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Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Pell Mell and Anything Goes in Indian Wells?



Hmmm, but what does it mean for Indian Wells?

























**INDIAN WELLS SINGLES FINALS**
1989 Manuela Maleeva d. Jenny Byrne
1990 Martina Navratilova d. Helena Sukova
1991 Martina Navratilova d. Monica Seles
1992 Monica Seles d. Conchita Martinez
1993 Mary Joe Fernandez d. Amanda Coetzer
1994 Steffi Graf d. Amanda Coetzer
1995 Mary Joe Fernandez d Natasha Zvereva
1996 Steffi Graf d Conchita Martinez
1997 Lindsay Davenport d. Irina Spirlea
1998 Martina Hingis d. Lindsay Davenport
1999 Serena Williams d. Steffi Graf
2000 Lindsay Davenport d. Martina Hingis
2001 Serena Williams d. Kim Clijsters
2002 Daniela Hantuchova d. Martina Hingis
2003 Kim Clijsters d. Lindsay Davenport
2004 Justine Henin d. Lindsay Davenport
2005 Kim Clijsters d. Lindsay Davenport
2006 Maria Sharapova d. Elena Dementieva
2007 Daniela Hantuchova d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2008 Ana Ivanovic d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2009 Vera Zvonareva d. Ana Ivanovic
2010 Jelena Jankovic d. Caroline Wozniacki
2011 Caroline Wozniacki d. Marion Bartoli
2012 Victoria Azarenka d. Maria Sharapova
2013 Maria Sharapova d. Caroline Wozniacki
2014 Flavia Pennetta d. Aga Radwanska
2015 Simona Halep d. Jelena Jankovic
2016 Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams
2017 Elena Vesnina d. Svetlana Kuznetsova

**INDIAN WELLS DOUBLES FINALS**
1989 Mandlikova/Pam Shriver d. Fairbank/Rush-Magers
1990 Novotna/Sukova d. G.Fernandez/Navratilova
1991 FINAL RAINED OUT
1992 Kohde-Kilsch/Rehe d. Hetherington/Rinaldi
1993 Stubbs/Sukova d. Grossman/Hy
1994 Davenport/Raymond d. Bollegraf/Sukova
1995 Davenport/Raymond d. Savchenko Neiland/A.Sanchez
1996 Rubin/Schultz-McCarthy d. Halard/Tauziat
1997 Davenport/Zvereva d. Raymond/Tauziat
1998 Davenport/Zvereva d. Fusai/Tauziat
1999 Hingis/Kournikova d. MJ.Fernandez/Novotna
2000 Davenport/Morariu d. Kournikova/Zvereva
2001 Arendt/Sugiyama d. Ruano Pascual/Suarez
2002 Raymond/Stubbs d. Dementieva/Husarova
2003 Davenport/Raymond d. Clijsters/Sugiyama
2004 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva
2005 Ruano Pascual/Suarez d. Petrova/Shaughnessy
2006 Raymond/Stosur d. Ruano Pascual/Shaughnessy
2007 Raymond/Stosur d. Chan/Chan
2008 Safina/Vesnina d. Yan/Zheng
2009 Azarenka/Zvonareva d. Dulko/Peer
2010 Peschke/Srebotnik d. Petrova/Stosur
2011 Mirza/Vesnina d. Mattek-Sands/Shaughnessy
2012 Huber/Raymond d. Mirza/Vesnina
2013 Makarova/Vesnina d. Petrova/Srebotnik
2014 Hsieh/Peng d. C.Black/Mirza
2015 Hingis/Mirza d. Makarova/Vesnina
2016 Mattek-Sands/Vandeweghe d. Goerges/Ka.Pliskova
2017 L.Chan/Hingis d. Hradecka/Siniakova

