Indian Wells Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Naomi Osaka Could Pummel Her Way To A Title
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Naomi Osaka tiptoes through press conferences but rampages through tennis matches. She’s eager to unravel the notion that tennis could ever be a genteel game of rhythmic back-and-forth. Osaka is not here for the back-and-forth. When she sends the ball over, she absolutely does...
Naomi Osaka Is Tearing Up The Tennis Court But Bummed She Can't Play <i>Overwatch</i>
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Naomi Osaka is enjoying an excellent run at Indian Wells. She unseated Maria Sharapova in her very first match, then cleared out the trickiest veteran Aga Radwanska and two more foes to earn a spot across from fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinal. The No. 44, 20-...
Venus Williams Beats Serena 6-3, 6-4 At Indian Wells
The first tournament run of Serena Williams’s comeback ended at the hands of a familiar opponent—her sister, Venus Williams, who defeated her 6-3, 6-4 tonight in the third round at Indian Wells. ...
Very Good Underdog Yoshihito Nishioka Is Out
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Stand within 10 yards of Stan Wawrinka’s backhand and you realize, immediately, that he belongs to a different species. If somehow you find yourself on a tennis court with him, it is must only be to retrieve the ball he’s just pulverized, or to hand him a towel. That is not t...
Serena Williams Is Back, And She's Not In The Mood To Talk Drugs
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — The first two points of Serena Williams’s comeback ended on unforced errors, and the arena, just over half-full on a cool desert night, was silent, totally, as if smothered by a heavy quilt. Maybe they weren’t sure to expect, after the childbirth, the complications, the blood ...
Novak Djokovic Might Be Boned
Indian Wells, tennis’s “fifth major,” begins today in southern California. Last year the men’s draw produced one of the most evil sections of a draw you will ever see: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro, Nick Kyrgios, and Sascha Zverev all crammed unhappily into one c...
Serena Williams's Comeback Starts Now, Ready Or Not
On Thursday at Indian Wells, Serena Williams will play her first tour event in more than a year. Is she ready? Yesterday in an interview with the BBC, Williams heaved a sigh and answered:...
Dammit, Rafael Nadal Will Be Out For A While
Subtract Rafael Nadal from any given tennis tournament, and boom—the participants collectively give 10,000 percent less of a shit about winning. He treasures every point of every match in every tournament. The man who won 16 Slams, including two last year, reportedly cried for two hours straight aft...
Diminutive Tennis Player's Entertaining Hot Streak Ends With ACL Tear<em></em>
If you were to flesh out the cohort of the next generation of tennis, the first few picks would be easy: Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev are the sure shots; Dominic Thiem and Lucas Pouille are a little older but have got to be in the mix; and from the U.S. there’s Jack Sock and hopefully Frances ...
Roger Federer's Back On Offense, Winning Everything That Matters
“He’s laughing, he’s an asshole,” said Stan Wawrinka, clutching a runner-up trophy, crying, and looking at Roger Federer, who was, yes, laughing. That’s a playful jab between guys who go way back, ever since Federer came to hit with teenage Stan at the national tennis center in their native Switzerl...
Nick Kyrgios Won't Play Roger Federer, Cites Food Poisoning
If you were looking forward to the heady mix of Nick Kyrgios, tennis’s Four Loko, and Roger Federer, aging like a fine wine, my condolences. Indian Wells will stay dry tonight, since Kyrgios just pulled out of this anticipated quarterfinal due to an unspecified illness....
Don't Call This Vintage Federer, He's Got A Brand-New Weapon
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Forget any bluster about age, resilience, rehabilitation: The story here is that Roger Federer may have solved Rafael Nadal. It’s never too late to iron out your flaws, especially if you have only one to speak of....
The Quarter Of Death Is Shaping Up At Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Juan Martin del Potro is a teddy bear with a heavy brow and a shotgun forehand, and when he gets mad in public, apparently, he hugs whoever happens to be around. Because he is a professional tennis player that person is usually a line judge. That’s what he did in a fit of rage t...
Nick Kyrgios Is Hitting Tweeners And Talking Shit, As Usual
Nick Kyrgios was up 5-3 in the first set against Alexander Zverev, fellow member of men’s tennis’s new guard, when the sport’s favorite hothead hit an unusual, in-character approach shot....
Size Isn't Everything As Long As You've Got A Reliable Backhand
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.— The little guy had a problem, and knew it, running a hand through his sweat-damp sienna hair. All of 21 years old Yoshihito Nishioka is listed at 5-foot-7 and 141 pounds, straining credibility on both counts, and on Monday a heavy bandage swaddled something hurt under his right...
Gael Monfils Is Half Tennis Genius, Half Slapstick Comedian
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Last night Gael Monfils had the whole arena in his palm, and he had his neon soles skidding across the whole arena. I can’t explain how how he does that on hardcourt baked dry in the desert sun—someone study his ankles and whatever they’re made of—but skidding was surely the pre...
The Best (Of Who's Left) At Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—When you touch down in the desert in the middle of March, they pretty much know why you’re there. They plant a big-ass screen right at the arrivals gate and the tennis players loom nearly life-sized. That’s how it was possible to know, within 15 minutes of landing, that Andy Mur...
Nick Kyrgios In Sun And Shade
INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—The camera strips so much from tennis. We know this, clearly, since we pay good money and haul our bodies into discomfort just to see it up close. Part of what it removes is all the little interstitial, untelevised moments that might give flesh to the personalities on court. Mom...
Andy Murray Will Just Relax And Giggle While His Rivals Tear Each Other Apart
Andy Murray is a lucky dude at Indian Wells, and he knows it. While all his foes try to slit each others’ throats in the bottom quarter of the draw—home to Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin del Potro, and Nick Kyrgios—the top seed plans to enjoy the gladiator games from his re...
The Indian Wells Men's Draw Is One Big Clusterfuck
Today, out in the Coachella Valley, the Indian Wells Masters will begin. It’s the highest-profile tennis tournament in the world after the four Grand Slams, dropping a fat bounty of 1000 ranking points on its winners. Everyone in the tennis universe should be excited, except for Serena Williams and ...