Stephens and Ostapenko into Miami final

Women’s Semi Final Day in Miami also included the last two men’s quarter finals, so it promised to be a big day and night.

And so the Miami Open on Day Ten delivered.

Vika Azarenka, the unseeded wildcard, but previous multiple champion here, had clearly made a statement that motherhood and tennis were compatible for her.

She took it further by claiming the first set off Sloane Stephens (13) to the horror of the Florida crowd.  

Vika won an unprecedented 71% of points when the American first serve found its mark, and was able to break four times in the opener.

Stephens herself cracked the Belarusian delivery twice, but Azarenka won the initial battle 6-3.

Both women were hitting furiously cross court off both wings, yet it was Vika coming up with the goods and she seemed on course for a Finals berth at 2-0 in set two.  Even down three break points in the third game didn’t faze her as she found a way back to game point.

However, Sloane’s altruism needs to be applauded - thinking of how Vika needed to be with her baby, she reversed the match trend, winning this game, and 12 of the last 13.

The 3-6 6-2 6-1 victory secured Sloane a spot in the Miami Open final and nailed down the number nine world ranking - a career high.

Vika, meanwhile, is back in the world 100 and will continue a rapid rise depending on her scheduling choices.

The second semi final pitted the highest seed left - Jelena Ostapenko (6) - against American qualifier Danielle Collins.

Collins had knocked off Venus Williams en route to the semi, while Ostapenko has just hammered a series of opponents to demonstrate a level of high class consistency not really seen since her shock Roland Garros triumph in 2017.

Despite winning only 45% of points on her first serve in the opening set, Collins managed to compete on equal terms with Ostapenko, in fact creating 7 break opportunities compared with 3.

Both players converted twice, and a tie break ensued.  Ostapenko raced away here, and took the lead 7-6(1).

Now in command, Jelena served with extra confidence, not facing a break point in set two, and ultimately winning with apparent ease 7-6(1) 6-3.  A title win would lift Ostapenko to a career high of four in the world

Danielle has leapt 40 spots to a career high of 53.

Pablo Carreno Busta (16) fought off Kevin Anderson (6) and a match point to win 6-4 5-7 7-6(6).

He will play Sascha Zverev in a semi final 

Sascha Zverev (4) defeated Borna Coric (29) 6-4 6-4

Day Eleven will feature the Men’s Semis:

Juan Martin del Potro (5) v John Isner (14)

Sascha Zverev (4) v Pablo Carreno Busta (16)

and the Women’s Doubles Semis:

Elise Mertens / Demi Schuurs v Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova (6)

Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina (1) v Ash Barty / CoCo Vandeweghe 

del Potro and Raonic serve it up

Day Nine was all about quarter finals, the first 2 of the men’s and the last pair of the women’s, on Key Biscayne, to determine Miami Open semi finalists.

US crowds on the John Isner (14) train continued to enjoy the ride as he accounted for Hyeon Chung (19) in typical big serving fashion 6-1 6-4.

13 aces in just over an hour, and only one point lost on his first serve for the match, presented Isner with a smooth track to victory.

He will now, irrespective of remaining results, move up to 10 in the world rankings, passing Sock and Querrey, to become the highest ranked American male player.  Should he win the tournament, he will move to 9, his equal best career effort, previously achieved in April 2012.

Home crowds flocked to the all American quarter final between the remarkable Venus Williams (8), who seems to have been around since they invented the concept of tennis, and qualifier Danielle Collins, who has cut a swathe through the Miami draw.  The 24 year old also made her mark last week at Indian Wells with a round of sixteen credit.

Holding no fear, and playing smart tennis throughout, Collins dispatched Williams in straight sets 6-2 6-3.

She will play Jelena Ostapenko (6) in a semi final following the Latvian’s hard fought victory over Elina Svitolina (4) 7-6(3) 7-6(5)

The match of the day - correction, night - was no doubt that between Juan Martin del Potro (5) and Milos Raonic (20).

The pair had clashed just last week in the Indian Wells desert, where the Argentine crushed Milos in a semi final.

This was far from that, with the first set a demonstration of high class competitive tennis, barely a feather between them.

The serving was, as expected, big and reliable, and the Canadian was the only one to sneak a break point opportunity.  He capitalised upon it, or rather del Potro double faulted, and that won Raonic the lead 7-5 over a disappointed but determined fifth seed.

Tie breaks were required in the remaining sets, after no breaks of serve in set two and surprisingly two breaks apiece in the decider.

The lethal forehand of del Potro was let loose in both tie breaks and Raonic was unable to contain its destructive effect.

Juan Martin del Potro won this extraordinary match which lasted a fraction under three hours, 5-7 7-6(1) 7-6(3).

Well placed to capture the “Sunshine Double” after defeating Federer in Indian Wells last week, del Potro is on a winning run of 15, having won in Acapulco before his excellent US showing.

Next cab off the rank will have John Isner as its passenger and it will be a tricky fare for Juan Martin to negotiate.

Isner and Stephens delight US fans

Good news for American crowds on Day Eight of the Miami Open.

Sloane Stephens (13) continued her rampaging run through the tournament, this time tearing apart Angie Kerber (10) in one of two WTA quarter finals played.

Stephens faced just a single break point for the match, which she promptly saved.  However, she created ten chances on the German serve, and converted four, two in each set, to assist the ride home 6-1 6-2.

The humiliation took a fraction over an an hour with Kerber only able to win about half the points on her fragile first serve.

Stephens earned the right to play wildcard Vika Azarenka in a semi final, and whoever predicted this prior to the tournament is a Nostradamus descendant.

Azarenka is back in a big way, having disposed of Keys (14), Sevastova (20) and Radwanska (30).

Now she has shown Karolina Pliskova (5) the exit door in the other quarter final on Day Eight.

Admittedly the Czech star cut short the match, leaving Vika, the dual Grand Slam champ, with the spoils 6-2 2-1 (retired), but it doesn’t change the fact that Halep, Wozniacki et al have a tennis mum with which to deal and she is playing with a pretty dangerous deck of cards.

The American fans were rapt with the Stephens win and were jumping even higher for joy as John Isner (14) outgunned fellow big server and number two seed Marin Cilic 7-6(0) 6-3 in a round of sixteen upset.

Isner now faces Hyeon Chung (19) with the winner taking a semi final spot.

The highest seeds left in the men’s draw are Sascha Zverev (4) and Indian Wells winner Juan Martin del Potro (5).

Sloane slays Garbine

Day Seven In Miami, and another big name in the women’s draw fell by the wayside, joined by a trio of American hopes in the men’s tournament.

Garbine Muguruza (3) has been the highest ranked left in the women’s draw but no longer.

In a fourth round match between two of the current Grand Slam title holders, it was 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens (13) who prevailed over the current Wimbledon champion 6-3 6-4.

After winning at Flushing Meadows, Sloane lost her last six matches (including Fed Cup) for 2017, and didn’t win a match this year until the end of February in Acapulco.

With her decisive victory over Muguruza, Stephens now has won 7 of her last 9 matches to prove once again that she does belong in the top bracket.

Other round of sixteen matches decided in the women’s draw:

Wildcard Vika Azarenka defeated Agnieszka Radwanska (30) 6-2 6-2

She will play Karolina Pliskova in the quarter finals

Karolina Pliskova (5) defeated Zarina Diyas 6-2 2-1 (retired)

Angie Kerber (10) defeated qualifier Yafan Wang 6-7(1) 7-6(5) 6-3

She will play Sloane Stephens in the quarter finals 

Jelena Ostapenko (6) defeated Petra Kvitová (9) 7-6(4) 6-3

She will play Elina Svitolina in the quarter finals 

Elina Svitolina (4) defeated Ash Barty (21) 7-5 6-4

Venus Williams (8) defeated Johanna Konta (11) 5-7 6-1 6-2

She will play Danielle Collins in the quarter finals 

Qualifier Danielle Collins defeated Monica Puig 3-6 6-4 6-2

While 3 American women feature in the final eight, we saw the departure of the following US men:

Jack Sock (8) - dismissed by Borna Coric (29) 5-7 7-6(4) 6-3

Sam Querrey (11) - defeated by Denis Shapovalov 6-4 3-6 7-5

Steve Johnson - defeated (not as surprisingly, but still disappointing for local crowds) by Pablo Carreno Busta (16) 6-4 6-4

Dimitrov exits Miami

After the world adjusted to the cataclysmic exit of Roger Federer so early in Miami, nothing unexpected was going to shock anyone come a Day Six, and indeed all the results went to script.

