The Indian Wells bug has continued to play a big part in the tournament. The morning began with Francesca Schiavone taking on Lucie Safarova. Safarova looked good today and took the first set although Schiavone’s stomach bug likely had a great deal to do with it. She retired after losing the first set, but I certainly respect that she was willing to play.
Feliciano Lopez started the day on the practice courts as did Fernando Verdasco although they were unfortunately not playing together. On the men’s side of the draw, Stanilsas Wavrinka played against Gilles Simon. The match looked fairly even, but Simon pulled his way through it.
Also on the practice courts, Robert Lindstedt and Horatio Tecau were working hard early this afternoon. They made an appearance in the Corona tent late this afternoon for a trivia contest and some photos, which was a fun surprise to walk in on.
Afterwards, Novak Djokovic took on Kevin Anderson. Anderson played well for the first few games, making a close match of it in the first four games. Djokovic turned on the style and took over the rest of the match.
Mardy Fish had an interesting match with Matthew Ebden. Fish played hard, but controversy ensued when Fish cheered before Ebden could make it to his drop shot. Fish didn’t seem to realize that he lost the point at first, but he put up an argument about it afterwards. In his press conference, Fish admitted that he did not quite understand the rules and believed he deserved a let rather than losing the point. Fish seemed to have lost his concentration after that, but it was a good match.
Andy Roddick had a tight match against Tomas Berdych. Berdych certainly had the advantage in the first set, which caused Andy some headaches. The crowd helped Roddick in the second set, so he scratched his way into a third set. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to pull it out.
Tomorrow, I hope for some more shots of the practice courts and some great matches, so stay tuned!
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Indian Wells Around the Grounds
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