Week in tennis: Nadal battling hard courts

Rafael Nadal isn't a big fan of the hard courts and either are his knees.

Between the grounds, the coverage, the celebrities and the parties, Indian Wells is one of the most popular tournaments of the year.

Rafael Returns to the Hard Courts

Who dislikes the hard courts more than Rafael Nadal? Rafael Nadal’s knees.

But the hard courts shouldn’t take it personally — Nadal’s knees don’t like Rafael Nadal either. What a mess.

Just weeks into his comeback, Nadal couldn’t avoid the hard courts of Indian Wells. No one knew how Nadal’s knees would hold up after being off of the hard courts for almost a year. Even Nadal voiced his concerns before the tournament.

While Rafa has notched his first wins at Indian Wells, the unforgiving surface will continue to be a concern for the rest of his career.

Fish’s Last Matches?

Last February, a heart condition caused Mardy Fish to take a bit of time off from tennis. Since then, Fish has struggled with the condition and the anxiety that surrounds it. At Indian Wells, Fish is making his return to the court for the first time in over four months.

Fish has said that in the past year, he’s thought about retirement often and he hasn’t planned his schedule past Miami this month.

Could he retire after Miami? Absolutely. Let’s hope he doesn’t.

“We’ve got to get into the gym”

Novak Djokovic looks like a little boy standing next to Dwight Howard.

Earthquake!

There was an earthquake in Indian Wells Monday and some of the players didn’t know how to react.