Except for third seed Grigor Dimitrov, whose hopes fell at the hands of unseeded Jérémy Chardy 6-4 6-4 in the third round.

After starting the year with a 10-3 match record, including a final against Federer in February in Rotterdam, Dimitrov has lost his opening matches in Dubai and Indian Wells - his only match win since Rotterdam was here in the second round against Maximilian Marterer.

Chardy, on the other hand, has made the round of sixteen at both Indian Wells and Miami, and it took Federer to remove him from IW.

Other third round matches in the bottom of the men’s draw:

Juan Martin del Potro (5) defeated Kei Nishikori (26) 6-2 6-2

Filip Krajinovic (22) defeated Benoit Paire 6-3 6-3

Milos Raonic (20) defeated Diego Schwartzman (13) 7-6(5) 6-3

João Sousa defeated Jared Donaldson 1-6 6-3 6-4

Hyeon Chung (19) defeated qualifier Michael Mmoh 6-1 6-1

John Isner (14) defeated Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 6-3

Marin Cilic (2) defeated Vasek Pospisil 7-5 7-6(4)

The women’s third round was concluded with all the big names in the   bottom of the draw safely through to the round of sixteen - Svitolina, Ostapenko, Venus Williams, Kvitova and Konta - although three of them dropped the opening set in the process.

Kokkinakis shocks Federer

Day Five in Miami and the top seeds in both the men’s and women’s draws both departed.

Simona Halep (1), in one of the eight third round matches played, fell in three sets to Agnieszka Radwanska (30) 3-6 6-2 6-3.

Into the round of sixteen was wildcard Vika Azarenka, eliminating Anastasija Sevastova (20). It is great to see Vika the mum screaming back to her proper place in women’s tennis, because she adds even more to an increasingly deep pool of quality players on tour.

The men’s second round matches were concluded, and no one really cared about any of the matches other than that which showed top seed Roger Federer losing to Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Thanasi had played just three matches for the year, with one win, while Roger had lost just won after winning 17 straight.

Federer served efficiently in set one, with 77% of first deliveries finding the mark, and 77% of points won on all his serves.

Kokkinakis, for his part, won 62% of points behind his serve, despite a poor 42% first serve percentage.

Federer faced no break points, but converted one of the two presented his way, and led 6-3 with little drama.

The Aussie forehand began to worry Federer in set two, particularly on the Swiss second serve, where most of the points were mopped up by the confident Thanasi.

The single break in this set was owned by Kokkinakis and the match was surprisingly levelled 3-6 6-3.

A tie break was required in the third set, and Kokkinakis survived a number of pressure situations to reach that point.

An excellently played breaker gave the young talent a huge victory, and Federer became the victim of two successive losses for the first time since 2014.

This shock win was by the lowest ranked player over a number one since 2003.

A great boost for Thanasi who had been beset by injury throughout his career, almost ending it before it had a chance to thrive.

Now hopefully he can progress, his next match against Fernando Verdasco a real challenge.

Where is the real Djokovic ?

Day Four of the Miami Open and the second round of the men’s draw commenced, with half the seeds putting their feet on court for the first time.

Disappointment for Novak Djokovic (9) once again as he was easily defeated by Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3 6-4. Paire would win the right to play Filip Krajinovic (22) in the third round after the Serb salvaged something for his country after the Djokovic shock, defeating qualifier Liam Broady 6-3 6-2.

Other seeds to fall by the wayside included:

Richard Gasquet (30) - knocked over by compatriot Jérémy Chardy 7-5 6-1

David Goffin (7) - clearly not fully fit and dumped by João Sousa 6-0 6-1

Feliciano López (25) - defeated by Jared Donaldson 6-4 6-2

Roberto Bautista Agut (12) - defeated by American qualifier Michael Mmoh 7-6(4) 2-6 6-4

Gilles Muller (23) - defeated by Mikhail Youzhny 4-6 6-4 6-2 in a battle of the veterans

Andrey Rublev (27) - defeated by Vasek Pospisil 7-6(5) 6-4

The women’s second round was finished off and the seeds were not unscathed there either. Those not playing singles In Miami anymore in 2018 included:

Shuai Zhang (31) - eliminated by Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3 6-2

Daria Kasatkina (19) - given her marching orders by qualifier Sofia Kenin 3-6 6-2 6-2

Kiki Mladenovic (15) - defeated by Petra Martic 3-6 6-4 6-2

Coco Vandeweghe (16) - defeated by fellow American and qualifier Danielle Collins 6-3 1-6 6-1

Elena Vesnina (24) - defeated by Donna Vekic 6-3 6-7(4) 6-1

Anett Kontaveit (28) - defeated by Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-1

Caroline Wozniacki (2) - despite a dominant start, dismissed by Monica Puig 0-6 6-4 6-4

Dodin gives Halep harsh Miami test

Day Three of the Miami Open on Key Biscayne, Florida was rather difficult for a number of seeds in th women’s draw, after they enjoyed a first round bye.

Top seed Simona Halep ran into a red hot Oceane Dodin, who belied her ranking of 98 by pounding many winners and hitting several big serves, to unsettle Halep.

Dodin was a lucky loser in qualifying but appeared much more accomplished as she served four aces and broke twice to lead 6-3.

As expected, Halep revived her fortunes in set two, with Dodin only winning 35% of points behind her serve.

Between the two, serve was only held four times, but the top seed was responsible for three of those and levelled at a set all.

In the decider, Dodin thrilled the crowd with some punishing ground shots for several winners, breaking Halep to lead 3-1, and then again for 4-2, after Halep had muscled her way back on serve in a lengthy fifth game.

Sadly for the tall French player, Halep found her range and consistency, and reeled off five of the final six games to escape 3-6 6-3 7-5 and move into the third round.

Other seeds not so fortunate to survive their first outing included:

Madison Keys (14) - beaten by wildcard Vika Azarenka 7-6(5) 2-0 (retired)

Julia Goerges (12) - beaten by German compatriot Carina Witthoeft 7-6(2) 4-6 6-4

Sveta Kuznetsova (18 - beaten by Zarina Diyas 6-1 6-3

Sorana Cîrstea (32) - beaten by Su-Wei Hsieh 7-5 6-2

Barbora Strycova (25) - beaten by Christina McHale 6-1 6-4

Magdaléna Rybarikova (17) - beaten by qualifier Monica Niculescu 6-3 6-3

Carla Suárez Navarro (27) - beaten by qualifier Yafan Wang 7-5 6-3

Caroline Garcia (7) - beaten by qualifier Alison Riske 6-3 6-1

Half of the seeds sent out to play were successful, if you can count the walkover given to Garbiñe Muguruza (3) among those.

But it was a relief for organisers to see Agnieszka Radwanska (30), Anastasija Sevastova (20), Karolina Pliskova (5), Sloane Stephens (13), Angie Kerber (10), and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (23) all join Halep on the road to round three

Naomi beats Serena in Miami

The Miami Open has begun and the women’s Premier Mandatory event has seen the 32 first round matches completed and the 32 seeds progress with byes.

Three notable unseeded players in the tournament are former champions Serena Williams and Vika Azarenka, and last weeks Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka.

Because of their current rankings, Serena (491) and Vika (186) had to be granted wildcards to enter the tournament, but once in the draw, it was no drama for the Belarusian as Azarenka rushed through her first match against American teenager Catherine Bellis 6-3 6-0.

Not the best luck of the draw for Serena or Naomi as they had to play each other in the opening round on Day Two.

For most of the first set points were evenly shared, yet the key ones went Osaka’s way. The Japanese number one broke, and at 3-5 40-0 Serena failed to capitalise on three game points, and lost her serve again, and the set 3-6.

Osaka pressed home her advantage in set two, winning nine of eleven points on the American second serve, breaking twice in the process, and taking home the chocolates 6-3 6-2.

A most impressive victory against such an opponent, and a confidence boost ahead of the difficult second round encounter with Elina Svitolina (4).

