Indian Wells 2014 - One for the fans!

[Nathaniel_Near]

What do I mean?

I mean that we've been spoiled by the dominance of the top 4 or so for so long. This is one for the fans. One for the tennis fans who are fans of players who aren't just multiple Slam winners or at the very top of the game. But for those more elite, Federer and Djokovic can still 'save' this tournament. So everyone's a winner.

A healthy tennis scene is one which isn't too stale or static (Dolgo and Raonic making a move here) and where at the same time a couple of those more dominant players still remain in the tournament with a chance to win it. It's a good balance here at Indian Wells and it's been a refreshing tournament.


May the best man win it.

 

[Wynter]

It's been a great tournament so far, definitely, I'd be banking on the winner of Cilic/Djoko to make the final.

The other half is a toss-up between Dolgo, Raonic and Fed

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

Certainly agree, Wynter, and any of them have a legitimate shot to win the tournament methinks. Nobody is dominating or destroying the tour right now.

 

[Wynter]

It's a hell of a lot better than the Usual, Fed, Djokovic, Nadal and whoever else scrapes in. Unless you're a fan of those three, then it's a bit depressing

Great tournament so far though in terms of the tennis played.

 

[MichaelNadal]

I'm loving it all

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

I'm loving it all

Good to hear, MN. Despite you being a fan of one of the 'big guns', first and foremost you are a tennis fan.

My feelings will certainly be the same regardless of who gets knocked out in the next rounds. A mixture of change and stability is good and there's been a lot of great tennis and battles.

 

[FreeBird]

Delete.......

 

[DolgoSantoro]

Couldn't agree more, and I'd love to see the rest of the season and particularly the slams be this way. Really hoping the rest of the tour look at this tournament and the AO, and take away the message that the top guys are beatable. They're amazing to be sure, but they're also human, and humans can be chased down and challenged and tested and even overcome if one has enough determination.

This masters has gone a long way towards reigniting my enthusiasm for professional tennis, and I'm very grateful for that.

 

[counterloop]

Well....I think it's great for tennis. Rafa, Roger and Novak in particular have been extremely stingy with winning everything for a long time and it does get boring....even for the hardcore fans.

I'm not a Federer fan but I must say I am enjoying his resurgent this year so far and wouldn't be mad if he wins. It's also a great story considering how bad he was last year.

 

[sunny_cali]

Agree

It is high time some of the youngsters break-through. Even though the domination of the big-four has been incredible, you have to admit it was getting almost nauseatingly boring.

Was rooting for Dimitrov to make his first big breakthrough. IMHO, he is on the cusp of big things. In the absence of that, will be rooting for Dolgopolov -- though history suggests that that might not be a wise thing to do. I am not sure if I like Gulbis all that much atm -- seems to be too much of a ******-bag. Personal biases aside, it would be great if he won as well.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

To be fair to Dimitrov, he had literally just won an ATP 500 event in Acapulco the week before, which was his biggest title to date. He's got some time to recuperate for Miami and can start thinking about winning his first 1000 title.

 

[TheMusicLover]

Agree, too!

Yep.
Great tournament so far, despite some disappointments, but it's so good for the game to see some 'other faces' reach the final stages here.

Ajde Dolgopolov!

 

[Rozroz]

the fun part is that i cannot really tell who's gonna win.

 

[Duncan Bell]

. He's got some time to recuperate for Miami and can start thinking about winning his first 1000 title.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

Whassup Duncan. Is there an error in my statement?

 

[sunny_cali]

To be fair to Dimitrov, he had literally just won an ATP 500 event in Acapulco the week before, which was his biggest title to date. He's got some time to recuperate for Miami and can start thinking about winning his first 1000 title.

Yes. This loss might be a blessing in disguise.

With Djokovic seemingly in a mental funk atm (though he might now be the favorite to win IW), Nadal not looking particularly great, Murray plagued by the back or mental daemons, the time is nigh for one of the youngsters to make a statement.

 

[Duncan Bell]

Whassup Duncan. Is there an error in my statement?

You believe he's ready for a 1000?

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

You believe he's ready for a 1000?

I believe he's ready to start thinking about winning a 1000.

He's got a 250, a 500. This doesn't mean he's going to suddenly win a 1000 but it's a clear next step for him, and as has been said, the usual top guns aren't quite at the top of their games.

I think Dimitrov has a legitimate shot to end this year in the top 8.

Prime-time is arriving.

 

[Duncan Bell]

I believe he's ready to start thinking about winning a 1000.

He's got a 250, a 500. This doesn't mean he's going to suddenly win a 1000 but it's a clear next step for him, and as has been said, the usual top guns aren't quite at the top of their games.

I think Dimitrov has a legitimate shot to end this year in the top 8.

