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Indian Wells
Anil Mehul and Lars Kroese never really looked to be on their game for the year's first Masters, and eventually it caught up to them in a tight QF loss to 3rd seeds Cordasic/Aspelin. The climb to overtake teams like them got a pause as a result. Over on the singles side, Shyam Senepathy knocked out a qualifier, but then bowed out meekly to Paschal in the second round.
Four low seeds went out at that stage, but both Ujjaval and Mooljee had an easy time of it. Home favorite Ariel Borja ended Ujjaval's push in the third round, an appropriate ending for him. Dircx, Niklas, and Besson all were upset victims that day as well: a little more carnage than we're used to seeing this early. Then it was Prakash Mooljee's turn in the 4th; Jake Jolland ended him 6-3, 6-4. Home crowd and all that, but once again it came down to the key moments: 3/4 BPs for the American, 1/8 for Mooljee. I can't remember the last time we didn't have a player in the final eight ... and Santos was gone as well.
Still had four of the top five left though. Plenty of titans remaining, and all of the top players advanced. In the first semi, Mateo Kaspar was given quite a surprise by Fangio, 7-6(5), 7-6(2). A close match featuring just two breaks in 19 chances, and the Italian got it done in the breakers. It broke a four-match streak in this matchup by the dominant Frenchman, and was his first loss of the year. The second match was a fantastic battle, with the winners the crowd as much as anyone. Khasan Zakirov made a real fight, but was stopped by Johnny Browne 7-5 in the final set. Crowd or no, Gillo Fangio would not be denied, taking a fairly narrow victory to claim his third Masters. We'll see if this is another one-off, or the start of a bigger push.
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