When I was stalking, oops, I mean watching, Rafael Nadal practice and play his matches this week at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, I knew he would be tough to beat even though he has not won a tournament since the French Open last June. This afternoon, in his first final since Wimbledon eight months ago, Nadal plays Novak Djokovic for the men's title. He will win. To get to the championship round, second-ranked Nadal took apart third-ranked Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-3.
The women's final turned out to be as marquee as tournament organizers could have hoped for after Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis were both upset in earlier rounds. It pitted 2002 Pacific Life Open champ Daniela Hantuchova against second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, a Russian who won the U.S Open in 2004 and made it to the final of the French Open last year. Daniela won in straight sets and hopefully will be a more regular presence in the final weekend of tournaments this year.