Ryan Harrison will face Roger Federer tonight at Indian Wells

Eighteen-year-old, Ryan Harrison, defeated the 20-year-old world #37, Milos Raonic, 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4 in the Third Round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California yesterday to set up a Fourth Round clash with world #2, Roger Federer.  Harrison, a wild card entry into this tournament, is currently ranked #152 in the world and trains at the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy.  This is the first time Harrison has been the into the final sixteen at an ATP Tour 1000 level event and his match against Federer will air live on the Tennis Channel Wednesday night.

Congrats to Ryan for the great win and I can’t wait to watch your match tonight against Roger!

Tommy Haas training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in February 2009

Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy alum Tommy Haas advanced to the third round of the BNP Parisbas Open at Indian Wells with a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 win over fellow German Rainer Schuettler in the second round. Haas will now face defending champion and third-seeded Novak Djokovic (not much relevance to this match). The winner of this match will play either Stan Wawrinka or Sam Querrey in the next round.

Also reaching the third round was the big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic. Karlovic spent time at the Academy back in November-December 2008, but has had a bit of a slow start to 2009. He beat Sergiy Stakjovsky in the second round 6-4, 6-2 and now will take on second-seeded Roger Federer. Karlovic is 1-6 against Federer in his career, but that lone victory came in their last match-up (at Cincy in 2008). If Karlovic is serving well, then this could be a very interesting match.

Nick Bollettieri (c) Barbara Banks

This weekend Nick will be traveling to Indian Wells to receive the Bob Larson Tennis News Person of the Year for 2008. The award, known as the Bellamy, after Steve Bellamy, who created the Tennis Channel will be presented by Bob Larson and Bellamy this Sunday on Stadium Court. Previous winners of the award are Steve Bellamy, Peter Burwash, and Arlen Kantarian. The award is an Elsa Peretti-designed bowl from Tiffany’s and is Nick is thrilled to be receiving it!

Bollettieri is being honored for creating an industry; the tennis boarding academy and being successful in developing tennis players. Over the years thousands of students have gone to Bradenton, Florida to acquire the knowledge and some of the passion of Nick Bollettieri, founder of the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. They include youngsters who went on to acquire college scholarships up to number one players in the world, including Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic, Marcello Rios, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

Nicole Vaidisova

One of the biggest non-major tournaments began yesterday in California, as the BNP Parisbas Open (formally the Pacific Life Open) at Indian Wells started. Only the women played their first round matches yesterday, and for Nicole Vaidisova, it was a very good start. The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy alum defeated Michaella Krajicek (who also trains at the NBTA) 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the second round. Vaidisova has had some success here in the past, as she went to the quarterfinals back in 2007 before falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets. Her opponent in round two will be 24th-seeded Alona Bondarenko, whom she is 1-0 against.

This is an excellent sign for Vaidisova that she is perhaps back on the right path. She has struggled for a while now, but hopefully this win will be a sign of things to come. We all know she has the talent to beat the best, she just needs to play consistent tennis and she will find her way back up the rankings. Good luck to Nicole in the second round!

Two other NBTA players took the courts yesterday, but both came up empty-handed. Both Michelle Larcher de Brito and Sabine Lisicki had chances to win their matches, but neither could capitialize. Larcher de Brito lost to Urszula Radwanska 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 and Lisicki was beat by Elena Vesnina 7-6(4), 7-5. Tough losses for both girls, but I am confident they can rebound and make some noise throughout the rest of 2009.

Congrats and good luck to Michelle!

Michelle Larcher de Brito in Memphis

Sixteen-year old Portuguese tennis sensation Michelle Larcher de Brito will play her first-round qualifying match at Indian Wells today. Larcher de Brito, who trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, comes into the tournament ranked #122 in the world and will take on Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan. The 24-year old Voskoboeva is currently ranked #81 in the world, but has been as high as #64.

Good luck to Michelle today!

Nick will receive the award, known as the Bellamy, during the Indian Wells tournament in March. We would like to thank Bob and the entire Tennis News staff for this great honor! Nick is thrilled and couldn’t be prouder to receive the award!

Here are some of Nick’s thoughts from the weekend:

Roger Federer – No one can predict the outcome, no matter what the stats and experts say. He is clearly the world’s best player, but there are some questions now that are popping up. Is he healthy? Are there off-court situations that have taken away from his normal preparation? Could a coach make a difference? Has he lost his confidence? Is he scared or unsure? Does he know his present play is not as controlling and as versatile as it once was? All of these things are racing through my mind when watching him play. Let’s see if he can rebound this week in Miami.

Mardy Fish – Let’s give some credit where credit is due. He played a great match against Federer, and gave Djokovic all he could handle. He was focused and relentless and never once did he let up with his outstanding play against Fed. He when for big forehand, backhands, and used his sonic serve to force Federer to chip his backhand return (which hurt him tremendously). Mardy has had injuries and down times, but hopefully this win can give him the confidence to be a consistent ATP player. Congrats to Mardy on a great tournament!

Rafael Nadal – I watched him play and once again was impressed by his will to never stop fighting. Here are a couple of things I noticed from his game:

1. Serve – Not a lethal weapon, but it doesn’t put him in a defensive position a majority of the time.
2. Movement – Could not be any better.
3. Backhand – Solid. He can hit it with heavy spin, he hits angles, touch shots, and he can drive the ball.
4. Volley – He does not have to be a genius at the net, because when he does come forward he only has to hit simple block volley to the open court.
5. Forehand – He can hit forehand after forehand, but because of the heavy spin it does not penetrate. This allows the opponent to not only reach the ball, but when forehands are short his opponents go for big shots and winners.

We all love watching Nadal play, but to be #1 in the world and win Grand Slam on all surfaces will not be an easy task for him.

Novak Djokoivc - I was once again throughly impressed by Djokovic. This guy can do it all and if he stays healthy he could take the #1 position sooner rather than later. His personality, plus his respect for the other player and the spectators, make him a great asset for the game of tennis.

Ana Ivanovic - Wow! She has all the tools to become the #1 player in the world. She still hasn’t broken through at a Grand Slam, but winning Indian Wells and reaching the finals of the Aussie Open is a great way to start 2008. I will be keeping my eye on her this week in Miami, because it will be interesting to see how she rebounds from this win. You have to think she is favorite this week, especially with Sharapova not playing.

Here are some highlights from the Djokovic/Fish final, in case you missed the match: