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Brian Swartz · 08-19-2015, 04:02 AM

Indian Wells Masters

The defining point of the tournament, at least for me, was this:

Anil Mehul(SRI) d. Bjorn Benda(DEU), 6-2, 6-2

No, that is not a misprint. It's one heck of a shocking result though. Benda had won both previous meetings, the most recent coming at this event last year in three sets. As a clay specialist, beating him on hardcourt is not out of the question. Blowing the head-and-shoulders world no. 1 off the court in this manner though, is something else again entirely.

I took a look through the German's tournament history to see when the last time was that he was beaten like this. It took a while, because it's been a pretty long time. The most recent one that was close was the Rome final nearly two years ago, where he lost 6-0, 6-4 to Almagro. It's definitely not something that happens often.

This match happened in the quarterfinals, with Mehul dispatching Pietro nearly as easily in the fourth round prior. A fine run ended once again with Iglar in the semis, 7-6(3), 6-4. Almagro was beaten by the Czech by a nearly identical count in the final, so once again Mehul played him as tough as anyone -- and lost. It's starting to remind me of the Federer-Roddick 'rivalry', which Roddick half-jokingly insisted really wasn't one because he'd need to win a match once in a while to be considered a true rival. You can make a good argument that Anil Mehul is the closest thing Antonin Iglar has to a foil on hardcourt, but that doesn't mean he has much of a chance at beating him.

At any rate, a fabulous tournament nonetheless and just as he turns 24, Mehul enters to Top 10 for the first time. Only one spot up but psychologically a big boost to be on the 'first page'. Everyone else in that group has at least a Masters title. Four have won the WTF, six have a Slam to their name. It's elite company.

As for Girsh, he got his first Masters win against a similarly-ranked player before losing competitively, 4 & 4 to Gorritepe in the second round. Nothing to be ashamed of there, a solid debut here for him. Mooljee rolled through another tier-4 junior, and went back for another several weeks on the practice courts.

08-19-2015, 04:02 AM	#104
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Indian Wells Masters The defining point of the tournament, at least for me, was this: Anil Mehul(SRI) d. Bjorn Benda(DEU), 6-2, 6-2 No, that is not a misprint. It's one heck of a shocking result though. Benda had won both previous meetings, the most recent coming at this event last year in three sets. As a clay specialist, beating him on hardcourt is not out of the question. Blowing the head-and-shoulders world no. 1 off the court in this manner though, is something else again entirely. I took a look through the German's tournament history to see when the last time was that he was beaten like this. It took a while, because it's been a pretty long time. The most recent one that was close was the Rome final nearly two years ago, where he lost 6-0, 6-4 to Almagro. It's definitely not something that happens often. This match happened in the quarterfinals, with Mehul dispatching Pietro nearly as easily in the fourth round prior. A fine run ended once again with Iglar in the semis, 7-6(3), 6-4. Almagro was beaten by the Czech by a nearly identical count in the final, so once again Mehul played him as tough as anyone -- and lost. It's starting to remind me of the Federer-Roddick 'rivalry', which Roddick half-jokingly insisted really wasn't one because he'd need to win a match once in a while to be considered a true rival. You can make a good argument that Anil Mehul is the closest thing Antonin Iglar has to a foil on hardcourt, but that doesn't mean he has much of a chance at beating him. At any rate, a fabulous tournament nonetheless and just as he turns 24, Mehul enters to Top 10 for the first time. Only one spot up but psychologically a big boost to be on the 'first page'. Everyone else in that group has at least a Masters title. Four have won the WTF, six have a Slam to their name. It's elite company. As for Girsh, he got his first Masters win against a similarly-ranked player before losing competitively, 4 & 4 to Gorritepe in the second round. Nothing to be ashamed of there, a solid debut here for him. Mooljee rolled through another tier-4 junior, and went back for another several weeks on the practice courts.