BNP Paribas Open, INDIAN WELLS, 2016

[stotty]

I have a friend who just came back from a place near Palm Springs who said the average age of the residents was around 86. He spent time in gym working out next to two guys in their 100's.

Anyway, the tennis is set to be decent as all the top players are playing the event...minus you know who. Can anyone stop Djokovic?

The draw: http://www.bnpparibasopen.com/~/medi...-11-march.ashx

[stotty]

Dodig v Zverez

The first match of the tournament I tuned into was Dodig v Zverez. Crafty that Zverez. He went 4-3 up in the third then goes for a toilet break. He comes back, breaks Dodig, then serves it out to win 6-3.

Not sure I approve...

[klacr]

Berdych vs. Del Potro in the 2nd round. Berdych nursing hamstring injury suffered in Davis Cup.

Djokovic been off since Aussie open title. Battling eye infection. He can be beaten by someone...if they do...you know what...

Raonic and Isner playing doubles together. Wonder how they decide who serves first for that tandem? Sadly, their forecourt games need some work, can't get by with just a serve, but you can get pretty damn far.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

I am curious to see how Thiem fares...

[stotty]

Curious...

I am curious to see how Thiem fares...

Me too...and I am curious to see how a handful of others will fair. Kyrgios and Zverez....

[klacr]

Kyrgios loses. Berdych takes out Delpo. My day is complete.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Them and Zverez

Well Thiem squeezed through against a dogged opponent. That Jozef Kovalik is a tough player to put away. I still feel Thiem could play closer to the baseline from the bits and bobs that I saw. He plays like he is playing on a clay court much of the time.

Zverez dispatched Dimitrov in three sets. I watched quite a bit of this match. Zverez is the real deal. His temperament is good and he can switch up defence and attack with aplomb He's improving all the time and wasn't the least bit overawed against Dimitrov. Zverez fought back from 1-3 in the third and showed far stronger temperament than his Bulgarian opponent.

Zverez is going to be going deep into the slams soon. He looks a cert.

[klacr]

I saw the Zverev match. He has some room to grow. He took out Cilic this year. Gave Berdych a run for his money in Davis Cup week before. He'll be a good one. I love watching Dominic Thiem more and more with each match. Kid just brings it. Not afraid to grind if he must, but enjoys going on the offense as well.

Djokovic not looking like Djokovic against Fratangelo at the moment.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Dimitrov vs. Zverev; Thiem vs. Kovalik…The B- game

I saw the Zverev match. He has some room to grow. He took out Cilic this year. Gave Berdych a run for his money in Davis Cup week before. He'll be a good one. I love watching Dominic Thiem more and more with each match. Kid just brings it. Not afraid to grind if he must, but enjoys going on the offense as well.

Djokovic not looking like Djokovic against Fratangelo at the moment.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I watched a bit of both matches. I must admit…both were boring beyond words. What a surprise? This is a tennis tournament…nope, it's a snooze fest. I slept extremely well after attempting to watch both of these matches. I wanted to see something of one of the matches an hour later…maybe it was I cannot even remember now. That's how boring it is.

Zverev going deep in Slams? Maybe…but there will have to be a first time, first. It is a one dimensional game now. One dimensional that the concept of control is now overwhelmingly about speed. There is nothing subtle about the way the game is played. For instance Grigor didn't bring his A game with him yesterday and he didn't have a B- game that could stand up to Zverev. I didn't think Zverev was that overwhelming.

Thiem? Only time will tell. As I said about Zverev…there will have to be a first time. Eventually there will be for somebody. Nadal is dropping by the wayside. Federer isn't even here so by definition it isn't really a tennis tournament. Murray and Djokovic only have so much time remaining.

I was impressed how Dominic did not have his A-game and he settled into his B- game to defeat a feisty and tenacious if not over achiever of an opponent. He snuck by 7-6, 7-6. The B- minus game is every bit as important as the A+…it is only a matter of when and where. Sometimes you need that sound and solid B- game in the early rounds to get you to the later rounds where you absolutely need the A+ game. You can play yourself into a tournament if you know how to let the game come to you. You bide your time…you be patient…and play yourself into form.

Dominic used his awesome backhand stroke for something other than a sledgehammer yesterday at key times. He kept the ball in play when he couldn't seize the initiative and put the ball into regions of the court where the upstart couldn't seal the deal. He was a bit clever…but only so much as the modern game allows you to be.

[stroke]

Well Thiem squeezed through against a dogged opponent. That Jozef Kovalik is a tough player to put away. I still feel Thiem could play closer to the baseline from the bits and bobs that I saw. He plays like he is playing on a clay court much of the time.

Zverez dispatched Dimitrov in three sets. I watched quite a bit of this match. Zverez is the real deal. His temperament is good and he can switch up defence and attack with aplomb He's improving all the time and wasn't the least bit overawed against Dimitrov. Zverez fought back from 1-3 in the third and showed far stronger temperament than his Bulgarian opponent.

Zverez is going to be going deep into the slams soon. He looks a cert.

Agree about Zverev. I also think he will be competing deep in Slams very, very soon. Thiem may be competing deep at the FO this year. We will see. I still think Raonic is next up for a Slam breakthrough. I would like to see any of them win way more than the annoying Krygios, who seems to have more game than any of them.

[stotty]

I was impressed how Dominic did not have his A-game and he settled into his B- game to defeat a feisty and tenacious if not over achiever of an opponent. He snuck by 7-6, 7-6. The B- minus game is every bit as important as the A+…it is only a matter of when and where. Sometimes you need that sound and solid B- game in the early rounds to get you to the later rounds where you absolutely need the A+ game. You can play yourself into a tournament if you know how to let the game come to you. You bide your time…you be patient…and play yourself into form.

From what i saw Thiem didn't quite know how to tackle Kovalik. Kovalik just plugs away, robot fashion, along the baseline hitting a good length, not giving opponents too much to work with. Against Nadal, Thiem got plenty of balls that sat up to be hit, which he loves. He didn't exactly get that against Kovalik and seemed stuck for ideas. In the end he just settled for a grind out. Like you say, he snuck through and got the job done, but Novak can throw that game at Thiem all day long so he might need to devise a better game plane for that one. Not that I saw all the match, but from what i saw that's the way it seemed.

[stotty]

Breaking through....

Agree about Zverev. I also think he will be competing deep in Slams very, very soon. Thiem may be competing deep at the FO this year. We will see. I still think Raonic is next up for a Slam breakthrough. I would like to see any of them win way more than the annoying Krygios, who seems to have more game than any of them.

Like don budge says, someone has to break through sooner or later. It would be encouraging if someone could do it now while the top four are still in their prime...or thereabouts. What would be disappointing is if the top four retire without being dethroned. It would leave a legacy that would remain unbroken forever.

[klacr]

Murray goes out. The Murray Mumbles in full effect. He's never done well in Key Biscayne. Good news...he's coming home to his 2nd home in Miami. He comfortable down here and has a finals showing from 2015 he must defend this year.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[klacr]

Nice win for Berdych against the "next generation' poster boy Borna Coric. The first set and a half Berdych looked like the #1 player in the world. Shots were heavy, deep and his movement was superb. Thumping forehands and dictating from the first ball. Then he started to think about it, made a mess of a few service games and found himself in a bit of a scrappper but regained control and took it 7-6 in second set.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

Just hope Berdych manages to break through one of these days and win a big one. He certainly deserves it.