The History of Men's Tennis (Open Era)

Friday. The story of a match between Novak Djokovic [3] and Richard Gasquet [21], repeated itself in both sets – the Frenchman led 2:0 (a game point a couple times) and 3:0* (deuce) respectively, but since then Djokovic won six and five games respectively, to clinch the victory 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour 35 minutes, the duration of the match seemed longer than it actually was, mainly due to the 3rd game of the 1st set, which lasted 16 minutes and was won by Djokovic after seven ‘deuces’. Gasquet appreciates  Djokovic’s amazing form: “Because he won Davis Cup, he took a lot of confidence there and after the Australian Open. We see a confident player. That’s why he’s playing really good right now. He can do everything on the court.” Roger Federer [2] needed one break in each set in his match against compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka [14] to win 6-3, 6-4. The match lasted 21 minutes less than the previous quarterfinal, however, was consisted of one game more. Wawrinka made a very bad impression, producing unforced errors from both wings. Federer seemed to spend “another boring day in the office”, now leads 9-1 in their H2H, having won their last five meetings in the last ten months.

Thursday. The first quarterfinal between Tommy Robredo [28] and Juan Martin del Potro [90] wasn’t played due to injury of the Spaniard (strained left adductor muscle). “I’m sorry for Robredo; I wish [him a] fast recovery, but I am glad to be semi-finals,” said Del Potro “Maybe I could play with Nadal again. We’ve had very good matches before, so I have two days to be better, in good form, and hopefully I can play 100 percent.” Indeed, in the semifinal Del Potro faces Rafael Nadal [1] who was only two points from being eliminated from the tournament. At 5:5 in the 1st set, Ivo Karlovic [239] played perhaps the best return game in his life and broke Nadal to “love”! In the next game fought off a break point with an ace and surprisingly took the set. The tension at the end of the 1st set cost him too much and Nadal quickly jumped  into a 5:0 lead in the 2nd set. The 3rd set went with serves – “You lose a set against Karlovic, and you are under pressure the rest of the games of the match,” said Nadal “I think I played a fantastic second set returning better than ever. In the third, I didn’t have chances. His serve was unstoppable. In the tie-break I was really nervous. I think I returned fantastic in the tie-break, but I didn’t put one first serve on court, so I was really nervous.” In fact, Nadal delivered the first serve at 7:6 (second match point for him), before that he led 5:2 and 6:5. The final score 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(7)… Nadal’s record in long final set tie-breaks (at least 14 points): 5-3; Karlovic has 7-4.

59, 54 and 66 minutes respectively – it is the match time of Novak Djokovic‘s first three rounds at Indian Wells this year. The Serb has been in terrifying form since the beginning of the tournament, winning the first set ‘6-0’ in each of his matches! (the same feat achieved also Thomas Muster in Bari 23 years ago). Djokovic was merciless even for his friend and this week’s doubles partner Viktor Troicki [18], who broke the racquet with his thigh in the last game because of enormous frustration! “I don’t think I’m playing incredible tennis,” Djokovic comments “I think I’m playing really, really solid and getting a lot of balls back into the court and making my opponent play an extra shot… I think he had a very bad match in general. But I was very solid, and I keep on playing well, so this is what makes me happy.” Juan Martin del Potro confirms his resurgence after the injury with his ninth win in a row. The Argentinian needed two tie-breaks (2 hours, 21 minutes) to overcome Philipp Kohlschreiber. The German had two break points at 4:3 and was two points away at 5:4 in the 1st set, but the 2nd set was even more dramatic. Del Potro already led  3:0* (40-15) when Kohlschreiber played a risky overhead from the back of the court. Afterwards he took a ribreak and saved a match point in the 10th game to build a seemingly decisive 6:1 lead in the tie-break. Del Potro managed to save five consecutive set points (!) and converted his third match point with an ace. Similar progress occurred in the 2nd set of a Roddick-Gasquet match. The Frenchman after winning the 1st set, led 4:2 with a double break point in the 2nd set. Roddick escaped and had three set points in the 12th game. In the tie-break, the American once again erased a deficit (2:5), but Gasquet won the last two points, converting his first match point with an excellent backhand return down the line.
—
In doubles there was an intriguing situation that four best singles players in the world, would face each other in the semifinals! In the second quarterfinal Andy Murray (teamed up with his brother Jamie) was beaten though, by the experimental team (for the first time together) Oleg Dolgopolov / Xavier Malisse. The Brits were on their way to a straight sets victory, but Jamie committed four straight double faults (!) at 3:0 (40-0) in the 2nd set, and Dog with X-Man won six straight games. In the super tie-break the Murrays again were close to victory, led 6:1 & 8:4 only to lose the last six points of the match!

