admitted that she’s hungry for that first win of the year and expects a tough battle with the “French machine” Alize Cornet in the 4th-Round. In Radwanska’s favor? Cornet spent over 3-hours on the court – in the heat of the day – to score her 3rd-Round win over Carla Suarez Navarro. Agnieszka’s best finish here came in 2010, where she lost in the Semifinals to Caroline Wozniacki.

After earning his second career ATP World Tour title in Acapulco, Grigor Dimitrov thrilled fans in Stadium-2 with a win over Robin Haase 6-4, 6-3. The match was actually more competitive than the score indicates, but Dimitrov’s serve and athleticism proved too much. With an unbelievable “get” in the final game, Dimitrov proved that he has plenty of gas left in the tank after several grueling three-setters in Mexico. He’ll face Ernests Gulbis next, who he’s played twice already this year: Grigor defeated Ernests in Acapulco, yet fell in two sets to the Latvian in Rotterdam. After the match, Novak Djokovic crashed Grigor’s press conference – to refocus the questions on Dimitrov’s “good-looks” and to discuss his favorite Sugarpova flavor (he and Maria Sharapova have been “a thing” for awhile). The media had a blast with the interruption on Twitter.

In the final match on Stadium-2, John Isner and Sam Querrey delivered an exciting first-set in front of their home fans. They fell behind 2-5, then rattled-off five straight games to take the set. Both served extremely well and ended Jermemy Chardy and Gilles Simon’s BNP Paribas Open with a dominating 6-2 win in the second (both Chardy and Simon lost their 2nd-Round singles matches). Fans attempted the first “wave” in Stadium-2 during the match…and honestly, need some work…but the guys appreciated the support and talked about going deep in the draw. John and Sam were Doubles Finalists here in 2012. Next up, they face Australian Open Champions Lukas Kubot and Robert Lindstedt.

Stadium-2 Results from Sunday:

  • [6] S Halep (ROU) def. [26] L Safarova (CZE) 6-2 4-6 6-4
  • [12] J Isner (USA) def. N Davydenko (RUS) 7-6(5) 6-3
  • F Lopez (ESP) def. [LL] J Ward (GBR) 3-6 6-2 6-4
  • [2] A Radwanska (POL) def. A Beck (GER) 6-0 6-0
  • [15] G Dimitrov (BUL) def. R Haase (NED) 6-4 6-3
  • J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) def. J Chardy (FRA) / G Simon (FRA) 7-5 6-2

Full results of 2nd-Round play on the bottom-half of the Men’s Singles draw…

  • [2] N Djokovic (SRB) def. V Hanescu (ROU) 7-6(1) 6-2
  • R Bautista Agut (ESP) def. [4] T Berdych (CZE) 4-6 6-2 6-4
  • [8] R Gasquet (FRA) def. T Gabashvili (RUS) 6-0 2-0 Retired
  • J Benneteau (FRA) def. [9] J Tsonga (FRA) 6-4 6-4
  • [12] J Isner (USA) def. N Davydenko (RUS) 7-6(5) 6-3
  • [15] G Dimitrov (BUL) def. R Haase (NED) 6-4 6-3
  • [16] T Robredo (ESP) def. M Matosevic (AUS) 7-6(6) 5-7 6-4
  • [20] E Gulbis (LAT) def. J Sousa (POR) 6-3 6-3
  • [Q] D Thiem (AUT) def. [21] G Simon (FRA) 7-6(5) 6-2
  • Y Lu (TPE) def. [22] P Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-2 6-2
  • [24] M Cilic (CRO) def. [Q] P Lorenzi (ITA) 6-2 6-2
  • M Kukushkin (KAZ) def. [25] V Pospisil (CAN) 6-0 6-2
  • J Nieminen (FIN) def. [26] F Mayer (GER) 6-2 1-0 Retired
  • [30] F Verdasco (ESP) def. H Zeballos (ARG) 7-5 7-5
  • A Gonzalez (COL) def. [31] I Dodig (CRO) 6-4 2-6 7-6(5)
  • F Lopez (ESP) def. [LL] J Ward (GBR) 3-6 6-2 6-4

Full results of 1st-Round play from the Men’s Doubles draw…

  • [4] L Paes (IND) / R Stepanek (CZE) def. J Janowicz (POL) / Kohlschreiber (GER) 7-6(6) 3-6 10-5
  • [8] L Kubot (POL) / R Lindstedt (SWE) def. F Lopez (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) 6-4 3-6 10-7
  • [PR] C Fleming (GBR) / R Hutchins (GBR) def. J Rojer (NED) / H Tecau (ROU) 5-7 7-6(4) 10-8
  • J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) def. J Chardy (FRA) / G Simon (FRA) 7-5 6-2

And the 2nd-Round Men’s Doubles match…

  • [2] A Peya (AUT) / B Soares (BRA) def. J Marray (GBR) / A Murray (GBR) 7-6(1) 6-3

>> MEN’S SINGLES DRAW || >> MEN’S DOUBLES DRAW

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Full results of 3rd-Round play from the bottom-half of the Ladies Singles draw…

