I was able to watch front row Rafa's practice session on Saturday.
He wore out his practice partner about half way thru.
Later that night he beat Ryan Harrison 76(3) 62.
It was Rafa's 1st hard court match since the Miami Sf's last March.
He's heading to match #29 with Roger Federer in the quarters.
Bring it.
I just happened to walk by a magazine stand and found Nole on Italian GQ.
Dumb: That photo has been so photoshopped it barely even looks like him.
Of course Novak is in Miami looking for his 3rd title: '07 & '11.
Yes, he is the defending champ but so far this year he is 1-2 in defending.
But he did repeat at the big one tho - the Aussie Open.
He'll open against Marcos Baghdatis tomorrow - H2H: 6-0/ND.
And he's in a pretty troicki tricky draw: Troicki, Del Potro, Gasquet, Ferrer.
All surely beatable but tricky none-the-less.
Quote from presser today: I'm here to fight for it as any other player.
Hey Nole, there was little doubt.
I just couldn't resist walking up there to snap this pic.
You gotta feel for these runners - it's not merely raining, it's pouring today.
Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 - Fourth Round
18 Richard Gasquet d 8 Andy Roddick - 63 76(5)
Hey, welcome back to the top 20 Richard!
Oddly enough (or maybe not) this will only be Richard's 6th Masters 1000 Qf.
He played well from the get go - but nearly choked it away in the 2nd.
Andy will rue the fact that he didn't grab that 2nd set.
Bad behavior: But he sure gave the chair plenty of guff.
Andy will lose his runner-up points but will keep his #8 ranking.
But he heads to Miami as the defending champ...
Crunch time Andy.
***
I shot the photo on Saturday during Richard's practice session.
Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 - Fourth Round
25 Tommy Robredo d 21 Sam Querrey - 61 63
Tommy injured his groin & played one-legged for 20 minutes & still won.
Tommy moves into his 15th Masters Qf: 5-9. And 2nd straight at IW: 0-1.
As for Sam, they reported that he left all his rackets on the court.
In wrestling when you retire you leave your shoes (or something) in the ring.
Hmmmm... maybe Sam is thinking of taking a break?
The trio of Querrey/Isner/Fish have played a combined 87 Masters 1000's.
Of the 87 together they have gone to the Qf's a total of 5 times.
FIVE.
***
I took the photo of Tommy during his match at IW on Saturday.
So 9 of the top 10 men's singles players decided to play doubles at IW.
The result? Not a single seeded 'regular' tour team made the Qf's.
NOT ONE.
Roger/Stan (above) & Rafa/Marc (below) beat the #2/#4 seeds in the 1st R.
The top seeded Bryan Bros. went out to Dolgopolov/Malisse last night.
There are 7 seeded singles players in the doubles Qf's.
In fact, defenders Rafa and Marc have already advanced to the Sf's.
Rub your eyes: We could easily see a singles oddity in the doubles Sf's...
We are 3 matches away from: Rafa vs Roger and Novak vs Andy M.
What on earth does this say about the ATP doubles tour?
Photos taken Saturday, March 12, 2011.
Look, even the Spider-Cam likes Rafa's famous butt. Colonoscopy perhaps?
Andrea Petkovic can only admire this woman walking in front of her.
I said to Andrea, "I hope she doesn't drive like that."
6'5" Ivo Karlovic makes a normal golf cart look like a Tonka toy.
All photos taken by me on Saturday - March 12, 2011.
Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 - Third Round
18 Richard Gasquet d 10 Jurgen Melzer - 61 63
Richard likes Indian Wells it seems - this is his 4th trip to the 4th round.
But he's 0-3 once he gets there.
I took this photo on Saturday during Richard's practice session...
I was thrilled to see Sebastien Grosjean coaching him!
Remember, he & Arnaud Clement won the doubles title here in '04.
Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 - Third Round
2 Roger Federer d 29 Juan Ignacio Chela - 60 62
Yea, Rog and Novak killed today & seem to be cruising to a Sf meeting.
Remember, they are fighting for that #2 ranking here & in Miami.
Not much else to say about this match - I blinked at it was over.
Fun Fed fact: This is his 57th time into the last 16 at a Master 1000.
***
I shot this photo on Saturday in IW - they were watching Fed practice.
They truly wear their 'enthusiasm' on their bums.
Indian Wells WTA - Fourth Round
15 Marion Bartoli d 2 Kim Clijsters - 36 3-1 ret.
Kim retired with a shoulder injury. She had tweeted of the pain earlier.
