Teenage Takeover at Indian Wells

Hey everyone welcome back to TennisCast. Maurizio here back at ya' with all the results. You know we got all of them for yesterdays four fourth round matches. Teens were the big rulers of the court yesterday pulling off impressive wins each. Enough intro...ing lets just get right into it.

In the biggest upset of the day, yet not the biggest surprise, was the defeat of #4 seed Davydenko by the hands of #13 seed Andy Murray. The Scotman (who today is playing doubles with other English Patriot Tim Henman) dished out a hard fought 7-6(3), 6-4 win over the hard working Russian. Both players were able to break twice in the first set which led to the tie break. In the second set though the key difference was in Murray being able to withstand pressure from Davydenko and hold his serve and protect his own break to steal the match. As much as Gilbert bothers people as a coach, and even more as an ESPN commentator, he seems to be doing a magnificent job with Murray. I remember watching last year's French Open (best major by far in my humble opinion) where the young Scot was battling French hopeful Monfils...and I must say it was the worst match of the tournament and probably the worst match I had seen in a long time on the ATP. It was not proffesional level tennis and both players seemed to behave like little kids on the court, walking with their heads down slowly after losing a point and showing no energy, no enthusiasm to win. Rallies were amateur in length and my grandfather who is 84 could run faster than those two that day. Murray has come a long way and this year is truly displaying the talent everyone was raving about. Murray will now face Tommy Haas who is also on a hot streak after taking down his 2007 nemesis Gonzo in another fourth round match yesterday. Haas broke three times in the match and allowed zero break points to fulfill his revenge on the Australian Open runner up. He ended the match in just over an hour and will carry that energy with him to the quarters. The two have never played against each other before. We'll see how Gilbert can squeeze the most out of Andy and we'll see if Haas can go without quitting on himself.

The rest of the top half saw the continued dominance of Novak Djokovic. He threw Benneteau out of the tournament with a very convincing 6-3, 6-1 display, also avenging a previous loss to the Frenchman back in Djokovic's Indian Wells debut in 2006...sweet sweet revenge. Djokovic broke five times and was broken once in the second set. The key was saving break point chances as the young Djokovic was able to save 10 of 11 chances, the majority coming in the first set where his serve was a little sloppier. Djokovic won't have an easy time anymore as he now faces Ferrer who came out on top in the third all Spaniard match of the tournament beating out TennisCast hero Carlos Moya. It took the #14 seed almost two hours to dispose of the hearty veteran and it took him a well fought three sets. Carlos Moya took the first set convincingly 6-1, converting on two break points and not allowing any on his serve. Things changed drastically in the second set where the momentum shifted. The tables had turned. Ferrer broke twice while he defended his serve and saved four break points to take the second set 6-2. In the third and final set Ferrer finished it off by taking the only break in the set and finishing it off 6-3. The match was a lot closer than the score reflects. Out of the 164 points...each won 82, it was when and where each point was won that made all the difference. Djokovic and Ferrer played once back in 2004 and in clay. This will be a good addition to their head to head records. Djokovic is in a groove this tournament and seems to be the one with the advantage although Ferrer always creeps around his way deep into tournaments so we'll find out soon who pulls through and into the semis.

Tonight we have Nadal vs Chela and Ljubicic vs Roddick. Make sure to catch the Ljubicic vs Roddick match on ESPN2 starting at 10:00 pm eastern time...if you can't catch the tube at that time make sure to log on to ATP Master Series TV to catch all the live streaming action straight on your PC. Alright guys i'm off to watching the Nadal vs Chela match so see ya soon! Check back later for all the results of tonight's quarterfinal action.

MauriZio

Second Round action brings in tide of upsets

Maurizio here with TennisCast results and analysis. Oh do we have a busy month ahead of us or what!? With two masters series tournaments back to back we're gonna have our heads full in results and analysis. Yesterday's matches were no exception whatsoever. We have a lot cover so lets dive straight into it.

