Indian Wells 2014: Player ratings

The Indian Wells 2014 champions Flavia Pennetta and Novak Djokovic posing with their trophies

We hand out ratings to the top performers and the struggling players from the just-concluded BNP Paribas Open 2014 at Indian Wells.

Novak Djokovic

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic won the title, but apart from maybe the last two sets of the tournament he didn’t look particularly impressive. He even suffered from complacency, losing sets to Alejandro Gonzalez, John Isner and Marin Cilic, and never really playing well for a discernible stretch of time as something or the other kept eluding him. Djokovic struggled on serve as well. He failed to close out the match against Isner despite serving for it twice, and the same thing repeated itself at 5-4 in the third set against Federer.

He would recover and take that set and the title in the tie-break, thanks largely to Federer’s game falling away. The fact however is that despite not being at his best, Djokovic still won the title and got a much-needed confidence-booster after a stuttering start to the season. That he won without playing at his best is why he deserves a high rating.

Rating: 9.5/10

Flavia Pennetta

The Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta surprised everybody as she took the title after defeating Agnieszka Radwanska in the final. What makes this win even more impressive is the fact that at 32, she seems to have finally realized her potential, in the process winning the first big tournament of her life. On her road to the final, Pennetta defeated Sloane Stephens (by virtue of not being as erratic as the American), top seed Li Na and then Radwanska. She showed grit, determination and the character of a champion and got a deserved victory.

Rating: 10/10

Roger Federer

The Swiss maestro didn’t hoist the winner’s trophy as Djokovic finally hit peak form in the last two sets of the final. Federer was certainly impressive through the early stages of the tournament, but wasn’t really tested up until he faced the Serb in the final. That is no excuse though; Edberg and Federer clearly still have some work to do. The Swiss was also impressive in the doubles alongside Wawrinka, which bumps his rating higher.

Rating: 9.25/10

Agnieszka Radwanska

The runners-up on the ladies side had an impressive tournament but injury prevented her from playing to her potential in the final, and she lost in straight sets. However, her run up to that point was terrific, and included a double-bagel of Annika Beck in the third round. Radwanska has developed a bit of a reputation for being unable to win the big titles; this time she looked destined to capture one, but couldn’t as injury played a big part in the final.

Rating: 8.75/10

John Isner

The American giant Isner was solid, particularly in light of the fact that he has struggled to put wins together for most of the season; his loss in Acapulco stands as an example of that. But he made the semi-finals here, and even pushed Djokovic to three sets, until his serve deserted him which allowed the Serb to ease through the decider. Isner showed grit and determination as he defeated Latvian Ernests Gulbis 7-6, 7-6 in two hard-fought sets. He will hope that his run is a sign of the start of something good.

Rating: 8.5/10

Li Na

Chinese top seed Li Na was the favourite for the tournament from the beginning, but never really looked like the player who recently won the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific. Li’s match against Alexandra Wozniak was ghastly as there were unforced errors galore. She was vulnerable throughout, and was deservedly, I feel, eliminated by Flavia Pennetta.

Rating: 8/10

Alexandr Dolgopolov

Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov played well, and by well I mean with reckless abandon. But it worked. Until he was blown off the court by Federer in the semis, that is. Dolgopolov upset top seed Rafael Nadal and also swept aside Fabio Fognini and Milos Raonic. He had a good week-and-a-half.

Rating: 8.5/10

Simona Halep

Romanian sixth seed Simona Halep had an eventful run to the semis. She was defeated by Radwanska (not injured then) but had a good run which included close wins over Lucie Safarova and the ever-exciting Eugenie Bouchard. Halep would be happy with her run, but she’s obviously hungry for more.

Rating: 8/10

Rafael Nadal

Spaniard Rafael Nadal was the top seed and tournament favourite coming off a win in Rio. However, he was shocked in the third round by, ironically, his Rio Open final opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov. The upset sent shock waves around the world and would’ve dented Rafa’s confidence.

Rating: 5.5/10

Stanislas Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka, fresh from his Aussie Open victory, was disappointing in his fourth round loss to Kevin Anderson. Much was expected of him and he failed to deliver, bowing out before his much-anticipated clash with Federer in the quarters.

Rating: 6/10

Andy Murray

The Brit’s troubles and stutters continued, as he fell to an impressive Milos Raonic in three sets in the fourth round. Murray continued his desert voodoo and struggled, just as he has been for the past three months.

Rating: 6.5/10

Tomas Berdych

Czech’s Tomas Berdych was upset early by Roberto Bautista Agut. The Spaniard is dangerous as he also showed with his recent win over the now injured Juan Martin Del Potro at the Australian Open.

Rating: 5.5/10

Milos Raonic

Raonic was deeply impressive and left a lasting impression with his win over Murray even though he couldn’t advance any further. He fell in the quarterfinals to Dolgopolov but had a decent tournament.

Rating: 7.5/10