Ok so here's Part 5 of the BNP Paribas Open coverage from Indian Wells, which saw another very eventful at the tournament with some great stuff on display particularly from the ladies.
Starting with the men first, Djokovic played against yet another Spaniard, Nicholas Almagro, who really wasn't a match Djokovic, as Djoko broke Almagro in the opening game, and held his own to take the first set. In the second set Djokovic again got the crucial break at 4-4, and had no trouble serving it out to take him to another semi final at Indian Wells. In the other match, there was a tougher passage for the American giant, John Isner, who took on the Frenchman Gilles Simon, as they battled it out in a very tricky encounter, which Isner eventually closed it out in 6-3, 1-6, 7-5. Isner said that neither himself or Simon were at their best in the match, but it was pretty close regardless, and Isner now extends his win streak over Simon 2-0. However Isner's next match up will be an ever tougher one as he will take on Djokovic, and I'm sure neither men are envying the match up. Isner is definitely most players nightmare, due to his height and his big serve, so it could be very tough for Djokovic to cut down the big yank. However Djokovic is by the far the better athlete, and if necessary he can outlast Isner if it becomes a physical match. But I think it promises to be a cracker, as Isner has come on leaps and bounds, as he is just sitting outside the top 10, a number 11, and this is his second Masters semi-final, so he really is knocking on the door of the big time.
Oh and today promises to be a real cracker for the men's quarter finals, as we will have the remaining matches, which is Rafa vs David Nalbandian, which should be very good, and Roger who once again takes on Juan Martin Del Potro. They have played 3 times already this year, with Fed getting the better of Delpo each time, so I don't really expect the result to be any different this time, although Fed hasn't been 100% this tournament, feeling the effects of a flu bug, but he said he is feeling better, and with a 10-2 win record over the big Argentine, you really can't bet against him. So today is a real mouth watering set up for the remaining guys in the draw.
Rrrrrrrrrright now onto the ladies, as they completed the quarter finals matches, first up was Ana Ivanovic, the saucy Serb who has recently got back on form, who took on the No.7 seed Marion Bartoli. Last year Bartoli beat Ivanovic in straight sets at the quarter finals, however this time Ana was the sharper of the two, as Bartoli clearly wasn't 100% on court, feeling the effects of tiredness and dizziness, at one point she had to call a doctor on court, to check her blood pressure etc. However Bartoli, being the gutsy fighter she is, fought till the end, where she fell to Ivanovic in straight sets who won in 6-3, 6-4. Given Bartoli's condition this wasn't a bad match and first set was pretty good, but it was a shame that Bartoli's illness cut it short really, as it could have been a great contest, but it wasn't to be, so that's Ana safely into the semis, where she will face her next opponent I will speak of now.
Sooo the next match was between two Russian players, two Marias in fact, Sharapova vs Kirilenko, and by heck did Sharapova have her hands full in this match. Naturally Sharapova was the favourite to win this one, but Kirilenko came out all guns blazing, breaking Sharapova early on and taking the first set. However the 2nd set featured some terrific battling from Sharapova, who fought from 0-2 down to level, and she took the crucial break at 6-5 to take the match into a decider. However in the decider, Sharapova dominated the play, although Kirilenko broke back at one point and held her next service game. But in the end Kirilenko engineered her own downfall and double faulted to hand the match to Sharapova, finally winning the epic three hour struggle in 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
This so far and could well be the match of the tournament, as for the first two sets both women played some terrific tennis for the crowd. Sharapova however as usual made a stream unforced errors throughout her service games, but there were plenty of tight games with many deuce points. Kirilenko herself played really well throughout, but I have to say she didn't do herself any favours when during the second set, she kept tapping her racket on the ground tauntingly at Sharapova during points, and the umpire rightfully pulled her up for it. This is really unsporting behaviour and I have to say Kirilenko went down in my estimation when she did it, even Azarenka who has her moments on court with umpires etc, would never have done that. But in the end the right woman won, but as usual it wasn't so much a win as a survival, as Sharapova more often than not survives her tough matches, but Sharapova is without a doubt one of the best fighters in the womans game and in the history of the sport.
Sooooooo this sets up an exciting match up in the ladies semi finals, as we have Victoria Azarenka up against the German Angelique Kerber, which should be a good one, either a battle or a doddle for the World No.1, we'll soon find out. And then there is Sharapova vs Ivanovic, who haven't played each other since the Australian Open in 2008, so that's quite a while, but it promises to be a pretty good un.
Annnnnd that's it for now, I'll report back (to myself) when they're done.
No comments:
Post a Comment