2015 BNP Paribas Open…ATP 1000...Indian Wells, California USA

[don_budge]

They are all here. Roger Federer looking to be a factor once more. It's two out of three and he is coming off of an inspiring win over Novak Djokovic in Dubai. Rafael Nadal is showing up…I am praying for a match with Roger.

This tournament normally draws at least 90% of the top 50 players in the world. Juan Martin Del Potro has given notice that he will not play. I can't wait to see the draw. Everybody's coming…even you know who.

[stotty]

They are all here. Roger Federer looking to be a factor once more. It's two out of three and he is coming off of an inspiring win over Novak Djokovic in Dubai. Rafael Nadal is showing up…I am praying for a match with Roger.

This tournament normally draws at least 90% of the top 50 players in the world. Juan Martin Del Potro has given notice that he will not play. I can't wait to see the draw. Everybody's coming…even you know who.

I like Indian Wells. For me, it's when the season truly gets underway. I quite fancy a Federer v Nadal showdown too...could be interesting.

[klacr]

All about the Berd! Berdych.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Possibilities and Gumption…The draw sheet soon to tell a story.

All about the Berd! Berdych.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Yep…it's all about Tomas Berdych and the path that he must take. But there are a couple of other guys that think it's all about them too.

For me…it's all about Roger Federer. The Living Proof.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2015/404/mds.pdf

You have to like a possible matchup with Andreas Seppi and Roger Federer in the third round…a second round with Jerzy "Joe" Janowicz wouldn't be something to sneeze at either. I wonder if that kind of match can get the juices flowing in the old boy…I hope so because a hot Janowicz could be just as dangerous as the next guy. That possible Roger Federer/Stan Wawrinka quarterfinal matchup looks awfully enticing. But there are always the possibilities. The proof will be in the pudding. Who has the gumption?

[don_budge]

Practice courts on view...

Maybe of some interest…what do the pros do when they practice? Do they actually practice camping out on the baseline? Running around their backhands?

http://www.drakulastream.eu/tennis-live-streaming-video.html

[don_budge]

The Million Dollar Question...

Is…how fast are the courts playing? Traditionally they are among the slowest of the hard courts, aren't they? This is a huge factor now. Looming large.

[don_budge]

The Berd...

All about the Berd! Berdych.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Ok…let's just say for a moment it is all about Berdych. What klacr…do you think of the match against Sergei Stakhovsky?

[klacr]

Ok…let's just say for a moment it is all about Berdych. What klacr…do you think of the match against Sergei Stakhovsky?

Well, Berdych does have a 4-0 head to head record against the Ukranian. Stakhovsky has only won two out of the ten sets they have played. Berdych does well against attacking players like Stakhovsky because for Berdych it gives him a target and simplifies his options. Would I be happy to see Stakhovsky take his serve and volley game into the third round? Sure. But not as happy as I'll be when Berdych is holding the winner's trophy at the end of this event.

Court is playing pretty slow.gonna tough for that ball to bite and skid. Stakhovsky is going to have to come in off booming ground strokes or slices that he absolutely knifes. Any ball sitting in Berdych's strike zone will be pulverized. Aside from Federer, Berdych the best ball striker on tour.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Stakhovsky and Serena…and Wawrinka

Well, Berdych does have a 4-0 head to head record against the Ukranian. Stakhovsky has only won two out of the ten sets they have played. Berdych does well against attacking players like Stakhovsky because for Berdych it gives him a target and simplifies his options. Would I be happy to see Stakhovsky take his serve and volley game into the third round? Sure. But not as happy as I'll be when Berdych is holding the winner's trophy at the end of this event.

Court is playing pretty slow.gonna tough for that ball to bite and skid. Stakhovsky is going to have to come in off booming ground strokes or slices that he absolutely knifes. Any ball sitting in Berdych's strike zone will be pulverized. Aside from Federer, Berdych the best ball striker on tour.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I'll accept that…good and comprehensive answer. Maybe a little speculative about the "second best ball striker on tour". But your comment about the speed of the courts is telling. I'm curious…there should be some kind or measuring device that the tournament can announce for instance…"the courts are playing to a measurement of 3.7 on the don_budge courtspeed meter".

I really think that a Berdych vs. Wawrinka will be entertaining and Wawrinka may want to argue the point about ball striking when he takes to the court.

For all of you Serena Williams fans…some drama for the trauma.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/14/us/serena-williams-indian-wells-return/index.html

Serena sure is a one in a million…or two. The phoniest personality that I have ever personally witnessed…and I've seen a few. Think Holden Caulfield. The word "disingenuous" comes to mind.

[don_budge]

Early round action…2015 BNP Paribas Open. Yawnnn…..

Was there any matches of any interest whatsoever in the second round of the 2015 BNP Parabas Open at Indian Wells? I'm asking…it didn't appear to be anything. Anything remotely of interest. Yawn.

How about in the bottom half? It's a bit more interesting isn't it? There is always Roger Federer and anybody. In this case it is Diego Schwartzman. There is always the aforementioned Tomas Berdych vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky.

