Bob & Cindy's 2015 Travel Web Site
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Indian Wells, California
BNP Paribas Open Tennis Tournament
We had made reservations for a week of tennis at this tournament. We had been here in 2001 which was the year Serena Williams was booed off the court and they said they'd never come back (justifiably in my opinion, it was pretty bad). All the big names were signed up to play and we had not seen any of the new guys so we signed up. Then Serena announced she was going to come back to play. The tournament was bought out by Larry Ellison (Oracle CEO and one of the top 10 richest people in the world) who redid the grounds and added a new #2 stadium that holds about 6,000. The #1 stadium did not change and holds about 15,000. We immediately noticed bigger crowds but it was well organized despite the crowds. Our schedule was to leave where we were staying around 9:30 or 10, get to the grounds, watch tennis, and get back around 10:00 PM. The area was under a heat spell, temperatures in the 90 - 95 degree range, but we really didn't have much of a problem thanks to a good breeze most of the time and we brought lots of water and energy drinks with us plus snacks. Pictures below of players and grounds.
The main sitting area outside Stadium 1. In the afternoon it's in the shade and you can bring your drinks, food, etc. and watch 3 matches at the same time. Also, the booth where Tennis Channel or ESPN do their interviews. Good people watching area!
Another view of the grounds.
Oh yeah, we are enjoying this. Outer court action, some doubles and good tennis. Plus these outer courts have you right down by the court.
Andy Murray (lost in semifinal)
Anna Ivonovic - lost in 3rd round - #5 seed
Thanasi Kokkinakis - 19 year old from Australia. The best young player I saw. Played doubles with Murray, also made it round 4 in singles.
The master - Novak Djokovic. #1 seed and won the tournament (beat Federer). And the guy is relentless.
Mardy Fish - making his return to singles after heart issues. The absence showed but good to see him back on the courts.
Grigor Dimitrov - 11 seed and did not look good. Main claim to fame is Sharapova's boyfriend.
Isner and Sam Querry played doubles and lost in 3rd round. Watched Isner also in singles - a strong serve does not make for enjoyable tennis watching.
Genie Bouchard from Canada - #6 seed. Not impressed with her overall game. Good groundstrokes but no real winning strokes. She had an injury and lost in the 4th round in 3 sets.
Madison Keys - I think having Lindsay Davenport as a coach has helped her game or the mental part. Played well and may improve enough to get in the top 8.
Kei Nishikori - 5 seed and lost to Lopez in 4th round. He passes my eye test. Great movement, solid fundamentals. Young and still developing.
Victoria Azarenka - Played Sharapova in 3rd round match and lost but the match was one of the best we saw. Big babe tennis on full display.
Maria Sharapova - #2 seed. Awesome power and groundstrokes. Very iffy serve. Lost to Pennetta in 4th round.
Flavia Pennetta - from Italy. #15 seed. A real bulldog. Beat Sharapova. Was defending champion from last year. Lost to Lisicki in quarterfinal.
Roger Federer - So smooth - never looks like he even sweats. Just a real pleasure to see him play. Lost to Djokavic in the final. A # 2 seed losing to a #1 seed.
Serena Williams - The best player in the women's game, no doubt. Hard to warm up to. Looked like she was playing at half speed but kept winning. Pulled out in the semifinal.
Nadal - so physical with everything he does. All out effort. Watched him practice also, total effort there also. Lost to Raonic in a semifinal. We did not see Raonic play.
Simona Halep from Romania - #3 seed - beat Jankovic in the final to win the tournament. I was very impressed. Very tough and aggressive and a don't quit attitude. She'll be around near the top for some time.
Pretty obvious we had a great experience at the tournament. Saw almost everyone we wanted to except the Bryan brothers. We took our time, stayed hydrated and walked around a lot.
We hope we'll have another chance some day to come back and watch a new round of competitors at Indian Wells.