An interesting first round result in the men’s draw was the win by teenage wildcard Mikael Ymer from Sweden. Ranked 407, he defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 3-6 7-5 6-1.

Ymer was the beaten in the 2015 Wimbledon Junior Singles Final, and has won two ITF Futures titles, but this was his first main draw success at ATP level.

16 women’s seeds begin their campaigns on Day Three, while the men complete round one of their draw.

Azarenka v Keys (14) and Makarova v Pliskova (5) look to be excellent matches to watch out for.

del Potro and Osaka surprise to win IW titles

The finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells produced two champions, both of whom defeated the favoured player in their matches.

Naomi Osaka dropped the opening service game of the match, but after that was in complete control of Daria Kasatkina (20).

Kasatkina had displayed the best tennis throughout the tournament, but in the semi final was pushed to the limit by Venus Williams. Osaka, by contrast, took top seed Simona Halep to the cleaners in their semi final, and was clearly peaking at the right time.

Her powerful game was unable to be challenged by Kasatkina in much the same way Halep failed.

Errors flowed from the Russian racquet more frequently as the match progressed.

The many winners from Osaka came predominantly from her forehand but as her confidence rose the backhand became almost as lethal.

The serve was dominant, only one break point needing to be saved after the opening game. Breaking serve in the eighth game, the Japanese number one cruised to a 6-3 lead.

In the second set, Osaka lost just three points on her serve throughout.

She broke the Kasatkina serve twice to lead 5-1, and there was no problem serving out the match 6-3 6-2.

This was the first title for Osaka, and what a big one to capture as the breakthrough.

The Miami Open follows immediately , and it is also a Premier Mandatory tournament. The draw there is harsh for Osaka, with Serena Williams as her first round opponent. If she wins that, fourth seed Svitolina is the second round challenge.

Although now ranked 22 in the world, Osaka is unseeded in Miami as seedings were assigned prior to today.

13 of the past 14 Indian Wells Masters 1000 titles had been won by either Federer Djokovic or Nadal, and Juan Martin del Potro had yet to win any trophy at this level, so the Argentine entered the 2018 final against top seed Federer as the underdog.

However, like Osaka had done with Kasatkina, del Potro (6) outplayed the favourite Federer in the opening set. His renowned forehand was working well, and while Federer was targeting the backhand, that obvious tactic wasn’t bearing much fruit. Instead the sixth seed was, for the most part, moving Federer around the court and drawing him into error on sufficient occasion to break serve once and take the set 6-4.

Thereafter the match was decided with tiebreaks.

Set two gave del Potro a match point at 8-7 in the tiebreak with Federer serving, but a South American forehand error saved the top seed, who proceeded to win the next two points as well and win the set.

Set three saw Roger break and serve for the match at 5-4.

He had three match point chances and must have had celebrations in the back of his mind. Not so fast thought del Potro who saved them all and eventually levelled at 5-5.

The tiebreak included two double faults from Roger, and that was enough for Juan Martin to coast to victory 6-4 6-7(8) 7-6(2).

With his maiden Masters 1000 triumph, del Potro adds another chapter to his tennis story and moves up to number six in the world rankings.

Without his past injury woes, he is now back where he always belonged, challenging amongst the elite in men’s tennis.

Federer lost, but only just, and should start favourite in Miami.

Federer and del Potro in dream IW final

The two men’s semi finals were played on Day Eleven of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

One was close and lasted 140 minutes, the other was a quick straight sets win.

Roger Federer (1) was involved in the three setter with unseeded Borna Coric and no one expected the trouble found by the Swiss ace, five time champion here previously.

In the opening set, Coric hit the ball consistently with great depth and power, finding Federer out of position on more occasions than normal, and the error count from the top seed was also unusually that of a mere mortal.

Coric broke in the eleventh game and served out the set to lead 7-5.

This was the first set lost by Federer for the tournament, and only the fourth dropped for the year.

Breaking Federer immediately in set two, Coric maintained his advantage through seven games, and was serving for a 5-3 lead.

However, Federer was now back to his intimidating best, and Coric began to struggle with his serve.

Wrapping up the last three games, Federer levelled the match 5-7 6-4.

Although Coric once again was ahead a break in the decider (twice), it was Federer who had the poise when required and he ran out the victor 5-7 6-4 6-4.

The 17-0 start to 2018 is the best for Federer in his decorated career, moving past his incredible 2006 where 16-0 was his beginning.

The opponent for Federer in the Indian Wells final will be Juan Martin del Potro (6), who made light work of Milos Raonic (32) 6-2 6-3 in the second semi final.

Raonic relies on his big serve to a large degree, but in this match del Potro took the initiative, winning 24 of 27 points from his first serve, facing no break points, and breaking the Canadian delivery four times from five chances.

Fittingly two Grand Slam champions will play the final here, and they have clashed in finals five times in the past, del Potro winning three of those, the most prestigious the 2009 US Open.

Surprisingly the Argentine has yet to lift a Masters 1000 trophy, and Federer won’t make it easy for a first one on Sunday.

Kasatkina and Osaka in Indian Wells final

Two twenty year olds will contest the BNP Paribas Open women’s final at Indian Wells on Sunday.

Daria Kasatkina (20) was two points from exiting the tournament at the hands of Venus Williams (8) in their semi final but found her way to victory.

The bigger surprise was the crushing win by Naomi Osaka over Simona Halep (1).

Kasatkina raced to a 3-1 lead in the opening set before Williams adjusted her game, coming forward at every opportunity to blunt the effectiveness of the Russian shot making.

Winning four successive games, Williams led 5-3, but Kasatkina broke back for 4-5.

Venus won the set 6-4 thanks to a double fault and an errant forehand from Daria.

Nothing much separated the pair in set two, but it was the Russian who claimed two breaks of serve to level things 4-6 6-4. Williams was starting to leak more unforced errors, assisting in Kasatkina’s revival.

After trading service breaks at the start of set three, the players held serve through to 4-5, with Kasatkina to serve.

Until then it was Daria holding more easily. However, in the tenth game she was down 0-30 and Venus was close to victory.

Kasatkina simply won twelve of the last fourteen points, mostly due to Williams errors, and the match was hers 4-6 6-4 7-5.

That makes four straight wins over current top twenty players, each of whom are Grand Slam tournament champions.

Naomi Osaka interrupted the run of Simona Halep, whose only loss for 2018 had been the Aus Open final in which she was so close to triumphing.

After breaking Halep’s opening serve, Osaka was immediately given the same treatment and 3-3 was reached in set one.

From that point Osaka overpowered Halep, winning nine successive games. The Japanese number one had soaring confidence and Halep was unusually scattering errors all over the court due to the pressure being exerted.

6-3 6-0 and a second final for Osaka, this no doubt the bigger one of her career.

Osaka is now number 26 in the world, a new career high, up from her previous high of 40. It will be 22 should she win the final.

Kasatkina is now at a career high of 11, and will move into the top ten at 9 if she wins the title.

Her career high before this tournament was 19.

The remaining men’s quarter finals:

Milos Raonic (32) defeated Sam Querrey (18) 7-5 2-6 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro (6) defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber (31) 3-6 6-3 6-4

Men’s semis on Day Eleven will be:

Roger Federer (1) v Borna Coric 

Milos Raonic (32) v Juan Martin del Potro (6) 

Kasatkina on a roll - downs Kerber

The world is a happy place for Daria Kasatkina (20) as she continues to beat the very best tennis players in the world.

On Day Nine of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the 20 year old Russian didn’t just beat Angie Kerber (10) in a quarter final - she pulverised the former world number one and dual Grand Slam title holder.

The first set showcased all the shots that Kasatkina now has at her disposal, and the sheer confidence with which she is able to pick and choose when to play them.

The repeated forehand winners just had too much power behind them for Kerber to handle, and the timing of drop shots and angled backhands drew a number of errors from the German who only managed to win six points on her own serve for the set.

6-0 and Kasatkina was half way to the final four in just 22 minutes of wonderful tennis.

Set two was more of the same, although Kerber did improve, at least winning half the points on her serve.

Not nearly enough of a performance lift to bother Kasatkina who broke serve twice from two chances and won the quarter final 6-0 6-2.