How about Stan Wawrinka against Robin Hasse? I increasingly like watching Stan Wawrinka…all of the attention his backhand brings to the one-handed backhand approach to the game is nothing but good. Besides the article last month is helping me to drive my very own…so it's all about me. But which Stan will show up? Donald Young gets another look at another door…this time it is Jeremy Chardy. Another stepping stone earns him a shot against Fafa Nadal…that would be a great time to measure his place in the food chain of professional tennis. He's earned a match such as that with all of his efforts recently…and his relative successes.

It seems that the bottom half is much more entertaining at this stage of the tournament…let's just see how things develop. But there is one match that on paper is quite intriguing not that it will live up to any expectations. But surely Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov are the most compelling matchup on paper. My oh my…what Grigor wouldn't do for a victory here. It seemed that Grigor was making a nice steep climb up the ladder over the past year…not without his stumbles and lurches. But recently he has followed the "real thing" (aka RF) in switching his equipment and he doesn't seem to be all that comfortable with it. But he better settle in real quick because this fellow Kyrgios is fully intent upon kicking some serious ass and taking names. He wants BIG names too…not just your run of the mill touring pros. He wants to take down the elite…because he thinks he can. Dimitrov best be on his toes here because Nick is smelling the fear in his opponents these days. He's a big guy and he's got attitude.

Other than that…it is all about Roger Federer. He is the glue that holds the whole thing together. Without his name in the draw the whole thing loses it's appeal and there isn't any apparent successor on the horizon. That is a scary thought…the tour without a main draw. Novak Djokovic is a fine player…Nadal is Nadal. But there isn't anyone with box office appeal…unless of course you are just a die hard tennis fan willing to settle for what is dished up to you. Many are…you know.

[klacr]

Wawrinka down a set to Haase. Don't start thinking ahead to a match with Berdych until Stan the Man gets past the big hitting dutchman.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Nice place...

Nice looking place that Indian Wells. I was looking at the photos on their website. The backdrop is lovely. Has the place been carved out of the desert or something? It looks like the place is set in the middle of nowhere?

[don_budge]

It's all about you-know-who…Andreas Seppi

Wawrinka down a set to Haase. Don't start thinking ahead to a match with Berdych until Stan the Man gets past the big hitting dutchman.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I was right about one thing…the bottom half has it all over the top half. At least in the early rounds.

Grigor Dimitrov certainly had all that he could handle with Nick Kyrgios. He won the first set 7-6 which didn't seem to faze Kyrgios in the least. He rather nonchalantly won the second and I went to sleep for the third. Dimitrov won in a tie-breaker. Kyrgios is a compelling character. He came out on the court wearing a big set of headphones…God knows what he was listening to. This guy is a loose cannon with heavy emphasis on loose and cannon. He was so relaxed and casual in the warmup and he never looked to tighten up overall. Sure he played a couple of nervous points, but overall he is unfazed by an opponent as competent as Dimitrov. Dimitrov scrambled and threw everything he had at Kyrgios and barely scraped out a victory. Kyrgios has not a care for the traditional Australian makeup of the old classic player. It's a thing of the past.

I watched Donald Young take down a good seed in Jeremy Chardy. Straight sets and now he has earned a match against Nadal. It may be just slightly interesting…maybe more. Who knows? Young has definitely gone to work on his head over the last year. His approach has been pretty darn methodical and he has taken things one step at a time. One match at a time. Guess what…it's working. He's squarely in the moment and he knows the score. So he is aware of what he is up against and he is doing his best to prepare for the moment he steps out on the court with Nadal. I think that is very interesting in itself. It's squarely up to Donald now as to if he can make an interesting match out of it. Being there is only half the deal. The other half is taking care of "bidness".

Stan Wawrinka down. Missed it entirely…sound asleep. Robin Hasse had lost six straight times to Stan but of the six, five were dog fights. It was a matter of time and a matter of which Wawrinka showed up. Too bad about the missed opportunity to see Berdych play Stan. It might be one of the few opponents that can color up Tomas. Tomas by the way…straight setted the Ukrainian serve and volley hopeful…Sergiy Stakhovsky.

But in the end this tournament is all about one man…at least in the don_budge Gold Mine. It's all about Roger. He has sealed a date with Andreas Seppi and I wonder…how many opponents have beaten Roger twice in a row? Can Seppi add his name to that list?

[stotty]

Good performance from Murray over Kohlshreiber. The blip in the middle didn't seem to mean much. He really is covering the court so well that it must be hard to know how to get through him if you are his opponent. His shot tolerance is as high as anyone out there.

This optimum weight stuff has improved Murray's agility and speed. Nadal has also opted to find his optimum weight so it will be interested to see if he is moving any quicker also.

[bottle]

A Negative Experience

I'll say this if no one else will. Tennis Channel decided to have three of its prominent announcers, Justin Gimelstob, Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport coach three prominent players, John Isner, Agniezka Radawanska, and Madison Keys. Result: the three players lost prominent matches that in each case they should have won. (Am talking Davis Cup in the case of Isner.)

How could this happen? Easily. Coaching like conception should take place in the dark.

The three coaches stayed prominent as announcers. That meant they were prominent as announcers and coaches at the same time.

Any one of them probably would have been a more successful coach if he or she had maintained a lower profile. Pity the players for biting on this ridiculous scheme. Tennis Channel should learn the lesson of this. Especially since Paul Annacone and Sloane Stephens had the exact same experience last year.