American Threshold: will Andreeva be able to win at Indian Wells again

The Indian Wells Super Tournament, which starts on March 4, risks missing two Russian top players. Due to the conflict in Iran, a major transfer hub, the UAE, was blocked. A number of tennis players, including Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, cannot leave the country. The ATP offered the players two transfer options to the United States, but, according to Marca, they rejected them. All the top teams should play in the women's tournament, and special attention will be paid to the current winner Mirra Andreeva. The Russian woman was unable to defend the title of "thousandth" in Dubai and risks falling out of the top ten.

Why Rublev and Medvedev may skip the tournament

Daniil Medvedev had big plans for the Indian Wells Super Tournament. In addition to defending 400 points in singles, the leader of our tennis showed up for the doubles tournament with Lerner Tien, and was also supposed to play with Mirra Andreeva in a mixed tournament before the start of the Masters. Recall that the Russian lost three out of four matches to Tien, but almost all of their fights turned out to be super tough.

— It will be a little strange to see him on your side of the court, but I think it will be a lot of fun. We both make our opponents work hard, which leads to long draws, long games and sets," Lerner shared his expectations.

Now the participation of the unusual duo is in big question due to force majeure. But the most annoying thing is for the single discharge. Daniil showed great tennis in Dubai (after the title, he rose to third place in the championship race) and could easily surpass his results last year.

"I am calm about [the situation with closed airspace],— the Russian shared in an interview with the telegram channel "More!". — It would help me to be as calm on the court sometimes as in real life. If at some point the airspace is opened, then you will have to try to be reactive. My managers will help you get tickets, fly, and check everything. While everything is closed, we are sitting in Dubai. I'm not the only one like that — if anything, we'll hold another tournament here behind closed doors.

The ATP offered tennis players two options to leave the UAE by car: a 6-hour trip to Oman or a 10-hour trip to Riyadh. The players declined due to the risks involved, Marca said. A Spanish newspaper article notes that the head of the ATP security service recommended that the tennis players stay at the hotel and at the moment the players decided not to leave their place of residence. Now I wonder how the ATP will behave — will the players lose points from last year if they fail to reach the USA, or will this situation be regarded as force majeure.

Rublev lost in the first match last year, while Daniil was the fifth seed and was able to beat Bu Yunchaokate, Alex Michelsen, Tommy Paul and Arthur Fis. In the semifinals, Medvedev was stopped by Holger Rune, who eventually lost the decisive match of the tournament to Jack Draper. Holger is currently recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, and will only return to the tour in three to four months. Draper also did not play for six months due to a left hand injury, but returned last week in Dubai, where he beat Kanten Alice, but then lost to Arthur Rinderknesh.

In Indian Wells, it will be difficult for Draper to defend at least half of the thousands of points earned. The tournament will be of particular importance for the leaders of world tennis, Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner. The former failed to reach the final match last year, losing to the eventual winner in the semifinals, while the latter missed Indian Wells due to disqualification.

Mirra's tears: Andreeva lost offensively, Rublev will compete with Alcaraz

Our tennis players perform with varying success in Dubai and Doha.

Mirra Andreeva's chances at Indian Wells

Following the "thousandth anniversary" in the UAE, which ended for Mirra at the quarterfinals stage (she was very close to defeating Amanda Anisimova), the Russian will have to defend the title at another super tournament. Last year at Indian Wells, Andreeva made the best start of her career so far: she beat Elena Rybakina in the 1/8 finals, and the second and first seeded Iga Sventek and Arina Sobolenko, respectively, in the semifinals and finals.

"You just need to learn how to handle the pressure when you're defending a title,— Mirra said recently.

The tennis player also said that she gained a lot of experience at the American series last year.

— After Indian Wells, it was quite difficult to go to Miami, because I had almost no time even to train, - Andreeva continued. — And many people expected me to win there too. So I thought I'd do my best. But, of course, no promises. And after that it was a little hard, too, because people expected me to win every tournament I participate in. It was a new experience for me — it was the first time I had encountered such a thing. Now I know what it feels like and how to go through it. I think this is one of those lessons that you need to go through in your career to become a better player.

In case of defeat at an early stage, Andreeva risks falling out of the top 10. In addition to Mirra, six more Russians have been announced for the tournament, including Veronika Kudermetova. The native of Kazan has not performed this year due to health problems, but, according to the president of the FTR Shamil Tarpishchev, she should return to playing practice soon. We should also expect a good performance from Lyudmila Samsonova, who in recent years has accustomed us to excellent results on American courts, and last year reached the quarterfinals.

All the top players are among the favorites, including Sobolenko, Sventek, Rybakina and Jessica Pegula, who took the title in Dubai and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, Bianca Andreescu and Donna Vekic also received wild cards for the tournament.