Milos Raonic at the Australian Open 2011
The qualifying rounds are already in progress for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California and the main draw starts from Thursday morning 10 March (which is the wee small hours of Friday morning here in Aus).
This ATP Masters 1000 Series event, played on outdoor hard courts, is the most attended tennis event outside the Grand Slam tournaments.
Looking at the men’s draw today there is going to be some awesome tennis played right through until the final is held on 20 March.
Here are the burning questions that will be answered during the tournament.
1. Will Novak Djokovic become World No.2?
Djokovic won the Australian Open in January and recently won his third straight title in Dubai, beating Federer.
After missing the Serbian Davis Cup match against India, he should be fresh and ready for Indian Wells. And, depending upon how Federer performs, it’s possible that Djokovic could up his world ranking to No.2. Read more here.
2. Can Milos Raonic continue his winning streak?
After reaching the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, Raonic went on to win his first ATP Tour title in San Jose at the SAP Open and was runner up to Andy Roddick at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis.
There has been a lot of talk about Raonic and his potential to be the next big thing. Personally I hope he keeps doing well; it’s good for tennis to have a young, exciting player to watch.
Read more about Raonic in this ATP article, the Missile Finds Its Mark.
3. Can an injury free Rafael Nadal win his third title?
After playing injured to complete the match which he lost against David Ferrer in the Australian Open Quarter Final in January, Rafa went on to get treatment and then bounced back for Spain’s Davis Cup win over Belgium.
The fully recovered Rafa has a great chance of winning his third title at Indian Wells, “one of his favourite tournaments”. He won in 2009 and 2007. (Last year’s winner was Ivan Ljubicic).
4. Will Dolgopolov persist with the feminine hair retainer?
Alexandr Dolgopolov is an incredible player who has huge potential so tis a pity about his lack of a style where keeping his hair out of his eyes is concerned.
Now that he’s blogging for the event, perhaps he’ll be motivated to come up with a new do. Check it out his hair band on the ATP Website.
5. And what of Andy Murray?
I’m sure that Murray has been playing some tournaments since his comprehensive loss to Djokovic in the Australian Final, but I don’t think they have been anything to write home about.
Do you think he will be able to push through the slump and get his confidence back by winning some tough matches at Indian Wells? I guess we’ll find out soon.
For more info about the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells:
So much great tennis is coming I wish I could magically be there. At least I’ve found some local TV coverage and I’ll be looking forward to tweets on Twitter to keep me entertained and updated.
Until next time
Grand Slam Gal
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I think if he isn’t playing well again by Wimbledon this year it won’t be pretty what the press do to him. It’s amazing how he had such a great run in Aus then one important big bad loss and everything changed so quickly.
Sadly, I think Murray is finished. By the time the Top 3 stop consistently winning, Murray will be that many years older and a new crop of players will be forces to be reckoned with. Winning (or at least playing competitively) at the Australian Open final could have been a big confidence booster.