I have rarely seen one as calm as this. I kind of appreciate it. It is her second grand slam, not her first.
Hey, she was calm then as well:
Well that was quite the start of the final 
Fantastic tennis.
I was falling asleep but such good tennis. Djok finally ran out of gas.
Getting old sucks. Carlos rules.
Yes, 100% Djokovic. He just can’t keep up over 5 sets anymore.
I mean, other than him beating Sinner in the semifinal to get to that final…
The only reason Djokovic managed to beat Sinner is that Djokovic’s two previous opponents withdrew. Luck is his only path to another major championship.
Both finals were enjoyable to watch. Great play by all.
Fun video with James Blake. He is 12 years retired and agreed to play a 5.0 level amateur in a 10-point tie breaker to see who is better. Spoiler: James is much, much, much better than a young amateur.
It’s that magical time of year: the Indian Wells tournament. We splurged on some great seats this year, instead of the usual ground passes, and I’m really looking forward to it. Expected highs around 80F; very pleasant.
Main draw starts today. The 32 seeded players have byes in the first round, everyone else is playing to advance. If I counted well, there’s 18 American women and 17 American men. I love the three-set format on the mens side, which makes it much more tolerable to watch from the stands.
Probably won’t post much about it until I get back.
Really great weather as expected. Crazy busy on Saturday and late Sunday. Their new ticketing policy in Stadium 2 means it’s mostly empty. I’m sure there’s more profit, but it makes for a worse experience.
Round Three is over and Round of Sixteen play today and tomorrow.
New hotness is Talia Gibson (Australia) who came in through the qualifiers. She plays Jasmine Paolini (7, Italy), who’s had a rough start. I think it’ll be competitive.
Also good to watch is Alexandra Eala (31, Philippines) who’ll play Linda Nosková (14, Czech Republic). Alex won in a tear-jerker against Coco Gauff (4, U.S.), who had an injury preventing play. Next match will be good.
Remaining Americans are Amanda Anisimova (6) and Jessica Pegula (5). It’s theoretically possible for them to meet in the Final, but I don’t see Amanda getting past Aryna Sabalenka (1, unlisted). Aryna looks unstoppable right now.
On the mens side, lots of interesting upsets. Learner Tien (25, U.S.), from SoCal beat Ben Shelton (8, U.S.), from Florida. Yeah, there is still a SoCal vs Florida rivalry going on in tennis, helped along with the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments going back to back. The crowd knows who cheer for. Learner will play Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (18, Spain), who won his own upset to get here.
There’s also Alex Michelsen (unseeded, U.S.) who beat Taylor Fritz (7, U.S.). Taylor just isn’t consistent. Alex will play Daniil Medvedev (11, unlisted). I’m afraid this won’t be competitive.
The qualifier Rinky Hijikata (Australia) won through to this round, after beating Alexander Bublik (10, Kazakhstan). That’s two qualifiers from Australia that got through to Round of Sixteen. He’ll next play Cameron Norrie (27, U.K.).
The American Frances Tiafoe (21) is also through, playing Alexander Zverev (4, Germany). Frances not looking good enough to get past him.
I’m favoring Jannik Sinner (2, Italy) as the favorite to win. Carlos Alcaraz (1, Spain) is looking rusty. Maybe he’ll get to his best level by the final, but maybe not.
The Indian Wells finals are this weekend. Women are Aryna Sabalenka (1, unlisted) and Elena Rybakina (3, Kazakhstan). I’m still favoring Aryna to win, but Elena will be competitive.
Men are Jannik Sinner (2, Italy) and Daniil Medvedev (11, unlisted). Daniil beat Carlos Alcaraz (1, Spain) in straight sets. I knew Carlos was not looking top form, but this is still a shocker. I think Jannik is the favorite, but Daniil will not be a pushover.
For those that get all their news from the Dope: Sabalenka and Medvedev won.
Is this a prank? Sinner won the men’s final.
Both finals were very tight affairs.
Oh! No, I was just mistaken. Sorry!
I knew that — I even thought, “will this put Sinner over Alcaraz for the number one spot in world rankings?”.
Brain fart. I appreciate the correction.
Sorry, forgot to post the conclusions. These were some of the best finals we’ve had in years.
Miami Open is started, but I don’t follow it as closely.
Miami Open, the mens quarterfinal that just finished, Tommy Paul (22 seed, U.S.) vs Arty Fils (28 seed, France) played one of the most competitive matches ever. All three sets went to tiebreak. They both had match points, Tommy had four, Arty two. But Arty won 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (8-6). Incredible tennis by both players.
I hate to triple post, but this is interesting news.
Three “Sunshine Double” awards were earned this year. That’s the informal name for players who win both Indian Wells and the Miami Open. It’s considered difficult because the they’re both at high-temperature venues and there’s a minimal break between them.
This year, Aryna Sabalenka won the women’s, Jannik Sinner won the men’s, and Kateřina Siniaková and Taylor Townsend won the women’s double. Great work for all of them!
#90 Matteo Berrettini beat #10 Daniil Medvedev 6-0, 6-0 at the Monte Carlo Masters second round (Medvedev had a bye in the first round). For a guy who a few years ago I counted as one of the most bloody minded players on the tour, this is a remarkable capitulation. I know he hates clay, but he has won a Masters 1000 clay tournament before.
Why even bother to show up if you think clay court tennis isn’t really tennis?
Medvedev lives and trains in Monte Carlo; it’s an easy entry for him. Players have to enter a certain number of tournaments per year.
Also, Berrettini used to be a top-ten player. He’s been injured and lost his ranking points, but he’s much better than his current ranking.