Given that the first chapter of the 2015 ATP Masters and WTA Premier Mandatory events came to a close on Sunday, it is time to recap the week and a half that was for these players.  In this recap, VAVEL USA tells you about the champions, the ones who gained the most/best perfomers, and the ones who lost the most/most disappointing.  

Men's

Champion: Novak Djokovic: The world number one is steamrolling his way through 2015 with another Masters 1000 title to his name.  The Serbian successfully defended his title against Roger Federer defeating him for the second straight year to earn it.  This tournament once again showcased how far ahead Djokovic is from the rest of the field with dominant performances throughout the whole tournament.  Other than Federer, John Isner gave him his most demanding challenge.  The American's serve is the most difficult to return, even for the best returner in the world.  Isner's commanding forehand and ability to serve and volley kept the Serb on his toes, but he would prevail in what could have been a problematic match for him.  Djokovic's play wavered slightly from set-to-set in the final, but his first and third set excellence were just slightly better than his average second set, which he lost in a tiebreaker.  

Winner: Thanasi Kokkinakis: The second and lesser-known of the talented K-kids of Australia won himself more than just points from Indian Wells this past week.  The youngster was given a wildcard into the tournament and defeated twenty-third ranked Guillermo Garcia-Lopez after knocking off Jan-Lennard Struff in his opener.  It was his match against Juan Monaco, though, that earned him the headlines.  Late in the third set, both men were out of challenges.  An incorrect call was made which extended the match, but had Kokkinakis had a challenge, the call would have been reveresed giving him the match.  Another poor call by the chair umpire was what had gotten him going, but his poise and maturity when discussing the issue made him look a player beyond his years.  Also late in the third, the chair umpire incorrectly ruled a double bounce to give the point to Monaco.  You can clearly see the replay however, that he had gotten to the ball in time.  When discussing the issue, he calmly said that if the ball bounced twice, it would have different spin on it compared to having gotten to it just before the bounce.  Justice was served as a tiebreaker was forced which he would end up winning, earning him a birth in the fourth round against countryman Bernard Tomic.  Kokkinakis ended up losing in three sets though. His personality is polar opposite of Kyrgios and Tomic.  Those two are polarizing figures and have a swagger within them.  Kokkinakis has humility and poise, which for someone of his age is unheard of these days.   That is what has won him plenty of fans over this week.  

Loser: David Ferrer: After a blistering start to this year, David Ferrer cooled off significantly in the California desert.  The Spaniard has had a history of poor tennis at Indian Wells, only making it past the fourth round once, back in 2007.  Agony would set in once again for Ferrer.  He edged Ivan Dodig in the second round by the skin of his teeth and was overmatched by Bernard Tomic.  With three titles to his name already, there was much more to be desired from the world number eight.  

Women's

Champion: Simona Halep: The Romanian overcame serving woes in the final and having to cope with the loss of a loved one before the tournament to win her biggest title to date.  The loss of her cousin who committed suicide weighed heavily on Halep as she was taken to three sets in the early rounds.  After a straightforward victory over the up-and-coming Karolina Pliskova, she struggled once again to find her rhythm in the quarterfinals against Carla Suarez Navarro.  The Spaniard took control in the first set with her silky, smooth one-handed backhand, but Halep would loosen up and find her shots to take the match.  A Serena Williams knee injury gave Halep a walkover to the finals where she met former champion Jelena Jankovic.  Serving woes were the theme of this match as both women struggled to find their serve, especially after breaking their opponent.  Fittinglly, Halep ended the match breaking Jankovic to win her first-ever Premier Mandatory.  

Winner: Serena Williams: The return of the world number one back to Indian Wells was an emotional one for her.  For the first time in fourteen years, played in the California desert.  Much was made of what happened fourteen years ago, a walkover to the finals after older sister, Venus, pulled out with an injury.  Ensuing that, a chorus of boos rained over Serena Williams in the final, and racial comments were made to both her father and Venus.  When she was called out onto Stadium 1 for her opening match, she was overwhelmed with tears due to the phenomenal reception the fans gave her.  It's safe to say both Serena and this Indian Wells crowd have come a long way in comparison to fourteen years ago.  In that opening match, Serena struggled against the peculiar playstyle of Monica Niculescu (also the overwhelming emotion of her return had gotten to her).  She overcame it and would go on to make the semifinals before having to withdraw with a knee injury. 

Winner: Sabine Lisicki: The German has had a sluggish start to the year, and hard courts are not her best surface.  With only one win to date to start the year, no one was expecting a run like this.  After a first round bye, the German kicked off her Indian Wells campaign with victories over Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani.  Caroline Garcia was next on the list of players to fall to Lisicki, then defending champion Flavia Pennetta was knocked out in the quarterfinals to her.  This amazing run would come to an end to Jankovic in the semifinals despite winning the first set.  

Loser: Angelique Kerber: Another German that makes this list, except this time for the wrong reasons.   Over the last month, Kerber has won exactly one match.  Not really the results you should be getting for someone ranked in the top fifteen in the world.  She was looking to put behind her poor performances in Antwerp, Dubai, and Doha in hopes of winning a couple matches at Indian Wells.  In her lone match, she fell to American Sloane Stephens in straight sets.  The lengthy tiebreak which she lost was the obvious turning point in the match as Stepehens would win the second set in with two breaks of serve over the German.  

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.