Indian Wells Quarterfinals

Wow, what a tournament.  The top players have been dropping like flies.  I had a feeling this could happen in the women's draw, and the top men have been a bit more volatile than usual but there are only two top 10 players in the men's quarters and four in the women's.

When Azarenka (albeit playing injured), Kerber, Berdych, and Tsonga went out in their first match and Del Potro decided to pull out with his wrist injury, it was only the beginning.  Sharapova fell to an Italian qualifier, Giorgi.  Gasquet lost to Verdasco.  Nadal, after losing the first set to Stepanek but coming back, couldn't do the same against Dolgopolov, making several unforced errors in the 3rd set tiebreak.  Kvitova succumbed to Aussie Open finalist Cibulkova.  Murray, after dropping sets to Rosol and Vesely, couldn't recover against Raonic.  And finally, reigning Aussie Open champion Wawrinka fell to Anderson.  The carnage is everywhere.  The draw is opening for some, including the US #1 in each draw (with Serena absent obviously), and the aging champion Federer himself.  The top two seeds are still alive on the women's side, but Doha champion Halep is still alive as well.  It may not be what we saw coming, but it could be some exciting tennis none-the-less.  Here are the remaining players.

Men
2) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
7) Roger Federer (SUI)
10) Milos Raonic (CAN)
12) John Isner (USA)
17) Kevin Anderson (RSA)
20) Ernests Gulbis (LAT)
28) Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)
Julien Benneteau (FRA)

Women
1) Na Li (CHN)
2) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
6) Simona Halep (ROU)
7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
12) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
17) Sloane Stephens (USA)
20) Flavia Pennetta (ITA)
Q) Casey Dellacqua (AUS)

-There is an American and a Serb in each draw, but 12 other nations are represented.  There are no Spaniards surviving, with Verdasco, Lopez, and Bautista Agut all losing the fourth round.
-Djokovic, Federer, and Anderson are the only players still alive from the '13 quarters.
-There are no surviving quarterfinalists from the women's '13 quarters.
-Benneteau last made a Masters quarterfinal at '09 Cincinnati
-As best I can tell, it is the first quarterfinal at a Premier event for Dellacqua, who is having a career year

Quarterfinal Matchups:

Raonic vs Dolgopolov
Federer vs Anderson
Isner vs Gulbis (get ready for tiebreaks)
Djokovic vs Benneteau

Li vs Cibulkova (AO final rematch)
Stephens vs Pennetta
Halep def. Dellacqua
Radwanska def. Jankovic

American Play:

Men - Another miserable showing.  Not counting Isner the Americans went 4-13 with 3 wins against compatriots (Smyczek def. Sock, Querrey def. Kuznetsov, Russell def. Young).  Only Harrison beat a foreigner, defeating Golubev before falling in a competitive match to Fognini in 3 sets.  All the Yanks were gone before Isner even took the court.  But the big man has come through with wins over Davydenko, Lu, and Verdasco.

Women - This is a mixed bag, 12-11 plus a walkover.  Stephens is still alive after beating Tomljanovic, Ivanovic, and Kleybanova.  Davis beat an injured Azarenka and her compatriot Lepchenko (who had beaten Hantuchova) before herself being injured, apparently with an illness of some kind - her next match would've been against Dellacqua.  Keys and Vandeweghe picked up much needed wins for their confidence while Rogers and Townsend both banked points from their wildcards with one win each.  First round losers were Mattek-Sands, King, Duval, q-Kiick, McHale, and Riske.

Also, Vinci and Schiavone won their first matches of '14.  Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez won for the first time in an ATP event, part of a trio of Colombians that combined to win 5 matches.  Gonzalez even took a set off Djokovic.  Youngsters Thiem and Vesely each won two matches.