Halep is awed by Serena Williams
The current No. 1 says the former No. 1 is best player
INDIAN WELLS — Top-seeded Simona Halep knew her roundof-16 match was scheduled to be the first played Tuesday morning at the BNP Paribas Open, and an early wakeup call would usually dictate an early bedtime the night before. Halep instead made an intriguing choice that could bring her more benefits than she would have gained from staring at the walls of yet another hotel room in another city somewhere in the world.
Halep decided to spend a portion of Monday night watching Serena and Venus Williams’ dramatic thirdround match at Stadium 1, drawn by her respect for the trailblazing sisters from Compton and by her desire to pick up what she can from them. Not so much their ground strokes, but the values that ground them and have made them so successful for so long.
Halep was especially awed by Serena’s return to competitive tennis at 36 after giving birth to a daughter. Halep said Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam event singles champion, should have been the No. 1 seed in this event “because she left as No. 1 in the world. … And to give birth, it’s the best thing in the world. It’s more than a sport.”
The rules don’t allow for that, but Serena’s status as an unseeded player didn’t diminish her in Halep’s estimation.
INDIAN WELLS — Naomi Osaka loves video games, binge-watching shows on Netflix and peppering her conversations with the word “like.” She’s 20, but don’t call her young. “I feel old,” she said. “I feel like I’ve been on the tour forever. So, I mean, I feel like I know a lot of stuff. Yeah, I don’t feel like I’m new to this.”
She has the calm of a veteran. Osaka reached the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Maria Sakkari of Greece on Tuesday, another solid performance in a string that began with victories over Maria Sharapova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Sachia Vickery. Osaka’s quarterfinal opponent will be No. 5 seed Karolina Pliskova, who ended the impressive run of 16year-old American Amanda Anisimova with a 6-1, 7-6 (2) triumph.
“I’m not scared from those young girls because I know my game. I know I can be solid,” Pliskova said. “So there is nothing what can surprise me. I was ready.”
Osaka isn’t a typical young girl. “I try to think about it: What are my skills? And what is the other person’s skills?” she said. “I really don’t think age matters right now because there is a lot of good, top players that are, like, some people would say they are old, but I don’t think it’s like that.”
Anisimova didn’t drop a set against Pauline Parmentier, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and No. 9 seed Petra Kvitova but was rattled by Pliskova’s fast, forceful pace. “I’ve had a great tournament, so there’s nothing to be upset about,” she said.
No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki, this year’s Australian Open champion, was upset Tuesday by No. 20 Daria Kasatkina of Russia, 6-4, 7-5. Kasatkina will face the winner of Tuesday’s late match between No. 7 Caroline Garcia and No. 10 Angelique Kerber. “She outsmarted me today, which is fair enough. But at least I tried, and I tried to do what I thought I needed to do out there today. I just couldn’t execute as well as I wanted to,” Wozniacki said of Kasatkina.
Venus Williams, the oldest player in the draw at 37, came back in both sets to defeat Anastasija Sevastova, 7-6 (6), 6-4. It’s remarkable, considering she had a quick turnaround after defeating her sister Serena in a thirdround match Monday and couldn’t ease up against the intense Sevastova. “There was no conserving energy. I had to let it all go and try to win the point because she wasn’t conserving anything, I don’t think, either,” Williams said. Her quarterfinal opponent will be Carla Suarez Navarro, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over former NCAA champion Danielle Collins.
Etc.
Jack Sock, the highestseeded American man here at No. 8, exited at the hands of No. 28 Feliciano Lopez of Spain, who prevailed 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-4. Lopez will face American Sam Querrey, the No. 18 seed, who advanced with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Yuki Bhambri of India.
No. 31 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany defeated No. 2 Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4. Kohlschreiber will face Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who advanced when Gael Monfils retired from their thirdround match because of a back injury with Herbert leading 6-2, 3-1…. Taro Daniel of Japan, who stunned Novak Djokovic on Sunday, came back to earth on Tuesday when Leonardo Mayer of Argentina dismissed him, 6-4, 6-1. Mayer’s next opponent will be No. 6 seed Juan Martin del Potro, who outhit David Ferrer of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (3). Del Potro and Mayer grew up together and frequently practice together. “It will be a special match for both,” Del Potro said. “And I know if he has a good day he’s very dangerous guy and he plays solid from the baseline.”
In another round-of-16 matchup, Milos Raonic of Canada will face Marcos Baghdatis of Cypress. Raonic defeated Joao Sousa in three sets, and Baghdatis eliminated Dudi Sela of Israel in straight sets.