Obviously the first thing we have to talk about is Federer's loss...who saw this coming? Honestly, did anyone out there predict this? I mean, I could have said that he was gonna lose somewhere down the tournament but I was thinking semis or even in the final but in the second round??? Well...I know what the problem was, at least in my case. I underestimated what veteran Canas can bring to the court. I think people, I include myself in there, focused more on Cana's past, his suspension, rather than his current results. The man already has a win this year (d. Ferrero) in Brazil and by beating Federer he marks his 11th win in 13 matches. The guy is playing top ten tennis and no one seemed to notice that. He's a heavy contender for this tournament now with a good draw on his side. He faces Moya next. The veteran Spaniard won his second round match against Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4. Moya and Canas have only played once before and that was back in 2002 Roland Garros so that won't help us disect anything (Canas won in 5 sets). One is safe to assume that after this win Canas will have insurmountable confidence...although Federer's loss will at the same time give hope to everyone else still playing. Canas should survive his round of 16 match against either Tipsarevic, who beat Hewitt in a lengthy three set match 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2, or #14 seed Ferrer who got past Peruvian #1 Luis Horna in a routine 6-3, 6-1 win. His next big upset could come against Blake, who moved through to the third round by downing F.Serra 6-3, 7-6(2), if the American can get past, presumably, Djokovic later on. Djokovic got past currently Double Faultin' player of the week Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-4, though we won't count this loss against him. Canas is now only the 11th player to beat the current #1 since he took over back in early 2004. Congratulations from TennisCast Guillermo.

I warned you guys we had a lot to go through. Federer's loss was not the only upset though, albeit the biggest. There were three other upsets yesterday that we're actually sad to report. Well maybe just two of them. Our favorite Russian player Marat Safin suffered his demise at the hands of Nicolas Mahut. With his dominating first serve Mahut allowed Safin only 5 points on his first serve and upset the former Australian open champ 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. Another favorite Spaniard, and top ten seed, was also upset yesterday. Tommy Robredo lost to Gilles Simon. This is the second time the two have played and the French player evened up the score with his 6-7(0), 6-3, 6-0 win. The final upset was dealt against Marcos Baghdatis of Australian Open fame. He was taken out of the tournament early by Guillermo Garcia Lopez in a tight two setter with a score of 7-5, 7-5. Speaking of Australian Open fame, Gonzo (Fernando Gonzalez) continued his impressive year with an entry into the third round after downing Frank Dancevic of Canada 7-6(6), 1-6, 7-5. His next opponent will be Robin Soderling. These two actually have a decent history with 5 matches, 3 in favor to Soderling. Interesting to note, though, that Gonzo has won the last two and is of course the higher seed in the tournament...although we know that doesn't mean a clear victory. If the Gonz can get past this small obstacle he could potentially set up a clash against ¨I'm injured I can't continue the match¨ quote favorite, Tommy Haas who flew into the third round by posting an easy 6-4, 6-1 win over Michael Llodra. Gonzo is up 2-0, with his last win against Tommy coming at the Australian Open Semifinals where he absolutely destroyed Haas in three easy sets. Haas will be looking for sweet revenge...and Gonzo, well...for further humiliation of the German.

A couple of Veterans went down yesterday sending the average tennis player age down about 6 years. Okay that was exagerating. If Fish is old (26 years old) then Bjorkman must be ancient. The two lost to formidable players. Juan Ignacio Chela handed Bjorkman a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 loss while Paul Henri Mathieu battled hard against Fish and barely survived with a 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(5). Other winners included introverts Davydenko and Ljubicic and also Gilbert coached Andy Murray.

We'll see how the tournament shapes up with the absence of Federer. Someone will take advantage and everyone should have a moral boost added to their arsenal(if this were Wimbledon Roddick would be delighted). Come back soon for the results of Monday's action and later this week for a full analysis on the last 16 remaining, along with our guesses for the winners. TennisCast out.

Equipment update for the week

Welcome back tennis fans. What a start at the Pacific Life Open with pro’s all around the world fighting for that coveted ATP masters shield; some trying to make a comeback, others trying to make a name for themselves, and one man seeking to defend the title. Yes that’s right, none other than Roger Federer, the only man in this tournament’s history to have won three consecutive titles. So much diversity is upon us here at Indian Wells California, with players all across the world endorsing products for brand names such as Prince, Wilson, Head, Yonex, and many more. That’s right everyone, the competition between players is crazy for the masters shield, but the competition between these brands is massive as well. Or is it?

