STARS
Victoria Azarenka beat Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-3 to win the BNP Paribas Open women’s singles in Indian Wells, California, USA
Roger Federer beat John Isner 7-6 (7) 6-3 to win the men’s singles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA
Frank Dancevic beat Igor Andreev 7-6 (4) 6-3 to win the Dallas Tennis Classic in Dallas, Texas, USA
Aleksandra Wozniak beat Alize Cornet 6-4 7-5 to win The Bahamas Open in Nassau, Bahamas
Thiago Alves beat Paolo Lorenzi 6-3 7-6 (4) to win the Aeromexico Jalisco Open in Guadalajara, Mexico
John McEnroe defeated Magnus Larsson 6-3 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreak) to win the Kings of Tennis by Index International in Stockholm, Sweden
SAYING
“I was not feeling great for five days overall and I definitely got lucky at the beginning of the tournament. But I was able to come through, and so convincingly at the end. I’ve really played amazing these last three matches in particular, so I couldn’t be more happy.” – Roger Federer, after winning the BNP Paribas Open men’s singles.
“I never dreamed about that. It is amazing. I am so glad I am able to be consistent, disciplined and professional every day.” – Victoria Azarenka, after winning the BNP Paribas women’s singles to run her season-opening winning streak to 23 consecutive matches, third best on the women’s tour since the Open Era began in 1968.
“Right now we’re just playing well. When we step on the court we feel the other team is going to have to play really well to beat us, whether or not there are tough conditions. We’ve proven that over the past few weeks. And even if anyone ever thinks we’re down and out, we’ll find a way to win.” – Lisa Raymond, after teaming with Liezel Huber to win their fourth doubles title of the year.
“At the end I found a way, dug deep and came through. It’s really important. These are the wins that almost feel better, to be quite honest, because when you’re playing great, it’s simple, it’s easy, right? But when it’s not going your way and things are difficult, that’s kind of the good wins.” – Roger Federer, after beating Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 3-6 6-3 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.
“If I relax my butt a little bit, somebody’s gonna come and kick it.” – Victoria Azarenka, explaining why she is continually changing her game to make her a better player.
“Me and Bjorn have a great relationship. We obviously go way back and in a way I think we’re more friendly than ever. We don’t have to play against one another in Wimbledon Finals anymore, so it makes it easier.” – John McEnroe, who won a seniors tournament in Stockholm, Sweden, with Bjorn Borg in the audience.
“I want to explain my position on the row and confirm above all that I am, of course, not racist. Everyone who knows me personally knows that very well. I want to say, ‘Sorry!’” – Michael Llodra, writing on his website after directing a racial slur at a fan at Indian Wells.
“Before coming here I did not know much about how the classes were going to be and there have been classes that will help us a lot in the circuit. I also think that the interaction with the players and the people that teach the classes is very good. On top of that we go to have dinner to very good restaurants.” – Roberto Bautista-Agut, after graduating from the ATP University.
SWISS MASTER
It was the Roger Federer of old who defeated John Isner to win the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA. With the win, Federer equaled Rafael Nada’s record of 19 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles and became the first player to claim four titles in the California desert, breaking the tie he had with Jimmy Connors and Michael Chang. The title was the Swiss master’s third straight on the ATP World Tour, having won ATP World Tour 500 tournaments in Rotterdam and Dubai. He extended his winning streak to 15 straight matches and increased his record since losing in the 2011 US Open semifinals to 39-2. His only losses were to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semifinals and to Isner in Davis Cup action. He beat them both at Indian Wells. Despite the loss, Isner moved into the top 10 in the rankings for the first time.
STOMPING SHARAPOVA
Victoria Azarenka had no problems proving her number one ranking is for real. For the second time in six weeks the Belarusian crushed Maria Sharapova in the title match. The first time was at the Australian Open and moved Azarenka into the number one spot. This time she rushed past Sharapova 6-2 6-3 for the women’s singles title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The victory ran Azarenka’s match winning total to 23-0, the best start to a WTA season since Martina Hingis won 37 in a row in 1997 and the third best in the Open Era. “I was just trying to do my best because I know Maria is fighting,” Azarenka said. “I always try to stay focused and apply as much pressure as I can.” It was more pressure than Sharapova could handle as Azarenka won her fourth title of 2012 and a USD $1 million winner’s check. It was the first time in four years that the world’s top two-ranked players met in a WTA Tour final. Azarenka was competing in her sixth consecutive final.
SURPRISING SEMIFINAL
The men’s semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open didn’t go along with the rankings. First, John Isner shocked world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7) 3-6 7-6 (5). Then Roger Federer knocked off number two Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-4. Isner’s first victory over a world number one ensured that he moved into the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time. The 24-year-old Djokovic lost his second straight semifinal; he fell last month to Andy Murray in Dubai. “It was very special when that last ball went by him and I knew I had won the match,” Isner said of his win over Djokovic. “Not many people can say they’ve ever beaten the number one player in the world.”
