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Things heating up at Indian Wells

Tennis

We're nearly midway through Indian Wells, and the excitement is growing. With her emotional return behind her, Serena Williams is all business, if you hadn't noticed.

The top men's players haven't incurred much drama, but the matchups are going to get difficult.

With that, our esteemed tennis staff, near and far, weigh in on the most notable occurrences thus far at the first Masters 1000/Premier event of the season.  

Leonardo Ayala, ESPN Deportes: After undergoing wrist surgery in January, Juan Martin del Potro was ready to play again this weekend at Indian Wells. He was scheduled to participate only in doubles competition. But something unexpected happened: His doubles partner, Croatian Marin Cilic, decided to withdraw from the tournament after feeling pain in his right shoulder during a second-round singles loss to yet another Argentine, Juan Monaco. Coincidentally, Cilic, the reigning US Open champion, was also making his return to the circuit. His serving shoulder was already feeling sore during the deciding matches at Flushing Meadows. Yet right after that, Cilic went on to play a fifth-and-deciding point in a Davis Cup tie to help Croatia get back into the World Group. Cilic did not need surgery but took a long rest, which kept him out of the Australian Open. Del Potro is now keeping his fingers crossed that he'll play Miami as a wild card.

Tristan Barclay, ESPN UK: She has been the up-and-comer of British tennis for almost five years, but Sunday, Heather Watson finally delivered a performance that lived up to the promise she displayed as a junior US Open champion. The British No. 1, who has never before defeated a top-10 opponent, stunned world No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska to reach the last 16 of the BNP Paribas Open and raise hopes that she can go deep in a showpiece event for the first time in her career. Watson had not taken a set off the Pole in three previous WTA meetings, but the 22-year-old's strength on the baseline ensured a berth in the fourth round and a meeting with world No. 13 Carla Suarez Navarro. That Watson's victory came on a day when Britain's other hopeful, Laura Robson, was forced to postpone her comeback from a wrist injury brought some silver lining to an otherwise gloomy women's tennis scene in the UK.

Carl Bialik, FiveThirtyEight.com: It's fitting that two American women are already through to the fourth round at Indian Wells, while the men, a day behind in the schedule, haven't yet caught up. American women have been ahead of American men in the sport for more than a decade and have widened their lead since the retirement of Andy Roddick, as sisters Serena and Venus Williams have been joined by a large group of young stars on the rise. Two of those younger players, the powerful Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe will attempt to join Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens in the fourth round Monday. But the event in the California desert has also been refreshingly positive for American men, with three scoring impressive wins Sunday. Steve Johnson, Donald Young and Jack Sock -- each 25 or younger -- beat powerful, higher-ranked opponents, and all three will likely be ranked in the top 50 next week.

Peter Bodo, ESPN.com: Andy Murray is a complicated young man with a complicated game and a complicated history when it comes to his coaching situation. He's added another chapter to the saga with his decision to hire yet another coach. This time, it's the retired Swedish pro Jonas Bjorkman. Bjorkman will seek a place on the bench alongside Murray's most recent hire, Amelie Mauresmo. Murray partly blamed his poor performance since the Australian Open on the fact that Mauresmo -- whose deal calls for her to be available to Murray for just 25 weeks of the year -- was occupied elsewhere. Bjorkman, now 42, was known for his speed, a sharply sliced one-handed backhand and a relish for attacking the net. Although he hit No. 4 in the singles rankings, he won only six singles titles (including two at Nottingham and one at Ho Chi Minh City). His best singles result was a runner-up finish at the ATP Masters Series Paris. However, Bjorkman did win a whopping 54 doubles titles, including nine at Grand Slam events. Does this mean Murray will start to focus on doubles? Not likely. But it certainly seems as if he wants to add some attack to his game.

Greg Garber, ESPN.com: It didn't end well for Marin Cilic, but at least it was a start. With Serena Williams returning to Indian Wells for the first time since 2001, the "fifth Grand Slam" felt like a new beginning across the board. Cilic played his first match of 2015 after a shoulder injury, losing to Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4. Jack Sock, the 22-year-old American, also saw his first action of the year following hip surgery; he handled Yen-Hsun Lu in his opener in a three-set match that went more than two hours, then miraculously saved a match point against Gilles Muller to win a third-set tiebreaker in his second match. Then there was Mardy Fish. After struggling with a heart condition and anxiety disorder, the 33-year-old played for the first time in 18 months but lost to fellow American Ryan Harrison. It was decided in a third-set tiebreaker, but Fish -- perhaps more than anyone -- knows it's not where you start, it's where you finish.

Matt Wilansky, ESPN.com: A rivalry will be renewed Monday night when Maria Sharapova faces Victoria Azarenka for the first time since 2013. They've played only 13 career head-to-head matches (the Belarusian holds a 7-6 advantage), but the disdain for each other is real. There is a history of contentious moments, like the shoulder bump during a changeover in Stuttgart a few years ago and Sharapova's sarcastic comments about Azarenka, whom the Russian believed was embellishing an injury when they played in Beijing in 2009. While Serena Williams has been the centerpiece of forgiveness and grace this week at Indian Wells, don't expect any rainbows and unicorns between Azarenka and Sharapova. On Saturday, when Vika was asked what makes Sharapova so special, she retorted: "I don't know. You have to ask her parents." On the surface, the comment was in jest, but consider it the opening round of what should be a tension convention on center court.

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