A Day At Indian Wells In Pictures

Posted By: Jeff McKown

The SoCal Desert right
outside the tennis center

A post for my fellow tennis geeks....

Paul and I made a whirlwind road trip this week to visit friends in Southern California and to stop by the BNP Paribas Open.

We drove from NorCal on Sunday and played tennis in the afternoon before enjoying a phenomenal Cuban dinner. On Monday, we left LA and headed to the Indian Wells Tennis Center.


The weather for our drive was amazing. Things were sunny and warm in the valley, but snow-capped mountains lined the horizon.

SoCal springtime as seen from I-5

Snow-capped mountain peaks
 (with a little bug smear on the windshield).

Indian Wells is an oasis in the middle of the desert near Palm Springs. The setting is gorgeous for tennis, or anything else for that matter.

Practice courts

Stadium 1 and the mountains beyond

The world's best tennis players participate in the tourney at Indian Wells (excepting a Williams sister or two), and we saw loads of tennis stars on both practice courts and in match play. Some highlights for us:

• Big guns - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and relative newbie Milos Raonic
• Gifted up-and-comers - Sloane Stephens, Ernests Gulbis,  and Jerzy Janowicz 
• Talented Frenchies - Marion Bartoli, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, and Benoit Paire

American men's tennis is in a bit of a slump right now. Depending on the performance of Sam Querrey this week, it's possible that no American man will be ranked in the top 20 for the first time in 40 years. If there's a bright spot on the horizon though, it may well be twenty-year old midwesterner Jack Sock.

Jack Sock practicing his backhand.

As one of the bigger tennis events in the United States, Indian Wells attracts a celebrity crowd. Who knew Gladys Knight was a big tennis fan? (Yes, she did do a couple of verses of Midnight Train to Georgia.)

Gladys Knight taking questions during lunch
in the tennis center food court.

One last photo - Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez was there. He sends his love.

Spanish tennis player Feliciano Lopez.

BONUS: The organizers of the BNP Paribas Open put on a phenomenal event for both tennis fans and players. Here's a fun video clip they put together of the top five ranked men being quizzed on how well they know each other.

Notes and Photos From the Western & Southern Open (Men's Draw)

Marin Cilic from Crotia

The addition of the Summer Olympics into the middle of an already overbooked and grueling tennis season has taken its toll on the men's draw at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Four of the top 16 players in the world (Nadal, Isner, Simon, and Tsonga) withdrew prior to the start of the tournament. World #3 Rafael Nadal continues to suffer from tendinitis in his knee, an ailment which he announced today will keep him out of the U.S. Open as well. Top American John Isner and Frenchman Gilles Simon also withdrew due to recent injuries. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 6th ranked player in the world, hurt himself off court last week, colliding with a fire hydrant in Toronto and getting several stitches in his knee as a result.

4th seeded David Ferrer of Spain

When you add to that list of wounded tennis warriors - the No. 4 seed David Ferrer appeared not exactly weary, but less like a hyperactive jack rabbit than usual in a straight sets loss, and the No. 7 seed Janko Tipsarevic was forced to retire from his second round match - you can only draw one conclusion: men's professional tennis is seriously banged up.

As we head into the round of 16 on Thursday, an abundance of talented tennis players are still in the hunt for the title in Cincinnati though, and there are still a few things, or a few players rather, who have proven themselves to be as dependable as death and taxes. Federer, Djokovic, and Murray are all through to the next round without dropping a single set in their opening matches.

But enough of all that, here is the first installment of photos from various men's matches and practice court sessions so far this week. I'll publish more pics of the top guys in the game, and of course photos of the best women players in the world, later in the week. Enjoy!

Serious-looking Tomas Berdych, world No. 7 (Czech Republic).

Richard Gasquet (France) showing off his contortion skills.

Stan Wawrinka (Swiss) streeeetttching.

Viktor Troicki (Serbia) advances to the round of 16.

Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) playing frisbee.

Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia) - my favorite doubles guy.

Bernard Tomic (Austalia) - bit blurry but an awesome shot.

Headed to a doubles match - Mikhail Youzhny (Russia),
Philip Kolschreiber - barely pictured (Germany),
Jarkko Nieminen (Finland), and Stan Wawrinka (Swiss).