I’m sorry, I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Mario; I’m the other tenniscast writer and co-host of the show who will be focused on the equipment that is currently being used on tour, and what equipment seems to be doing best in the world of tennis. Don’t worry I am not completely biased, but Prince is the best. Wait what? I imagine many of you reading are probably thinking I am biased for making such a claim, so allow me to provide proof, or simply clarify my claim. Prince is currently doing the best in the string department for tennis racquets ending the year # 1 with their “Synthetic Gut with Duraflex” making it their fifth straight year as the industries top seller. The synthetic gut with Duraflex seems to have caught the eye of numerous tennis players due to its excellence in consistency, and durability for all-around performances. So if any of you are looking for the right string to improve your game, make sure to check it out and see if it’s the right fit, it seems to be for many touring pros. It seems though, that the world of tennis isn’t relying solely on Prince for strings, but for racquets as well! Indeed, Prince’s O3 White (used by Maria Sharapova) ended the year as the top selling racquet and was accompanied by the rest of the O3 team. That is, Prince ended the year with four of their racquets with O3 technology in the top 10 for best selling racquets of 2006. To finish the great year, Prince enjoyed a second place in footwear. Good job Prince!

I’ll be following what’s hot this year from racquets, to general apparel, to shoes and strings, and see what is most popular among tour pro’s and the tennis world. Who will end # 1 by the end of 2007? Follow tenniscast the entire year, week to week to enjoy the great results, in depth analysis, and see what equipment seems to making a change in the world of tennis!

Ferrero reaches third round...yeah and other results

This is a wonderful day for TeninsCast folks. TennisCast Idol Juan Carlos Ferrero emerged victorious yesterday in his second round match against Florian Mayer. It hurt us to have to place him on the double faultin' list but apparently he wants to prove us wrong. Yesterday he served up a bagel in his straight set match beating Mayer 6-0, 6-2. His third round match is against Acasuso who already has a couple of upsets into the tournament defeating Grosjean in the first round and the commander himself Mikhail Youzhny in the second. The two of them have battled each other twice before and both have a victory under their belt, Acasuso tough has the latest victory when he defeated the Spaniard star in Basel in 2005. This is a different story as both are coming in to the match with positive reasons to think they can win. Although Acasuso will be the more tired of the two, his two previous wins must have him at a very high confidence level, while Ferrero, who is fresh after not only a bye in the first round but a routine second round match, will be
his spot in a possible 4th round match against Rafael Nadal who has to get by #32 seed Verdasco. Nadal and Ferrero have played 5 times before and the younger Spaniard has a 4-1 lead head to head but Ferrero should be confident that he can pull out the victory with Nadal not entirely at 100% and knowing he had the last victory in a tie breaker full match back in the Master Series of Cincinnati late last year. We'll be cheering for Ferrero this week, go Mosquito!

Believe it or not there were more results yesterday, but when Ferrero is involved we are sure to make it top priority. We had posted at the end of last nights post that Gasquet was in the middle of a match and winning. The currently rising French star finished his match strong and beating his fellow young star Juan Martin del Potro 7-6(2), 6-2. Gasquet moves on to face J. Nieminen. Last night we also reported that half of the Rochus family was out...with C.Rochus losing. Today we happily post that his brother O.Rochus stays alive after defeating the wannabe white rapper of the tennis tour Vincent Spadea. You thought we'd let you go without letting you know the names of the Rochus brothers? Well yeah...its funner and more confusing that way. Nadal learned his next opponent will be Fernando Verdasco after he defeated Andreas Seppi 7-6(5), 6-3. This should be an interesting match considering Nadal isn't at his most dangerous physical peak and that Verdasco is always a tricky opponent. I'll make it less interesting for you...Nadal dominates Verdasco head to head with 4 straight wins dating back to 2005 and even to a challengers event back in 2003...yeah Verdasco winning would be a definite update to say the least. The last result we're gonna share tonight involves Andy Roddick. While the match was nothing extraordinary ending in a pleasant two sets, 7-6(5), 6-4, it was the record crowd that made this match so much fun. More than 20,000 fans came to enjoy the night match setting a record at Indian Wells. Roddick should have an easy road to the last 16 he faces O. Rochus next and will most likely meet the young Frenchy Gasquet in the round of 16 where we think his tournament will increase in difficulty.

Later tonight we'll post more results from some more second round action thats been going on today at Indian Wells. Make sure to check back soon for all the results. TennisCast will also have an update from our Equipment section led by TennisCast contributor and co-host Mario later on so make sure to come back to check out what he has to say. Thats it for now folks remember to check out all the action over at Master Series TV where play is going on live. See ya soon!