SWEDISH KING
Even at the age of 53, John McEnroe has a winning game. The left-hander defeated Magnus Larsson 6-3 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreak) to win the inaugural Kings of Tennis by Index International in Stockholm, Sweden. To reach the final, McEnroe bested Pat Cash, Mikael Pernfors and Thomas Muster. Larsson, who is nine years younger than McEnroe, posted victories over Goran Ivanisevic and Stefan Edberg before running into the American. The victory puts McEnroe alongside Carlos Moya at the top of the South African Airways Rankings. “I’ve had a great week,” McEnroe said. “Stockholm is a beautiful city, it brings back a lot of memories and this was a good way to end the week. Magnus is obviously playing well because he already beat Goran and Stefan this week, so I knew it would be tough. But when it comes down to breakers you always have a good shot, and luckily I didn’t make any errors in the decider. The final went down to the wire but it helps me out that it’s just a tiebreaker for the third set and I was able to produce some of my best tennis when it mattered.” Watching the final was McEnroe’s old rival, Bjorn Borg. “I’ve seen a lot of him this week which has been nice,” McEnroe said. “I can’t come to Stockholm without seeing Bjorn. That’s against the rules.”
SPANISH GOLD
Although Rafael Nadal was beaten by Roger Federer in the singles semifinals, the Spanish left-hander didn’t leave Indian Wells without a trophy. Nadal teamed with fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez to win the BNP Paribas Open doubles, downing Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey 6-2 7-6 (3). “It’s been a very good tournament for me,” said Nadal. “Finishing the two weeks with the victory is the best way to finish, even if its doubles, not singles. I’m playing well and I’m happy about most of the things that happened these past two weeks.” Lopez and Nadal also won the Indian Wells title in 2009, and are now 4-0 in finals. They also teamed to win the season opener in Doha in 2008 and 2011.
STOPPED BY INJURY
A doctor visit and rest for a couple of days in what’s on Ana Ivanovic’s schedule. The former French Open champion injured her left hip during her semifinal match against Maria Sharapova at Indian Wells. Sharapova was leading 6-4 0-1 when Ivanovic halted play. “I was really feeling hopeless because there was no way I could play at that level,” Ivanovic said. “I started to feel it in the middle of the first set. I did not actually feel like there was anything I pulled, it just gradually got worse and worse.” Ivanovic called for an injury timeout late in the first set with Sharapova leading 5-4. She left the court with a trainer to get treatment, then returned for Sharapova’s final service game in the first set. Ivanovic held serve in the opening game of the second set. Two points into the next game she walked to the umpire’s chair and tearfully left the court. It was the first time Ivanovic and Sharapova played since the Australian Open final in 2008, which Sharapova won.
STREAK TO 16
Extending their winning streak to 16 matches, Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond captured the BNP Paribas Open doubles title, downing Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina 6-2 6-3. The top seeds, the American pair added their latest title to their wins at Paris, Doha and Dubai last month. Still, it wasn’t an easy run to the championship. They saved two match points in their second-round win over Marina Erakovic and Monica Niculescu. “Our run has been unbelievable,” Raymond said. “We’ve come close to losing at times, but we’ve worked very hard, and the hard work has been showing in our great results.” Raymond has now won the Indian Wells doubles title seven times with four different partners – three times with Lindsay Davenport, twice with Samantha Stosur and once each with Rennae Stubbs and Huber. It was the first time Huber has won in Indian Wells. “I’ve never even played on center court here before,” Huber said. “I had never really made it out of the early rounds before this. It’s just amazing, this is an amazing tournament and the people here are so supportive of doubles.” Huber has won 52 WTA doubles titles, 15th best on the Open Era list. Raymond now has 78 WTA doubles titles, putting her sixth on the list and just two behind Natasha Zvereva.
SINO CLASH
It may have been played on an outside court, but a third-round match between eighth-ranked Li Na and 34th-ranked Zheng Jie was big news in China. Not surprising, given their rankings, Li won 6-1 6-3. What was surprising was that it was the first time the 30-year-old Li has beaten her 28-year-old opponent in five matches. And even more surprising since they have been China’s top two women singles players for the past decade was that it was their first WTA Tour meeting in almost six years. Zheng beat Li in the final at Estoril, Portugal, in 2006. Since then Li has become the first Asian-born player to win a Grand Slam singles title when she captured the French Open last year.
STRETCHES MARK
Roger Federer’s victory over Juan Martin del Potro was his 250th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 match win, extending his own record. Federer needed only 69 minutes to defeat his Argentine foe, who beat Federer in the 2009 US Open final. “This was definitely a great match,” said Federer. “I sort of expected myself to come out and play a good match today after the struggle I had against (Thomaz) Bellucci. I don’t usually struggle back-to-back days, so this was for me a really good match against a great player.” Federer improved his career record against del Potro to 11-2.