I hope you're right. If he does, I guess I have a 50% chance of seeing him in London

I think a next step is more 250/500s.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

I hope you're right. If he does, I guess I have a 50% chance of seeing him in London

I think a next step is more 250/500s.

I think there's a good chance he'll win more 250/500s before eventually winning a 1000 but hey, aim high.

Dimitrov has got the game, the style and the will. He displays such a joy for the sport, you just know he works very hard.




As for the rest of this tournament. I would love to see a Gulbis-Dolgopolov final. Though of course I would be thrilled too if Roger would win the tournament. I wouldn't be against Raonic winning it either.


Fresh, that's the word for this tournament. Fresh.

 

[Warmaster]

I believe he's ready to start thinking about winning a 1000.

He's got a 250, a 500. This doesn't mean he's going to suddenly win a 1000 but it's a clear next step for him, and as has been said, the usual top guns aren't quite at the top of their games.

I think Dimitrov has a legitimate shot to end this year in the top 8.

It'll be hard though, we'll see what he can do on clay this year. But if MC last year was anything to go by, he should be able to maintain his form.

I'm more interested in him finally making a run at Wimbledon. He has underperformed there for a while now.

I'll go ahead and say he'll end the year at #9

 

[Steve0904]

Only guy I really don't want to win is Gulbis. First time I really paid attention to him was yesterday, and he rubbed me the wrong way. Just do your job and get on with it. Stop *****ing and moaning about things you can't control.

 

[Steve0904]

It'll be hard though, we'll see what he can do on clay this year. But if MC last year was anything to go by, he should be able to maintain his form.

I'm more interested in him finally making a run at Wimbledon. He has underperformed there for a while now.

I'll go ahead and say he'll end the year at #9

I'd love for that to happen, but I'm not sure he's underperformed. His return is not that great which is bad for a grass court, and I don't think he moves that great on grass. In fact, I've noticed that he likes to slide on HC's at a lot of times where it seems a bit unnecessary to do so, and I don't think that would translate well to the grass either.

 

[Duncan Bell]

Gulbis is incredible, I love the guy. I don't take tennis too seriously (i.e. I like to poke fun at it a little bit) and I think Gulbis is a riot.

 

[Steve0904]

Gulbis is incredible, I love the guy. I don't take tennis too seriously (i.e. I like to poke fun at it a little bit) and I think Gulbis is a riot.

I don't take it too seriously either. I don't take anything too seriously really. I'm just not a complainer about a lot of things in life so naturally I don't like when people complain a lot, especially about things they can't do anything about.

To each his/her own though.

 

[BHBeguile]

Yes, it's terrific that we haven't seen the inevitable march to a Rafa/Nole final, but as someone who misses the "touch" that epitomized earlier eras and who admires the incredible shot-making that some of today's players are capable of, it's a little disappointing to see Isner, Anderson, and Raonic make it so far. To each, his own, and may the best man win. (But please, God in heaven, no Isner/Raonic final.)

 

[Hollywood401k]

The only way this tournament can be better is if Isner/Raonic don't make the semis. I don't want to drive 4 hrs to see servebots. Otherwise, I'm loving the upsets and the 'pigeons' fighting back.

 

[Warmaster]

I'd love for that to happen, but I'm not sure he's underperformed. His return is not that great which is bad for a grass court, and I don't think he moves that great on grass. In fact, I've noticed that he likes to slide on HC's at a lot of times where it seems a bit unnecessary to do so, and I don't think that would translate well to the grass either.

There's definitely a lot of truth in this, but the loss against Zemlja was still really bad for someone who has the potential (which he has showed at times) to have a good grass game I believe.

 

[sbengte]

IW is indeed turning out to be exciting, but the year 2014 itself has been very positive so far , with a much awaited slam breakthrough for someone outside of the big 4 at the AO.

Would be awesome if we have 3-4 new masters winners this year (if not slam winners.)

 

[Steve0904]

There's definitely a lot of truth in this, but the loss against Zemlja was still really bad for someone who has the potential (which he has showed at times) to have a good grass game I believe.

Yes, I also think he should be beating the Zemjla's of the world, don't get me wrong. In that case, I guess you could say he has underperformed.

 

[monfed]

Gulbis is incredible, I love the guy. I don't take tennis too seriously (i.e. I like to poke fun at it a little bit) and I think Gulbis is a riot.

Haha me too. Gulbis is just awesome. Heck, he has more personality than Safin oncourt.

 

[Connors Fan]

It was a great tournament to attend, I had a blast my days there this year.

I didn't really care for Gulbis before, but he is pretty funny in interviews. He is just a bit of mercurial guy. My favorite is Dolgo, but they cant all be that even tempered.