Get all of Jon Wertheim's columns as soon as they’re published. Download the new Sports Illustrated app (iOS or Android) and personalize your experience by following your favorite teams and SI writers.
It’s not quite a major, the BNP Paribas Open. But it’s damn close. So we came up with 40—as opposed to our customary 50—notes after a week in Indian Wells….
• Whatever rankings Victoria Azarenka holds, it’s essentially decorative. She is a top four player in the women’s game right now. And she proved it emphatically at Indian Wells, playing crisp tennis for 11 days and then beating Serena Williams in the final.