Date: 3/10/2011
Result: Urszula Radwanska def. Bojana Jovanovski 3-6 6-4 7-6, Indian Wells R1
Why it matters:
- Anyone who has been to a pro tournament, especially somewhere with a massive main stadium, learns quickly that the best value for the ticket price is to wander around the outer courts to find the most exciting matches. If you notice on the order of play that lesser-known Jovanovski and U. Radwanska (as opposed to A. Radwanska) are playing somewhere, head to that court immediately. These two young-guns have played 3 times in the last month, with Jovanovski winning 4-6 6-1 7-6 and 1-6 7-5 6-4 in Doha and Kuala Lumpur, respectively. Their games just seem to match up in a compelling manor, and the matches are always drama filled. In Indian Wells, the back and forth 3rd set was very tense.
- This win is significant for Radwanska, who is returning from a significant back injury (she's still wearing a brace). She was one of the rising players in 2009, potentially looking to match her older sister's accomplishments, but following her derailing injury, she's trying to rebuild. It's too early to say how high Urszula can go, but watch for her to at least come back to the top 100 in the next few months.
- Jovanovski can't be TOO discouraged by this loss. She's still playing well, but if she wants to officially take the Serbian reins from Ivanovic and Jankovic, she'll have to make her move on the clay, where the other Serbs have historically had impressive results and Jovanovski has yet to prove herself.
Honorable Mentions:
- Indian Wells R1, Donald Young def. Potito Starace - 26 63 63 - Young can use this match to start to gain confidence, although the result wasn't unexpected. Starace is a tough enough veteran, but no one "in-the-know" would ever expect much from him on hard courts. Young needs to trick himself into thinking this is a significant win, though, and see if he can put together a run. The fields in Indian Wells and Miami will probably be too tough for any real impact results, but if Young is able to take real positives from this win, look for him to continue to post big challenger results this spring, and maybe qualify and win a few rounds in the American hardcourt summer.
- Indian Wells R1, Juan Martin del Potro def. Radek Stepanek - 64 60 - del Potro has already been declared "back" after his title in Delray Beach, but this match means more. I don't discount wins over Fish and Tipsarevic (though the quality of play against Tipsarevic was quite weak) in Delray, but Indian Wells is a Masters 1000, where there is consistent pressure to beat top players back to back - even more so for an unseeded player. Winning by this scoreline against a tricky opponent is more significant evidence that del Potro is putting his game back together, and might be ready to be extremely impactful as early as the French Open.
No comments:
Post a Comment