RICKY DIMON REPORTS ON INDIAN WELLS; DONALD YOUNG JR. & STEVE JOHNSON OUT & ISNER AND SOCK STILL STANDING

Written by: Staff on 18th March 2015

RICKY DIMON REPORTS ON INDIAN WELLS; DONALD YOUNG JR. & STEVE JOHNSON OUT & ISNER AND SOCK STILL STANDING

epa04661242 Steve Johnson of USA in action against Marcel Granollers of Spain during their first round match at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 13 March 2015. EPA/PAUL BUCK |

It took a pair of top 10 players to send Donald Young Jr. and Steve Johnson packing from the BNP Paribas Open. Two of the four American men to reach the third round in Indian Wells, Young and Johnson suffered respective losses to Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych on Tuesday.

Donald Young of the US in action during his third round match against Rafael Nadal of Spain at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 17 March 2015. EPA/MIKE NELSON

Still, Young’s outstanding form continued as he added two more match victories in the desert to his 2015 total. The 25-year-old, who recently made it to the Memphis semifinals and finished runner-up in Delray Beach, advanced to the last 32 by beating Pablo Carreno Busta and Jeremy Chardy. He then fell to Nadal 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 20 minutes of play.

Young is 13-7 this season and expected to climb to approximately No. 44 in the world next week.

“Donald played very aggressive today with strange mistakes (and) winners,” Nadal reflected. “So (it) was not easy to manage how to play the match. I was able to find solutions.”

Johnson is a similar 12-7 on the year following wins over Marcel Granollers and Ivo Karlovic that preceded his loss to Berdych. The Czech was overpowering in a 6-4, 6-2 victory that began Tuesday’s schedule in Stadium 1.

The American flag is still being carried, however, by John Isner and Jack Sock. Both are making noise from just about out of nowhere. Isner had a dreadful 3-5 record in 2015 prior to Indian Wells and Sock had not played a single tournament due to injury.

Fast forward one week and both men are heating up nicely. Isner, who loves the Indian Wells conditions and finished runner-up here in 2012, rolled over Jurgen Melzer and Kevin Anderson and will face Novak Djokovic on Wednesday.

Djokovic and Isner will be facing each other for the eighth time in their careers. The head-to-head series stands at a competitive 5-2 in Djokovic’s favor. Only two of his wins have come in straight sets and both of Isner’s victories–not surprisingly–have come in the United States. The world No. 20 prevailed 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(5) in the Indian Wells semis in 2012 and 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 in the 2013 Cincinnati quarters. Their other Indian Wells encounter took place last season, when Djokovic survived a semifinal clash 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1.

That means the two remaining Americans are going up against the top two players in the world on Wednesday, because Sock is set for a date with Roger Federer. The 22-year-old has never played any member of the “Big 4,” but that is his reward for making an emotional run to the fourth round at the expense of Yen-Hsun Lu, Gilles Muller, and Roberto Bautista Agut.

Jack Sock of the USA in action against Roberto Bautista Agut from Spain during their third round match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 17 March 2015. EPA/MICHAEL NELSON

“I think the deeper I go into tournaments, singles or doubles or whatever it is, I think I play actually a little bit better,” Sock explained. So I was happy to get through the first few (matches), and now I feel pretty good.”

Good? Considering where he was the first two months of the season–injured and worried about a pneumonia-stricken brother–he has to be feeling great.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp, BNP Paribas Open, Donald Young, Indian Wells Tennis, jack sock, John Isner, Ricky Dimon, Steve Johson, Tennis

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

March 18, 2015 at 11:04 am

-@Dimonator REPORTS ON #IndianWells; @Yimlife1313 & @SJohnson_89 OUT & @JohnIsner AND @JackSock STILL STANDING – http://t.co/AdckzGoBBy
Dimonator says:

March 18, 2015 at 11:36 am

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator REPORTS ON #IndianWells; @Yimlife1313 & @SJohnson_89 OUT & @JohnIsner AND @JackSock STILL STANDING – http://t…