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Roger Federer soon to be a father

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:38:35 +0000

EPA Roger Federer with his girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec seen at the Laureus World Sports Awards in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Federer soon to be a father

AP
Published: March 13, 2009,

Basel, Switzerland: Roger Federer is going to be a father.
The second-ranked Swiss tennis player said in a message posted on Thursday on his website that girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec is pregnant with the couple’s first child.
“This is a dream come true for us,” the 27-year-old Federer said. “We love children and we are looking forward to being parents for the first time. Mirka is feeling great and everything is going well.”
The baby is due sometime in the summer, he said. “We are so happy to be starting a family together,” said Federer, who met Vavrinec at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Federer, Murray into Indian Wells quarterfinals

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:37:35 +0000

INDIAN WELLS, California: Roger Federer saw off Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday to set up a quarterfinal with another Fernando — Verdasco.

Meanwhile, defending champion Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray also advanced.

Federer’s 12th win in 13 matches against Gonzalez kept him on track in his bid to become the first man to win four times at Indian Wells. Second-seeded Federer won the title from 2004 to 2006, joining Americans Jimmy Connors and Michael Chang as the only three-time champs.

Gonzalez fought his way back into the match in the second set, overcoming earlier frustration he had vented by slamming a racket onto the court — three times — and shattering it. He earned the first break against Federer this week, but the Swiss star broke in the last set for a 2-1 lead and again for 5-2.

Federer said he felt he finally was able to establish some rhythm in his game after playing mostly serve-and-return against his first two opponents.

“Today was a bit more baseline, even though I couldn’t find his (Gonzalez’s) backhand,” Federer said. “If you don’t find his backhand, the point is over quickly. He has such a massive forehand.

“I’m looking forward to playing against Verdasco. It’s a good thing that I’m still in the tournament and facing an opponent who actually is going to extend the rallies a little bit.”

The 10th-seeded Verdasco won his fourth-round match against unseeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

Federer has a 2-0 record against Verdasco, although both wins were on clay.

Verdasco helped Spain win the Davis Cup final last year and reached his first Grand Slam semifinals at the Australian Open. Until now, he’d never passed the third round at Indian Wells.

World No. 4 Murray progressed when old nemesis Tommy Robredo retired with an injured right wrist.

Murray was leading 6-2, 3-0 after 50 minutes when Robredo was too hurt to continue.

He said he was aware Robredo had a problem with his wrist, although he still seemed to be hitting the ball OK.

“But mentally, a wrist problem can be tough,” Murray said. “I know because I’ve been through it. It’s just the pain that’s there and feeling like something might happen.”

The Brit had expected a tough match because Robredo had won both previous encounters, and both players had won two titles already this year. Murray improved his career-best start to the season to 18-1.

He will play unseeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, who outlasted Igor Andreev of Russia 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) over three hours. Ljubicic saved five match points on serve at 6-5 in the third.

Djokovic defeated Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (7), 7-6 (8) a round earlier than he did a year ago.

Fourth-seeded Vera Zvonareva was the first woman into the semifinals when she dispatched ninth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2.

Despite hitting 12 double faults, Zvonareva lost her serve only once, while breaking the Danish teen four times.

It’s the Russian’s third semifinals of the year after her run to the last four at the Australian Open and the title at Pattaya City, Thailand last month. Zvonareva awaited the winner between top-seeded Dinara Safina and eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka.

Federer Returns and Turns Back an Upset Bid

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:37:05 +0000

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — The moment when Roger Federer morphed from tennis demigod to mere mortal may be debated. Perhaps it was at Wimbledon last summer when Rafael Nadal defeated him in an epic final.

Maybe it was an incremental decline after the classic match at the All-England Club that included three defeats against Andy Murray, two by Gilles Simon and one each by Ivo Karlovic and James Blake.

Or perhaps it can be traced all the way back to Federer’s 2008 visit to the desert of California, when he was dismissed in the semifinals, 6-3, 6-3, by Mardy Fish.

Federer is back in Indian Wells, at the BNP Paribas Open, playing for the first time since losing to Nadal in the final of the Australian Open in January. He is into the quarterfinals of this Masters Series event, if not exactly in dominating fashion.

Federer, ranked No. 2 in the world, was carried to three sets by Fernando González of Chile on a scorching afternoon Wednesday, winning by 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. If popular opinion dictated the results, the 28-year-old Federer would be headed for another finals showdown against Nadal.

But in view of recent results, the man ranked No. 1 in the world for a record 237 weeks into August 2008 is no longer is the near-certain victor against anyone-not-named-Nadal that he was from 2004-7.

