For the first time in their three year relationship, the romantically-entwined pair of Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters got the chance to savour significant titles in the same place and on the same day.
Last year the men?s final was scheduled for 10:30 AM to accomodate U.S. network television. At the time, we thought that was outrageously early, and the start time was the subject of sarcasm from the world?s tennis press. Imagine our reaction this year, when we heard the men?s final was slotted for 9:30 AM. As it turned out, because the Kuerten-Schuettler semifinal was suspended by yesterday?s rainfall, the day?s play began even earlier than had been planned. The completion of Kuerten-Schuettler was p
rogrammed for 9:00 AM; the women?s final was flipped into the spot originally reserved for the men, to be followed by the men?s final and the two doubles finals. An already absurdly early start had gotten ridiculous.
It was a bad situation for so many, not just the players who have to try to produce a top-level performance at such an early hour. Think also of the fans, many of whom drive for hours to attend this event, not to mention the tournament staff and volunteers, who are often here hours before the start of play readying the site.
We realize that money talks and television is king, but, as Lindsay Davenport said today, ?You?d think they could have worked out a better solution than that.? We hope we won?t be straggling to the stadium for a 7:30 AM final next year?
Kim Clijsters (1) def. Lindsay Davenport (7), 6-4, 7-5
Women?s final
Previous head-to-head: Davenport leads 6-4
Two years ago at this very tournament, Kim Clijsters lost to Serena Williams in her first important final. It was the year of Venus Williams?s controversial withdrawal from her semifinal with sister Serena. The final was raucous affair in which the crowd cheered Clijsters wildly and jeered her opponent noisily. Today was very different in many respects. There was no controversy, no booing, and Clijsters won, overcoming 3-1 deficits in both sets to claim the most significant title of her singles career t
o date.
First set:
Happily, the sun came out to greet the players as they came out for the final. Both women were error-prone at the start, and there was an early exchange of service breaks. We finally had our first good rally at 1-1, deuce, won by Davenport with some overpowering forehands. Clijsters followed with her second double fault of the game and third of the match, and the American crowd favourite possessed a 2-1 lead, which she confirmed with a hold for 3-1. Clijsters was trying to apply her game plan of playing
close to the lines and getting the less mobile Davenport on the run, but she was often missing by a wide margin.
From this point on the Belgian steadied herself. Kim started putting more balls in play, and making more of her down-the-line shots. Clijsters managed her first hold of the match for 3-2; then broke Lindsay at 15 on an awful game by the American (three unforced errors and a double fault at 15-40) to level the set at 3-all.
Serving at 4-4, Clijsters was in trouble at 15-30 but Davenport failed to seize the advantage. After a poor error at 30-30 she bent over and hung her head in dismay for several seconds. Clijsters picked up on Davenport?s negative mindset. ?I could tell, like her body language wasn?t great, wasn?t as good as when she played Jennifer.? A common criticism of Davenport, that. Eventually Clijsters took the game on a crisp 40-30 forehand to pull in front 5-4. Davenport then found herself in trouble serving
to stay alive, and fell behind 15-40. Davenport fought off three set points, one with a clutch backhand pass. But Clijsters made good on the fourth with a well-angled backhand. First blood is drawn by the Belgian, 6-4.
Second set:
Davenport was now being outrun and outplayed, and was looking pretty dissatisfied with the course of events. Her serve was malfunctioning, but her returns were her best shot at this point, and she was still able to use them to pressure the Clijsters serve. Davenport held two break points in game one and three more in game three, finally doing the job to assume a 2-1 lead, which she consolidated to 3-1 despite a break point that Clijsters wasted with a wild forehand return. With some confidence now, Dave
nport was now coming to the net more often and with success, to avoid the run-around she was getting during the rallies
Clijsters turned the tide in her favour at 3-2, putting Davenport in a 0-30 hole with two strong returns of her own. Davenport saved a break point, but then double faulted at 30-40. The set was back to level, 3-3, and Davenport was back to her slouching and grimacing.
