[Time Violation]

Originally Posted by Clay Death

now fed`s chances skyrocket. i think he can win if he can navigate his draw. its a tough draw but he needs it to be better prepared.

I don't see how he is going to navigate past Nadal, provided both come to semis of course.

Originally Posted by reery

He lost 5 sets instead of just 1 set like in 2011. AO(plexicushion) is also his best slam.

Murray this year at AO played way better than he did last year.

[Clay Death]

we dont know nadal`s form yet. he has been out of action for a while now. heavy topspin players need lots of practice and match play.

and hard courts is not really his thing.

[reery]

Originally Posted by Taejin

Murray this year at AO played way better than he did last year.

Djokovic lost 2 sets to his bunny Nadal and 1 set to almost retired Hewitt.

[masterclass]

Originally Posted by reery

He lost 5 sets instead of just 1 set like in 2011. AO(plexicushion) is also his best slam.

Agreed about AO (Plexicushion) being his best slam.

One has to sometimes look beyond the basic stats.
In 2012, he faced a much better Andy Murray who started working with Lendl. That's 2 sets.
In 2012, he faced an excellent Rafael Nadal in the Final who can also play well on Plexicushion. That's 2 more sets.
His other 2012 set loss to the pumped up Australian and former #1 Lleyton Hewitt was understandable.

The set loss to Dodig in 2011 was not so understandable.

That said, he can still be 2.0, but not win...he's not playing in a vacuum. Other players can improve as well, especially on a given day, and Djokovic has a lot of tournaments and points to defend. That's extra pressure. And in 2011, he got on a big winning streak, which fueled his confidence, and he is a player that thrives and survives on confidence. Many factors are at work...

Respectfully,
masterclass

[Time Violation]

Hm... seems there is stomach virus on the loose, not a good news.

Tennis Panorama News ‏ @TennisNewsTPN

Ball kids, line judges and journalists dropping like flies. EVERYONE is talking about the virus now. Not good. #bnppo12

and more:

Beyond The Baseline ‏ @SI_BTBaseline

Something clearly going around: Vania King and Monfils withdrew due to illness. That makes at least 5 players sick by my count. #bnppo12

[Clay Death]

not good news at all.

[Nole Rules]

I would like to see Rafa-Tipsy match here. Could be a good/great match. It's very unlikely to happen though. Tipsy's draw is really hard. He considers Rafa his toughest opponent on the tour. That's why i would like to see this match. Hopefully it happens in IW or Miami.

[Start da Game]

Originally Posted by Nole Rules

I would like to see Rafa-Tipsy match here. Could be a good/great match. It's very unlikely to happen though. Tipsy's draw is really hard. He considers Rafa his toughest opponent on the tour. That's why i would like to see this match. Hopefully it happens in IW or Miami.

that should be an interesting match.....

[masterclass]

Well here we are at Indian Wells 2012 with one semifinal set - Djokovic vs. Isner, and the remaining 2 quarterfinals to be played today.

So far, despite the unusual virus that plagued this year's event, most of the top players have made it through.
My Indian Wells 2012 Draw Analysis has been fairly accurate to the quarterfinals, except for Stan Wawrinka, who did not appear in full health, losing to Simon, and for Xavier Malisse folding his tent early, and David Nalbandian jumping in to take his spot.

This leaves John Isner vs. Novak Djokovic in one semifinal.
Mr. Isner needs to serve better and up his game a bit against Mr. Djokovic to fulfill the upset I've predicted.
Mr. Djokovic needs to return well and play a good variety of flatter lower shots to Isner, who can eat up topspin on this court.

The quarterfinals being played today will decide who is in the other half's semifinal. The weather forecast for today's quarterfinal matches is partly sunny and warm, with little or no wind.

First up will be Roger Federer [3](SUI) vs. Juan Martin del Potro [9](ARG).
I've predicted Federer to win here as he is clearly the more confident player as a result of their more recent matchups, and the conditions are not too different from the Australian Open where Federer dismantled del Potro, easier than on the faster indoor conditions of Rotterdam and faster outdoor conditions of Dubai, where del Potro made it very close. As long as Federer's apparent flu-like illness is mostly over or is not bothering him to a great extent, I think he will take this in 2 sets and advance to the semifinal.