She called the trainer for a medical TO - then played only a few more points.
Suddenly it seems defending at Miami may be in jeopardy.
And Kim will have to put that #1 ranking on the back-burner for a bit longer.
***
Marion moves into her 4th Premier Mandatory Qf: 2-1. Her 1st in IW.
She will face Ana Ivanovic - H2H: 4-2/AI. Tho in 2010 they went 2-1/MB.
About the pic: Marion offered me a sweet smile on Saturday in IW.
In return, I thanked her softly. I got the sense that she appreciated that.
Here are 10 iPhone photos I shot on Saturday.
***
Julien Bennetaeu and the lovely Indian Well background.
My favorite pic of the day - the one & only Andrea Petkovic.
David Ferrer slinked into this golf cart just after his loss to Ivo Karlovic.
The lovely Vera Zvonareva signing autographs.
Rafael Nadal caused a near-frenzy as he hit the practice courts.
Thomas Berdych works up a sweat in practice.
Jelena Jankovic working on her hair - then her volleys.
Janko Tipsarevic rocking the Oakley's in practice.
Richard Gasquet serves. Big.
And future (super)star Milos Raonic of Canada.
This hot Rafa Armani ad showed up two blocks from my place.
Hmm, how thoughtful.
I guess I'll be walking my dog Rafa's direction the next couple of weeks.
***
With Maria Sharapova just down the Strip tennis has 2 stars on Sunset.
That's more than any other sport can say at the moment.
Yay tennis!
#1
This is the 6th time the Bryans have finished the year #1 - a record.
Top of the pile: 2003, '05, '06, '07, '09 and '10.
Today they will play their 11th final of the year in Basel.
Amazing: They are unfeated in finals this year - 10-0.
The twins won Slams #8 and #9 at the Aussie and US Open's this year.
And 4 Masters 1000's: Rome, Madrid, Toronto and Cincinnati.
Now all that is downright Fedalian.
The boys have 2 tournies left on the year: Paris & London.
They will be looking to break there personal best of 11 titles in '07.
Do it.
Photo: I shot them signing autographs for the kids in Indian Wells in March, '10.
Ok Rafanatics you can breathe - it's not the knees.
Seems he picked up a shoulder problem practicing his serve this week.
From Rafa's statement: It is nothing to be worried about but the doctor told me I have to spend those days doing intensive treatment and functional rehabilitation with physiotherapy.
See you in London.
Photo: I took it while he practiced his serve in Indian Wells, March '10.
An empty stadium for a quarterfinal match? Not good.
It didn't look at all like this last week in Atlanta.
You may ask why I'm not there... I have an excuse - my damn back went out.
I'm hoping to be well enough tomorrow to attend.
Los Angeles ATP 250 - 2nd Round
6 Janko Tipsarevic d Somdev Devvarman - 76(9) 62
Newlywed Janko is currently ranked #46 - he has been as high as #33 in '08.
He has been to two ATP finals tho he has yet to hoist his 1st trophy.
Janko is fairly new to Twitter & is an interesting & very fun player to follow.
Tweeted that he wants to play with Novak in a wig in mixed at the Olympics.
This is Janko's 5th Qf of 2010: 3-1.
In Friday's quarterfinal he will play Marcos Baghdatis - H2H: 2-0/MB.
Photo: I took it in Indian Wells in March while he practiced with Lopez.
Arnaud Clement (below) lost a tight 3-setter to American Tim Smyczek.
Chris Guccione (below) won when Gilles Muller withdrew with injury.
Dmitry Tursunov (below) won today as he is coming back from injury.
Nick Lindahl (below) was alo a winner today.
You've been hearing his voice for some time on TC - this is Doug Adler:
This wasp popped up during the Isner/Russell match a few minutes ago.
I guess it wanted a closer look at what that Wimbledon fuss was all about.
I'm surprised the cameraman didn't shriek. I would have.
Photo: ESPN2 on my TV
Sexy and They Know It: Novak Djokovic & RedFoo Play Football Together at Indian Wells
That soccer pitch at Indian Wells is a fun way to watch these players.
Saturday I watched Nole and Redfoo knock the ball around.
All smiles and relaxed.
Novak was pushed to 3 sets in his opener against Fabio Fognini.
Time to get serious.
Posted at 09:49 AM in Celebrity, Chuck Keenum Photos, Commentary, Indian Wells, Masters Series 1000, Mens Tennis, Novak Djokovic, So Sexy Man | Permalink | Comments (0)
| Reblog (0)