“Last year was a tough, tough Masters Series for me; I didn’t win any,” Federer said. “I wasn’t 100 percent in shape, this one here and in Miami.”

He added, “That was my problem, last year, that I too often entered a tournament without being quite being ready for it.”

Federer has not won a tournament since Basel, last October, a span that includes time off because of a back injury. He came close at the Australian, where Nadal subdued him in five sets and Federer’s emotions overcame him; he wept on the court.

On Wednesday the swashbuckling González, ranked No. 17 in he world, demonstrated exquisite shot-making and what Federer called “his massive forehand” while taking the second set. But Federer doused thoughts of an upset by breaking his serve in the third game of the final set.

Up next is 10th-ranked Fernando Verdasco of Spain, a man more likely to stay on the baseline, Federer said, and allow him to work his way into the match.

“You can play 30 minutes with him and not be playing very well but still be in the match,” Federer said.

Verdasco eliminated Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Kohlschreiber earlier ousted fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko. Verdasco assumed he would next meet Federer.

“He is so good,” Verdasco said. “Everybody knows that. But, you know, if I have a good day and he doesn’t have a good day, I can win.”

That was an idea that had little basis in reality before Federer’s slide in late 2008. Or perhaps after Wimbledon, or after Mardy Fish thrashed him here in 63 minutes a year ago.

As play began Wednesday, the Big Four were still in the tournament — Nadal, Federer, Novak Djokovic and Murray. Murray joined Federer in the quarterfinals when Tommy Rebredo of Spain retired with a wrist injury as Murray led, 6-2, 3-0.

The star power on the women’s side was far more muted. Top-ranked Serena Williams and her fifth-ranked sister, Venus, continued their boycott of the event where Serena was booed in 2001 after Venus pulled out of a semifinal against her sister. Maria Sharapova also is not here as she deals with an injury. Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva, ranked Nos. 3 and 4, lost here early.

Dinara Safina, top-seeded and ranked No. 2, played for a spot in the semifinals late Wednesday, and the defending champion Ana Ivanovic can advance to the final four on Thursday.

Vera Zvonareva, a Russian ranked No. 6, on Wednesday reached the semis by dismissing the precocious Dane, Carolina Wozniacki, 6-4, 6-4, before a nearly empty main court.

Federer Tramples On Karlovic At BNP Paribas Open

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:36:28 +0000

Roger Federer remains at world number two after beating Croat Ivo Karlovic with a 7-6 6-3 victory in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. It was the sixth defeat of Karlovic from his seven previous meetings with Federer.

Federer earlier regarded the Croat’s serve as “untouchable.””It’s completely different to any other serve out there because of his size and he backs it up well at the net,” he told a news conference. “He puts a lot of pressure on you because he can hit all four corners very easily.
Despite that, he managed to avoid another tie-break in the sixth game of the second and eventually clinching a straight sets win. “He’s a touch opponent to play against,” he said. The tie-break tilted toward Federer’s way when Karlovis had his first double fault of the match.
The Swiss player is set to defend his Swiss Indoors title won last year against Finn Jarkko Nieminen who won over finalist Marcos Baghdatis in the 2006 Australian Open. Federer’s win will also lead him to a quarter-final against Czech Radek Stepanek.

Defending champ Djokovic defeats Haas; Nadal wins

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:35:57 +0000

Michael Fiala/Reuters
Spain’s David Ferrer chasing a drop shot hit by Jeremy Chardy of France on Tuesday in Indian Wells, California. Ferrer won 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Defending champ Djokovic defeats Haas; Nadal wins
INDIAN WELLS, California: Novak Djokovic maintained his title defense by handling Tommy Haas of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (1) to ease into the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday.
Haas had reached the quarterfinals for the last two years but third-seeded Djokovic did enough in the second set to stay on top and swept the last seven points of the tiebreaker.
“I’m still finding the rhythm and everything,” Djokovic said. “I don’t want to put any extra pressure on myself.
“I’m playing a very solid game for now and saving lots of energy and being focused, not underestimating my opponents and going step by step. The game, for now, it’s quite fine.”
He was on course for a repeat semifinal with top-seeded Rafael Nadal, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Russian Dmitry Tursunov. Nadal’s powerful groundstrokes kept the Russian off-balance and on the run, and Tursunov had troubles of his own, making 37 unforced errors.

