Right so this is the final part of my look at the BNP Paribas open from Indian Wells in California, which will cover the mens and ladies finals to see who came out on top to win that big awkward star shaped glass trophy thing.
So to start with the ladies final we had the World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska take on the 20th seed, Flavia Pennetta and Aga lead their head to head going into this match 4-2. However Pennetta looked determined to upset the odds as she made a strong start in the first set and got an early break to move ahead, but as the set continued Radwanska started to look in some discomfort as her knee, which was taped looked to be hampering her movement, and soon enough Pennetta got a double break to close the set. In the second set Aga's problem continued with her knee as she took a medical timeout to get it re-bandaged but it hardly helped her game as she struggled to move and Pennetta took full advantage as the errors kept piling up in Radwanska's game and she found herself a double break down. And despite one last ditch attempt to hold serve, Radwanska soon captiluated on serve and handed Pennetta the big title win of her career as she won the final in 6-2, 6-1.
It was a pity this match didn't deliver on its promise as the early stages in the first set looked good but it was just unfortunate that Radwanska's knee injury flared up. And in a way it was a reminder of Rafa's back injury in the Australian Open final, where once again a player who has gone through all the hard work to reach a big final, in the last match cannot compete as they would like to. So it was a shame for Aga to lose out on the chance of her first big title in some time especially after the letdown of coming so close in Melbourne earlier this year as well before she downed in the semis by Dominika Cibulkova. As for Flavia Pennetta well she deserves alot of credit for her title win and she has had a terrific week in the desert and will look to improve on her results as last year she showed great signs as she even reached her first major semi final at the US Open, so if she carries on like this 2014 could be a really bright year for her.
Now we move onto the men's final which was a heavyweight showdown between two of the greats in the game, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. And given their very tight head to head 17-15 in Roger's favour going into this match, it promised to be a real cracker. And the match itself certainly didn't disappoint as in the first set Roger came out firing on all cylinders and he produced sublime tennis as he broke an edgy looking Novak to move up 3-0 and he went on to confidently nab the first set. In the 2nd however, the errors started to creep into Fed's game and Nole fought back as he managed to fashion a break of his own and he went on to level the match at a set apiece. And in the 3rd set we were treated to a thrilling contest between both men as they raised their levels for the thrilled crowd on Stadium 1 and played some terrific tennis. However after a tense service game it was Roger that blinked first and he went down a break to Nole, but he still managed to keep it close by keeping to the single break. And when it came for Novak to serve for the title at 5-4, he got tight and was broken by Roger and then before we knew it, the match went into a tiebreak. And despite Roger's superb tiebreak record he unfortunately made some uncharacteristic errors and it saw Novak take the lead at 6-3, with three championship points he served out the match to win his third Indian Wells title after a hard fought and thrilling 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory.
It has to be said I was somewhat surprised by the result of this match as for the most part Roger was the better player, despite a few lapses here and there. But in the end its testament again to Novak's champion qualities that he was able to win this title even though he wasn't playing his best tennis and didn't really start to fire until mid-way into the 2nd set. And throughout the tournament Novak's play was mixed in quality as there were some rounds were he was sloppy on serve, especially against Isner and even against the qualifier, Gonzalez and Cilic. But that's what the great champs do when they don't play their best they find a way to get the job done. So no doubt this title will give Djokovic much confidence for the rest of the season as it was the first year in his career since probably 2006 that he wasn't won a title going into the American hard court swing. And no doubt this will be a springboard for Djokovic to do well in Miami next week and also looking beyond to the clay court season.
As for Federer well despite his loss, he has played some superb and highly aggressive tennis this week and there were certainly alot of moments where it looked like it was going to come right for him. But I'm sure Fed will not be too disheartened by this defeat and it was still a great result and it sees him continue his impressive form and consistency in 2014, which will no doubt get better and I'm sure the time Wimbledon comes around, Roger will be a big threat again and will look reclaim his favourite trophy at the All England Club.
So that's it for my posts on the BNP Paribas Open which was given a terrific finale by the men (if not the ladies) and it now paves the way for the Sony Open in Miami, which is one of my favourite tournaments of the year. Andy Murray is the defending champion in Miami as he battled to lift the title last year against David Ferrer, so he has alot of points to defend this upcoming week and given his current ropey form, he has alot of work ahead of him if he is to have a chance to defend his title. Thankfully for Andy however he uses Miami as his training base, so it is a tournament where he has played some of his best tennis and hopefully he can use that to gain some inspiration in order to try and win a much needed title to get his season up and running. But whether or not Andy can win the title again this year remains in doubt, it would be great to see him do it or at least reach the final again, but time will tell on that one.
What we do know now is that the Sony Open draw is now out (as of 17.03.14 which is when I've updated this) and it isn't too kind for Andy as he may face Novak Djokovic in the quarter finals and Roger Federer in the semis! So I hate to say it but he may have to kiss his title defence goodbye. Up until the quarters though things aren't too bad though as Andy could play Lukas Kubot or Mathew Ebden in the 2nd round, Feliciano Lopez in the 3rd, whom beat he in Melbourne earlier this year. Although his possible 4th round opponent could be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga which could be a very dangerous test for Andy, but he does have a good head to head against Tsonga so hopefully he can find the form to beat him again.
But its going to be mighty tough for Andy to defend his title in Miami given the draw and if he loses out in the quarter finals or before, then I hope he refocuses for the clay court season and does better there. And despite it all I think Andy could have a very good clay court season this year as over the last two years his poor run of form on clay was in part attributed toward his back injury. But Andy is now playing pain free after his surgery and while every one is set to write him off on the red dirt I think he has an excellent chance to prove himself on clay. And I'm sure he will try and go out of his way to do well this year given if he goes out early in Miami he will have plenty of points to make up during the clay court season, especially after missing the French Open last year. So while we have to wait and see how he get's on this week in Miami before we get to the red dirt.
Soooo that's it for now and I will report back once the Sony Open from Miaimi get's underway.
Till the next one bye for now.
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