Nick Kyrgios Leads Winners and Losers at 1st Week of Indian Wells 2016
Nick Kyrgios probably imagined that he could take center stage at Indian Wells, but once again the talented, but controversial, Australian talent is making the wrong kind of news. What does he need to finally put everything together?
Meanwhile, it was another tough opening for WTA stars Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza. Is anyone remotely ready to show the kind of championship consistency that Serena Williams has modeled?
We also turn our attention to a few successful stars on the ATP who get their opportunities to shine on the first weekend. Will they be on the porch with the big dogs as things heat up in the desert?
This is just the beginning to our "Winners and Losers" commentary, where today's results are digested for tomorrow's possibilities.
Loser: Maria Sharapova
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The biggest topic at Indian Wells has not been player matchups.
It seems like a thousand stories have been launched about Maria Sharapova since her announcement that she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open. All sorts of angles have been opened up, including confusion.
Was Sharapova warned five times prior to January not to take meldonium, the performance-enhancing drug that has been banned since January 1, 2016? Her side of the story provides different context than a quick glance at the headlines. She explained the difficulties of poring through several windows and pages of technical pages and admitted that she did not study the issue.
Did Sharapova take prescribed mildronate (containing the meldonium) for 10 years because it was a medical necessity or to gain a competitive edge with her conditioning? This point matters to a lot of people even though the drug was not banned through 2015, and like it or not, her legacy is legitimate.
It’s going to take more patience before we can sketch in the details of this story. Meanwhile, the International Tennis Federation must decide how to punish Sharapova. Will it be a one-year ban, or will longer, tougher restrictions effectively end her career?
No matter how this turns out, it’s a sad story for tennis and for Sharapova.
Winner: Taylor Fritz vs. Frances Tiafoe
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For American tennis fans looking to the future, a glance at Taylor Fritz vs. Frances Tiafoe at Stadium One did not disappoint. The two 18-year-old potential stars are already an interesting contrast.
There’s Californian Fritz, endorsed by Nike's cool blue and white, as he leans into his textbook American fundamentals of the power game. He’s gotten most of the attention after a big February in which he was a finalist at Memphis and quarterfinalist at Mexico. He’s the youngest player in the top 100
Tiafoe hails from Maryland on the East Coast. He came into the match with a garish combination of Adidas reds and yellows as if this were planet Mercury. He’s the youngest player in the top 200, but he had defeated Fritz twice in their juniors days.
Fritz wore more tension on his face, and his serve and game was erratic in the first set. He was unable to overpower Tiafoe, who got out in front with quicker feet and a steadier, cleaner game. Fritz battled back for the second set, but Tiafoe created more pressure for the three-set win.
Tiafoe's serve fairly explodes off his racket with a flatter snap than Fritz’s big gun. In addition, Tiafoe is a better scrambler to the corners, and he can whip his forehand impressively from deep in the court. He has the athletic advantage, and perhaps not since Andre Agassi has America had someone with this kind of athletic flair.
Memo to anyone with high topspin: If you leave it a little short or slow, Tiafoe can drill it from one baseline through the other. As he learns the game, more of this talent will be assimilated in his good start with consistency.
There should be many more of these matches in the future, but both players have helped rejuvenate more interest in their sport.
Loser: Angelique Kerber
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It seems like years since the Australian Open final, or it might feel that way for Angelique Kerber. The world No. 2 has lost her magic since her fairy-tale story and major win over Serena Williams.
Kerber had earned the right to lead the bottom half of the draw at Indian Wells, but one match and a 7-5, 7-5 loss to 23-year-old Denisa Allertova shows that Kerber is not ready any time soon to establish herself as an elite player. She fights hard with exceptional defensive tenacity, but someone who played more aggressive offense outdueled her.
Has the carriage already turned back into a pumpkin? Kerber’s happily-ever-after ambitions may be lurking on the other side of midnight, and she might have to reluctantly give up her last glass slipper.
"The pressure is much different than it was a few months ago, it's a completely new situation for me, but I'm trying to get used to it," Kerber said in her post-match interview, per the Associated Press (via Tennis.com). "I will try to learn from this experience, this match, and get better in the next few weeks."
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Winner: Borna Coric
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Besides American teenagers Tiafoe and Fritz, there are more developed youngsters rising up the ranks.
Croatian 19-year-old Borna Coric is currently the highest-ranked teenager in the top 50. He rolled along in the second round with a victory over No. 29 seed Thomas Bellucci, a tough veteran with a grinding game. These are the kinds of wins that he will need to set up greater opportunities.
Coric already has an impressive young resume. He defeated Rafael Nadal at the Swiss Open in 2014 on his way to receiving the "ATP Star of Tomorrow" award at the end of the year. He assessed himself at Chennai in January 2015.
"When I'm at my best I am more like [Novak] Djokovic game-wise, when I'm not, I'm more like [Andy] Murray," he said, per the Times of India's Susan Ninan. "I think my game is quite similar to Djokovic's. I move well, I don't miss many balls, I'm a fighter and my backhand is my best shot. Currently, I'm the best of my generation."
A month later, he crushed Andy Murray 6-1, 6-3 in the Dubai quarterfinals, showing the kind of talent and confidence he possesses.