20-year-old Milos Raonic [37] and one and a half year younger Ryan Harrison [152] might be two of the Top 5 players of the current decade. Today they met  (both participating in the tournament thanks to “wild cards”) for the first time in a high quality match – in front of a packed house on Stadium Two – which lasted 2 hours, 29 minutes. Harrison wasted a triple mini-match point in the 2nd set, but stayed cool and built a 5:2 lead in the 3rd set, having a match point on serve. Raonic fought it off with a help of the net-cord, saved also another two match points in the 10th game to obtain a break point for himself! Harrison delivered a solid service winner in that very difficult situation, then got a point with a great volley and finished the match off with his 11th ace (Raonic fired 17). It’s been a breakthrough tournament for the 18-year-old American, who for the first time in his career won three consecutive matches on the main level. He will be awarded in the next round facing Roger Federer [2]. Harrison speaks on the tournament
The former No. 1 in the world, needed only 58 minutes to demolish Juan-Ignacio Chela [32]. The other best players in the world, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic won their matches in similar style, Nadal needed 10 minutes more than Federer, Djokovic 4 minutes less to advance to the fourth round. Djokovic’s ‘6-0, 6-1’ over Ernests Gulbis (his first tournament under Darren Cahill’s coaching) is astonishing, especially that the Latvian [34] began the match with a triple break point. Djokovic: “He’s unpredictable; he has a very strong serve and he has a powerful ground-strokes, but if he’s not patient and not hitting the right balls like today, he can miss a lot“.
Not only Harrison has been playing a tournament of life, a qualifier Somdev Devvarman [84] as well. The 26-year-old Hindu, was *2:5 down in the final set tie-break against Xavier Malisse but managed to win the last five points of the match. Philipp Kohlschreiber and Robin Soderling have a stunning frequency of playing long tie-breaks against each other. In their sixth career meeting (counting a qualifying match), they played the fifth at least 14-point tie-break, and the German won four of them, this time 10-8 (the whole match 7-6, 6-4), saving five set points, two on Soderling’s serve in the same style – with a forehand return!

Andy Murray [5] after reaching the Australian Open final last year where was beaten in straight sets by Federer, couldn’t back on the right track in the following few months. This year is even worse, after (in some sense) a humiliating defeat in the Australian Open final, he lost very quickly his opening match in Rotterdam (to Baghdatis) and now at Indian Wells suffers the third straight sets loss, to a player whom should have outplayed with ease – Donald Young [143]. The 21-year-old Young, before this weak, hadn’t beaten a player from the Top 30! His biggest scalp came also in Indian Wells, three years ago when he ousted F.Lopez, No. 32 at the time. Young: “It’s by far the biggest win of my career. I’ve had chances before but this is the first I’ve come through and didn’t let my nerves get the better of me.” The other main contenders to the title (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Soderling) won their matches easily, albeit Federer was two points away from losing both sets against Igor Andreev, even though was keeping the match under control throughout. Soderling, in turn, found himself at *5:6 in the 2nd set against Michael Berrer, despite a 4:1 lead with a double break.
Nikolay Davydenko‘s slump continues. The Russian fell in the ranking 34 places in the last five months (from 6 to 42)! He almost can’t win a tie-break during the last 12 months and paradoxically before that, he had a career best tie-break streak (17-1), since Australian Open ’10 it’s been 5-22! Yesterday against Stanislas Wawrinka [14], he was leading 5:3* in the 2nd set and was two points away from winning the encounter at *5:5 in the tie-break, Wawrinka won 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, taking the last three games of the match. Also dramatic matches won Juan Ignacio Chela (4-6, 3:5*, 15-30 against P.Petzschner), Ernests Gulbis (saved a match point on serve in the 2nd set tie-break against YH.Lu) and Philipp Kohlschreiber, who unexpectedly had a very difficult match against T.Smyczek, won from a triple match point down in the 12th game of the final set. The defending champion Ivan Ljubicic [16] had the worst possible draw in the second round and lost 7-5, 4-6, 2-6 to Juan Martin del Potro [90], who seems to back to his 2009 form. Ljubicic: “It’s not an easy draw, of course. He’s a great player, and it was a great match. It was great entertainment for the crowd. We had some great points. I came up short in the end.” Del Potro’s first three set match after 14 consecutive two-setters!

The 25th edition of ‘BNP Paribas Open’ at Indian Wells started on Thursday, for the seventh straight year with a 96 draw (’56 draw’ in the years 1987-1999 and ’64 draw’ in the years 2000-2003). This year’s draw is excellent, with all the Top 10 best players in the word (32 out of 35 best players).
The first round was successful for qualifiers and “wild cards”, 6 out of 12 qualifiers advanced to the next round, 4 players with “wild cards”, including this year’s revelation Milos Raonic who ousted in straight sets Marsel Ilhan [120], the young Canadian lost his serve serving for the match but quickly rebuilt himself and won a tie-break easily, recording his first ‘Masters 1000’ victory. I’m looking forward to his potential fourth round clash with Federer. “It’s been two weeks since I played a tournament, so I was happy to be back feeling like I’m playing a lot better,” says Raonic [37], “I didn’t serve that well today, but I feel compared to Memphis and San Jose I’m playing another level from the baseline. I feel like it just gives me a lot more comfort that I’m improving that aspect.” The other young gun – Ryan Harrison [152] had a tricky match with one of the Davis Cup heroes of the last weekend – Jeremy Chardy [49]. Harrison already led 5:0* (30-0) in the 3rd set, but the Frenchman got 3:5 (deuce) after saving two match points. Harrison: “These are always big mental matches because it’s so tight. And especially the first two sets being 7-6, to come out on top and to really get out there ahead in the third, really it could have been a 6-0 third set.”
The best four players in the world, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray, won their doubles matches. Especially Federer’s win (teamed up with Wawrinka) is impressive – 6-1, 6-2 over amazing doubles players – Mirnyi and Nestor.