The American looked to be on the ropes, and Clijsters worked her way to a match point situation on Davenport?s 4-5 service game after luring Lindsay to the net and then passing her at 30-30. Davenport saved it with a service winner, and went on to save the game. Then it was the Belgian?s turn to get in trouble, serving at 5-5. Davenport had three break points but failed to cash in. Kim saved the first with a service winner out wide, on the second Davenport hit a wild forehand long, and on the third Cl
ijsters came to net and knocked off a confident volley.
Finally, the wobbly Davenport fell in game 12. Again serving to stay in the match, she got in quick trouble, a forehand error and her 10th double fault made it 0-30. At 15-30, Clijsters followed up a good return with a forehand winner, setting up a fourth match point. This one was the charm. Davenport made what a good approach shot that drew a weak defensive lob, but Lindsay made a hash of her overhead, pulling it wide. Game set and match, Kim Clijsters, 6-4, 7-5. Elated, Clijsters happily raises he
r fists and salutes the crowd before jogging to her coach Marc Dehous to receive a warm hug.
The ever-popular trophy presentation:
Davenport, gracious as always, made a point to salute the standard of play that her opponent has attained. ?Kim has become a great player, especially in the last 18 months or so.? Lindsay also made a point of thanking her home-state fans for their support throughout the week.
Clijsters was clearly excited, and gave a bubbly little speech. After holding up the trophy, which once again depicts the Pacific Life whale, she had some nice words for her victim. ?After the surgery she looks better than ever and fitter than ever, so congratulations.? She even had a special thank you for the linespeople, which is something you don?t hear every day from a player. ?We hit the ball so hard and it?s so tough for them, and we don?t thank them enough.? Kim also acknowledged her coach Deh
ous, who coached her in her junior years and with whom she has been working since late last season. ?I?m not the easiest player because I always beat him at cards,? chuckled the happy winner.
Post mortem:
Lindsay Davenport was left to rue what she accurately viewed as a sub-par performance. She pointed to her serve (a first serve percentage of just 53%, with 10 double faults). ?This year I?ve struggled more with it than in the past.? And she felt she was not helped by the early start time of the final following the tough semifinal against Capriati. ?You know, there?s no question that this morning I was a little bit tired and a little bit off my game,? said Lindsay. ?Men or women, whoever was supposed
to have the 9:30 start, it?s one of our biggest tournaments of the year. I think it?s ridiculous.?
This title, the first Tier I championship in Clijsters?s career and her 12th title in all, cements her status as the top women?s player outside the Williams family. Kim lost just one set this week, in her quarterfinal with Nathalie Dechy. The affable Belgian continues to claim, as she has all year, that number one is not a goal. ?I want to be healthy and give it my best. Of course, the rankings come with it. They show at the end, you know, who has been the best player of the year.?
Now it?s on to Miami for our champion, and a probable test against at least one player named Williams.
Lleyton Hewitt (1) def. Gustavo Kuerten, 6-1, 6-1
Men?s final
Previous head-to-head: Tied 1-1
First things first: the completion of Kuerten?s rain-postponed semifinal with Rainer Schuettler that started the day?s play at (yawn) 9:00 AM. Play resumed with the Brazilian serving at 6-2, 0-1 (0-30). Guga managed to hold that service game, but we quickly saw that Schuettler was playing much better than yesterday. The German finally got his break thanks to a backhand return winner to take a 3-1 lead, which he held for the rest of the way to level the match. In the deciding set, Guga picked up an early
break in game two, and served well the rest of the way to retain the advantage, although Rainer did have a break point at 4-2. The Brazilian closed out the match on Schuettler?s serve, converting his third match point with a first serve backhand return winner. Make the final: 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, and the fans would have the Hewitt-Kuerten final that most of them were hoping for.
Beware of what you wish for! The final turned out to be a dud, Hewitt romping to a one-sided 6-1, 6-1 decision in 61 minutes. If anything, it was easier that Hewitt?s Indian Wells final last year, in which he pummelled Tim Henman, 6-1, 6-2. There?s not much to say about this match. Hewitt was extremely solid, and picked up the tempo any time it looked like he might be threatened. Kuerten seemed to have little left after his early wake-up call and two sets of tennis against Schuettler, and his b
ig shots were wayward when he tried to pull the trigger.