Of her last 14 matches in 2018, Kasatkina has won 11, five of those against Grand Slam title winners, including the last three here in Indian Wells.

Sitting now at a live ranking of 14, a new career high, Daria will move to 11 should she beat Venus Williams (8) in their semi final.

Venus had too much class for Carla Suárez Navarro in the other quarter final decided on Day Nine, enjoying a 6-3 6-2 victory.

Meanwhile the first of the men’s quarter finals were held, with Roger Federer (1) tossing aside Hyeon Chung (23) 7-5 6-1 in one of them.

Federer dropped serve just once for the match (first set), while managing to crack open the Korean delivery twice in each set.

Chung lost the second set easily, but the scoreline doesn’t show that he had the same amount of break points - five - as Federer for the set. He just couldn’t convert.

Federer will play Borna Coric in the semi finals after the unseeded Croatian upset Kevin Anderson (7) in almost two and a half hours 2-6 6-4 7-6(3).

Yet another seed that Roger won’t have to face after he again successfully subcontracted a hit job, this time on Anderson.

Day Ten offers up a big serving quarter final between Sam Querrey (18) and Milos Raonic (32), and another interesting clash between Juan Martin del Potro (6) and the in form Philipp Kohlschreiber (31).

The women’s semi finals, to be played at night, will be the highlights though.

Naomi Osaka is enjoying what may well develop into a break out year.

At a mere 20 years old, she will face stiff opposition from top seed Simona Halep.

Another 20 year old Daria Kasatkina, seeded 20, will push Venus Williams (8) to the limit in the first of the semis.

This means we have the youngest pair of Indian Wells semi finalists since 2009 when the then 19 year old Vika Azarenka and 17 year old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova made the final four.

Halep and Osaka into Indian Wells semis

As the serious business of the BNP Paribas Open has come, and upsets have rendered several star names obsolete until Miami next week, Day Eight provided a sense of predictability for the most part.

The men’s fourth round matches were played, and each win was not a surprise, although achieving the success was not simple in all cases.

Kevin Anderson (7) was put through the ropes by Pablo Carreno Busta before eventually prevailing 4-6 6-3 7-6(6)

He will play Borna Coric in the quarter finals 

Borna Coric defeated Taylor Fritz 6-2 6-7(6) 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro (6) was in a deal of trouble against fellow Argentine Leonardo Mayer, down a set and a break, before firing back to win a quarter final spot.

Mayer won 83% of points behind his serve in the opening set and didn’t face a break point, whereas he created three chances to crack the Delpo delivery. He converted one of those to lead by a set.

The momentum carried Mayer to 3-1 in the second set, but del Potro was angry at this point and lifted his game to a level near where it should be.

A service hold, then a break, and it was 3-3. From there serve was held by both until the critical tie break in which del Potro took control to win easily and level the match.

The sixth seed continued to win the key points as he ran through the final set, using both of his break points to advantage.

The 3-6 7-6(2) 6-3 win was hard fought, but del Potro is well placed now, facing Philipp Kohlschreiber (31) in the quarter finals.

Kohlschreiber won his battle with unseeded Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 7-6(1) in match which could easily have swung either way.

Other fourth round results:

Milos Raonic (32) was given a walkover by Marcos Baghdatis who withdrew through illness

Raonic will face Sam Querrey in the quarter finals

Sam Querrey (18) defeated Feliciano López (28) 6-3 6-4

This will be the first quarter final at Indian Wells for Querrey, and his first final eight appearance at a Masters 1000 event since Paris 2012.

Roger Federer (1) defeated Jérémy Chardy 7-5 6-4

The draw has opened up for Federer, as it often does, other players helping him by removing Grigor Dimitrov (3) and Dominic Thiem (5) from his section.

Roger will meet the quickly improving Hyeon Chung in the quarter finals

Hyeon Chung (23) defeated Pablo Cuevas (30) 6-1 6-3

This will be the debut quarter final at Masters 1000 level for Chung

The two women’s quarter finals played on Day Eight featured highly rated seeds against unseeded players, but neither match went to script for Simona Halep (1) or Karolina Pliskova (5).

Halep won the opening set against Petra Martic 6-4 thanks to a fine serving display in windy conditions.

The wind seemed to upset Halep more than Martic in set two and the top seed was down 2-5. This was rectified and a tie break was ultimately required. Martic at 5 points each revived her match hopes by winning the next two points and the set 7-6(5)

Down 1-3 in the final set, Halep powered her way back, winning the final five games and the match 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3.

She will play Naomi Osaka in the semi finals. Osaka thrashed Karolina Pliskova (5) 6-2 6-3

Their only previous meeting was in Toronto last year where Pliskova won in straight sets.

Here Osaka dominated, breaking the Czech serve six times from ten created chances. Using the pace of Pliskova’s ground strokes to perfection, Osaka forced the fifth seed into error with her consistently precise placement.

Although she has lost to Halep in all three of their clashes, the most recent in the 2018 Aus Open, Osaka can feel confident ahead of the semi final, especially considering Halep has struggled in two of her last three matches.

Wozniacki and Cilic exit Indian Wells

Day Seven of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, saw the defeat of the number two seeds in both the men’s and women’s draws.

Marin Cilic (2) was dismissed by Philipp Kohlschreiber (31) in the third round 6-4 6-4.  The 2018 Aus Open runner up has, since the thrilling Melbourne final, only played in Rio de Janeiro, where he lost to Gaël Monfils in the round of sixteen, and here where again his tournament was cut short early.

However, with world numbers 4, 5 and 6 - Dimitrov, Zverev and Thiem - also gone from Indian Wells, Cilic will remain comfortably at number three in the world.

Kohlschreiber will play Pierre-Hugues Herbert who defeated French compatriot Gaël Monfils 6-2 3-1 (retired) in the fourth round.

This is only the third time the German has reached the round of sixteen in a Masters 1000 event - the previous occasions were also at Indian Wells in 2009 and 2011.

The other results to complete the third round:

Feliciano López (28) defeated Jack Sock (8) 7-6(6) 4-6 6-4

He will play Sam Querrey in the fourth round 

Sam Querrey (18) defeated qualifier Yuki Bhambri 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4

Qualifier Marcos Baghdatis defeated lucky loser in qualifying Dudi Sela 7-6(5) 6-4

He will play Milos Raonic in the fourth round 

Milos Raonic (32) defeated Joao Sousa 7-5 4-6 6-2

Juan Martin del Potro (6) defeated David Ferrer (29) 6-4 7-6(3)

del Potro is the only single figure seed left in the bottom part of the draw

He will play Leonardo Mayer in the fourth round 

Leonardo Mayer defeated qualifier Taro Daniel 6-4 6-1

Daria Kasatkina (20) defeated Caroline Wozniacki (2) and the 20 year old Russian is enjoying a golden run, in contrast to the poor start in Australia which reaped two opening round losses before a second round loss in the 2018 Aus Open.

The week after the Aus Open, Daria made the semi finals in St Petersburg, along the way defeating Caroline Wozniacki, only days after the Danish star had captured her first Grand Slam title.

A disappointing first round loss in Doha was more than compensated in Dubai, where Kasatkina was runner up to Svitolina after wins over top ten players Konta and Muguruza.

Daria has, with her win over Sloane Stephens, and now Caroline Wozniacki, here in Indian Wells, has this year alone defeated the 2017 Wimbledon, 2017 US Open, and 2018 Aus Open (twice) champions.

Her ranking has risen from 24 to what will be at least 15 after this tournament, and 9 if she happens to win the whole thing.

The really impressive thing about Kasatkina in her latest victory was her ability to come back from seemingly forlorn positions.

When down 0-3 in set one, taking six of the next seven games would have been deemed implausible against the might of Wozniacki, but it was done through limiting errors, a strength of Wozniacki, done better than the second seed.

Kasatkina also presented Wozniacki with problems thanks to a topspin forehand and sliced backhand which were on song.

Wozniacki predictably came back in the second set, where serve was broken regularly. At 3-2 and serving, Kasatkina lost complete momentum and the second seed won the bulk of the points to win three straight games and lead 5-3.

A sudden switch occurred with the Russian tearing up the court again with winners aplenty and causing stress once more to Wozniacki.