**MOST INDIAN WELLS WS FINALS**
6...Lindsay Davenport (2-4)
3...Kim Clijsters (2-1)
3...Steffi Graf (2-1)
3...Maria Sharapova (2-1) *
3...Serena Williams (2-1) *
3...Martina Hingis (1-2)
3...Caroline Wozniacki (1-2) *
3...Svetlana Kuznetsova (0-3) *
2...Martina Navratilova (2-0)
2...Victoria Azarenka (2-0) *
2...Mary Joe Fernandez (2-0)
2...Daniela Hantuchova (2-0)
2...Ana Ivanovic (1-1)
2...Jelena Jankovic (1-1) *
2...Monica Seles (1-1)
2...Amanda Coetzer (0-2)
2...Conchita Martinez (0-2)
--
* - active

**SERENA/VIKA/MARIA IN MAIN DRAW w/o WINNING TITLE**
[since January 2012, when Azarenka first #1]
2012 Miami (Champion: Radwanska)
2013 Wimbledon (Bartoli)
2014 Australian Open (Li)
2014 Wimbledon (Kvitova)
2014 Montreal (Radwanska)
2015 Indian Wells (Halep)
2015 Madrid (Kvitova)
2016 Australian Open (Kerber)

**INDIAN WELLS-MIAMI...**
[reached IW-Miami Finals]
1991 Monica Seles (L-W)
1994 Steffi Graf (W-W)
1996 Steffi Graf (W-W)
1999 Serena Williams (W-L)
2000 Lindsay Davenport (W-L)
2000 Martina Hingis (L-W)
2005 Kim Clijsters (W-W)
2006 Maria Sharapova (W-L)
2012 Maria Sharapova (L-L)
2013 Maria Sharapova (W-L)
2016 Victoria Azarenka (W-W)
[reached AO-IW-Miami Finals]
1991 Monica Seles (W-L-W)
1994 Steffi Graf (W-W-W)
2000 Lindsay Davenport (W-W-L)
2000 Martina Hingis (L-L-W)
2012 Maria Sharapova (L-L-L)






Sure, Garbine won the Best Dressed award BEFORE the tournament, but what about the trophy that'll be handed out in a little under two weeks...?







INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA USA (Premier Mandatory/Hard)
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Halep, #2 Wozniacki
WD: #1 Makarova/Vesnina, #2 Chan/Chan
=======================================
...so many various parts of the old band (Serena, Vika, Sveta, etc.) all seem to be getting back together in the desert, but will those returns (and a few others) *only* be first week stories?

Serena opens her season vs. Zarina Diyas, but could meet Venus in the 3rd Round. Vika gets Heather Watson (with Sloane Stephens waiting in the wings in the 2nd), while Sveta's post-bye match will be vs. the Sabalenka/Lepchenko winner. Also, Maria Sharapova will face Naomi Osaka in the 1st, and would meet Aga Radwanska (oh, the possibilities...) one round later, then maybe Garbine Muguruza. Meanwhile, defending champion Elena Vesnina's potential 2nd Rounder vs. giant-killing-loving CiCi Bellis could be a doozy.

But what about week two?

Well, while Indian Wells has traditionally been a haven for the "well-to-do" of the WTA tour -- 20 of 29 singles champions have won slam crowns, and five of the nine who haven't have reached slam finals, with two having been ranked #1 -- last year's version was one of the rare breaks with tournament history. Vesnina's surprise title run made her only the fourth I.W. champ -- with Manuela Maleeva ('89) and Daniela Hantuchova ('02/'07) -- without at least a slam singles final appearance on her resume (though she *did* reach the semis at SW19 in '16).

Of course, the Russian "paid" for her rule-breaking. Since her Indian Wells triumph, she's has gone just 18-25. Her opponent in the final last year -- Svetlana Kuznetsova -- has won two more matches over the same span (20-12), and she hasn't even played a competitive match since early October.

Hmmm, of course, over the past month, whenever she's been in action, the entire tennis establishment has bowed down in tribute to a certain Czech. Though she's never won a title in the desert, or even reached a semifinal there (her best results have been QF runs in '13 and '16), in her absence, the love for all things Petra was palpable... as well as tangible.




