OnCourt at
The Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells 2006
PACIFIC LIFE OPEN AT INDIAN WELLS 2006: TOURNAMENT RETROSPECT
OnCourtTennis.com’s experience at The Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells was sensational. Our behind the scenes look of what is becoming the "5th Grand Slam" tennis event of the year is a remarkable testament of tennis at its finest. The mens, womens and doubles finals had all the marquee match-ups. The facilities are world class and the people behind the scenes at the event are first rate. For example, the media center is impressive like probably the inside of NASA's Houston control. Very state of the art and impressive. Most importantly, the tournament lived up to the hype. You get the impression that the players love coming to the desert because they get to relax a bit as well. Our photographer Harvey Rubin was able to capture the players expressions with his brilliant photos and we encourage you to check out 2006 Pacific Life Open gallery as a result. I chronicled the second week of the tournament and it was my ambition to present a "behind the scenes" approach to the players. Please read the articles and check it out.
3-17-06 -- USA TENNIS NEEDS BLAKE AND BLAKE IS EVERYTHING THAT IS GOOD IN TENNIS.
James
Blake with his semifinal victory today at Indian Wells has now claimed an
ATP ranking of #10 in the world. A year ago he was struggling in a
challenger in Mississippi. If you ever get to meet him he will impress you
with his Federer-like graciousness and class. Blake is an ordinary person
who has life in perspective after experiencing tragedies of a serious
illness, a broken neck and his father's death all in the same year. Last
year, he came back at the US OPEN and made a statement. At Indian Wells, he
has continued his excellence and he claims that he is more calm on the court
because he realizes that tennis is a finite career in the scheme of life.
Subsequently, he is winning. At the press conference, Vic Braden recognized
a similar player who came back to play even better after injury. That
player was Arthur Ashe. It is not by coincidence that Blake is drawing
these comparisons by the media. I now see why. Blake is everything that is
good in tennis.
3-16-06 -- REPEAT WINNERS. NO COINCIDENCE.
At his press conference today, Roger Federer admitted that his match against Ljubicic was the best match he has played all year. That is a frightening admission because Federer is so modest and so dead-on correct!
He mentioned that beating an opponent like Ljubicic in straight sets is no simple task and that it is a great marker of where his game stands. Already in the semis, Roger is probably secure in achieving his 3rd straight Indian Wells tournament. From the start of the match he was on and he makes it looks so easy. If its Nadal, Baghdatis or Blake it will not matter because Roger is so dialed-in and because this surface suits him so well. Also it is hard not to notice that Doubles specialists the Bryan Brothers, Knowles/Nestor and Bjorkman/Mirnyi are always making it to the semis of their last several tournaments, including this one. In 2006, the ATP has made it more difficult for these doubles teams with the new scoring format.
Nevertheless, these same teams are still rising to the top. Like Federer their continued success is no coincidence...
3-15-06 -- DOUBLES: EXPLOSIVE TENNIS AT ITS FINEST.
While Roddick, Safin, Haas and Nalbandian are knocked out of the singles competition at Indian Wells, it was the Doubles action on outer Court #3 that had all the fireworks. While the new ATP Doubles format in 2006 is unsettling, the defending Pacific Life Open doubles champions Mark Knowles and Dan Nestor exhibited true mettle in the contest. The former #1 Doubles team in the world beat Paul Goldstein and Jim Thomas (also former Stanford U. roommates) after fending off 4 match points in a 10 point pro set tiebreaker. The crowd was emotionally driven and riveted by each point. The service returns, net play and passing shots were all a testament of what makes tennis exciting to watch and play. Every point matters. Every game gets tight beginning at 30 anything. Volleys, Serves and shot making becomes pressure packed. You can’t help but notice the double teams conferencing and scheming at the big moments. Despite the new rules of no-ad scoring and a shortened third set, it appears that one axiom holds true: champions still rise to the top especially with all the explosive fireworks in the doubles game. All the while, the stadium courts had dull baseline battles, the doubles buzz was brewing on Court #3. Look for Knowles and Nestor to have a strong run at Indian Wells and use the tournament to spring forward in the 2006 rankings.
3-14-06 -- DAVENPORT OUT! BIGGER QUESTION FOR HOW LONG?
In true Davenport
sportsmanship-like fashion she never never let the press know about the
bulging disks in her back that was diagnosed on Thursday last week. The
British press noticed her awkward movement during her match with Hingis and
at the press conference questioned her as to her health. Lindsay initially
stated that she was fine. Finally, after being "pressed" she admitted injury
and quickly made it clear that Hingis played a better match to beat her.
The injury needs 4 to 6 weeks rest. Lindsay has real scheduling problems
ahead of her. Does she skip Miami? Does she skip the clay court season and
shoot for Wimbledon? Who knows?! She told the press that she is going to
Miami and hopefully the back inflamation will subside. Ms. Hingis, her
opponent today, was out for over 3 years and still looks brillant. Look for
Hingis to "out think" the rest of the field.
3-13-06 -- PASSION FOR THE GAME?
Today behind the scenes at Indian Wells we observed
passion in various forms. Roger Federer the worlds #1 player in the world
sat near me in the players dining hall today. He lives by the mantra "it is
nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice." Wow. He was
gracious and patient with a fellow reporter who asked draining routine
questions during Federer's precious time alone. No matter. Mr. Federer was
extremely patient and gracious and his answers to questions were all for the
good of the game. He realizes everything about history. Next, I attended
Mr. Agassi's press conference where his passion was exhibited in his
frustration and disappointment in losing to Tommy Haas and not being 100%.
He says since China, the ankle injury has put him back because he missed
Australia and he has not put in enough time on the tennis court and getting
back physically. He was visibly shook-up and believe me he obviously still
very much cares about this game. Lastly, we heard from Mr. Safin after he
beat Davydenko. Safin was out for 7 months. He is 26 years old. His
ambition is back and he mentioned that he squared away some of his off court
problems. He is gracious with giving praise to Nadal and noting that the Nadal v. Federer rivalry has surpassed Safin. Overall, the passion is on the
tour. 3-12-06 -- AGASSI TO RESCUE WIMBLEDON TROPHIES
The breaking news story today came out of Andre's press conference following his 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Paul Goldstein. Apparently, Andre is looking into rescuing Bjorn Borg from
selling off his Wimbledon trophies to the open market. Andre believes it is important for tennis to make sure those trophies stay with the champion who earned them or at a minimum they at least be kept in a museum. From a player who champions causes he strongly believes in, do not be surprised if Mr.
Agassi steps and helps Mr. Borg keep his trophies. Stay tuned for more short inside stories like this from Indian Wells.
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