Indian Wells Notebook: Opening Day, and a Lot to Say

INDIAN WELLS, Calif—The air seems lighter and brighter in Indian Wells. The sunshine streams down on the pastel desert landscape, palm trees jutting in front of the coppery hills that cascade into the distance.

Across the grounds are the sounds of tennis balls being hit, fans calling for autographs from players casually strolling around and games of soccer going on in the field.

It's a knowledgeable crowd that attends this event, and there's a lot to see on opening day. The stadium, even with its new seating and own version of the Royal Box, can be barely occupied during the first few rounds. People fill the smaller courts to catch interesting matches—like the all-American meeting between veteran Tim Smyczek and newcomer Tommy Paul—or watch the two most topspin forehands in the game as Rafael Nadal and Jack Sock hit together.

In between, there are fancy restaurants to drop in to and giant TV screens on which even the practice courts are shown. There's a definite vacation mood.

Unless, of course, you're a journalist. Then, opening day is a swirl of interviews and matches, producing a daunting pile of would-be stories that keep nudging to be written up. That's because of All-Access Hour (hours, to be precise), where most of the Top 8 show up for their pre-tournament interviews. They come one or two at a time, sitting around a table with gathered journalists to take a variety of questions.

This time, though, it was obvious there would be one major topic—Maria Sharapova's recent announcement that she tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open. Petra Kvitova had barely sat down when she was hit with the first Sharapova query.

Wow, her expression suggested.

"I didn't expect it's going to be the first question," she said.

That was pretty much the way it was for most of them, including the guys. They dispensed the usual niceties of feigning interest in the player before getting to the issue at hand.

For the most part, they said similar things, talking about being surprised at the news and emphasizing the importance of checking what they were taking. The WTA had apparently sent around its own set of answers to the players beforehand, obtained and published by Sports Illustrated, but they didn’t seem to be repeating the stilted responses.

When asked if she had spoken to Sharapova since the announcement, Simona Halep drew a laugh when she smiled and emphatically shook her head.

"No," she said. “I didn't speak to her before."

There was so much Sharapova discussion that Garbine Muguruza, when asked about her comments on the difficulty of having friends on the WTA tour, decided to ask a question of her own.

"You want me to speak about Maria?” she said. “Because I know everything is about Maria."

More on what they said about Maria later—including Nadal’s take—but the best and most relevant player to listen to might have been Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman, who tested positive for cocaine in 2009 and got his ban reduced, knows a little of what Sharapova is experiencing.

"Let her have a defense and we'll see in the trial," he said.

Stanislas Wawrinka also said he wants to see what happens at the hearing before saying more, but it had more resonance coming from Gasquet.

"She's a human person, she needs [to be allowed] a defense," the world No. 10 said.

Not a single question he got was about anything else. Talking about his own ordeal, he said, "It was very difficult. It was [an] incredible [thing] for me. I think I have more chances to win four Grand Slams in a row than [a] positive test. But it was very difficult to come back … All the time you see something on TV."

But he said he did not get an unfriendly reaction in the locker room upon returning, because there was not a perception that he had been enhancing his performance.

"It's not something you do for helping tennis,” he said. “It was not [a] big problem for me.”

There were a few other things that got a mention. Kvitova talked about her engagement to Czech hockey player Radek Meidl, saying she was happy he proposed at home.

"I did expect [it] a bit, for a couple of days," she recalled. "I just know him … He was a bit nervous."

She also showed off, upon request, a surprisingly unassuming ring.

Belinda Bencic smiled as she described the things that come along with being a Top 10 player.

"You get to be seeded all the time,” the teenager beamed. “You get practice courts ... You get all the advantages. Better hotel rooms ... [tournament] gifts."

Simona Halep said she's no longer having problems from a recent infection, or from her ankle injury. She can now run "for every ball." She's coming off a training session with Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, which she said “was very special for me."

They said what others have told her, but it was different this time around.

"When it's coming from a player who played and had these emotions before, it's something different,” she admitted.

As the bustle subsided, attention drifted back towards the day's matches, where once-rising teenager Taylor Townsend was going down in the first round. Having once reached the Top 100, she is now down to No. 379, and came through pre-qualifying to get into the tournament.

In an interview following her loss, she blamed a foot injury that put her in a boot for three weeks. She said it was difficult to return during the clay season, where it was tough to find her footing.

In between, Townsend also changed coaches. She went back to Donald Young's father, who taught her the game and is based in her native Chicago.

"Who better knows my game than him?" she said. "I made the change because [I wanted] to go back home."

But she isn't changing her attacking game, an unusual one on today's tour.

"My game style is my game style," she said. "Coming in, big serving … Different coaches have you doing different things. One thing I'm doing better is I'm more disciplined during points ... more aware of my errors."

The junior champion looked frustrated on court, but she sees herself going in the right direction again.

“A lot of things I've been working on have been progressing very well,” she said.

It's now evening. The grounds turn quiet, the air cools and the players gather their racquet bags and wrap up the day. But the typing is only just beginning.