Youngsters come out all guns blazing
There was no respect for experience and seedings at Indian Wells
ON visiting Indian Wells for the first time, for the launch of my late partner Abe Segal’s book, Hey Big Boy! – an entire chapter of which was devoted to Ray Moore, then CEO of this elite Masters event – Abe remarked “This is a great place for a western shoot out. I’m expecting Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to come riding down those canyons, guns blazing!”
There have been plenty of shoot outs this year.
Off the court with the Players Council, headed up by Novak Djokovic, accused of being cowboys by Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer over the ‘dismissal’ of ATP Chief, Chris Kermode.
And on the court, a handful of lesser known trailblazers have galloped out of nowhere to hijack the action.
18-year-old Canadian Felix Aliassime shot down Dubai finalist, Stephan Tsitsipas, while teenage compatriot Bianca Andreescu slayed Grand Slam Champion Garbine Muguruza to reach the semis. A Czech teenager, Markétavondroušová, crushed ex-no 1 Simona Halep. A Serbian qualifier, Filip Krajinovic ousted Russian Daniil Medvedev, and Poland’s 67th ranked Hubert Herkacz upset 6th seed, Kei Nishikori.
Unprecedented in ATP history, a lucky loser, Miomir Kecmanovic fought his way to the quarters, before being aced out by Milos Raonic’s cannonball serve. 20-year-old Denis Shapovalov demolished Marin Cilic and No 3 seed Sascha Zverev sot himself in the foot, succumbing to fellow German, Jan Struff.
The common winning denominator was sheer aggression.
To quote Halep: “Running too much from side to side and playing too defensive..”
And at the hand of older players, equally underrated and equally smart in adopting aggressive tactics, – both reigning No 1s bit the dust, in this unforeseen ‘murder at the IW Corral’.
Naomi Osaka was squashed unceremoniously by Belinda Bencic, resurgent since her Hopman Cup win, who wielded a forehand volley on match point.
Also contrary to the script, Philipp Kohlschreiber mixed things up radically, eliminating buoyant Acapulco Champion Nick Kyrgios, before making short shrift of Djokovic, who has won 8 out of 9 of their previous head-to-heads.
As the saying goes, the wheel eventually turns. It certainly turned in the German’s favour, when after only one game of the evening session, play was postponed on account of – believe it or not – desert rain.
Returning the following day messed up Djokovic’s rhythm (balls bounce higher, suiting Kolhschreiber’s copious use of spin) and mind set.
The Serb, who like Federer has won Indian Wells five times and was seeking a record sixth title, in a fit of frustration after losing the first set, smashed his racket against his foot. Instead of ‘rebooting’, he succeeded only in breaking his weapon and bruising his toes, rather than alleviating his bruised ego.
The World no 1 has not played any tournaments, since his Australian victory and this loss, without taking anything away from Kohlschreiber, should be attributed to a lack of match play and a bad day at the office, rather than a slump in form.
Yet the havoc wreaked by so many unfamiliar young faces is a sure sign tennis is alive, kicking and shooting from the hip.
We can thank their ultimate source of inspiration, current day, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Federer and Nadal.
In as much as they face off across the net in the semis, intent upon winning a sixth and fourth title respectively, they stand shoulder to shoulder on most issues off court, in preserving the integrity and popularity of their sport.