The last four games were Daria’s as was the match 6-4 7-5, and a third Premier Mandatory tournament quarter final awaits her - the previous being her main draw debut at Indian Wells in 2016 and last year in Beijing.

Her quarter final opponent here will be Angie Kerber (10) who smashed Caroline Garcia (7) to the tune of 6-1 6-1.

Other fourth round results:

Simona Halep (1) defeated Qiang Wang 7-5 6-1

Halep has an imposing 17-1 win/loss record in 2018, the solitary loss the Aus Open final.

She will play Petra Martic in a quarter final 

Petra Martic defeated Marketa Vondrousova 6-3 7-6(4)

A breakthrough performance at a Premier Mandatory event for Petra

Naomi Osaka defeated Maria Sakkari 6-1 5-7 6-1

She will play Karolina Pliskova in a quarter final 

Karolina Pliskova (5) defeated wildcard Amanda Anisimova 6-4 7-6(2)

Venus Williams (8) defeated Anastasija Sevastova (21) 7-6(6) 6-4

She will play Carla Suárez Navarro in a quarter final 

Carla Suárez Navarro (27) defeated wildcard Danielle Collins 6-2 6-4

Venus wins sibling clash

Taylor Fritz was in primary school when Rafa Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in their epic 2009 Australian Open semi final.

On Day Six in Indian Wells, the 20 year old American defeated Verdasco, and in doing so added another highlight to his growing CV.

Fritz has made the round of sixteen at a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time. Previously, he had never ventured past the second round at this level and never beyond the opening round at Indian Wells..

With plenty of years of improvement ahead of him, fans can expect that CV to become an impressive document.

The match opened with Fernando serving well, winning 15 of 18 points on his first attempts, and 80% on all his serves.

Taylor kept in touch, but it was Fernando who converted the sole break point available in the set to lead 6-4.

Situation reversed for Verdasco in set two as his first serve % dropped to a miserable 42%. Fritz, on the other hand, dominated, with 70% of first serves landing legally, and him winning 89% of points resulting from those deliveries.

Facing no break points himself, the crowd favourite broke Fernando twice to level the match 4-6 6-2.

The deciding set was close (1 service break apiece) and required a tie break. The breaker was not close, with Taylor Fritz blitzing Fernando Verdasco to win 4-6 6-2 7-6(1)

The fourth round challenge for Taylor will be another youngster, 21 year old unseeded Borna Coric, who upset 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in their third round encounter 6-1 6-3

Other third round results:

Roger Federer (1) defeated Filip Krajinovic (25) 6-2 6-1

Jérémy Chardy defeated Adrian Mannarino (20) in a battle of the Frenchmen 7-5 4-6 6-1

Hyeon Chung (23) defeated Tomas Berdych (12) 6-4 6-4

Pablo Cuevas (30) defeated Dominic Thiem (5) 3-6 6-4 4-2 (retired)

Pablo Carreno Busta (11) defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-1 7-5

Kevin Anderson (7) defeated Nicolas Kicker 7-6(1) 7-6(3)

The bottom half of the women’s draw came out to play third round matches, and the eagerly awaited battle of the Williams sisters was top of the list.

Serena had won the last three times they had clashed, each of those in a Grand Slam setting, the most recent the 2017 Aus Open.

Venus last beat her sister in the 2014 Canadian Masters semi final.

Last year she made the quarter finals here. It was her second appearance at Indian Wells after boycotting the event for 14 years.

In the 2018 BNP Paribas Open, Venus conquered Serena.

The opening set belonged completely to the number 8 seed, and maybe this was not a big surprise - the point of the tournament where Serena would eventually struggle - given her lack of match play and the increased quality of opponent. 

Venus won 37 points to 26 and achieved the only break, to lead 6-3

The second set was tighter, and though Serena was back in the match, it came after Venus claimed an early break, forcing the champ to play catch up.

The victory for Venus was 6-3 6-4, but Serena can take heart from her two wins which proved that with further tournament action she will once again take a power of beating.

Venus progresses to the round of sixteen, where she will tackle Anastasija Sevastova (21) who defeated Julia Goerges (12) 6-3 6-3

Other matches to complete the third round:

Wildcard Danielle Collins defeated wildcard Sofya Zhuk 6-4 6-4

She will play Carla Suárez Navarro (27) in the fourth round 

Carla Suárez Navarro (27) defeated Elina Svitolina (4) 7-5 6-3

Caroline Garcia (7) defeated Dasha Gavrilova (26) 7-5 6-4

She will play Angie Kerber (10) in the fourth round 

Angie Kerber (10) defeated defending champion Elena Vesnina (24) 7-5 6-2

Daria Kasatkina (20) defeated Sloane Stephens (13) 6-4 6-3

She will play Caroline Wozniacki (2) in the fourth round 

Caroline Wozniacki (2) defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4 2-6 6-3 in about 140 minutes of fascinating tennis.

Federer and Halep avoid carnage

Day Five was a happy one for Simona Halep (1) and Karolina Pliskova (5) at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Not just because they had wins (hard fought though they each were) but due to all remaining seeds in their half of the draw dropping like flies.

Simona won’t need to play Kiki Mladenovic (14) in the round of sixteen thanks to Qiang Wang eliminating the French player smartly 6-1 6-2.

Nor will her quarter final opponent be Jelena Ostapenko (6), who was shown the exit gate by Petra Martic 6-3 6-3.

Karolina was no doubt dreading a fourth round encounter with her fellow Czech mate Petra Kvitova (9), but she can sleep a little easier, knowing that Petra has left courtesy of 16 year old American revelation wildcard Amanda Anisimova 6-2 6-4.

Maria Sakkari had shifted Ash Barty (16), the seeded round of sixteen opponent for Karolina, out of contention in the second round.

On Day Five she knocked out Coco Vandeweghe (17), who had assumed the likely fourth round meeting with Pliskova from Barty.

Of course the expected quarter final between Karolina and Garbine Muguruza (3) was thrown out the window with the Spaniard’s loss to qualifier Sachia Vickery.

The wash up sees the following round of sixteen line up in the top half of the draw:

Simona Halep (1) v Qiang Wang

Halep showed her renowned grit and determination in coming back f1-6 against hugely impressive wildcard Caroline Dolehide to win 1-6 7-6(3) 6-2

Marketa Vondrousova v Petra Martic 

Naomi Osaka v Maria Sakkari 

Wildcard Amanda Anisimova v Karolina Pliskova (5)

Pliskova took three sets and two and a half hours to finally shake off Shuai Zhang (32) 7-5 5-7 6-3

There were also some surprises in the men’s draw on Day Five.

The completion of second round matches, with seeds taking the court for the first time, came with highly valued casualties:

Qualifier Yuki Bhambri, ranked 110, defeated Lucas Pouille (9) 6-4 6-4

Qualifier Marcos Baghdatis, ranked 102, defeated Diego Schwartzman (14) 7-5 6-4

Lucky loser in qualifying Dudi Sela, ranked 97, defeated Kyle Edmund (21) 6-4 6-4

João Sousa, ranked 85, defeated Sascha Zverev (4) 7-5 5-7 6-4

Qualifier Taro Daniel, ranked 109, defeated Novak Djokovic (10) 7-6(3) 4-6 6-1

Gael Monfils defeated John Isner (15) 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 7-5

Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeated Gilles Muller (24) 6-3 7-

Roger Federer (1), Marin Cilic (2), Juan Martin del Potro (6), and Jack Sock (8) all won through to the third round.

Dimitrov out - sisters to battle

What is the problem with men’s tennis ?

Roger Federer is one of the best ever - we know that - but how can the supposed next generation still allow this man (who is quite entitled to his pension, rocking chair, and pipe and whisky on the front porch) to wander through tournaments at will, while the Zverevs, Cilics, Thiems, etc are happy to accept occasional losses to players ranked well below their respective talents ?

When will a player outside Roger and Rafa, and Andy and Novak, with occasional Stan intervention, step up consistently at big tournaments ?

The latest to flop is Grigor Dimitrov, who took his time to fully realise his talent, but did so with a stellar 2017 (albeit not firing as well at the majors).

The third seed fell in the second round this week at Indian Wells to Fernando Verdasco, the Spaniard veteran winning 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3.

