I really shouldn’t be watching tennis or writing as I’m in a bit of a pinch at work, but my. . .oh my the tennis has been interesting in Indian Wells over the last few days.

This is a very short post; but let me say what I wanted to say last night after watching Del Potro v Djokovic. That was not the best played match. Del Potro looks tired and with or with out that huge serve, he’s a beaten man. Even his FH looked less consistently dominant. Which means as much as people wanted to say that Djokovic is on his way back, this was not apparent from my vantage point.

The best example of this dynamic: in the second set, Del Potro gets his second break when Djokovic misses badly on an overhead (which isn’t uncommon). J D is up 4-1 at this point, with Novak tossing gifts the Argentine’s way. Next, Djokovic wins the next eight or nine straight points. Del Potro is able to hold serve and win the second set, but this was not the highest level by any stretch of the imagination.

The BH continues to plague Del Potro and he’s still, clearly, trying to find his tour fitness. He’s played a lot of tennis in the last few weeks, so his beleaguered form isn’t a huge surprise given what the big guy has been doing over the last couple of seasons. His #31 is yet another indication of this form.

I even have to catch myself when I think about Djokovic’s “return.” The entire tennis planet wants to declare him back. But the Del Potro match was not that kind of dominance his fans need.

Today’s R16 match vs. Kyrgios only confirmed this reality.

I will have more to say about Fedal, Stan’s big battle with the little Japanese “star,” and more.

Let’s see if Thiem can clean his side of the street against a surging/untested Monfils.

😀