Nadal said he didn’t play very well against Tursunov.
“He didn’t give me a lot of rhythm. He played good shots, but at the same time, he made mistakes,” Nadal said. “I had more mistakes than usual.
“But I won 6-3, 6-3, so it’s a good win.”
Nadal next plays Argentine star David Nalbandian, who has a 2-0 record against the Spaniard. Nalbandian withstood 11 aces from Viktor Troicki of Serbia to win 6-4, 6-2.
Later, Andy Roddick of the United States beat Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer 6-4, 7-6(4) in their night match.
Down 3-1 in the tiebreaker, Roddick turned on the power. After Kiefer double-faulted, Roddick evened it with a service winner and added a 135-mph (217 kph) ace to go in front. An overhead gave him a 5-3 lead, and he went on to win the tiebreaker 7-4 with still another big overhead.
Another Argentine advanced, sixth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, who had to sweat through a tight third set featuring four breaks of serves against Jurgen Melzer of Austria before cruising through the tiebreaker to win 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (2).
Del Potro, who won four consecutive tournaments last year, will meet John Isner after the American wild card accounted for the struggling Marat Safin 6-4, 6-4.
In the women’s field, Vera Zvonareva yearlong surge took her past Li Na 6-4, 6-4 and back into quarterfinals.
Zvonareva, the second-highest seed left at No. 4, had lost to Li in the quarterfinals here two years ago. But since then, she’d beaten Li twice, including for the singles bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. On Tuesday, Zvonareva converted all three of her break chances against the unseeded Chinese while Li, who’d removed Amelie Mauresmo and Patty Schnyder, missed three break points in the second set.
The Russian has reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells for the fourth time in five visits, but has never advanced further. In her path will be a first-time match with ninth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who beat Polish wild card Urszula Radwanska 7-5, 6-3.
Radwanska’s older sister, seventh-seeded Agnieszka, won against Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-0, 5-7, 6-3.
Zvonareva played in the most finals last year — eight — and held down a top-10 ranking. Then she reached her first Grand Slam semifinals at the Australian Open, cracked the top five, and followed that with the title at Pattaya City, Thailand last month.
The 18-year-old Wozniacki, the first Danish woman to win a singles title, was through to her fifth quarterfinals of the year.
Top-seeded Dinara Safina put away American veteran Jill Craybas 7-5, 6-4 for the sixth time in six meetings, and faced eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus next. Azarenka, who won the singles and doubles titles at Memphis last month, beat Shahar Peer of Israel 7-5, 6-4.
Russian teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova achieved her best career result by reaching the quarterfinals, leading Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-3, 3-0 when the Spaniard retired with a left hip strain.
The 17-year-old Pavlyuchenkova beat second-seeded Jelena Jankovic in the previous round.
Defending champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia took a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Italy’s Flavia Pennetta in a match that ended just before midnight local time.
BNP PARIBAS OPEN RESULTS
INDIAN WELLS, California (AP) — Results Tuesday from the BNP Paribas Open, a $4.5 million ATP Tour and $4.5 million WTA Tour event on hardcourts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden (seedings in parentheses):
SINGLES
Men’s Third Round
Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia, def. Tommy Haas, Germany, 6-2, 7-6 (1).
Juan Martin del Potro (6), Argentina, def. Jurgen Melzer (30), Austria, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (2).
David Nalbandian (14), Argentina, def. Viktor Troicki, Serbia, 6-4, 6-2.
John Isner, United States, def. Marat Safin (24), Russia, 6-4, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, def. Dmitry Tursunov (26), Russia, 6-3, 6-3.
Stanislas Wawrinka (16), Switzerland, def. Sam Querrey, United States, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8).
David Ferrer (12), Spain, def. Jeremy Chardy, France, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Andy Roddick (7), United States, def. Nicolas Kiefer (31), Germany, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Women’s Fourth Round
Vera Zvonareva (4), Russia, def. Li Na, China, 6-4, 6-4.
Caroline Wozniacki (9), Denmark, def. Urszula Radwanska, Poland, 7-5, 6-3.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia, def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spain, 6-3, 3-0, retired.
Victoria Azarenka (8), Belarus, def. Shahar Peer, Israel, 7-5, 6-4.
Dinara Safina (1), Russia, def. Jill Craybas, United States, 7-5, 6-4.
Agnieszka Radwanska (7), Poland, def. Agnes Szavay (22), Hungary, 6-0, 5-7, 6-3.
Sybille Bammer (23), Austria, def. Daniela Hantuchova (30), Slovakia, 6-3, 6-2.
Ana Ivanovic (5), Serbia, def. Flavia Pennetta (12), Italy, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
DOUBLES
Men’s Second Round
Ross Hutchins and Andy Murray, Britain, def. Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa (8), Brazil, 6-1, 6-3.
Bob and Mike Bryan (1), United States, def. Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal, Spain, 6-4, 6-3.
Women’s Quarterfinals
Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, and Vera Zvonareva, Russia, def. Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova, Russia, 6-0, 6-2.
Gisela Dulko, Argentina, and Shahar Peer, Israel, def. Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Czech Republic, 5-7, 6-3, 14-12.

