Winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same season is supposed to be difficult, but Novak Djokovic is making it look pretty easy—again. And if Serena Williams didn’t come down with a wonky knee in California, she might have done the double, too.
To no one’s surprise, they’re 1-2 in this month’s Top 25. (The previous rankings can be seen here.)
Not for the first time, Djokovic bent in big matches. And not for the first time, the Serb didn’t break in them. Appearing invincible on hard courts, is this the year Djokovic translates his success to Roland Garros and lifts the Grand Slam trophy that's eluded him?
The clay is arrived, which should aid Williams’ rivals. Serena went undefeated on hard courts, capped by yet another title in Miami (it’s eight, if you’ve lost count), and she probably would have collected a storybook crown in Indian Wells if not for that knee.
Halep gave Serena all she could handle in the Miami semifinals. She must have left Florida in good spirits for another reason, too: Knowing her body was able to cope with going deep in both of March's big hard-court events. Is it a matter of when, not if, Halep wins a maiden Grand Slam title?
Miami missed Roger, especially after the early exits of Nadal and fellow tournament crowd favorite Juan Martin del Potro. But heading into what figures to be a busy stretch for the Swiss, there’s nothing wrong with his game. He’s six years older than Djokovic, yet in their last nine matches, Federer has won four times—and all five of the Serb’s victories have gone the distance.
OK, so he fell to Djokovic in Indian Wells and Miami. But Murray should look on the bright side (which he probably won’t, the perfectionist that he is). Last year, not far removed from back surgery, he struggled for form and didn’t exceed the quarterfinals in Indian Wells and Miami. Plus, he’s getting married this weekend.
Suarez Navarro is taking some of the spotlight away from her pal, doubles partner and fellow Spaniard Garbine Muguruza. An already solid season went up a notch when the diminutive right-hander with the lovely one-handed backhand reached the final in Miami and quarterfinals in Indian Wells.
After ending a 17-match losing streak to Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, Berdych has gradually regressed, going 0-for-4 against Top 10 opposition since Melbourne. The last two of those outings, against Federer and Murray, were disappointments. The Czech, however, has been remarkably consistent this year, making it to at least the quarterfinals in every tournament he’s played.
The European clay-court season is starting earlier this year for Sharapova—in the Fed Cup semis in her hometown of Sochi—and based on what happened in Indian Wells and Miami, she won’t mind. Her tally of two wins was her lowest return since 2003, the first time she ever contested Indian Wells and Miami in the same season.
The ‘Stanimal’ is reverting to ‘Silent Stan.’ After winning in Rotterdam, Wawrinka has gone a disappointing 2-3. Maybe he needs a break following a busy first month and a half. A positive for Wawrinka? Aside from Monte Carlo, he has virtually no points to defend on the dirt.
Federer has long been a master of great scheduling, and fellow Swiss Bacsinszky is following suit. Miami wasn’t on her schedule, which proved to be a masterstroke. She was bound to be drained, both physically and mentally, after a splendid first three months of the season in which she won two titles, reached another final, advanced to the quarters in Indian Wells, and posted a 15-match winning streak.
By his now lofty standards, Nishikori dipped in Indian Wells and Miami. Heading into the March double, the only players to have topped him in 2015 were in the Top 10. Then he lost to a pair of big servers, Feliciano Lopez and John Isner. He, too, is a player who could do with a rest.
The Pliskova Express slowed in Indian Wells and Miami, but only slightly. Take a look at who the Czech lost to in the desert (Halep, if you’d rather me tell you). And Andrea Petkovic, no journeywoman, got the better of Pliskova in Miami. Playing on clay shouldn’t be a worry for Pliskova, who has shown already that she’s pretty versatile.
Now where has all this been? Unexpected (given her start to the season) but not a stretch (going by her game), Lisicki reminded everyone she was still around by charging to the semis in Indian Wells. More impressively, the German backed it up in Miami, where she nearly took out Serena. You see, Sabine, there are other surfaces besides grass.
Exiting to Suarez Navarro is no shame. Still, the 34-year-old will think she could have done better in Miami after winning the first set of their quarterfinal 6-0. Overall, though, her consistency is encouraging.
It’s three down, one to go for Raonic. After ousting Nadal in Indian Wells, the lone member of the Big Four the Canadian hasn’t topped is Djokovic. But Raonic got a taste of his own medicine when he lost to John Isner in Miami in a contest that only got interesting in the three tiebreaks.
Was there any doubt that on the important points against Djokovic in Miami, the Serb would prevail? Since Djokovic turned a career corner in 2011, Ferrer’s lone win against him in 10 attempts came at the end of that magical year, when Nole ran out of gas. And his loss to Bernard Tomic in Indian Wells was surely an upset.
Rafa said he was nervous in Miami. How nervous should his fans be? His Miami performance, in particular, was worrying, but the Spaniard now has an opportunity to play plenty of matches on his favorite surface—and boost his confidence ahead of his attempt to win No. 10 at Roland Garros.
These are uplifting signs from Stephens. Her wins in Indian Wells (where she took a set off Serena) and Miami suggest a sustained spell of success. Just as heartening was some of the positive body language Stephens exhibited, pumping her fist more than once in matches. A swift return to the Top 30?
Pennetta admirably handled the defense of her title in Indian Wells. Understandably nervous on the eve of the tournament, she persevered and took out Sharapova. In Miami, the Italian knocked off a former champion in Victoria Azarenka. You think she’ll be pumped up for the Fed Cup series against the U.S. in her hometown next week?
Isner reeled off 10 straight return points against Nishikori in Miami. Bottle it up and duplicate, big John. Indian Wells and Miami indeed count as a nice run for Isner, but we’ve seen this before on home soil.
After Stephens surprisingly landed in the Australian Open semifinals in 2013, she lost three of her next four matches. Keys is now 1-2 following her own appearance in a first Grand Slam semifinal in Melbourne. Cause for concern? Probably not. She’s had to contend with a lingering leg injury.
You’re putting Tomic on this list even after he was a walkover in Indian Wells (due partially to his wisdom teeth) and crumbled versus Berdych in Miami, I hear you say? Yes. No doubt spurred by the success of countrymen Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios, you sense Tomic now isn’t lacking in motivation. (Famous last words?)
While three of the four leading Frenchmen are either struggling with injuries or coming back from them, Mannarino is flourishing. The lefty upset the demonstrative pair of Fabio Fognini and Ernests Gulbis in Indian Wells and proceeded to bounce Wawrinka in Miami. Mannarino, by the way, has had his own health problems; his career almost came to an end because of a hand injury.
Some might recall what happened to Dominika Cibulkova last year. After she made a seemingly strange scheduling move by playing in Malaysia on the eve of the clay-court season, Cibulkova pulled out of Stuttgart and her season went south. Will the same thing happen to Wozniacki? This year’s Malaysian Open was played earlier in the season, but since her triumph in Kuala Lumpur, Woz lost to Belinda Bencic in Indian Wells and, in less of a surprise, (note the head-to-head record), fell to Venus in Miami.
Before Bouchard’s time, a show called Growing Pains starring Kirk Cameron and Alan Thicke (yes, Robin’s dad) enjoyed success on ABC. The title sums up Bouchard’s situation at the moment. She’ll be a keeper, but for now nagging injuries have taken their toll.
DROPPED OUT: Lucie Safarova, Ekaterina Makarova, Garbine Muguruza, Victoria Azarenka, Leonardo Mayer, Borna Coric, Ryan Harrison.
Ravi Ubha (@RaviUbha) is a freelance journalist and broadcaster who has written for ESPN, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.