Following this will be Rafael Nadal [2](ESP) vs. David Nalbandian [74](ARG)
This could be an interesting match up. Nalbandian is playing closer to his career high ranking of #3 than is current #74 ranking in this tournament. If he can keep that up, he can definitely challenge and potentially upset Nadal.
That said, the conditions here at Indian Wells have always favored Nadal. He seems to have weathered his initial rust from not playing and has even advanced to the doubles finals, beating the Polish 6th seeded doubles team, which is scheduled to be played Saturday. An upset is still possible if Nalbandian plays to his best level, but I have a feeling that Mr. Nadal will come through in 3 sets and advance to the semifinal to meet Mr. Federer.

It's worth noting that semifinal and doubles final play on Saturday may be affected by a forecast of rain and high winds (High Wind Warning in effect from 11 am Saturday to 5 PM PDT Sunday...)

Respectfully,
masterclass

[cmoss]

Yup,Isner will have more chances against Nadal than Djokovic.Because Nadal's shots are extremely high bouncing& massive topspin.

[Clay Death]

Originally Posted by masterclass

Well here we are at Indian Wells 2012 with one semifinal set - Djokovic vs. Isner, and the remaining 2 quarterfinals to be played today.

So far, despite the unusual virus that plagued this year's event, most of the top players have made it through.
My Indian Wells 2012 Draw Analysis has been fairly accurate to the quarterfinals, except for Stan Wawrinka, who did not appear in full health, losing to Simon, and for Xavier Malisse folding his tent early, and David Nalbandian jumping in to take his spot.

This leaves John Isner vs. Novak Djokovic in one semifinal.
Mr. Isner needs to serve better and up his game a bit against Mr. Djokovic to fulfill the upset I've predicted.
Mr. Djokovic needs to return well and play a good variety of flatter lower shots to Isner, who can eat up topspin on this court.

The quarterfinals being played today will decide who is in the other half's semifinal. The weather forecast for today's quarterfinal matches is partly sunny and warm, with little or no wind.

First up will be Roger Federer [3](SUI) vs. Juan Martin del Potro [9](ARG).
I've predicted Federer to win here as he is clearly the more confident player as a result of their more recent matchups, and the conditions are not too different from the Australian Open where Federer dismantled del Potro, easier than on the faster indoor conditions of Rotterdam and faster outdoor conditions of Dubai, where del Potro made it very close. As long as Federer's apparent flu-like illness is mostly over or is not bothering him to a great extent, I think he will take this in 2 sets and advance to the semifinal.

Following this will be Rafael Nadal [2](ESP) vs. David Nalbandian [74](ARG)
This could be an interesting match up. Nalbandian is playing closer to his career high ranking of #3 than is current #74 ranking in this tournament. If he can keep that up, he can definitely challenge and potentially upset Nadal.
That said, the conditions here at Indian Wells have always favored Nadal. He seems to have weathered his initial rust from not playing and has even advanced to the doubles finals, beating the Polish 6th seeded doubles team, which is scheduled to be played Saturday. An upset is still possible if Nalbandian plays to his best level, but I have a feeling that Mr. Nadal will come through in 3 sets and advance to the semifinal to meet Mr. Federer.

It's worth noting that semifinal and doubles final play on Saturday may be affected by a forecast of rain and high winds (High Wind Warning in effect from 11 am Saturday to 5 PM PDT Sunday...)

Respectfully,
masterclass

excellent post and superb analysis general masterclass.

i am personally not putting much stock in clay warrior`s chances beyond today in singles and he may just struggle against nalFATian. nalFATian still has major game and he can cause problems for anybody on hard courts if everything is going his way.

[Clay Death]

Originally Posted by cmoss

Yup,Isner will have more chances against Nadal than Djokovic.Because Nadal's shots are extremely high bouncing& massive topspin.

all isner can hope for is to serve massive and get into a couple of breakers. and that may happen.

[Start da Game]

nadal will storm into the finals, hercules.....fed has no chance against him.....the only question is can he take out djokovic.....

[Clay Death]

we shall see general shanks. i think that doubles bullshit complicates matters for him.