Indian Wells Produces Quarter - Final Drama, But The Same Spectacle At The Top

Rafael Nadal had to work hard against Ivo Karlovic at Indian Wells in the quarter finals. He prevailed 9-7 in the final set tie breaker. Karlovic sent 23 aces in the three sets played. His height took away the advantage of top spin from Nadal’s forehand. Nadal did not look his confident self. The match could have gone either way.  

Big serves coming from tall people have to be blocked. It requires short swing and good anticipation. Roger Federer does not allow serves to go past his racquet easily. He anticipates the direction in which the serve would be going and transfers the weight of his body as the serve starts from the racquet of his opponent. Big servers like Andy Roddick have not been able to make much impression on Roger Federer. Since he blocks the serve on the backhand with a slice, the ball floats deeper in the court than in a top spin return.

Rafael Nadal faces Juan Martin Del Potro in the semi-finals. Like Karlovic, Del Potro too is coming back from injury. He has started playing better and by the time U.S Open comes, he would have attained his old form. A victory over top four will give him the momentum he requires to ignite the imagination of his fans. He appears to have potential for a certain number four in the world, ahead of Robin Soderling and Andy Murray. It remains to be seen whether he will realise his potential.

It is the same old story otherwise. The top three are likely to be there in the semi-finals. Novak Djokovic has almost irrevocably stretched top two of the last few years into top three. He has become an equal to the top two and his fans are proclaiming him to be the second best player in the world any time this year. But Roger Federer has got over such situation quite a few times in the past. He is still a force to reckon with, be it Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.  

Andy Murray, on the other hand, appears to have been devastated by his loss in the finals of the Australian Open. He has generally performed well in the American hard court season in the last few years. He appears to be low on confidence. 2011 was supposed to be the year when he would take appointed place in the Grand Slam champions. This did not happen at the Australian Open, but it can still happen this year. He should not take a journey into wilderness, stung by the Australian Open loss.