Pospisil Thrilled By Murray Win At Indian Wells 2017
Pospisil Thrilled By Murray Win At Indian Wells 2017
Mar122017
Maria Sharapova’s wildcard entry to April’s Porsche Grand Prix is “disrespectful” to other players, ex-number one Caroline Wozniacki says.
The Stuttgart event starts two days before the Russian’s 15-month doping ban ends and she will not be allowed to attend until the day of her match.
“Obviously rules are twisted and turned in favour of who wants to do what,” Dane Wozniacki, 26, said.
Sharapova, whose main sponsor is Porsche, has won the event three times.
“I think everyone deserves a second chance… but at the same time, I feel like when a player is banned for drugs, I think that someone should start from the bottom and fight their way back,” world number 14 Wozniacki said.
Five-times Grand Slam winner Sharapova will return to tennis on 26 April without a ranking after serving her suspension for testing positive for meldonium.
The 29-year-old was given a two-year ban in March 2016 but her suspension was then reduced in October following an appeal.
She has also been given wildcards for May’s tournaments in Madrid and Rome.
Wozniacki said Sharapova should not be allowed to compete at Stuttgart because she is still banned when it begins on 24 April.
“I think it’s very questionable allowing – no matter who it is – a player that is still banned to play a tournament that week,” she said.
“From the tournament side, it’s disrespectful to the other players and the WTA.”
Wozniaki was speaking after a 6-3 6-0 win over Polish qualifier Magda Linette in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
The Dane’s comments echo those of men’s world number one Andy Murray who said wildcards should not be given to players returning from doping bans.
Earlier this week, US Open champion Angelique Kerber said it was “a little bit strange for the other players that somebody can just walk on site Wednesday and play Wednesday”.
However, Romanian world number four Simona Halep thinks Sharapova’s past achievements justify the wildcards.
“She was number one in the world and won Grand Slam titles,” Halep, 25, said on Thursday. “But even without wildcards she could come back easily. Her return is good for tennis.”
Popular ATP World Tour event receives recognition
The BNP Paribas Open has been named the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year for the third consecutive season. The honour is part of the 2016 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon.
Linda Clark, ATP Vice President – Tournament Relations, Americas, presented tournament director Tommy Haas with the trophy on Saturday in an on-court ceremony following Fabio Fognini defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“As a player, I can understand why this event has been named ‘Tournament of the Year’ on the ATP World Tour for the third consecutive year,” said Haas. “Now as a member of the Indian Wells team, I have even more respect for the countless hours of planning and dedication that the entire staff contributes to make the BNP Paribas Open one of the best sporting events in the world.”
The tournament received the distinction for the first time in 2014, following the debut of its state-of-the-art Stadium 2, additional practice courts and a new shade structure. Following the 2016 event, numerous improvements have been made to Stadium 1, including upgrading, expanding and adding concessions and suites for the 2017 tournament.
The 2017 BNP Paribas Open concludes on 19 March.
World number one Andy Murray made a shock second-round exit at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, losing 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to qualifier Vasek Pospisil.
The Briton, who had a first-round bye, was sluggish throughout the match against the Canadian world number 129.
Murray, 29, was broken four times as he struggled with Pospisil’s serve-and-volley style.
It was the first victory for Pospisil, 26, in five meetings with Murray.
Although he is a qualifier here, Pospisil has been ranked as high as 25th in the world and beat both Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans in Britain’s Davis Cup victory over Canada in February.
After Murray took a 4-2 lead early on, the Canadian hit back to win six successive games, claiming the first set before finally winning the second 7-5 in a tie-break, hitting a cross-court winner on his fourth match point.
“It was obviously a disappointing one as I had opportunities in the first set but I didn’t serve well enough,” Murray told BBC Sport.
“I served a few double faults, especially in the first set at important moments, which didn’t help things.
“He definitely started to play better in the second set, he was being aggressive and coming to the net and played some great reflex volleys at important moments and deserved to win.”
Murray claimed his maiden Dubai Championships title last week, but defeat here continues a poor run for the Scot at Indian Wells, having lost in the third round last year. His best result at the tournament was when he was runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2009.
However, he remains in this year’s doubles alongside fellow Briton Evans as they face Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer and Romanian Horia Tecau in round two.
Evans plays Japanese fourth seed Kei Nishikori in the singles later on Sunday. Listen to the match live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online from 18:00 GMT.
Pospisil faces Dusan Lajovic in the third round of the singles after the Serbian qualifier upset 30th seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-2 4-6 7-6.
Elsewhere, French seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was beaten by Italy’s Fabio Fognini but there were wins for third seed Stan Wawrinka, 10th seed Gael Monfils and 11th seed David Goffin.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller in Indian Wells
World number one or not, Murray has often struggled in the desert. His serve let him down – he hit seven double faults and was broken four times in a row – and was ultimately second best to a man who is having a great year against the Brits.
Pospisil may be a qualifier ranked 129 in the world but his serve-and-volley game is mightily effective, as Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund learned to their cost in last month’s Davis Cup tie with Canada.
Unusually for Murray, he is now out of the singles but still in the doubles so he will stay in Indian Wells to partner Evans and to spend “lots of time” on the practice courts.
Philipp Kohlschreiber joined an elite club on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open, clinching his 400th tour-level match win to advance to the third round.