The ever-popular trophy presentation:
Guga put on a brave face despite his catastrophic final. After thanking his long-time coach Larri Passos and his personal trainer, he told the crowd, ?Sorry I couldn?t give Lleyton a better match, but I was a little bit tired. But after my surgery my greatest moments on a tennis court were here this week.?
Accepting the $200,000 winner?s cheque, Hewitt spoke briefly. After thanking his coach Jason Stoltenberg, he congratulated Kuerten for his week. ?You?ve had some tough matches, and the first tournament in America on the hard courts is tough on the body.?
Post mortem:
Kuerten placed the blame for his poor showing in the final on the bad scheduling break caused by yesterday?s rain. ?I just got a little unlucky yesterday. I took a lot of hours here, waiting, get back, playing this morning in a really early match,? said the three-time French Open champion. ?Winning the first match, it was really tough and intense. Then, for sure I couldn?t keep the level for the next one.?
Guga, who now appears just about back to 100% after his hip surgery last spring, said he will just try to forget the final and focus on the other positive aspects of his first Masters Series final since his Cincinnati title in August 2001. ?From now on, I?ll probably just raise my confidence very high again,? said the Brazilian.
Lleyton Hewitt admitted that Kuerten?s schedule put him in a difficult predicament. ?But it works both ways. I like to go to bed knowing who I?m going to wake up and play,? said our champion after the match. Recalling that two years ago Kuerten was in a similar situation, and defeated both Tim Henman and Patrick Rafter on the final day to win the title, Hewitt added, ?I was wary.? He said his secret today was to make the Brazilian work, and force him to go for too much. ?Even when he was hitting his b
ig first serves in, I was still making him play a lot of balls. Today, to me he was pushing the panic button a lot and try to go for winners where he didn?t want to be in a lot of long rallies with me.?
This tournament was not without its struggles for Hewitt. He came perilously close to losing in the first round to his Australian Open conqueror Younes El Aynaoui, saving three match points, and also pulled through a tough three-setter against Guillermo Coria, before a break in the draw allowed him fairly easy wins over qualifiers Robbie Ginepri in the quarters and Vince Spadea in the semis. ?It?s important to survive those early tough ones,? noted Hewitt. ?My last three matches I got better and better
.?
Like last year, Hewitt has been able to put behind Australian Open disappointment with a strong showing on the American hard courts. By defending his Indian Wells title he also firmly cements his status as world number one, and now has 11-match and 2-tournament win streaks going. ?I?m extremely happy about the way I?ve been playing and the way I?ve been competing over the last two weeks.?
Next stop, Miami, for another Masters Series event. Hewitt has reached the semifinals there the last three years, but has yet to play a final in the Florida metropolis. ?I enjoy the tournament. I?d like to get one or two stages further in it.?
Doubles! Doubles!
Lindsay Davenport / Lisa Raymond (8) def. Kim Clijsters / Ai Sugiyama (3), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
The women?s doubles final gave a very small measure of revenge to Davenport for the singles loss, and also allowed Davenport/Raymond to avenge their loss to the Belgian-Japanese duo in the Scottsdale final two weeks ago.
Clijsters/Sugiyama appeared cruising to a win, up 6-4, 4-3 with a break, when Sugiyama dropped serve. Davenport/Raymond ran out 12 of the last 13 games to win going away over their fading opponents. Our woman of the match was Raymond, a solid volleyer who keyed the comeback and pulled her partner, surely still a bit down about the singles final, into the match. ?A little revenge for last week,? Raymond told the losing side during the trophy presentation. ?Sorry about that.?
Wayne Ferreira / Yevgeny Kafelnikov def. Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan (3), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
Much like the women?s doubles final, the losing team had appeared on its way to a comfortable win until the tide turned. Except that the bouncy Bryan twins from California were even closer to victory than were Clijsters/Sugiyama, and did not go down without a fight. It turned out to be by far the most entertaining of the four finals today, even though there were only about 1,000 fans watching in the giant stadium.
As their father Wayne, who is also the stadium public address announcer, watched nervously from the press box, the the left-handed Mike Bryan served for the match at 5-4 of the second set. At this point the veterans Ferreira/Kafelnikov dug in their heels, and began wailing away with their returns and baseline drives -- especially Kafelnikov -- and having no shyness about driving balls right at the twins? bodies on occasion. Ferreira/Kafelnikov broke Mike to stay alive in the match, and then did the same
to Bob to level the match.
