Men’s Quarter-Finals Set at Indian Wells.
Posted by gauloises1 on March 17, 2011
Juan Martin del Potro and Tommy Robredo we know about. But who else is in the quarter-finals? Stunningly, these three:
Neither Roger nor Rafa had a particularly easy time of it during last night’s night session – which I didn’t watch because it was in the middle of the bloody night – as Ryan Harrison and Somdev Devvarman respectively put up a good fight, but they still won in straight sets and progress. It doesn’t quite match Djokovic’s frankly terrifying 60 61 victory over Viktor Troicki, but then what does? I’m starting to idly wonder if Nole kept on being unbeatable for the next, say, two years, whether I would eventually find it boring. I don’t think so.
Rafa will face Ivo Karlovic in the quarters after the Croatian with a mission beat Albert Montanes, 76(7) 62. I must admit I haven’t watched Karlovic since he upset Ferrer earlier in the tournament, but he does seem to be doing something right. The winner of that will meet either JMDP or Robredo.
Based on the fun last night, it looks as if Djokovic’s next match might finally be a challenge for him after Richard Gasquet completely outplayed Andy Roddick for a 63 76(5) victory. I can’t really do justice to the way Gasquet played except to say that it was a beautiful, brief shining reminder of exactly why we’ve all talked about this man forever. He backhanded Roddick to death, was cool and clutch in the biggest moments, and had the American so frustrated that he tossed his racquet more than once and attempted to give the umpire a warning for “freaking ineptitude”. I can understand his emotions at being so publicly trampled upon, but he doesn’t win my respect with that attitude – particularly because I don’t think he would have behaved like that if he’d been across the net from, say, Federer. Anyway, Gasquet moves on with a well-deserved victory, and if he brings the same form to the court against Djokovic, we could have a classic.
Completing the final eight is Stan Wawrinka, who has quietly been having a dead impressive tournament, proving too good for Nikolay Davydenko, Marin Cilic and Tomas Berdych in succession. It’s hard to put your finger on what separates top-flight Stan from regular Stan, and harder still to predict if he can bring it to the court against Federer, but if he does this could be another brilliant match. All in all, it’s a sensational quarter-finals lineup with the tantalising possibility of upsets. I’m excited.
Men
Singles – Fourth Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [Q] S Devvarman (IND) 75 64
[2] R Federer (SUI) d [WC] R Harrison (USA) 76(4) 63
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d [16] V Troicki (SRB) 60 61
[12] S Wawrinka (SUI) d [7] T Berdych (CZE) 36 64 64
[18] R Gasquet (FRA) d [8] A Roddick (USA) 63 76(5)
[25] T Robredo (ESP) d [21] S Querrey (USA) 61 63
I Karlovic (CRO) d [23] A Montanes (ESP) 76(7) 62
J Del Potro (ARG) d [32] P Kohlschreiber (GER) 76(3) 76(7)
Doubles – Quarter-finals
A Dolgopolov (UKR) / X Malisse (BEL) d A Murray (GBR) / J Murray (GBR) 67(7) 63 10-8
R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK) d N Djokovic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) 61 76(5)
OOP
STADIUM 1 start 11:00 am
[1] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [8] V Azarenka (BLR) – WTA
Not Before 1:00 PM
J Del Potro (ARG) vs [25] T Robredo (ESP) – ATP
Not Before 3:00 PM
[16] M Sharapova (RUS) vs S Peng (CHN) – WTA
M Knowles (BAH) / M Mertinak (SVK) vs R Federer (SUI) / S Wawrinka (SUI) – ATP
Not Before 7:00 PM
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs I Karlovic (CRO) – ATP
D Hantuchova (SVK) / A Radwanska (POL) vs S Mirza (IND) / E Vesnina (RUS) – WTA
STADIUM 2 start :
Not Before 1:00 PM
[6] V Azarenka (BLR) / M Kirilenko (RUS) vs [8] B Mattek-Sands (USA) / M Shaughnessy (USA) – WTA – After Suitable Rest
Not Before 3:30 PM
A Dolgopolov (UKR) / X Malisse (BEL) vs R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK)
STADIUM 3 start 12:30 pm
R Turner (USA) vs V Verma (USA) – IWTG CHAMPIONSHIP 4.0
N Dechant (USA) vs R Romero (USA) – IWTG CHAMPIONSHIP 3.5
irefusetotellyou said
I don’t think Djoko or Rafar will have any problems with their QF matches, but I’m actually hoping for a good / close / challenging / all of the above Stan and Fed match.
…although what if we have another random final like last year, a la Gasquet/Robredo? With TRob winning it all!?
(granted, that’s PROBABLY not going to happen)
AmyLu said
I watched Dr. Ivo’s match against Simon, and he was playing ridiculously well. His FH was firing, his BH was holding up, and he even was rallying well (i.e. the points he won were not all either on the serve, or immediately thereafter). I only caught a glimpse yesterday of his match so I’m not sure how he played, but let’s just say Rafa’s FH needs to be much more with it today if he wants to beat Ivo (the less said about Rafa’s match yesterday, the better. Although I do want to credit Somdev — he played well, which added to the equation of why Rafa struggled). He has yet to really return well this tournament so while I think he should win, it honestly would not surprise me at all if Dr. Ivo does.
Katrina said
So, I haven’t caught any of Rafa’s matches so far in IW, so I’m not sure what his post-match victory celebration have been like, but I couldn’t help but roll me eyes/chuckle at the fact that he dropped down, sat on the ground, and fist-pumped. After a QF win. Against Ivo. In a tournament were he hasn’t faced a single seeded player (and won’t until the final!). Its like…really?? I mean, I get that being passionate is his thing, but I dunno…that seemed more like a final victory celebration?? I just noted it, b/c Bartoli got some twitter flack for dropping to her knees in celebration after her QF win and a lot of people were like…really?? as well.
That said, I was really impressed by Ivo here (barring the 2nd set lapse). A few better returns, and who knows? Now onwards to the SF! I mean – this is the first Top-5 player he’s facing since his return. I have no idea what to expect, but its just interesting that pretty much two years ago exactly, JMDP beat his first Top 5 player: Rafa in Miami
naughty T....urbane gentleman said
well after Rafa’s ungracious comments about Somdev nothing should surprise us… expect a brass band and fireworks if he beats Del Potro. Big time ugh from me.
irefusetotellyou said
“brass band” reminds me of
WHEN THE PARAAAADE PASSES BYYY
LISTEN AND HEAR THAT BRASS HARMONY GROWING
WHEN THE PARAAAADE PASSES BYYYY
PARDON ME IF MY OLD SPIRITS ARE SHOWING
I could sing more (well, “sing”) but I won’t.
Katrina said
Yeah, the comments about Somdev reminded me a little about the comments he made after losing to Del Potro in Miami in 2009.
Anyway, haven’t seen any twitter flack (I’m mkd4z on twitter, btw!) about the celebration. I’ve seen it called cute, and an exemplification of Rafa’s intense will to win. But eh – wasn’t expecting any, anyway. Sorry – no offense to Rafa or his fans. Just kind of annoyed and grumbly about it….
sophienz said
Sorry if this has been mentioned on another post, but I love the new tagline for the blog
naughty T....urbane gentleman said
God I had not even noticed… doh..excellent.