Boy, do I love the Pacific Life Open. Been there many times and can't get enough of it. The drive through the mountains, the desert oasis location, the atmosphere, the stadium, the players - it's the closest you will ever get to a Grand Slam tournament. And for us San Diegans, it's the only one with the top female players within driving distance, after the departure of the Acura Classic from La Costa Resort in Carlsbad.
This year I'll have a special reason for going: helping the Tournament Director run a national Tri-Level League Tournament parallel to the Pacific Life Open. Tri-Level League is a relatively new division within the USTA League system, and it doesn't have a regular path to National Championships (yet). Tom Fey, Tennis Director at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, has agreed to organize a tournament for Tri-Level teams from around the country during the Pacific Life Open's Finals weekend (March 21/22/23). Winners will be able to watch matches for free and rub shoulders with the celebrities. How cool is that?
http://www.pacificlifeopen.com/
10. Free admission during Qualifying Rounds March 10 and 11
9. Qualifying Rounds provide a great tennis experience, watch outstanding matches and top players
8. Tennis Shopping at the Tennis Garden Pro Shop and at Pete Carlson's in Indian Wells
http://www.petecarlsons.com/tennis_main.html
7. Watch players warm up on the outer cords - you'll never get to be so close to Top 10 tennis players!
6. Coachealla Valley restaurants! My favorites: and Las Casuelas Nuevas, both moderately priced and in Rancho Mirage.
5. Celebrity watch. You can see them all over town, but most of the top tennis players stay at the Hyatt Grand Champions in Indian Wells.
4. Pacific Life Open vendors. On the grounds of the Tennis Garden. try new racquets, have a few margaritas, check out the latest tennis fashions.
3. Indian Wells Tennis Garden. In my opinion the finest tennis facility on the West Coast. The Main Stadium holds 16,100 seats. Stadium 1 holds 5,000 seats, Stadium 2 holds 3,000.
2. Top Men's ATP Tour Players *
| ATP | *Rank
|
Nation |
| Federer, Roger\ | 1 | SUI |
| Nadal, Rafael\ | 2 | ESP |
| Djokovic, Novak\ | 3 | SRB |
| Davydenko, Nikolay\ | 4 | RUS |
| Ferrer, David\ | 5 | ESP |
| Roddick, Andy\ | 6 | USA |
| Gasquet, Richard\ | 7 | FRA |
| Youzhny, Mikhail\ | 8 | RUS |
| Blake, James\ | 9 | USA |
| Nalbandian, David\ | 10 | ARG |
| Berdych, Tomas\ | 11 | CZE |
| Murray, Andy\ | 12 | GBR |
| Baghdatis, Marcos\ | 13 | CYP |
| Canas, Guillermo\ | 14 | ARG |
| Ferrero, Juan Carlos\ | 15 | ESP |
| Moya, Carlos\ | 16 | ESP |
| Robredo, Tommy\ | 17 | ESP |
| Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried\ | 18 | FRA |
| Mathieu, Paul-Henri\ | 19 | FRA |
| Hewitt, Lleyton\ | 20 | AUS |
| \</td </tr> |
*
1. Top Women's WTA Tour Players
| Sony Ericsson WTA | Rank (as of 3/10/08) |
Nation |
| Ivanovic, Ana\ | 2 | SRB |
| Kuznetsova, Svetlana\ | 3 | RUS |
| Jankovic, Jelena \ | 4 | SRB |
| Sharapova, Maria\ | 5 | RUS |
| Hantuchova, Daniela\ | 8 | SVK |
| Bartoli, Marion\ | 10 | FRA |
| Vaidisova, Nicole\ | 14 | CZE |
| Safina, Dinara\ | 15 | RUS |
| Peer, Shahar\ | 18 | ISR |
| Radwanska, Agnieszka\ | 19 | POL |
| Bammer, Sybille\ | 20 | AUT |
| Zvonareva, Vera \ | 21 | RUS |
| Schiavone, Francesca \ | 22 | ITA |
| Li, Na\ | 23 | CHN |
| Bondarenko, Alona\ | 24 | UKR |
| Razzano, Virginie \ | 26 | FRA |
| Mauresmo, Amelie \ | 27 | FRA |
| Kirilenko, Maria\ | 29 | RUS |
| Pennetta, Flavia\ | 30 | ITA |
| Medina Garrigues, Anabel\ | 31 | ESP |
| Mirza, Sania\ | 32 | IND |
| Krajicek, Michaella \ | 33 | NED |
| Knapp, Karin \ | 35 | ITA |
| Davenport, Lindsay \ | 36 | USA |
Let me know if you're going!