This was Grigor’s first match since losing his opening match in Dubai to Malek Jaziri, who was ranked outside the top 100.

Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray, when fit and in the top four, 99% of the time didn’t / don’t drop these type of matches, and accordingly retained / retain their positions at the top. This is where Dimitrov and the like need to become more adept if they wish to push for the very top and remain there for any significant length of time.

Two other Spaniards were true to their seedings - Roberto Bautista Agut (13) disappointed fans by eliminating American Jared Donaldson 6-4 6-2, and Pablo Carreno Busta (11) ousted in form Argentine Horacio Zeballos in a thriller 3-6 6-3 7-6(3).

Except for Dimitrov, the other top ten players to take the court on Day Four made it safely through to the third round.

Dominic Thiem (5) defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 3-6 6-3 and Kevin Anderson (7) defeated Evgeny Donskoy 7-5 6-4.

Roger Federer (1) was leading in his match with Federico Delbonis 6-3 before rain caused play to be suspended until Day Five.

Nick Kyrgios was due to play Daniil Medvedev but he withdrew from the tournament with his troubling elbow injury, and his place was taken by lucky loser from qualifying Matteo Berrettini.

Matteo lost to Medvedev, but he was not a lucky loser this time and his time in the main draw was brief.

Of the WTA matches completed, both Williams sisters won, meaning they will play each other in the third round.

A victim of their success was Kiki Bertens (29), the second player dismissed by Serena this week.

Notable upsets were instigated by wildcards - American Danielle Collins, ranked 117, outgunned compatriot Madison Keys (15) 6-3 7-6(1) and Russian 18 year old Sofya Zhuk, ranked 136, defeated Magdalena Rybarikova (18) 6-3 2-6 7-5

Caroline Wozniacki (2), Elina Svitolina (4) and Caroline Garcia (7) all won through to the third round in straight sets.

The suspension through rain was perhaps a blessing for Angie Kerber (10) as she lost the opening set to Ekaterina Makarova 3-6.

That match will be concluded on Day Five, and the yet to be started Vika Azarenka/ Sloane Stephens clash has also been rescheduled to then.

Garbine crashes to US qualifier

Well Day Three of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells proved a shocker for many favoured players as half of the women’s seeds came out to play after first round byes.

The men’s first round matches were completed without too much fuss with the one result to raise more than a few eyebrows being Jan-Lennard Struff’s loss to wildcard Alex de Minaur.

The 19 year old Australian gave away 8 years, 85 ranking spots, half a foot in height and 40 pounds in weight to Struff, who only recently had helped Germany to a Davis Cup first round win over Australia in Brisbane.

de Minaur was scheduled to play Struff in that Brisbane tie, but the match wasn’t required since Germany had already wrapped up the contest 3-1.

And things looked anything but bright here in California for Alex as Struff strode through set one, winning 13 of 14 points on his first serve and facing no break points. de Minaur, though, played well enough, and the 6-3 scoreline only represented one break of serve off the one break point allowed on the Aussie serve.

Nothing could separate the two after that except tiebreakers, with only one service break apiece in the final set, none in the second.

de Minaur triumphed when it mattered, taking his first match at Masters 1000 level 3-6 7-6(3) 7-6(5).

Now for the tornado that swept through the seeds on display in the second round of the women’s draw.

Of the sixteen who took to court, nine have left the Indian Wells singles competition with immediate disappointment.

Yes, six of those were in the bottom sixteen seedings, but the other three were big upsets, one monumental.

The nine seeds departing:

Wildcard Caroline Dolehide, aged 19, American, ranked 165, defeated Dominika Cibulková (30) 5-7 6-3 6-4

Qiang Wang defeated Elise Mertens (22) 4-6 6-3 6-3

Marketa Vondrousova, still 18, defeated Johanna Konta (11) 7-6(5) 6-4

I said this was one to watch but I didn’t think Konta would lose

Aryna Sabalenka defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova (19) 6-4 6-3

Petra Martic defeated Barbora Strycova (25) 7-5 6-4

Naomi Osaka defeated Agnieszka Radwanska (31) 6-3 6-2

Maria Sakkari defeated Ash Barty (16) 6-4 6-2

This was another I said to take a look at but the Sakkari scoreline shocked me

Wildcard Amanda Anisimova, aged 16, American, ranked 149, defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (23) 6-4 6-1

The biggest upset, and yet another reason for US fans to erupt in delight, was the victory of qualifier Sachia Vickery, American, ranked 100, over number three seed Garbine Muguruza.

The Spaniard had complete control, leading 6-2 3-0, with two service breaks in set two. The sort of position from which any top player would find almost impossible to find a way back.

However Vickery stepped up her game and broke the Spanish serve, and held her own for 2-3.

Muguruza steadied and at 4-2 had a close look at the finish line.

That was as near as she managed though, because Vickery amazingly won 11 of the remaining 13 games to remove Garbine from the tournament 2-6 7-5 6-1.

The USA have seven women lining up in the remaining sixteen second round matches, and four already have made the third round, three of whom no one would have predicted prior to the tournament.

Just noting Simona Halep (1), Karolina Pliskova (5), Jelena Ostapenko (6) and Petra Kvitova (9) all made it through to round three, so not all gloom and doom amongst the elite.

Stadium One is the ticket to have for Day Four with both Williams sisters in action, Serena up against Kiki Bertens (29).

Third seed Grigor Dimitrov faces a tough initial test against Fernando Verdasco to complete the day session on that court.

The night card features Roger Federer (1) making his first appearance following a bye in the opening round, where he will meet Argentina’s Federico Delbonis.

Later Vika Azarenka hopes she will continue her good form against Sloane Stephens (13j, the American having only recently begun winning matches again after a long run of outs since her 2017 US Open success.

Wins for Grand Slam Mums

Day Two of the Indian Wells WTA and ATP tournaments delivered some interesting results.

For the men, it wasn’t the big names on court this time, but the American crowds were able to witness a number of their own in action.

While Ryan Harrison, Donald Young and Steve Johnson unfortunately exited in front of disappointed fans, the pleasant surprise was the win by qualifier Mitchell Krueger, a 24 year old Texan, who has been around for six years, and is ranked 231 in the world. His career high was 169 in May last year.

He has two ITF titles to his name (2013 and 2015) but hadn’t made a main draw impact in 2018 until his victory over Benoit Paire 6–4 1-6 6-4 here in the opening round.

Two all American matches took the locals’ fancy - Jared Donaldson had the better of qualifier Evan King 6-1 4-6 6-4, while two 20 year olds went toe to toe.

Taylor Fritz defeated wildcard Reilly Opelka 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4 in what could be the future of tennis in the USA.

However what the fans were waiting for was the return of Serena Williams and she certainly didn’t disappoint.

The 23 times Grand Slam champion is unseeded but dangerous, if her performance against Zarina Diyas is any indication.

Despite being 4-5 and 30-30 in the opening set, Serena blew the match apart as we would expect she might given the “fully match fit “ version, but the champ displayed all the power and brilliance even with the “post baby, first tournament back” edition.

Taking the first set 7-5, Williams broke Diyas immediately with a range of withering shots and claimed a 1-0 advantage in set two.

No coming back for the talented Kazakhstan player, as Serena broke three more times to win 7-5 6-3.

To Zarinas credit Serena had her mighty serve crumble twice, but it was insufficient to prevent a triumphant entry into the second round where Kiki Bertens (29) awaits.

Second mum on the court in the night session was wildcard Vika Azarenka

Her task was to manoeuvre past Heather Watson, which she did decisively 6-4 6-2

Sloane Stephens (13) is the next challenge for the 2 time Aus Open champion.

Day Three will see the completion of the men’s first round matches, while the women trot out the first of the seeds in second round battles after they enjoyed opening round byes.

Matches which appear as highlights include:

Belinda Bencic v Jelena Ostapenko (6)

Naomi Osaka v Agnieszka Radwanska (31)

Samantha Stosur v Kiki Mladenovic (14)

Maria Sakkari v Ash Barty (16)

Johanna Konta (11) v talented teenager Marketa Vondrousova 

As an aside, Vika Azarenka will be back, playing doubles with her Belarusian compatriot Aryna Sabalenka. Both scream relentlessly, so heaven help the team at the other side of the net.