Djokovic added his own two cents. "He feels comfortable playing with top players," he said, per the Guardian's Kevin Mitchell. "I practised with him a lot in the last two, three months. I try to help him because I see, in a way, myself through him. I’ve never felt that way when I practise with somebody as I felt with him. It’s like playing myself."
There’s a long ways to go, and Tomas Berdych will be a formidable obstacle in his next match. Still, Coric is one to watch and there’s always a chance that Indian Wells could be an important breakthrough.
Loser: Carla Suarez Navarro
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Injuries have taken a toll on the WTA tour. Players are trying to recover, rest and somehow get in playing shape to compete for titles. A few weeks ago in Dubai, the top eight seeds did not win a single match. A week later at Qatar, only Carla Suarez Navarro played anything like a top-10 player, and she took the trophy.
She would seem to have been a solid bet to play well at Indian Wells. She was healthy and playing well.
That is until she twisted her right ankle the day before her first match and withdrew from the tournament. “I twist my ankle yesterday, and today I tried to warm up, but I'm not 100 percent," Suarez Navarro said to WTA Tennis. "So I will try to rest, recover and be ready for Miami.
So the carnage continues. Indian Wells would be a great time for the stars to get stronger and play their best, but as the peak of the tennis season opens up, the walking wounded continue to be the biggest non-Sharapova story in women’s tennis.
Winner: Alexander Zverev
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Germany’s Alexander Zverev is another young face to watch. He’s already landed in the round of 32 after a big three-set win over fading, but talented, Grigor Dimitrov. With another couple of wins, the 18-year-old Zverev could be the new youngest player in the top 50, perhaps on a rivalry collision with Coric.
At 6'6", the lanky youth has surprising foot speed and smooth mechanics, more comparable to Gustavo Kuerten than a big server like Kevin Anderson.
So far, his success in claiming the No. 1 ranking in the 2014 juniors level has led to a hard road of challenges and ATP events where his talent will need more refinement. Case in point, his chance at last week’s Davis Cup showed he was not ready to defeat the tour’s giants, falling to Berdych in five sets and losing to veteran Lukas Rosol.
He’s capable of another win or two, but it would be surprising to see him crash the semifinals at Indian Wells.
Loser: Garbine Muguruza
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She has not looked like the No. 4 player in the world, and now Spain’s Garbine Muguruza might have to go back to the drawing board after Christina McHale battered her 7-5, 6-1 in the second round at Indian Wells.
After a terrific run to the 2015 Wimbledon final and some excellent wins through the WTA finals at Singapore, the pressures and expectations that zapped Eugenie Bouchard last year might have bit the Spanish star too.
Reportedly, Muguruza told her coach, Sam Sumyk, in the second set that she did not want to match McHale’s energy saying in Spanish on AS TV via As.com, "I'm not. I'm not going to die for the ball".
There are a lot of matches ahead for Muguruza, and she has terrific talent, but it also goes to show just how hard it will be for anyone to step up and dominate tennis once Williams decides to call it a career.
Winner: Zhang Shuai
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Another match, another miracle for 27-year-old Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai. She battled back against former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki for the year’s longest match (three hours, 24 minutes) to advance to the third round at Indian Wells.
The way she is going, Zhang might want to find a literary agent to sell her book and movie rights. How do you explain her story?
Zhang entered 2016 having lost 14 matches in a row, and she considered retiring after the Australian Open because of her poor play and crumbling belief.
She knocked off world No. 2 Simona Halep in the first round, but she did not slow down, streaking to the quarterfinals. Including the Halep match, Zhang has won 15 of 17 matches, moving her ranking from No. 186 to No. 69. Could she next knock off Victoria Azarenka with her softer strokes but remarkable resilience?
Don’t forget the popcorn and licorice when her story comes to a theater near you.
Loser: Nick Kyrgios
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Dear Nick Kyrgios,
We're not going to rehash all the details to your controversial actions that have been ongoing in your young career. You're under the microscope as the new face of Australian tennis, expected to take your talents all the way to the top of the ATP. This must be a tough burden to carry, that for every success, there are a hundred more demands.
Recently you won your first career title at Marseille, defeating three top-10 caliber players. Suddenly, your potential was front-page news once again.
Of course, that all came under fire when you were unable to play Davis Cup matches as your country went down to defeat against the United States. Teammate Bernard Tomic didn't exactly have your back.
So here you are at Indian Wells, once again throwing away another opportunity to grow up. Verbal obscenities and spats with the chair umpire are not going to win fans...or matches. You went down soundly to Spanish veteran Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who was certainly not going to fear your talent months after defeating tennis legend Roger Federer at Shanghai.
Is this really who you are? Are you going to flounder with your emotions and lose control when you have barely begun to pay your dues with the details of winning on the ATP tour? Everybody's great or gritty at this level, and there are is no room for entitlement.
Despite your struggles to find consistency and poise, there are tennis fans who will patiently support your growth. So forget about the glory and get back to the basics of sweat and desire. You know you've got it in you, but it's your call if it will all come together like many of us would hope.
Sincerely,
A tennis fan
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