  • [2] A Radwanska (POL) def. A Beck (GER) 6-0 6-0
  • [6] S Halep (ROU) def. [26] L Safarova (CZE) 6-2 4-6 6-4
  • [7] J Jankovic (SRB) def. [31] M Rybarikova (SVK) 6-3 6-2
  • [18] E Bouchard (CAN) def. [9] S Errani (ITA) 6-3 6-3
  • [10] C Wozniacki (DEN) def. [Q] Y Shvedova (KAZ) 76(7) 3-6 6-1
  • [Q] C Dellacqua (AUS) def. [13] R Vinci (ITA) 4-6 6-4 6-3
  • [22] A Cornet (FRA) def. [14] C Suarez Navarro (ESP) 6-7(4) 7-5 6-3
  • L Davis (USA) def. V Lepchenko (USA) 6-3 6-2

Full results of 2nd-Round play from the Ladies Doubles draw…

  • [1] S Hsieh (TPE) / S Peng (CHN) def. [PR] A Kleybanova (RUS) / A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-1 6-2
  • [2] E Makarova (RUS) / E Vesnina (RUS) def. J Goerges (GER) / A Groenefeld (GER) 6-3 6-4
  • [WC] S Kuznetsova (RUS) / S Stosur (AUS) def. A Medina Garrigues (ESP) / Y Shvedova (KAZ) 7-5 6-1
  • K Date-Krumm (JPN) / B Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) def. K Mladenovic (FRA) / F Pennetta (ITA) 6-7(5) 6-2 10-5

>> WOMEN’S SINGLES DRAW || >> WOMEN’S DOUBLES DRAW

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Here’s what to expect today, on Day-8 of the BNP Paribas Open 2014: 3rd-Round play from the top-half of both the Men’s and Women’s Singles draws, 2nd-Round action in the Men’s Doubles draw, and the two remaining 2nd-Round matches in the Women’s Doubles draw. Andy Murray, Gael Monfils, Fabio Fognini, Petra Kvitova and Dominika Cibulkova will get their first exposure to Stadium-2, while Stan Wawrinka returns in today’s 3rd match against the dangerous Italian Andreas Seppi. Tonight, Roger Federer and Stan return to Stadium-2 for their 2nd-Round doubles match against the hard-serving Ernests Gulbis and Milos Raonic. Regardless of outcome, tonight’s doubles match should be a VERY entertaining way to finish the day!

Photo: @RD_Tennistalk
Photo: @RD_Tennistalk

STADIUM 1 start 11:00 am
WTA – [1] N Li (CHN) vs K Pliskova (CZE)
ATP – [27] D Tursunov (RUS) vs [7] R Federer (SUI)
Not Before 2:00 pm
WTA – [4] M Sharapova (RUS) vs [Q] C Giorgi (ITA)
ATP – [1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [28] A Dolgopolov (UKR)
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – [11] A Ivanovic (SRB) vs [17] S Stephens (USA)
Not Before 8:30 pm
ATP – [11] T Haas (GER) vs [19] K Nishikori (JPN)

STADIUM 2 start 11:00 am
ATP – J Vesely (CZE) vs [5] A Murray (GBR)
ATP – [23] G Monfils (FRA) vs [13] F Fognini (ITA)
ATP – [3] S Wawrinka (SUI) vs [29] A Seppi (ITA)
WTA – [27] S Kuznetsova (RUS) vs [8] P Kvitova (CZE)
Not Before 5:00 pm
WTA – [12] D Cibulkova (SVK) vs [23] E Makarova (RUS)
ATP – R Federer (SUI) / S Wawrinka (SUI) vs E Gulbis (LAT) / M Raonic (CAN)

STADIUM 3 start 11:00 am
WTA – [21] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs A Wozniak (CAN)
Not Before 12:30 pm
WTA – [20] F Pennetta (ITA) vs [16] S Stosur (AUS)
ATP – [10] M Raonic (CAN) vs A Falla (COL)
ATP – [17] K Anderson (RSA) vs [LL] E Donskoy (RUS)
WTA – A Kleybanova (RUS) vs M Torro-Flor (ESP)

STADIUM 4 start 11:00 am
WTA – M Erakovic (NZL) / P Martic (CRO) vs [4] K Peschke (CZE) / K Srebotnik (SLO)
ATP – [3] I Dodig (CRO) / M Melo (BRA) vs [PR] C Fleming (GBR) / R Hutchins (GBR)
ATP – [5] D Marrero (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) vs T Huey (PHI) / D Inglot (GBR)
ATP – J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) vs [8] L Kubot (POL) / R Lindstedt (SWE)

STADIUM 6 start 12:00 noon
WTA – [8] L Hradecka (CZE) / J Zheng (CHN) vs V Dushevina (RUS) / M Lucic-Baroni (CRO)
ATP – [WC] J Erlich (ISR) / R Gasquet (FRA) vs [4] L Paes (IND) / R Stepanek (CZE)
ATP – N Mahut (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) vs [7] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB)

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