GLOBAL CHICK REPORTS IN FROM INDIAN WELLS TENNIS , FEDERER WINS , RAFA LOSES AND SERENA PULLS OUT

Written by: Global Chick on 21st March 2015

GLOBAL CHICK REPORTS IN FROM INDIAN WELLS TENNIS , FEDERER WINS , RAFA LOSES AND SERENA PULLS OUT

epa04672183 Rafael Nadal of Spain in action during his quarterfinal match against Milos Raonic of Canada at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 20 March 2015. EPA/DANIEL MURPHY |

A night of Surprises

Despite the drama of at least two of the matches on Friday, the biggest shock was reserved for perhaps the biggest star, as 14 years to the that day, Serena Williams had to withdraw from her semi-final match.

The biggest difference from that day was that social media had already grabbed the information and run rampant with it while the other semi-final was being played between Jelena Jankovic and Sabine Lisicki.

Serena Williams of USA blows a kiss to spectators after withdrawing from her semifinal match against Simona Halep of Romania due to a knee injury at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 20 March 2015. EPA/MICHAEL NELSON

Walking out to make the announcement, there is no denying some boos could be heard high up in the stands, but by and large the reception was warm. The announcer did his job cleverly. He talked about 40 years of the tournament, the impact that Williams had made just a week before when she walked out to play for the first time since winning the title as a 19-year-old, and in fact we were hard pushed to hear anything about not playing other than chat about the injury, thanking the crowd for their support and seeing them next year.

So much so, the announcer had to reiterate, in the best traditions of entertainment from our childhoods, ‘That’s all Folks’.

After the announcement, she said in her press conference: “I was just on the practice court two days ago, day and a half ago, yesterday, and everything was going good. Literally last two couple minutes of practice I went for a serve and I just felt a super sharp pain in my knee.

“It was like, Okay, and I served again. I felt it again. I just came off, and it hasn’t been the same since. I have done everything. Like I have just pretty much done everything from taping to research and I even did an injection. I have never done an injection before.

“I think if this was any other event I probably wouldn’t have considered it. I wanted to give 200%. It just wasn’t meant to be this year.”

She vowed to return saying: “It’s a must.”

Then there were the men, and the gatecrasher to the party!

There can be no doubt that the spectre of playing any of the Big Four must weigh on the minds of the chasing pack, and surely Tomas Berdych feels he deserves to be at the head of that. Perhaps after his “worst” performance this year, he may think again. Before hoards of fans jump on me for kicking Berdych when he is down, let me clarify. The Czech has made it to the semi-finals or higher of everything he has played in this year, and bows out in the quarter-finals of biggest tournament outside of the Slams to the former World No. 1, current World No. 2 and a 17-time Grand Slam champion – so there is no shame in that loss whatsoever.

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action during his quarter-final match against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 20 March 2015. EPA/DANIEL MURPHY

Federer was almost brutal in his tennis lesson delivery on Friday. As Berdych ruefully admitted, everything was just perfect on the Federer front.

“I think I really played well off the baseline. I had control from the baseline, and then I guess what he would have needed today is really high first‑serve percentage and a lot of aces when he had to keep the pressure on me that way. Because I was serving well and moving well, so maybe there is not going to be that many chances for him on the return as it is. But at least he could have stayed with me longer, and as the match goes on maybe he would have also found his groove better.

“I felt like I was hitting the ball well but also playing the right way. When those two things happen, it was always going to be tough for him because the conditions are slower than they were against him in Dubai and other places. I think I was really able to utilise the court much more, play more angles, you know, play with variation, spin and slice. I did that very well. So it was a great match to back it up after the good matchup against Sock I had against the other day.”

Would we have the same in the next match, as Milos Raonic gamely prepared to be cannon-fodder once more to Nadal’s lasso-whip forehand? Oh the feeling of inevitability when the Canadian was broken even before the first sit-down.

And yes, OK so he went toe-to-toe with him in the second set, but surely the young whippersnapper of the immaculately coiffured bonce would cave under the pressure. Not so.

With two set points in the second set on Nadal’s serve, and needing three more in the tie-break, Raonic grabbed just his second set off the Spaniard, and kept hanging in there until a loose game from Nadal put him in the driving seat at 6-5. This chick has been railing for quite some time about Raonic only depending on his serve, but if ever there was a time for it to come good it was now, edging the decider, for a 4-6 7-6(10) 7-5 triumph that pits him against Federer for the second time this year.

Rafael Nadal of Spain in action during his quarter-final match against Milos Raonic of Canada at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 20 March 2015. EPA/PAUL BUCK

Last time he was but a bit part player to the grand spectacle of Federer’s 1000th win, but this time, it feels as though the playing field might be a little more level. That being said, the come-down after such a big win for him over Nadal hopefully will not leave the Canadian too flat to take the fight to the Swiss.

Raonic said: “I’ve just got to keep calm, keep collected, and just try to figure out solutions and adjustments as they come.”

Something tells us we are a long way from being done with drama yet…………..

Topics: BNP Paribas Open, global chick, Indian Wells Tennis, milos raonic, Rafa, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

March 21, 2015 at 9:04 am

GLOBAL CHICK REPORTS IN FROM #IndianWells #TENNIS, @rogerfederer WINS, @RafaelNadal LOSES AND #Serena PULLS OUT http://t.co/wsEsZEKRq6