If this year had been like prior years, before the Pacific Life Open instituted the expanded men?s draw, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden would have been bustling with activity on the final Wednesday. A number of men?s second round matches would have been played on the outer courts, and many well-known players would still be seen working out on the practice courts.

On the final Wednesday this year the site was eerily quiet. Because the men?s tournament started earlier and is finishing in a more leisurely fashion under the new format, all the singles matches were played in the main stadium, and just four doubles matches were scheduled on the show courts. It was hard to believe that with such little activity on the grounds, the tournament still had five days to go.

The Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami, which has a similar format to the one adopted by Indian Wells this year, has instituted an invitational tournament involving some of the country?s top junior players in order to fill the void on days like this. Perhaps the tournament organizers here could envisage something similar in order to spice up the final week in future years.

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James Blake def. Taylor Dent, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-1
Fourth round
Previous head-to-head: Blake leads 2-1

Taylor Dent (pictured at right) had survived to reach the fourth round despite the inconsistency of his biggest weapon, his booming serve. Today Dent ran into an opponent who made him pay for the stammering serve. James Blake used fine returns and passing shots, as well as some well-timed aggression of his own, to win this battle of unseeded Americans.

At stake was not only a berth in the Pacific Life Open quarterfinals, but also, perhaps, an invitation to serve as the number two singles player on the U.S. Davis Cup squad for next month?s tie against Sweden. Both Dent and Blake have been mentioned prominently as candidates for this coveted post.

The match started raggedly. Twice Dent broke Blake?s serve, only to lose his own immediately thereafter. Late in the set Dent again worried Blake?s serve with James serving at 4-5, earning a set point. But Blake saw off the danger, thanks to one of the many fine backhand passing shots he struck today against the net-rushing Dent.

In the first set tie-break Dent looked in excellent shape with a 4-2 lead, but Blake erased the mini-break, courtesy of a splendid running forehand pass at 4-3. Dent followed this with a costly double fault, one of 9 doubles for the toothy Californian today. Blake won the next two points on his serve to take the first set, 7-6 (7-4).

Dent fought back to level the match by taking the second set, 6-4. The key game in this frame came at 4-4. Blake committed three double faults, and Dent made him pay on break point by blocking a return winner up the line. Dent consolidated the break, and to the third set they went.

We thought Dent might have the momentum now, but Blake had other ideas. He began to pass Dent at will, and when Taylor did get looks at makeable volleys, he wasn?t making them. Surprisingly, Blake quickly took a 5-0 lead.

Blake had a bit of an adventure serving for the match at 5-1, failing to convert three match points, but he made good on the fourth. With Dent once again at the net, Blake lobbed him. Dent leaped, just reached it, but his stretching overhead was weak and Blake hit the open court with a forehand. Make the final: 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-1, and a second straight Indian Wells quarterfinal appearance for the likeable lad from Yonkers.

In his post-match interview, James Blake was justifiably pleased, pointing to his return game as a key to his success. He also mentioned that his strategy involved moving forward more often than he normally does. While Blake?s 47 net approaches did not come close to the relentless Dent?s 125, the strategy of selective aggression frequently paid off. ?That takes him out of his comfort zone,? said Blake. ?He wants to get to net. He doesn?t want to hit passing shots all day.?

Dent was clearly unhappy with his usually potent serve, which has not been a reliable weapon for him in recent months and has also been shaky this week. Today he served only 1 ace, combined with 9 double faults, and was broken 5 times. Furthermore, he wasn?t happy with the placement of the serves that did land in play. ?I was putting them right in the honey hole,? was the quaint way that Dent phrased it. ?He was hitting winners. If I serve well, if I hit the spots like I should, that doesn?t happen.?

Blake will have a day off before facing surprise quarterfinalist Irakli Labadze. If you believe in head-to-head records, Blake will be the underdog. Labadze has defeated Blake twice in three meetings. ?Another guy who doesn?t give you a lot of rhythm,? noted Blake when asked about Labadze. ?He really takes rips at the ball, serves big, really tries to dictate play. I?m going to try to probably be a little more aggressive than I normally am to keep him from doing that. Maybe attack his backhand a little bit. We?ll see.?

And how about that coveted spot in Davis Cup squad that will be facing Sweden next month? Earlier this year the U.S. captain preferred Robbie Ginepri, and left Blake off the squad. James hopes he is making a positive impression on McEnroe, who will have a difficult choice for number two singles player among Blake, Ginepri, Dent, Mardy Fish, and a name that has recently been added to the mix, Scottsdale champion Vince Spadea. ?You know, Patrick is up there in the booth watching,? said the hopeful Blake. ?I?m pretty confident I?m playing well. I know I can get the job done at Davis Cup.?

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Nathalie Dechy (19) def. Fabiola Zuluaga (15), 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
Quarterfinal
Previous head-to-head: Tied 2-2

Slender Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy took an important step in her career, reaching her first Tier I semifinal by defeating Colombia?s pride and joy, Fabiola Zuluaga this evening.