Zvonareva reaches Indian Wells semis

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:35:09 +0000

Women’s Tennis News

Zvonareva reaches Indian Wells semis
Indian Wells, CA (Sports Network) - Olympic bronze medalist Vera Zvonareva was an easy quarterfinal winner Wednesday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open.
The fourth-seeded Zvonareva zipped past ninth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour, 34 minutes on the hardcourts at the beautiful Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Zvonareva cruised despite piling up 12 double faults on Day 8.
Zvonareva’s semifinal opponent will be top-seeded Russian Dinara Safina or eighth-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who will meet here on Wednesday night. Safina was this year’s Australian Open runner-up and last year’s French Open and Olympic runner-up.
The quarterfinals will conclude here on Thursday when fifth-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic meets 23rd-seeded Austrian Sybille Bammer and seventh-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska takes on unseeded rising Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The reigning French Open champion Ivanovic beat Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in last year’s Indian Wells title bout.
The 2009 Indian Wells champion will collect $700,000.
03/18 16:09:20 ET

Sania crashes out of BNP Paribas Open

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:34:40 +0000

Indian Wells (California) (IANS): India’s Sania Mirza bowed out of the BNP Paribas Open with a straight set loss to World No. 15 Italian Flavia Pennetta in the second round here.
Ms. Sania, who was given a wildcard for the $4.5 million tournament, went down 3-6, 4-6 against the 12th seed in an hour and 17 minutes here Saturday. The Indian is already out of the doubles competition.
In the men’s doubles event, India’s Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy beat unseeded Austrians Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 to advance to the second round.
Fourth seeded Paes and Dlouhy will next meet unseeded Argentine pair of Juan Martin Del Potro and David Nalbandian, who beat Sweden’s Simon Aspelin and Britan’s Jamie Murray 7-5, 6-4.

Safina battles past Shuai

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:34:03 +0000

Safina: Searching for best form

Top seed Dinara Safina booked her place in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open with a 7-5 6-4 defeat of Peng Shuai of China.
The Russian, who will move to the top of the world rankings for the first time if she reaches the final in Indian Wells, admitted she is still battling mental issues after struggling to finish off her opponent.
“Very far from my best,” she said of her game against Peng. “But I’m still happy that I won the match in two sets.
“When you win the matches in two sets and you know you’re far from the best, it just gives you confidence that even if you’re not playing your best you still win the matches.
“Normally, after I won the first set 7-5, I should be on a roll. Suddenly I stopped playing in the middle of the second set. I was like ‘what am I doing? just play’.”
Craybas awaits

However, she admitted the lure of the number one ranking does not affect her thinking on the court.
“I don’t think about this,” she added. “If I deserve to be there, I’ll get there. It doesn’t matter this tournament or next tournament or during the year. There are many tournaments coming.”
American Jill Craybas is next up for Safina, after she knocked out Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova 6-4 6-3.
Fourth seed Vera Zvonareva cruised into the last 16 with a routine 6-3 6-1 victory over Czech Petra Kvitova and will take on Li Na of China, who knocked out 17th-seed Amelie Mauresmo 7-5 6-2.
Eighth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus beat Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-3 7-5, while ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark advanced by beating Estonia’s 18th-seed Kaia Kanepi 6-3 3-6 6-3.

Ivanovic looking good

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:33:29 +0000

Ivanovic: Followed instincts
I had lots of doubts about my game in the past six months. So finally I feel like I have strategy and also a plan in place again. It gives me a lot of security and confidence. Ana Ivanovic
Defending champion Ana Ivanovic booked her place in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Gisela Dulko of Argentina.
The Serb was not entirely convincing but did enough against the 31st-ranked Dulko to set up a clash with Flavia Pennetta of Italy in the last 16 at the Indian Wells event.
Dulko drew first blood with a break of serve to lead 3-2 in the opening set, but it merely served to kick the fifth seed into life and she rattled off the next four games to take the set.
The second set went as planned for Ivanovic with two breaks of serve while Dulko was unable to eke out a single break point against the Serb’s delivery.
“When it was very close in both sets I stepped up a little bit more and I just went for my shots and followed my instincts. I played really well,” said Ivanovic.
“I had lots of doubts about my game in the past six months. So finally I feel like I have strategy and also a plan in place again.
“It gives me a lot of security and confidence.”
Pennetta overcame American qualifier Angela Haynes, but not without dropping the first set, eventually coming through 4-6 6-4 6-1.
Seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanksa, who along with Ivanovic is the highest ranked player left in the bottom half of the draw, eased past Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-1 6-4 while Silvia Bammer was another easy winner, this time against Vera Dushevina 6-1 6-3.