Kohlschreiber has experienced many significant moments throughout his 17-year professional career, with seven ATP World Tour titles and 22 victories over Top 10 players. He added another milestone to his growing résumé, becoming just the third German to cross the 400 wins threshold.
“It feels great, it means that I’m pretty old and have been on the tour for a long time,” Kohlschreiber joked. “I hope I get the chance to go for 500.”
German Match Wins Leaders (Open Era)
| Player | Career Win-Loss |
| Boris Becker | 713-214 |
| Tommy Haas | 563-326 |
| Philipp Kohlschreiber | 400-308 |
| Michael Stich | 385-176 |
| Nicolas Kiefer | 366-274 |
The German advanced when Alexandr Dolgopolov retired with a leg injury early in the second set. The Ukrainian was leading 7-6(3), 1-1.
“I won most of the 399 before this without a retirement. It was a strange situation, because I saw he wasn’t moving 100 per cent, but I wasn’t sure how bad it was. He has a big game and I was fighting back and going down a break in the first set. I maybe wasn’t playing my best tennis, but I was fighting.”
The 33-year-old Munich native made his ATP World Tour debut in 2002 and would claim his first match win in St. Poelten, Austria, a year later. His signature win came over then World No. 2 Rafael Nadal on home soil in Halle in 2012.
“They are all special, but the first win in Munich in 2004 stands out, playing in front of the home crowd and in front of family and friends, was especially something special of course.”
Kohlschriber will go for win No. 401 against either third seed Stan Wawrinka or Paolo Lorenzi on Monday in Indian Wells.
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Rafael Nadal has traveled the world competing on the ATP World Tour, but the Spaniard says that one place has a special place in his heart.
Speaking to the Indian Wells faithful on a brisk Friday night at the BNP Paribas Open, following a first-round doubles victory with Bernard Tomic, Nadal conveyed his admiration for the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year. Nestled in the sun-drenched Coachella Valley, it’s tennis in paradise.
“It’s no doubt that these are my two favorite weeks of the year,” said Nadal.
Nadal returns to his happy hunting ground in the California desert, having lifted the trophy on five occasions – three times in singles and twice in doubles. The 29 year old topped Novak Djokovic to prevail in 2007, followed by victories over Murray in 2009 and a resurgent Del Potro in 2013. Four years later, he is hoping to get off on the right foot against Guido Pella on Sunday.
“I am playing Pella in the first round and that’s all I can say now,” Nadal told the assembled media on Friday during his pre-tournament press conference. “If all things go well, we will have time to talk about the draw. I was a little bit sick for two days, so I couldn’t practise. I started to practise yesterday for the first time. Today, I practised again and I have doubles.
“It is obvious that when you get sick you lose a little bit of the power for a couple of days. So I hope to recover myself well and feel ready to compete at the highest level possible.”
Nadal opened his doubles quest on Friday, teaming with Tomic to defeat Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa 6-4, 7-6(7). A two-time champion with countryman Marc Lopez in 2010 and 2012, he is joining forces with the Australian for the first time.
“I play doubles for fun and to practise too,” Nadal added. “I was supposed to play with Bernard in Brisbane. That made sense, because it’s his house and for me it was something that I liked. But then I said to him that I could not play there. I said if we can change Brisbane for Indian Wells, will be great for me. That’s it.”
Nadal finds himself in the legendary bottom quarter of the draw, with an Australian Open final rematch against Roger Federer looming in the fourth round and a potential quarter-final clash against another longtime rival, Novak Djokovic. And that’s just to reach the semi-finals.
Coming off a run to the final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, the fifth seed is taking it one match at a time. First up: a first encounter against Pella.
Nadal/Tomic, Murray/Evans, Djokovic/Troicki prevail on Friday
Doubles was the hot ticket on Friday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, with Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal all taking the court ahead of their singles campaigns.
Teaming up with Bernard Tomic, Nadal survived a tense second-set tie-break to secure a 6-4, 7-6(7) victory over Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa in the night session on Stadium 1. Nadal and Tomic, playing together for the first time, let slip three match points at 6/3 in the tie-break, but regrouped to convert their fourth opportunity after one hour and 33 minutes.
Nadal is a former doubles champion at the BNP Paribas Open, lifting the trophy in 2010 and 2012 with Marc Lopez, who was courtside to watch his friend on Friday evening.
Murray teamed up with fellow Brit Daniel Evans for a 6-3, 1-6, 10-6 victory over Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez. The Scot is looking for his first ATP World Tour doubles crown in almost six years, since winning the Tokyo crown with his older brother, Jamie Murray, in 2011.
Djokovic and Serbian countryman Viktor Troicki celebrated with a Bryans-esque chest-bump as they battled to a 2-6, 6-3, 10-7 victory over Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas. They could next face defending champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, should the French pair overcome John Isner and Jack Sock on Saturday.
A packed crowd watch Grigor Dimitrov and Stan Wawrinka join forces, but the Bulgarian-Swiss duo fell in the first round to Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi, 6-4, 3-6, 10-3.
German brothers Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber and Dominic Thiem 7-6(4), 6-4 for a place in the second round. The Zverevs won their first team title last month in Montpellier (d. Martin/Nestor) in the same week that Alexander won the singles crown.
In other first-round action, Roberto Bautista Agut and Fernando Verdasco defeated Tomas Berdych and Philipp Petzschner 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-3, while Steve Johnson and Vasek Pospisil overcame Marcin Matkowski and Alexander Peya 3-6, 6-4, 11-9.
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