Dechy?s victory under the lights took a little longer than it should have, but in the end the more incisive and aggressive player was the deserving winner. Both women committed the same number of unforced errors (29), but Dechy led in the winners column (28 to 17). Dechy?s more aggressive court position allowed her to dictate more of the rallies, and Zuluaga could not find any weapons that were working well enough to throw Dechy off her game.

Clad in a sleeveless black dress, Dechy rolled to a 4-1 first set lead before Zuluaga got her teeth in the match. The Colombian rebounded with a run of four games in a row to take her first lead of the match, striking some impressive backhand winners during this stretch, and even had a set point at 4-5 on Dechy?s serve. Zuluaga wasted her chance, driving a forehand into the net to end a fairly neutral crosscourt rally.

The first set tie-break was cleanly played by Dechy, and poorly played by Zuluaga. From 1-2, Fabiola dropped two straight service points with baseline errors, and Dechy cruised to take the breaker 7-1.

The second set began much like the first had, with Dechy running to a 3-1 lead and Zuluaga coming back to level the score. But this time Nathalie nipped the comeback in the bud. She held to go up 4-3, and then broke Zuluaga on a canny forehand down the line that wrong-footed her opponent, earning her the opportunity to serve for the match. This she did with confidence, striking a volley to close it out in style.

Unfortunately there were few fans left in the stadium to share the moment with Dechy, but the Frenchwoman let out a whoop of glee, thrilled to be in the most significant semifinal of her career.

Nathalie Dechy?s semifinal opponent on Friday will be a giant obstacle in more ways than one: the towering 3rd seed Lindsay Davenport. Lindsay has not even come close to losing a set, let alone a match, in her first four rounds. Today Davenport was given her best match so far by determined qualifier Gisela Dulko, but she still won easily, 6-3 6-2. Dulko had some good moments with some fine returns and baseline winners, but it was not nearly enough against the power and accuracy of Davenport . The American has only lost one match this year (to Justine Henin-Hardenne in Australia), and has definitely brought her ?A game? to the desert this year.

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Wandering in the desert

Irakli surprises

A gregarious Georgian named Irakli Labadze is the surprise guest at the men?s quarterfinal table. The 22-year-old lefty has been nicknamed ?Freak Show? because of his high-risk style of game. But here he has also shown admirable patience, and was mostly content to outsteady Agustin Calleri in a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph this morning.

Labadze got off to a wretched start, mainly because of a first serve percentage of only 25% in the opening set. But he got it back together to mount a comeback, aided by a heap of errors from the impatient Calleri.

As happy a moment as this was for Labadze, it was a sad end for Calleri, who received treatment for a right foot problem (blisters?) in the third set. Calleri had played some remarkable tennis on the outer courts earlier this week, particularly in his extraordinary 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (12-10) win over 17-year-old phenom Rafael Nadal on Monday.

Henman and Roddick set up quarterfinal showdown

Neither Andy Roddick nor Tim Henman has lost a set so far in the tournament. Today Henman dealt impressively with the wicked lefty serves of Wayne Arthurs as he trounced the Aussie veteran, 6-1, 6-3. And Roddick pounded 17 aces past Nicolas Escudé as he romped past the overwhelmed Frenchman, 6-3, 6-2. About the only time Andy put a foot wrong was when he stepped awkwardly and fell down early in the second set. Fortunately, it was a harmless spill. ?I just decided to fall down, ? cracked Roddick when asked about the tumble. ?I decided to take a breather."

Roddick and Henman will face each other on Friday, and it should be a dandy quarterfinal.

Women?s doubles final four

The identities of the women?s doubles semifinalists are now known, and it?s an interesting group.

In an all-Russian semifinal, unseeded Anastasia Myskina/Vera Zvonareva will take on the second seeded duo, Svetlana Kuznetsova/Elena Likhovtseva. Note that Myskina/Zvonareva were responsible for eliminating the big doubles attraction, Martina Navratilova/Lisa Raymond, in the second round. The other semi should be a good one. The world?s top team, Virginia Ruano Pascual / Paola Suarez, will battle a popular American tandem, Lindsay Davenport/Corina Morariu.

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Quotable quotes

Taylor Dent thinks he knows what is wrong with his wonky serve. ?I tend to let the ball drop down too low on the toss, and I hit it too flat. It catches the tape a lot or just goes over the service line.? Veteran coach Vic Braden captured Dent's serve on video, and told Dent he saw a different flaw. ?You?re dropping your head too soon. If you want, I?ll digitize the video and send it to you.? Dent accepted the offer.

Lindsay Davenport had some interesting comments on the aftermath of last October?s surgery to repair an enlarged nerve in her left foot. ?The third and fourth toes are now numb.? She claims that the numbness has not caused any appreciable effect on her movement or balance. ?You know, I thought it would. But it feels so much better than the shooting pain down there, that as soon as I came out of surgery a few days later, after all the medicines wore off you just get used to it.?