Sooooooooooo here's part 4 of my lowdown on the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Gardens in California, and what happened on Wednesday's action. And for a change we saw a momentum shift in the quality of the matches, as the men's match started to become more interesting than the ladies, which well there were only two of them.
So starting for a change with ladies, the first match up was between Victoria Azarenka, the ladies best player of the moment, and the World No.5 Agnieszka Radwanska and on paper it sounded like a really good contest would be had. However we were all proved so wrong as Azarenka proved just why she is the World No.1 and absolutely annihilated Radwanska, taking 11 games in a row off her, before Radwanska finally broke serve and managed take only two games, before falling to Vika in a bruising 6-0. 6-2. This really was a total rout from Vika who notched up her 21st match win, and remains unbeaten in 2012, and it looks like she isn't ready to lose just yet either. The match though was despite its scoreline quite interesting to watch, and there seems to be still a bit of bad blood between Azarenka and Radwanska. And at the end Azarenka showed no mercy and was quite emphatic in her behaviour after winning the match, punching the air shouting "come on!!" at the top of her lungs. Perhaps her reaction was a bit unwarranted, as she had trounced Radwanska, its almost like she was pouring salt into a gaping open wound. Radwanska similar to Caroline Wozniacki is a counterpuncher, and she lacks the power to hit through aggressive players like Azarenka, but I did notice in the match some of the points Radwanska won were because her returns were more aggressive, and she needs to keep that up in order to beat players like Azarenka. In regards to Azarenka's outburst, she off and on has had a habit of displaying firey behaviour on court, but off court she is a different person, nice and friendly, but one thing is for sure, she is a girl that won't take any prisoners, and you would mad to say she is not a favourite to win this title.
However that could all change depending on her next opponent, Angelique Kerber, the fast rising German player, who took out Li Na in straight sets, to reach the semis, winning 6-4, 6-2. Kerber in the last 7 months or so really has made a name for herself after reaching the semi finals of the US Open last year, and quarter finals of the Australian Open this year. So I might be wrong here, but I do think that Kerber just might prove to be a real threat to the Belarusian, we'll soon find out on Friday, but it could be a real battle, or it could be just another piss easy win for Victoria. Regardless though I don't think it will affect the outcome, but we shall see.
So onto the men's, first up we had Novak Djokovic, a not too bad player, take on a rather decent player Pablo Andujar, and after what appeared to be a cakewalk for Djoko, gubbing Andujar in the first 6-0, turned into a contest in the 2nd, as Pablo fought back, and clinched the set in a tiebreak. In the 3rd Andujar kept up the pressure on Djokovic, and even had a break point on his serve, but in the end Spaniard was unable to capitalise on his chances, and Novak soon had the double break and closed it out, with the final 6-0, 6-7, 6-2. This was actually a pretty good match, and Andujar right from the go, looked like a game player, in his opening game he showed much promise, but after he was broken, he was nowhere in the first set. But it was credit to Andjuar that he was able to get back into the match, as Djokovic became a bit defensive, and what definitely appears to be one of his weaknesses, was in losing the tiebreak, as he has always struggled in previous tiebreaks, particularly against the other top three guys. But Djokovic got the win and he is now set to face another Spaniard Nicholas Almagro, who took out Tomas Berdych convincingly in 6-4, 6-0, and yes this time they shook hands! ;-)
And I have to say I am becoming more impressed with Djokovic not only as a player but also as a sportsman, as like Rafa, he shows just about the right amount of confidence and humility, although you definitely get the fact that Djokovic loves being in the public eye that bit more than Rafa. Two examples of his sportsmanship were after his defeat against Andy Murray in Dubai, he posted a message on Facebook saying well done on the win and best of luck in the final. Also after his tough match against Pablo Andujar the other day he greeted him warmly and gave him a hug at the net, clearly appreciating his opponent's efforts. So I really do think that fella Djokovic is not a bad guy at all, in short he's a decent spud.
Onto Roger Federer, who again had a bit of a tough match against the Brazillian Thomaz Bellucci, who last year defeated Andy Murray in Madrid, and gave Djokovic a headache for a set and a bit. Bellucci came out strong and took the first set, then Federer managed to break early in the 2nd set, and in the third Fed got another break, and closed it out in 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Considering that Roger was fighting a touch of the flu and a temperature, it seems absolutely incredible that he was able to go out and play, and also to win the match, so well done to him. Next up for Roger is yet again Del Potro, and this will be the 4th time they have met this year so far already, this promises to be a tough encounter, as was their previous one in Dubai, but Roger has won them all, so we will see what happens. Rafa on the other hand once again had no trouble against Alexandr Dolgopolov, and he dispatched him in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, however Rafa's next match might prove to be tricky as he will face David Nalbandian, who pulled off another upset in taking out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a 3 set battle, so that promises to be a really good one.
Well that's it for now, more to follow, as the men's quarter finals will be later today (and the early hours of tomorrow!), as will the ladies remaining quarter final matches, between Marion Bartoli and Ana Ivanovic, and the two Russian Marias Sharapova and Kirilenko. So its all good and promises to be very intruiging, exciting and interesting, as it all should be from hereoin in.
Bye the noow.
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