The third set started well for the Bryans, as they broke Kafelnikov (who was having trouble with low volleys on most of his service games). But the South African-Russian tandem got back on serve at 4-3 by breaking Bob, Kafelnikov again driving a forehand right at Mike on break point. The action was intense now, and it was amusing to see the normally taciturn Kafelnikov get excited, skipping around, strutting proudly and high-fiving his partner after big points. ?You don?t see that often from him,? smil
ed Ferreira after the match. ?It?s sort of interesting to see.?
Ferreira/Kafelnikov then broke Mike at 4-5, winning the title on an excellent match point; Ferreira ran down a let cord, hoisted a perfect lob over the twins, it was retrieved, but then Kafelnikov clinched the match with a fairly inoffensive shot that each twin thought the other was going to play. So much for the magical, unspoken communication between twins! Kafelnikov drew some chuckles during the trophy ceremony when he said, ?The Bryans are a great young team and have a great future. Our time is ru
nning out and we are desperate to get any titles!?
Indeed, Kafelnikov's alluded after the match to the
importance of a first title since his varicose vein surgery during the off-season.
"I didn't feel like I could play again, but after my surgery I feel healthy again that?s why I?m here."
Farewell to the desert
A tournament of this kind is so much more than our valiant weekend champions. As we left the magnificent Indian Wells site under a full moon that hovered over the mountains, we had flashbacks of some of the memorable moments of the past two weeks.
- The outer court warriors: Much of the drama took place in the relative anonymity of the side courts. Especially riveting were Olivier Rochus, the tiny Belgian whose inspired shotmaking lit up the outside courts in three entertaining three-set matches, and Magui Serna, the stocky Spaniard with every shot in the book, whose display of total tennis lasted for three matches until she froze on the big occasion against Amélie Mauresmo.
- The churning stomachs: A mysterious gastro-intestinal disorder ran through the locker rooms, ruining the tournament for about 15 players. The most prominent victims were Jiri Novak, who withdrew before his second round match against qualifier Robbie Ginepri, Marat Safin, who played his third round match against Robbie Ginepri but probably should not have, and Paola Suarez, half of the top-seeded women?s doubles team.
- The player most likely to love the churning stomachs: Robbie Ginepri.
- The up-and-comers: Fans got acquainted with some of the new faces who will be on tour for a while. Guillermo Coria, the little Argentine with great speed and wonderful hands, who gave Hewitt all he could handle in the third round. The youngsters we profiled this week, Angelique Widjaja and Feliciano Lopez. And Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, a very nice young Frenchwoman with a sweet one-handed backhand.
- The geezers: 30-year-old Conchita Martínez, who warmed the hearts of the nostalgic by spinning, looping, and thinking her way to the semis. 31-year-old Younes El Aynaoui, one of the nicest guys you?ll find anywhere, who once again battled Hewitt tooth and nail. Unlike their Australian Open encounter, he was unable to finish the job.
- The magic shots: Lleyton Hewitt?s scintillating backhand pass, match point down against Younes El Aynaoui. Fabrice Santoro?s between-the-legs shot against Olivier Rochus (he lost the point when Rochus cruelly replied with a drop volley). Doubles specialist Patricia Tarabini?s behind-the-back volley that had the court 5 fans whooping with glee in a first round doubles match.
- Brian Vahaly: the 23-year-old American was the last man allowed into the qualifying draw, but registered a shocking upset over Juan Carlos Ferrero and reached the quarterfinals. He was always a treat in his press conferences as he narrated his fantasy week with a mixture of pride and self-deprecating humour. When it was all over, he left us with this thought. ?To give a little bit of perspective, I started seven weeks ago in a tournament in Joplin, Missouri. To save money I stayed in housin
g. They didn?t have a bed for me, so I slept on a couch.? Now, more than $100,000 richer than he was before that Joplin Challenger, Brian won?t be sleeping on any couches in the near future. Unless he really wants to.
On behalf of myself and ace photographer Traci Tyson, thanks for following our reports from the desert for the past fortnight, and please stay tuned for more tournament coverage this season.