Indian Wells wrapup

Men's tournament

Result

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal disposed of Andy Murray 6-1, 6-2 despite the windy conditions, to recapture the BNP Paribas Open title, being the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament of the 2009 season, at Indian Wells.

Analysis

Here are some of observations and analysis on some players from the tournament.

Rafael Nadal - There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Nadal is the best player on the tour at the moment. Not only was he able to handle the windy conditions in the final, he actually worked out a way to use the wind to his advantage against a determined Murray. His win over Nabandian, whom he has never beaten before, in the fourth round, and saving five match points in the match, showed his determination, will-power and self-belief, qualities that will make him a threat in any tournaments he enters.

Roger Federer - Apart from Nadal being his nemesis, let's now add Murray to the list. Andy Murray has beaten the great Federer four times in a roll since losing to Federer in the US Open final of last year. Federer's untimely unforced errors actually cost him the semi-final match, and such errors may stem from his mental fear of opponents like Nadal and Murray. The advent of his new baby does not really help his cause to regaining his dominance (see my earlier blog).

Novak Djokovic - Defending champion losing to Andy Roddick in the QFs. It is amazing to witness his fall from popularity over the past year, from being the joker and imitating other tennis players to the delight of fans, to a player who is now perceived by fans as lacking in sporsmanship and this is evident by his comments after his QF match:
“Overall it was a very bad day. There's not much to say. He played very solid. I mean, he didn't do anything special. It was all me making incredible amount of unforced errors. I just didn't have any momentum on the court. No feel for the ball, no movement. Just no solutions.”

Andy Murray - If he continues to play the way he has been in the past few months, he will no doubt rise to No. 2 in the world behind Nadal before the US Open this year.

Andy Roddick - A steady resurgence after losing the pounds during the off season. Have reached at least the SF of all 5 tournaments he played this year.

Women's event

Results

Russia's Vera Zvonareva defeated Ana Invanoic 7-6(5) 6-2 to win the BNP Paribas Open. She also won the doubles tournament.

Analysis

Here are some of observations and analysis from the tournament.

Williams sisters - Despite the WTA's tough talks of making four premier tournaments compulsory for Top 10 players, the Williams sisters continual snub of this mandatory event did not attract a suspension from the WTA. Instead, their penalty is to participate in some promotional activities down the road. You just wonder whether WTA is too scared to actually suspend top players for missing their premier events.

Top 6 players - Apart from the Williams sisters, none of the world's other top 6 female players (Safina, Jankovic, Dementieva and Zvonareva) have won a single grand slam title between them.

Victoria Azarenka - Although losing to Zvonareva in the SF, she has already having won two titles this year, making her one of the players to keep an eye out for in 2009.