March 18, 2011 BNP Paribas Open

I am not taking a lot of pictures today. Most of the players we’ve seen before. The first match is Richard Gasquet vs. Novak Djokovic. We are for Gasquet. He loses. Then there is a match between Yanina Wickmayer and Marion Bartoli. As I have mentioned before we always root for Marion because she is so quirky and she hits the shit out of the ball with two hands on both sides. At least she is a little interesting. Bartoli wins and is into the final. Next up, Federer vs. Wawrinka. Federer wins in two and is into the semi-finals. He will have to play Djokovic tomorrow.

Because there is some down time between matches, we stroll the practice courts. We see Nadal practicing with Marc Lopez, his doubles partner. They draw a big crowd. In one of the smaller stadia Nenad Zimonic is practicing with two coaches/players. It’s pretty quiet there since he’s just a doubles player and is not as well known as the singles players. But we are able to sit really close to the court he is playing on and are amazed at how hard he strikes the ball.

Nenad Zimonic

The match that everyone is buzzing about is the first of the evening – Nadal and Lopez vs. Federer and Wawrinka. All the players look like they are having a good time playing. Marc Lopez, better known to us as Little Lopez because he’s short, looks like he has borrowed some of Nadal’s clothes. Federer and Wawrinka manage to find somewhat matching blue shirts. The match is entertaining and Federer and Wawrinka win. They will play Dolgolopov and Malisse tomorrow in the final.

Federer/Wawrinka vs. Lopez/Nadal

The final match of the evening is Caroline Wozniacki vs. Maria Sharapova. We leave and watch the end of the match back at the hotel. Wozniacki crushes Sharapova. The commentators are describing Sharapova’s play as terrible, almost embarrassing. It is amazing that she got this far.

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