Milos Raonic (Canada) - note the 132mph on the
serve speed. He hit 140 mph later in the match.

Andy Murray (Great Britain), Olympic Gold Medalist

Roger Federer (Swiss) - G.O.A.T
Greatest Of All Time

Tennis Extra - Wimbledon Pics and 2012 Draws

Singles draws were released today for both the Men's and Ladies' competition at Wimbledon that begins Monday at the All England Club.

Here are a few unique photos I found to get you in the mood for two of the best tennis weeks of the year. Click any pic to enlarge.

Welcome to Wimbledon
Photo: Clive Rose / Getty Images Europe

Under London summer skies
Photo: Dan Istitene / Getty Images Europe

Painting the lines
Photo: Wimbledon / Facebook Page

Novak Djokovic and team - returning to a steady grass diet
Photo: Nole / Twitter Feed

Wax figure of Rafael Nadal. Really.
Photo: Madame Tussaud's / London

Roger Federer shopping in London
Photo: Pool / Getty Images

British #1 Andy Murray, trying to relax on the grounds
Photo: Tom Dulat / Getty Images Europe

American #1 John Isner, at end of his epic three-day 2010
match. Note the scoreboard (he won 70-68 in the fifth set).
Photo: Pool / Getty Images

ESPN's Live Wimbledon Coverage Starts On Monday (And NBC Can Suck It)

I respect NBC's coverage of professional tennis exactly as much as NBC respects tennis fans - which is to say, very little.

Consequently, it was with great joy that I read how ESPN will take over complete Wimbledon coverage this year, and how the network is fully committed to broadcasting live matches.

The most recent trouble between tennis fans and NBC Sports started last summer when the network opted to show a couple of important tennis matches from major tournaments on a several hour tape delay. Avid tennis watchers raised a big stink about the shoddy network coverage (inasmuch as fans of a relatively minor sport can raise a big stink), and moved on, hoping that NBC and tournament executives had learned their lessons.

Sadly, NBC's coverage of last month's French Open served only to prove that the clamor of angry fans mattered little. During the Open, which is one of the four "major" events in tennis, NBC once again dropped the ball repeatedly, disappointing tennis fans by either cutting coverage short or broadcasting critical matches on tape delay.

First, NBC interrupted the very end of a significant ladies match upset-in-the-making (Kanepi vs Wozniacki at 5-2 in the third set) because the broadcast reached the end of its allotted coverage time. Imagine - a network cutting away from a playoff baseball game in the top of the 9th because it was time for Judge Joe Brown (who I'm sure is a competent jurist, but come on, it can wait).

2012 Tennis Season Opens and a Resurgent Roger Federer Could Dominate

Djokovic and Federer at the Barclays in London.

The 2012 professional tennis season is officially underway this week, and the top-ranked players in the world are interspersed at three different venues across Asia and Australia. This year promises to deliver excitement from the start, as we pick up immediately on several dramatic storylines that were left open when last season ended, just a few short weeks ago.

In 2011, we witnessed an astonishing juggernaut performance from Novak Djokovic, who were it not for Roger Federer and a bum shoulder, could have easily posted an undefeated season. We saw Rafa Nadal struggle, by his standards, while continuing his French Open and Davis Cup domination. Many of us expected to see Andy Murray finally hoist a trophy at one of tennis’ four majors in 2011. Alas, he made the semi-finals in each event, but won none of them. The anticipated decline of our sport’s greatest player, Roger Federer, appeared to be on schedule last year, until his torturous title drought ended with a fantastic finishing sweep of the final three tournaments of the season.

Monfils and Tsonga

Last year also gave rise to a bounty of talented challengers. The pair of French showmen, Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, hardworking Spanish veteran David Ferrer, rebounding Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro, and late-blooming American Mardy Fish significantly raised the level of their games. Each of these fierce competitors edged ever closer to the level of play required to firmly position themselves among the elite group atop the sport, but none of them actually did so. By the end of 2011, the fantastic foursome – Novak, Rafa, Andy, and Roger – held tight to their stranglehold on tennis’ premiere events, winning all nine Masters level tournaments and all four majors. It seems likely that this trend of domination by the top four will end in 2012, but with so little separation between the second tier players, it’s difficult to know who will break through first.