Posted inSnapshot
Snapshot: The BNP Paribas Open 2018 Weathers Topsy-Turvy First Week of Competition
by Kevin Fitzgerald March 12th, 2018 December 16th, 2020
The true "feel good" story of the week belonged to 16-year-old American player Amanda Anisimova, who has thus far defeated two seeded players.
As play ended late Sunday night, March 11, it was fair to say that the first week of this year's BNP Paribas Open delivered more than its share of upsets and surprises at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
More than half of the Top 30 seeded Women's Tennis Association players went down to defeat, including Johanna Konta (No. 11), Garbine Muguruza (No. 3), Petra Kvitova (No. 9), Jelena Ostapenko (No. 6) and the ever-popular Americans Madison Keys (No. 15) and CoCo Vandeweghe (No. 17). Also, unranked but perennial fan favorites Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenko fell victim to a group of young and talented players determined to make their presence felt at this year's tennis carnival.
On the men's Association of Tennis Professionals side, the carnage was less widespread, but a number of highly seeded victims, including Grigor Dimitrov (No. 3), Alexander Zverev (No. 4), Lucas Pouille (No. 9), Novak Djokovic (No. 10) and American John Isner (No. 15), will not move on to the round of 32, which began Monday, March 12.
In the midst of this statistical turmoil, some intriguing personal moments unfolded on the Stadium Court 1. On Saturday night, the seemingly immortal men's No. 1 player, Roger Federer, was getting into tournament shape. Playing his first singles match of this tournament against Argentinian Federico Delbonis, Federer took the first set 6-3 and was tied early in the second set—when the skies gave way to a rainy downpour, the likes of which Indian Wells rarely sees. The match was delayed for several hours before finally being postponed to Sunday for its completion.
"It's been a long time since I have been interrupted at night and have to come back the next day," Federer said to reporters after he claimed his initial victory with a 7-6 second-set victory, sparing him a lengthy contest on the second of what became three consecutive days of play.
The inconvenience did not color his continuing attraction to our valley tour stop. "They are very knowledgeable about tennis," he said about the tens of thousands of fans who come out each year. "It's nice that the tournament has invested a lot so they can have an even better experience here at the tennis."
Just prior to Federer's eventual Sunday win, five-time BNP Paribas Open champion Novak Djokovic took on his first match challenge against the 109th-ranked Taro Daniel of Japan. While walking onstage during his introduction to the packed stadium, Djokovic exhibited an air of detachment as he smiled slightly, waved his hand and lifted his chin, looking to the sky and soaking up the gladiatorial atmosphere he's been missing due to various recent injuries and illnesses. "I was grateful to be out on the court after surgery that quickly," he said in his post match interview, "but at the same time, (I) just didn't feel good at all." His spotty, overall lackluster play highlighted that reality. After losing a tight first set in a surprisingly one-sided tiebreaker (7-3 for Daniel), he seemed to find his passion and stormed through the later part of the second set, taking it 6-4 to square the match. Then came a complete collapse in the third set as the upstart Daniel capitalized for a 6-1 runaway win.
"Well, it's life, you know," Djokovic philosophized later. "God always challenges you when you expect it least. I have experienced many times similar situations, so I know that there is always something good in it. You just need to try to set your mind at that frequency."
The true "feel good" story of the week belonged to 16-year-old American player Amanda Anisimova, who got into the tournament via a sponsor wild-card exemption. On Sunday, in she faced ninth-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. The young New Jersey native was absolutely on fire as she overwhelmed her more accomplished opponent, 6-2, 6-4.
"Yeah, it feels crazy. I mean, I'm still in shock," Anisimova gushed in the post-match press conference. "She (Kvitova) is the best player I have ever played, and it was the biggest court I have ever played on. So it was definitely nerve-wracking, kind of, but I was enjoying it so much out there and I was playing my best. It was a good day."
As Week 2 play gets underway, a huge highlight comes Monday night—in fact, it's happening as of this posting. The No. 8 seed Venus Williams is facing her uncharacteristically unseeded younger sister, Serena in the third round. Serena, coming back to competition after the birth of her first child, was asked how she feels about playing her sister at such and early point in the tournament.
"She's had such a good year last year and (is) playing fantastic tennis," Serena observed. "But I have to play a seed regardless, sooner than later most times for the next couple of tournaments. So I have to be ready. Obviously I wish it was anybody else in the draw, literally anybody, but that's OK. Just have to go out there and see how I am and do my best."
Here are two predictions for Week 2: Rain will return to play havoc with the later rounds this year … and only one Williams sister will move on past tonight. (Update: Venus defeated Serena, 6-3, 6-4.)
Tagged: amanda anisimova, BNP paribas open, bnp paribas open 2018, novak djokovic, roger federer, serena williams, tennis, venus williams
Kevin Fitzgerald
Kevin Fitzgerald is the staff writer for the Coachella Valley Independent. He started as a freelance writer for the Independent in June 2013, more than a year after he and his wife moved from Los Angeles...	More by Kevin Fitzgerald