Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi have extra motivation this week at the BNP Paribas Open. Since making his ATP World Tour Masters 1000 debut in 1997 at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, the 39-year-old Mirnyi has won 16 doubles titles at this level. Of the current Golden 9, Indian Wells remains the only title missing from his collection. Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Huey has his sights sets on a first Masters 1000 title following a runner-up finish in the desert four years ago. What makes these Masters 1000 tournaments special? Mirnyi: There’s a lot to play for. The best teams are playing. There’s a lot of points, prize money, and this is where you can improve your game and move up the...
Fifth seed Rafael Nadal faces another potentially epic battle against Fernando Verdasco after scoring a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Guido Pella in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Nadal leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against the 26th seed Verdasco 15-3, but five of their seven most recent meetings went to a deciding set. However, Nadal has won both of their previous encounters in Indian Wells, scoring third-round victories in 2007 and 2016. Pella got off to a hot start, breaking Nadal in the third game of their first meeting. But the fifth-seeded Spaniard settled in and reeled off six of the next seven games to clinch the opener...
Fourth seed Kei Nishikori booked his spot in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Daniel Evans. The Japanese star advanced in 85 minutes, converting four of nine break points to record his second win in three meetings with Evans, who famously upset Nishikori four years ago in the US Open first round. "It was a tough match. Obviously he's been playing well. I know he can play great tennis and when he was playing aggressively, he was very tough to play," said Nishikori. "But I think I managed really well from the first point until the end. I'm happy with my service game also, so I think it was a...
Three of the biggest superstars on the ATP World Tour are on Sunday’s schedule at the BNP Paribas Open with No. 2 seed/five-time champion Novak Djokovic, three-time winner/No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal and four-time title holder/No. 9 seed Roger Federer. They have won 12 of the last 13 BNP Paribas Open titles. But this year the trio are in the bottom quarter of the draw and only one of the former champions could reach the semi-finals. The trio have combined to win 82 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles and 44 Grand Slam championships while finishing No. 1 in 12 of the last 13 years (except 2016). Overall, they have combined to capture 225 singles titles. In the first match...