Pacific Life Open

Welcome Tennis fans to TennisCast. What a way to begin this new site. At the very beginning of two wonderful back to back Master Series Tournaments. Starting out of course with none other than that Pacific Life Open. Matches began the 5th of March but main draw play was underway on Friday and we have all the results including today's play. As we write this entry play is continuing over at Indian Wells so make sure to check out all the live action coverage provided by ATP Master Series TV. You can find the link to the right of this page. Live feeds, Interviews, Highlights and much more is available so make sure to check it out it will be worth your time...trust me on this one. Action has been heavy these past two days given the many matches in play so we have a lot to cover. For all the official list of results please make sure to visit the Pacific Life Open website at http://www.pacificlifeopen.com/1/results/. So far we've had all first round games being played with the exception of the Acasuso vs Youzhny match and the Nadal vs Clement match and of course the current live matches going on but we'll cover those in a second.

It's been a pretty hectic first round with some key matches and a couple of surprises and a couple of "yeah thats what we expected moments." Speaking of surprises Canas absolutely dominated the court today almost posting double bagels by defeating J. Hayek with a score of 6-1, 6-1. Canas is off to a great start this year, coming out of his recent suspension, to win the outdoor clay tournament at Costa Do Sauipe, Brazil back in Febraury. Another Latin American with surprising good results was Luis Horna who won a three setter against Volandri 6-0, 4-6, 6-2. Horna led the way for his Davis Cup team of Peru earlier this year to defeat Venezuela in the first round. He's had success with an 8-4 record this year and a tournament win to his credit. We'll see how he faces up against a top 20 opponent when he battles number 14 David Ferrer in the second round. In a not so surprising match TennisCast heroe Moya defeated qualifier Capediville in a pretty standard 6-4,6-4 win. That was his only freebie for the tournament as he now has to face endurance player Radek Stepanek in the second round and most probably if he wins against him Federer in the third so it will be a long road for the previous top Spaniard player. Speaking of TennisCast heroes...Kuerten was unfortunately defeated by the youngest player on tour Juan Martin del Potro 7-6(5) , 6-2.

In pretty ordinary matches Srichaphan was defeated by Tipsarevik 6-4, 6-2 proving meditation does not mean instant success, and Guillermo Garcia Lopez ousted former Olympic champ Nicolas Massu 6-3, 7-6. In an effort to get out of our Double Faultin' list Robby Ginepri posted only his 3rd win of the season over Kendrick with a close 7-5, 7-6 win. He'll prove himself in the second round where he faces rising star, and in our humble opinion soon to be top 10 Novak Djokovic. Now that we mention rising stars on tour Sam Querry kept proving to us that he is no fluke as he came on top over one of the Rochus brothers...I can never tell the difference between the two other than their first names. He'll face a very top challenge when faced against sponsorless yet tireless Davydenko (hey, he uses the prince O3 and that is good enough for us here). A pretty tight and thrilling match involved the classy veteran Jonas Bjorkman. He moved into the second round after saving a match point and winning a very tight and entertaining three set match with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 score. Grosjean was taken out early by Acasuso 6-4, 6-4, who played today in the second round versus commander Mikhail Youzhny whom he defeated in probably the biggest upset of the day with a 7-6(9), 6-4 score. In more second round news Nadal passed onto the third round where he'll probably face Fernando Verdasco. Nadal beat Clement 6-3, 7-6.

Live Scores are just coming in from Indian Wells so lets get you updated:

Richard Gasquet is on top of Juan Martin del Potro with a set lead and 3-1 in the second.

Tomorrow's daylight savings time brings some great matches so set those watches and get ready for some great tennis. Here are some interesting matches to look forward to:

[21]M Fish (USA) vs P Mathieu (FRA)

[1]R Federer (SUI) vs G Canas (ARG)

[19]L Hewitt (AUS) vs J Tipsarevic (SRB)

F Serra (FRA) vs [6]J Blake (USA)

F Dancevic (CAN) vs [5]F Gonzalez (CHI)

[23]M Safin (RUS) vs N Mahut

C Moya (ESP) vs [25]R Stepanek (CZE)

[12]N Djokovic (SRB) vs R Ginepri (USA)

[4]N Davydenko (RUS) vs S Querrey (USA)


COME BACK TOMORROW FOR ALL THE RESULTS AND ANALYSIS!!!!

Check back soon as TennisCast goes home to your mediaplayer, or mp3 player.