Indian Wells Recap and I’m On My Way By Ricky Dimon

Written by: Staff on 8th March 2014

Indian Wells Recap and I'm On My Way By Ricky Dimon |

The Australian Open may be called “the Happy Slam,” but perhaps at no event are the players in a more jovial mood than they are at the BNP Paribas Open.

Case in point: the men’s doubles draw. An almost hard-to-believe 20 of the top 30 singles players in the world signed up to play doubles. Three members of that group (Mikhail Youzhny, Fabio Fognini and Gael Monfils) are already out, but the rest remain heading into the tournament’s first weekend. Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka are already through to round two after taking out No. 6 seeds Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi on Friday. So, too, is Andy Murray. He partnered with fellow Brit Jonathan Marray on Friday and got the best of Monfils and former top 10 player Juan Monaco.

Novak Djokovic will take the doubles court on Saturday, going up against fellow singles stars Ernests Gulbis and Milos Raonic. Even Marin Cilic—who has to be fatigued in the midst of a ton of recent tennis—and Juan Martin Del Potro—who is injured—are teaming up for dubs in Indian Wells. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Jerzy Janowicz, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Tommy Robredo, and Kevin Anderson are also in the draw.

The bottom line is these guys just can’t get enough of Indian Wells. Should they lose early in singles, they want a good excuse to stick around for a while in the desert paradise. And why not? The setting could not be better, the weather is ideal (at the moment, every day from now through next Sunday has a high between 85 and 91, a low between 56 and 64, and a zero percent chance of rain) and it is arguably the most player-friendly and fan-friendly event on tour. Add a new, luxurious Stadium 2 to the fray and this year’s installment of the BNP Paribas Open is bigger and better than ever.

“I’m happy we [played on Stadium 2],” Federer said in his post-match press conference following the first-round victory with Wawrinka. “I don’t know if it was sold out but it felt very, very full. That was a perfect feeling. It’s nice to see the game grow and see people coming out and enjoying [doubles]. It’s great. I really had a great time out there with Stan today.”

A great time should be had by all the rest of the tournament, especially during a jam-packed middle weekend. Some of the women’s seeds have already kicked off their singles campaigns and the top men’s players begin on Saturday. In fact, Saturday alone features Nadal, Federer, Wawrinka, Djokovic (vs. Gulbis and Raonic), Del Potro (with Cilic in doubles), Bob and Mike Bryan, Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Sloane Stephens, and Samantha Stosur.

And you thought the first three days were fun….

Topics: Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi, Australian Open, BNP Paribas Indian Wells, BNP Paribas Open, Fabio Fognini, Gael Monfils. Stanislas Wawrinka, Mikhail Youzhny, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rohan Bopanna, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

March 8, 2014 at 8:28 am

Indian Wells Recap and I’m On My Way By Ricky Dimon – http://t.co/IANpare4a1 @BNPPARIBASOPEN #BNPPO14 @TennisReporters @RD_Tennistalk
EastbourneEvent says:

March 8, 2014 at 8:57 am

@BNPPARIBASOPEN #indianwells
turns thoughts to #aegoninternational #eastbourne @DevonshirePark #grasscourttennis http://t.co/GZBPFudxG4
RD_Tennistalk says:

March 8, 2014 at 11:26 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Indian Wells Recap and I’m On My Way By Ricky Dimon – http://t.co/IANpare4a1 @BNPPARIBASOPEN #BNPPO14 @TennisReporters @R…