Skip to main content

Vesnina and Federer won Indian Wells titles at the expense of talented compatriots, Kuznetsova and Wawrinka



Svetlana Kuznetsova had won the first set from Elena Vesnina, 8-6 in a tiebreaker, on a lucky net-cord winner. She had broken her demoralized opponent to start the second set, and was now up 3-1 and serving at 40-15. Kuznetsova had won 17 WTA singles titles during her 14-year career; Vesnina, a doubles specialist for most of hers, had won two. Everything seemed to point to a Kuznetsova win.

When she tossed the ball to serve at 40-15, though, something changed. Specifically, Kuznetsova’s grunt changed. Out of nowhere, it became deeper, more pronounced, more guttural. It sounded like the grunt of someone who was laboring mightily just to put the ball over the net, not cruising to an inevitable victory.
Despite being broken seven times on the day, Vesnina had no trouble holding onto her serve for a 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4 win in three hours and one minute. After 13 years on tour, she had earned by far the biggest win of her singles career. This popular and thoughtful 30-year-old, who is also the most talented player in virtually every doubles match she plays, was appropriately ecstatic.

“I was playing a bit more free when I was down in the score, and I think Svetlana got a little tight,” Vesnina said. “And I saw that.”



“What can I say?” Roger Federer told the crowd after his 6-4, 7-5 win over Stan Wawrinka in the men’s final. “This was a fairytale week again.”

Fairytales have happy endings, the way Federer’s week did, but they usually don’t make you shake your head and say “whoa” or “wow” or “d---” every three minutes or so.

In that sense, it was a throwback week for Federer, to those days a decade ago when he was a dominant No. 1, when hard-court Masters titles came by the fistful, and when he looked as if he were playing circles around his opponents. While Federer was fortunate to be given a quarterfinal walkover against Nick Kyrgios, who might have been his toughest opponent, he won this tournament without dropping a set, and at one point he held serve 42 straight times. He also showed that his wins over Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open in January were no fluke. In fact, Federer seemed to have improved since we saw him in Melbourne. Instead of taking 10 sets to survive Stan and Rafa, he took just four.What I don’t want to do,” he said on Saturday, “is overplay and just get tired of traveling and tired of just playing tournaments.”

“I want to play, if people see me, that they see the real me and a guy who is excited that he’s there. So that’s a promise I made to myself that if I play tournaments that’s how my mindset has to be and will be.”


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Utah gymnastics: Utes enjoy down time before ramping up again for Regionals

Members of Utah's gymnastics team will get back to work in the coming days to prepare for the NCAA regionals on April 1 after a few days of rest and light work to let their bodies recover. The fourth-ranked Utes are the top seed in the Fayetteville, Ark., regional, where they will compete against No. 9 Denver, No. 16 Cal, No. 21 Auburn, No. 27 Arkansas and No. 28 Central Michigan. The Utes, who won the Pac-12 title with a season-high 197.925, continue to put their focus on clean landings, the one area in which they feel they can improve, Utah co-coach Megan Marsden said. The Utes are using practice competitions and other means to focus on the landings. "They enjoy competition among themselves, and it helps to have a reason and purpose at this point in the year to keep it fresh," Marsden said. The good news is the Utes feel they can focus on the details because their training has been solid throughout the season. If anything, the coaches are toeing the line bet...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yuki Bhambri stuns defending champion Gael Monfils at ATP Citi Open

Yuki Bhambri stunned the tennis world when he defeated ATP Citi Open champion Gael Monfils 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Yuki Bhambri had set up the second round clash with world number 22 and defending champion Gael Monfils after his first round opponent had to retire. With this win, Bhambri, who is ranked at 200, has qualified for the pre-quarterfinals. It may be recalled here that before facing Monfils, Bhambri had said while speaking to the PTI, “It’s a good test. We fight and work to play these kinds of matches and compete against the best, so it’s a good opportunity,” and added, “He is the defending champion and a class player. I have nothing to lose,” said the 25-year-old Delhi lad. Bhambri has had a lot of ups and down in his career but this win certainly ranks among the highest. However, one of his main issues has been injury concerns. Earlier, addressing the concern, Bhambri had said, “It hasn’t been ideal, yes. It’s difficult to sit on the sidelines, but I am in recovery, working wit...
1 comment
Read more

Ind Vs Aus :Ind trail by 91 runs

India opener Murali Vijay said that centurion Cheteshwar Pujara's ability to absorb pressure makes it easier for the other batsmen to play their natural game. Pujara batted through the day to remain unbeaten on 130 and keep India afloat at 360 for six, 91 runs short of Australia's first innings total of 451 on Day 3 of the their Test in Ranchi. Heaping praise on Pujara, Vijay said: "Pujara has the game for it. He takes a lot pressure. His game is such that you can depend on him and play your natural game. It goes hand in hand. We both are in good form as well, so it helps the team at the moment." Vijay and Pujara put up 102 runs together for the second wicket in the first session and successfully countered the Aussie pace attack. "I think the game is evenly-poised. If we can get closer to the target and may be if possible extend a lead from there, it would be a good game in hand. They were bowling really tight to be honest. Myself and Pujara had a ta...
Post a Comment
Read more