Arriving in California on a 13-match, three-city, two title-winning peerless streak, Kvitova is the #9 seed, positioned in the Muguruza/Pliskova quarter of the draw, on the #1-seeded Simona Halep's side of the big board. She's on the opposite side of the action from the likes of Serena, Vika, Maria, Caro, Venus, Elina and even defending champ Elena. So, while there will likely be drama in Petra's half of the field, *many* eyes will be focused elsewhere. At least for a while.

Will it produce yet another environment that will allow the likes of Super Petra to maintain her peak(ing) form? While climbing back into the group herself, Kvitova's already taken down six Top 10ers during her 13-match run. Could consecutive 4th Rd-QF-SF face-offs with Pliskova/Muguruza/Halep set the stage for a true love-fest on the final weekend of play?

Well, here's *one* version of how things might go...


=ROUND OF 16=
#1 Halep d. #14 Mladenovic
#11 Konta d. #6 Ostapenko
#3 Muguruza d. #16 Barty
#9 Kvitova d. #5 Ka.Pliskova

Has Halep's foot gotten enough rest? We could find out early, as she might face Cibulkova in the 3rd Round, then Mladenovic (the '17 semifinalist might get Mertens in the 3rd, after defeating her in Fed Cup last month) in the Round of 16. Is this where Konta (just 6-5 in non-FC matches) or Ostapenko (3-6 on tour) finally begin to find their form (or might the returning Kuznetsova immediately hit her stride and beat out both of them?)? Muguruza has been busy around L.A. in recent days, but *did* reach the QF a year ago and has posted good results in recent weeks. Kvitova has won 24 straight matches vs. fellow Czech Maidens (and is 45-8 against her countrywomen in her pro career).

#8 V.Williams d. #12 Goerges
#4 Svitolina d. #15 Keys
#10 Kerber d. #7 Garcia
#2 Wozniacki d. (WC) Azarenka

Goerges is coming off a hip injury that caused her to miss Dubai, while Venus is playing Indian Wells for a third straight year for the first time since 1996-98. It's high time Svitolina put up a deep run in (at least) one of the Sunshine Double events. The Ukrainian has a gradual approach to things, so after 1st/2nd Round exits in 2013-14, then 4th/3rd/4th the last three years in the desert, it should work out to a QF/SF result this time around, right? Kerber has cooled off *just a little* since her sterling start to '18, but while she's 0-3 this year vs. the Halep/Wozniacki/Svitolina trio, she's 15-0 (19-0 w/ Hopman) against everyone else. She can't face any of those three until at least the QF. Wozniacki reached three I.W. finals between 2010-13 (winning once), and was a combined 8-2 there (QF) and Miami (RU) in '17.

=QF=
#1 Halep d. #11 Konta
#9 Kvitova d. #3 Muguruza
#8 V.Williams d. #4 Svitolina
#2 Wozniacki d. #10 Kerber

...Halep is 2-2 vs. Konta on hard courts, losing to her in Miami last year (in fact, it was *the* match that sparked The Ultimatum from coach Darren Cahill), then defeating the Brit last summer in Cincinnati. Kvitova, who has played in I.W. just once in the past three years, leads the career series vs. Muguruza 4-1, with four straight wins. Svitolina has won her last two matches vs. a Williams. Wozniacki and Kerber first met on a tennis court fourteen years ago, in a junior event in Luxembourg in 2004 (Caro won in three sets). Six of their last ten matches (of 14 as pros -- Kerber leads 8-6) have gone the distance

=SF=
#9 Kvitova d. #1 Halep
#2 Wozniacki d. #8 V.Williams

...of course, with these semifinals, we *could* have a "do-over" of the AO final.

=FINAL=
#9 Kvitova d. #2 Wozniacki

...the story sort of writes itself, so you almost have to go with it.




=DOUBLES CHAMPIONS=
...the doubles draw isn't out yet. But, ummm, maybe Dabrowski/Xu? They won in Miami in 2017.


At any rate...



So, expect the unexpected?


All for now.
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