Indian Wells 1st main draw matches

After qualifying rounds were completed in Indian Wells, the first lot of opening round matches commenced on 7 March, with a multitude more to be played the following day.

Good news on the WTA side is the return of Grand Slam mums Serena Williams and Vika Azarenka - hopefully they can make an impact on the tournament.

Serena Williams will meet her sister in the third round if they are successful up to then.

Azarenka, with a first round win, then faces 13th seed Sloane Stephens (1st round bye)

Novak Djokovic also is a welcome addition back on the ATP tour, and has the chance to meet del Potro in the round of sixteen.

12 Grand Slam title winners are in the 96 numbered WTA draw

4 Grand Slam title winners are in the 96 numbered ATP draw

First round WTA results:

Kristyna Pliskova defeated qualifier Ying-Ying Duan 6-4 7-6(5)

Wildcard Caroline Dolehide defeated Shelby Rogers 3-6 7-6(6) 6-3

Qiang Wang defeated Timea Bacsinszky 6-0 4-6 6-2

Samantha Stosur defeated Lauren Davis 3-6 6-3 6-3

Marketa Vondrousova defeated qualifier Madison Brengle 6-2 6-2

Aryna Sabalenka defeated Varvara Lepchenko 7-5 6-1

Petra Martic defeated Tatjana Maria 6-3 6-1

Belinda Bencic defeated Timea Babos 1-6 6-1 7-6(4)

Qualifier Sachia Vickery defeated wildcard Eugenie Bouchard 6-3 6-4

Naomi Osaka defeated Maria Sharapova 6-4 6-4

Kaia Kanepi defeated qualifier Kurumi Nara 1-6 6-4 6-4

Maria Sakkari defeated Donna Vekic 6-4 6-2

Yulia Putintseva defeated Alison Van Uytvanck 6-0 2-6 6-2

Wildcard Amanda Anisimova defeated Pauline Parmentier 6-2 6-2

Qualifier Sofia Kenin defeated wildcard Claire Liu 6-2 6-0

Aleksandra Krunic defeated Irina-Camelia Begu 3-6 6-4 6-1

Bautista Agut 2nd title for 2018

So how have the defending champions fared this past week ?

Well in Dubai Andy Murray was unable to compete due to his injury problems and subsequent operations. The 2017 runner up Rafa Nadal also failed to appear, preferring to save himself for Indian Wells.

In Acapulco, the 2017 Men’s champion was Sam Querrey, and he was bounced out this year by unseeded Matt Ebden in the first round.

Better news for the women’s 2017 champ Lesia Tsurenko, who won her second successive Mexican Open with a consistent week in Acapulco

Pablo Cuevas couldn’t repeat his Brasil Open glory of 2017, knocked out by Fabio Fognini in a semi final this year in São Paulo.

So who won the titles ?

In Dubai it was Roberto Bautista Agut (3) who triumphed over Lucas Pouille (2) 6-3 6-4, to deny the Frenchman in his second successive final after losing at the last hurdle in Marseille last week.

He had earlier this year won the tournament in Montpellier.

Bautista Agut has now won two titles in 2018, the other in Auckland in January.

In Acapulco, Juan Martin del Potro (6) defeated Kevin Anderson (5) 6-4 6-4, to claim the Mexican Open, his first title for 2018, having lost the final in Auckland in January.

Lesia Tsurenko (7), as we noted, defended her Mexican crown, and won her fourth career title in the process (1 each year since July 2015)

She defeated Stefanie Voegele 5-7 7-6(2) 6-2

Fabio Fognini (2) defeated Nicolas Jarry to win the Brasil Open in São Paulo 1-6 6-1 6-4.

This was career title number six for Fognini and his first for 2018.

This week, in fact for the next fortnight, the tennis eyes are concentrated on California, specifically Indian Wells.

The BNP Paribas Open is the first Masters 1000 Tournament for 2018 and the big names are assembled once more, as they were for the Aus Open, though the field is not quite as large.

The WTA is holding a Premier category event in conjunction with the ATP tournament, also titled the BNP Paribas Open.

Pouille in second final in a row

Close to the titles being decided and finalists are ready to perform in Dubai and Acapulco.

Semi finalists have been determined in São Paulo.

Dubai:

Semi final results:

Roberto Bautista Agut (3) defeated wildcard Malek Jaziri 6-3 6-4

Lucas Pouille (2) defeated Filip Krajinovic (7) in a match lasting 140 minutes.

In set one Pouille was dominant on serve despite his first serve percentage being poor (42%).

He won all but one point when he did find the mark with his initial delivery and 64% of points on his second try.

He didn’t face a break point and converted one of the five chances presented to him.

6-3 and a positive start to the second seed.

The next two sets were decided with tie breaks.

Set two stats were almost identical, even down to total points won, 42 apiece. Krajinovic won the breaker seven points to four and levelled the match.

Set three, and again it was impossible to separate the two, no break points created ahead of the tie break.

This time Pouille took the chocolates seven points to five, and the match 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(5)

Pouille will play Bautista Agut in the final - Pouille’s second final in succession after finishing runner up in Marseille last week.

A title win for the Frenchman will rocket him into the top ten - a loss will still leave him at a career high of 12.

A win for Bautista Agut will move him back in the top twenty.

Acapulco:

Women’s semi final results:

Stefanie Voegele defeated qualifier Rebecca Peterson 6-4 7-6(5)

Lesia Tsurenko (7) defeated wildcard Dasha Gavrilova (3) 6-2 6-4

Tsurenko is one step away from a title defence 

If Voegele denies her, then the Swiss player will move from 183 to just outside the top 100 in the rankings (she was once as high as 42 in November 2013)

Men’s semi final results:

Kevin Anderson (5) defeated Jared Donaldson 6-3 4-6 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro (6) defeated Sascha Zverev (2) 6-4 6-2

The final will feature the numbers eight and nine ranked players in the world.

A great hit out ahead of Indian Wells next week.

São Paulo:

Quarter final results:

Nicolas Jarry defeated Albert Ramos-Viñolas 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3)

He will play Horacio Zeballos in the semis

Horacio Zeballos defeated Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-7(3) 6-2 6-4

Pablo Cuevas (3) defeated Leonardo Mayer (5) 6-2 6-7(13) 7-6(5)

He will play Fabio Fognini in the semis 

Fabio Fognini (2) defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4 6-2

Cuevas and Tsurenko on track to defend titles

Semi finals are set in Dubai and Acapulco and quarter finals ready to go in São Paulo, all on Friday, UAE, Mexico and Brazil times.

The top seeds have suffered in the womens draw in Acapulco and the men’s draw in São Paulo, with other upsets here and there.

Quarter final results in Dubai:

In a battle of wildcards, Malek Jaziri defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 3-6 6-3

He will play Roberto Bautista Agut in the semis

Roberto Bautista Agut (3) defeated Borna Coric 7-6(4) 6-4

Filip Krajinovic (7) defeated Evgeny Donskoy 6-1 6-2

He will play Lucas Pouille in the semis

Lucas Pouille (2) defeated Yuichi Sugita (8) 3-6 6-3 6-2

Just as an aside, Andy Murray won this event in 2017, so being on the sidelines and unable to defend his 500 ranking points, expect a significant slide further down the tree, barely hanging on to a top thirty position.

Novak Djokovic is still just outside the top ten but he is fortunate in that the next points he has to defend are not until the Italian Open in May.

If he can fully recover from his elbow injury, and come back at near the top of his game, he has no points to defend after Wimbledon which gives him a chance of finishing 2018 nearer the top of the top ten.

Of course there a lot of ifs involved here, not just the obvious ones.