There’s a price to pay for tennis stars who pass on Indian Wells

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:32:56 +0000

Maria Sharapova reaches for a forehand during her doubles match on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Because of WTA rules, potential losses can get into the millions.
Bill Dwyre
March 13, 2009
Talk about financial bailouts.

As one of the biggest events in tennis started to gather steam in the desert Thursday, three of the biggest names in the women’s game became notable as big losers.

To be clear, that term can never apply to Maria Sharapova and Venus and Serena Williams. Among them, they have won 20 Grand Slam event titles — Serena 10, Venus 7 and Sharapova 3.

This is strictly about money. This year’s BNP Paribas Open, an event that pays a $4.5 million purse to the women alone, represent millions of dollars in losses to this talented trio.

If money talks, these three have little to say this week. One of them, Sharapova, exited stage left Thursday in a doubles match decided on match point by a net-cord volley. The Williams sisters, on the other hand, never entered.

This is a story that began eight years ago at this very same tournament. Venus and Serena were to play each other in a semifinal. It was a marquee match. Much anticipation world-wide. Stands packed in a shiny new stadium called the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. ESPN poised to go GaGa, as only ESPN can.

Then Venus Williams defaulted minutes before the match, saying she had tendinitis in her knee. And when Serena took the court to play Kim Clijsters in the final, she was booed and her father, Richard, was quoted later as saying some fans had yelled racist things.

The Williams sisters, Serena now No. 1 in the world and Venus No. 5, have never returned, and likely won’t.

That became a catalyst for the women’s tour to look at itself and its procedures. Another was the entire season of 2006, when there were an extraordinary number of late withdrawals and injury and illness absences. So, last summer, the WTA Tour faced the increasing perception that its own players were walking all over them and, in turn, thumbing their noses at fans and sponsors.

Talk about playing hardball.

They made new rules, called Road Map 2010, that increased annual prize money to $84.4 million, up from $63.6 million only two years ago, while tightening the screws on how to acquire some of that.

Part of this was a bonus pool, worth $1.9 million, for top 10 players at the end of the year who participate in four premier tournaments, each designated as such because of their $4.5 million in prize money. Those four are Indian Wells, the event that follows immediately in Miami, plus tournaments in Madrid and Beijing.

From that pool, No. 1 at the end of the year gets $400,000, and down the line to No. 10 and $100,000.

The kicker is that, if you don’t play in one of the four, for whatever reason, you get nothing — even if you play in the other three, win them all, and finish in the top 10. This is zero tolerance. No doctors in the equation. No pink slips. No excuses. No play, no pay.

Also, if you don’t play, you get zero ranking points, and each of these four tournaments represents one-sixteenth of the tournaments from which yearly rankings are determined.

There’s more.

If you don’t play, you will be fined unless you participate in a tour-mandated public relations event — a promotional news conference, a photo shoot, a sponsor’s party. The size of that fine depends on the height of the ranking. Were Serena Williams to skip her makeup duty, she will be fined $75,000; Venus $50,000.

While Sharapova’s case differs from that of the Williams sisters, the result is the same. All three are out of the top 10 bonus pool. Period.

Thursday, Sharapova played in her first tournament since August. She had shoulder surgery Oct. 15, and came to Indian Wells to test the shoulder and to “just get back out there, to be in that atmosphere.” She did not play singles, so she loses the bonus pool money and the ranking points. Her doubles appearance merely saved her from having to do another promotional appearance for the tour.

Neither Williams sister is injured. They aren’t here because they choose not to be. The merits of that stance has been, and will be, continually argued. There is no arguing the financial impact.

Some speculative, eye-opening math, using Serena Williams as the sample, shows the following:

If she finishes No. 1, her first loss would be the $400,000 from the bonus pool. If she decides to ignore the makeup appearance, that would be another $75,000. By not playing, she misses a chance at first-place money here of $700,000. Were she to team with Venus and win the doubles, that would be $118,500, her half of $237,000. That’s $1,293,500.

Then, there are endorsements. One WTA official speculated Thursday that Serena’s Nike contract, just as one example, “might have as much as two million dollars of incentive money for ending up No. 1.” Winning at Indian Wells is worth 1,000 ranking points.

Serena, who now leads No. 2 Dinara Safina by 422, gets zero.

So, conceivably, Serena’s no-thanks to Indian Wells could have cost her more than $3 million, or about 13% of her career tennis winnings of $23 million.

Talk about one expensive decision.