SORRY FOR SLUR
Insisting he’s not a racist, Michael Llodra apologized for directing a racial slur at a fan during a match in Indian Wells. The ATP fined the 31-year-old Frenchman USD $2,500 after his outburst during his opening match against Ernest Gulbis. According to Canadian journalist tom Tebbutt, who witnessed the incident, Llodra called a female Gulbis supporter in the crowd a “(bleep)ing Chinese.” Llodra didn’t dispute Tebbutt’s reporting, writing on his website: “Sometimes when things are not going as I planned, my irritation makes me swear, stupidly. … My immense frustration made me slip verbally. I really want to say sorry if I offended the Chinese community.” Tournament officials said Llodra was also verbally abusive towards the ball persons and their coordinator during the match. Besides the fine, Llodra was told to apologize.
SIGNATURE POSITION
Jorge Andrew, a former Venezuelan Davis Cup player and captain, is the new president of the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) board of directors. Andrew becomes the first Latino to serve as president of a major tennis organization in the United States. He is director of operations of the Lexington Recreation and Aging Committee in Lexington, South Carolina, USA. A PTR member for more than 32 years, Andrew is a master professional, clinician and tester. He played on the ATP tour for more than 10 years and now serves on the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Paralympic committees.
SPECIAL RINGS
Three members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame are the latest to receive their official Hall of Fame rings. In a special ceremony at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA, rings were given to Rod Laver, Rosie Casals and Mark Woodforde. Laver was inducted into the Newport, Rhode Island, USA, shrine in 1981, Casals in 1996 and Woodforde in 2010. “Fifty years after his first Grand Slam victory in 1962, we’re so pleased to celebrate Rod Laver this year by presenting him with his official Hall of Fame ring,” said Christopher Clouser, chairman of the International Tennis Hall; of Fame & Museum. Also participating in the ring ceremony was Charlie Pasarell, tournament chairman, and Steve Simon, tournament director. The personalized rings were introduced last year and are being presented to Hall of Famers at tennis events around the world over the next few years as a special symbol of their Hall of Fame induction. The personalized rings have been underwritten by The Bruce T. Halle Family of Scottsdale, Arizona, USAA. Laver is the only player to have twice achieved a Grand Slam – winning all four major singles titles in the same year, in 1962 and 1969. In addition, the Australian captured six major titles in doubles and three in mixed, and he played an integral role in leading the Australian Davis Cup team to victory four times. One of “The Original Nine,” Casals won 12 major titles in doubles and mixed doubles, and won 112 doubles titles. Woodforde teamed with fellow Australian Todd Woodbridge to form one of the greatest doubles teams of all time.
SICK BAY
Tournament officials said eight players withdrew from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA, because of a widespread viral infection. The two biggest names affected were reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and former French Open winner Francesca Schiavone. The Italian withdrew from her third-round match while trailing Lucie Safarova 6-2. Kvitova, pulled out of her women’s doubles match citing a stomach bug. Among others who called out sick were Frenchman Gael Monfils and Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. Roger Federer, who went on to win the men’s singles, said he was not feeling well at the beginning of the tournament but managed to win his opening match.
SCHOOL FOR PLAYERS
Young Australian star Bernard Tomic was among 18 players to graduate in the latest class at the ATP University in Miami, Florida, USA. In several seminars, the players are educated on topics such as marketing the tour, social media, media training, personal finance, rules and regulations, and giving back to their communities and the sport. “It’s a good couple of days to educate us with stuff that we don’t really hear every single day,” said American Denis Kudla. “How to manage our money, how to do interviews, and just figure out things that go on outside the tennis court. It’s good to know what’s happening. Others graduating were American Ryan Harrison; Australians Matthew Ebden and Marinko Matosevic; Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut and David Marero; Japan’s Tatsuma Ito and Yuichi Sugita; Juan Sebastian Cabal of Colombia; Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil; Treat Conrad Huey of the Philippines; Benoit Paire of France; Germany’s Cedrik-Marcel Stebe; Italy’s Simone Vagnozzi; James Ward of Great Britain; and Grega Zemlja of Slovenia.
SURGERY FOR JIMBO
Carlos Moya has replaced Jimmy Connors in the field for the BNP Paribas Zurich Open this week after Jimbo was forced to withdraw because of a hip injury. Connors is expected to undergo surgery. Others in the Swiss tournament include Marat Safin, Pat Cash, Michael Stich, Tim Henman, Mark Philippoussis and Henri Leconte.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Dallas: Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky beat Bobby Reynolds and Michael Russell 6-4 6-3
Guadalajara: James Cerretani and Adil Shamasdin beat Tomasz Bednarek and Olivier Charroin 7-6 (5) 6-1
Indian Wells (men): Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-2 6-0
Indian Wells (women): Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond beat Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina 6-2 6-3
Nassau: Janette Husarova and Katalin Marosi beat Eva Birnerova and Anne Keothavong 6-1 3-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)
SURFING
Miami: www.sonyericssonopen.com
Stockholm: www.kingsoftennis.com
Zurich: www.zurichopen.net
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$3,973,050 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)
WOMEN
$4,828,050 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)
SENIORS
BNP Paribas Zurich Open, Zurich, Switzerland, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$3,973,050 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (second week)
$100,000 Orange Open Guadeloupe Challenger, Le Gosier, Guadeloupe, hard
WOMEN
$4,828,050 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (second week)