Quarter final results in Acapulco:

Women

Three of the top four seeds exited at the quarter final stage

In a major upset, Stefanie Voegele from Switzerland, ranked 183, defeated top seed Sloane Stephens 6-4 5-7 6-2

She will play Rebecca Peterson in an unseeded semi final 

Qualifier Rebecca Peterson defeated Shuai Zhang (4) 6-2 6-1

Wildcard Dasha Gavrilova (3) defeated Veronica Cepede Royg 6-4 4-6 6-2

She will play Lesia Tsurenko in the second semi final 

Lesia Tsurenko (7) defeated Kiki Mladenovic (2) 6-2 6-2

Tsurenko is the defending champion here, and she beat Mladenovic to win the title in 2017

Men

Jared Donaldson defeated Feliciano López 6-3 6-1

He will play Kevin Anderson in the semis

Kevin Anderson (5) defeated Hyeon Chung 7-6(5) 7-4

Sascha Zverev (2) defeated Ryan Harrison 6-4 6-1

He will play Juan Martin del Potro in the semis

Juan Martin del Potro (6) defeated Dominic Thiem (3) 6-2 7-6(7)

Remaining second round results in São Paulo:

Albert Ramos-Vinolas (1) defeated qualifier Guilherme Clezar 6-3 6-4

Nicolas Jarry defeated Guido Pella (6) 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2)

Horacio Zeballos defeated Gaël Monfils (4) 6-3 3-6 6-3

Rogerio Dutra Silva defeated Nicolas Kicker 6-4 6-2

Quarter finals will be:

Albert Ramos-Vinolas (1) v Nicolás Jarry 

Horacio Zeballos v Rogerio Dutra Silva 

Leonardo Mayer (5) v Pablo Cuevas (3)

Cuevas is the defending champion, having defeated Ramos-Viñolas in the final of the 2017 Brasil Open

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez v Fabio Fognini (2)

Quarter finals set in Dubai and Acapulco

Not many surprises on Day Three but some close matches gave crowds value for money.

All quarter finalists were confirmed in Dubai and Acapulco with the winners of second round matches and half confirmed in São Paulo.

In Dubai:

Second round matches:

Wildcard Malek Jaziri defeated Robin Haase, but it took two tie breaks to make the quarter finals 7-6(4) 7-6(3)

Wildcard Stefanos Tsitsipas upset sixth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6 6-3 6-4

Despite a poor first serve percentage in set one, Tsitsipas matched Kohlschreiber in just about every category, but the German player converted his single break point. The one chance for a Greek reply was saved by Kohlschreiber and the set was won accordingly 6-4.

Set two again saw a poor first serve percentage from Stefanos, but he won a terrific share of points on his serve.  

He didn’t face a break point but converted the only break point created on the German serve and levelled the match.

The deciding set was another chance for Tsitsipas to display his serving prowess, winning 17 of 19 points on his first delivery, and earning the only service break of the set.

A great win for the teenager, ranked 82 in the world, over the 33rd ranked veteran, 15 years his senior.

Roberto Bautista Agut (3) defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 6-7(2) 6-1

Borna Coric defeated Benoit Paire 6-1 6-4

Filip Krajinovic (7) defeated wildcard Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(2) 6-4

Evgeny Donskoy defeated Damir Dzumhur (4) 6-1 6-1

Yuichi Sugita (8) defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(4) 6-4

Lucas Pouille (2) defeated Karen Khachanov 6-4 3-6 6-3

This was some revenge for Lucas after his loss to Karen in last weeks Marseille final

In Acapulco:

Second round men’s matches:

Feliciano López defeated wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3 6-4

Jared Donaldson defeated Matt Ebden 6-3 6-1

Hyeon Chung defeated qualifier Ernesto Escobedo 6-3 6-1

Kevin Anderson (5) defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro (6) defeated David Ferrer 6-4 4-6 6-3

Dominic Thiem (3) defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-2 6-3

Ryan Harrison defeated Diego Schwartzman 6-3 5-7 6-4

Sascha Zverev (2) defeated Peter Gojowczyk 7-6(6) 6-3

Second round women’s matches:

Sloane Stephens (1) defeated Arantxa Rus 5-7 7-6(6) 6-0

Stefanie Voegele defeated Maria Sakkari 6-3 6-4

Shuai Zhang (4) defeated Jil Teichmann 7-6(5) 6-4

Qualifier Rebecca Peterson defeated Monica Puig 6-1 6-4

Veronica Cepede Royg defeated Irina-Camelia Begu (5) 7-6(3) 6-1

Wildcard Dasha Gavrilova defeated wildcard Renata Zarazua 7-5 6-3

Lesia Tsurenko (7) defeated Arina Rodionova 6-3 6-1

Kiki Mladenovic (2) defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia 3-6 6-3 7-5

In São Paulo:

Second round matches:

Leonardo Mayer (5) defeated Carlos Berlocq 7-5 6-4

Pablo Cuevas (3) defeated qualifier Sébastian Ofner 6-4 7-6(4)

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez defeated Federico Delbonis (8) 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4

Fabio Fognini (2) defeated qualifier Joao Domingues 7-5 6-1

Dimitrov exits in Dubai 1st round

Day Two claimed upsets in both Dubai and Acapulco.

Top seed Grigor Dimitrov was bounced out of Dubai by wildcard Malek Jaziri, ranked 117, 4-6 7-5 6-4.

Richard Gasquet (5) was the other seed to fall, beaten by Borna Coric 6-4 6-3.

Acapulco wasn’t the best for the US, wildcard Jack Sock (4) continuing an ordinary start to 2018, dismissed by qualifier Ernesto Escobedo 7-5 7-6(3).

Sam Querrey (7) joined Sock in the exit queue, Matt Ebden prevailing 6-3 1-6 7-6(5).

Dubai:

Remaining first round matches 

Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeated Joao Sousa 4-6 6-4 7-6(8)

Filip Krajinovic (7) defeated Thomas Fabbiano 0-6 6-2 6-2

Evgeny Donskoy defeated lucky loser in qualifying Blaz Kavcic 6-3 6-4

Damir Dzumhur (4) defeated qualifier Yannick Maden 6-3 6-4

Yuichi Sugita (8) defeated Ilya Ivashka 7-5 6-1

Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-2 6-4

Karen Khachanov defeated Denis Istomin 7-6(1) 7-6(0)

Lucas Pouille (2) defeated qualifier Ernests Gulbis 6-4 6-4

Acapulco:

Remaining men’s first round matches

Feliciano López defeated lucky loser in qualifying Taro Daniel 4-6 6-3 6-4

Wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated qualifier Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-3

Hyeon Chung defeated Donald Young 7-6(5) 6-1

Adrian Mannarino defeated qualifier Ricardas Berankis 7-5 6-1

Juan Martin del Potro (6) defeated Mischa Zverev 6-1 6-2

Denis Shapovalov defeated Kei Nishikori 6-7(3) 6-3 6-1

Dominic Thiem (3) defeated qualifier Cameron Norrie 6-3 5-7 7-5

Diego Schwartzman defeated Fernando Verdasco 6-2 6-4

Peter Gojowczyk defeated wildcard Lucas Gomez 6-3 6-2

Sascha Zverev (2) defeated Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 7-5

Remaining women’s first round matches 

Sloane Stephens (1) defeated Pauline Parmentier 6-4 6-0, her first win since the 2017 US Open final.

Qualifier Arantxa Rus defeated wildcard Kayla Day 4-6 6-1 6-0

Maria Sakkari defeated Lara Arruabarrena 6-3 7-6(1)

Stefanie Voegele defeated Tatjana Maria (8) 6-2 7-5

Shuai Zhang (4) defeated qualifier Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-1

Jil Teichmann defeated qualifier Jana Fett 7-5 7-5

Qualifier Rebecca Peterson defeated Alize Cornet (6) 6-2 6-4

Wildcard Renata Zarazua defeated Kristyna Pliskova 6-3 6-4

Beatriz Haddad Maia defeated Heather Watson 7-5 4-6 6-1

Kiki Mladenovic (2) defeated qualifier Amandine Hesse 6-2 6-2

São Paulo:

Remaining first round matches 

Qualifier Guilherme Clezar defeated wildcard Thiago Monteiro 6-3 1-6 7-5

Nicolas Jarry defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-4 1-6 7-5

Guido Pella (6) defeated wildcard Corentin Moutet 4-6 6-1 6-2

Horacio Zeballos defeated Thomaz Bellucci 7-6(2) 3-6 6-3

Nicolas Kicker defeated Víctor Estrella Burgos 7-6(5) 6-3

Rogerio Dutra defeated Tennys Sandgren (7) 6-0 6-4

Qualifier Sébastian Ofner defeated Marco Cecchinato 6-3 6-3