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Around The Grounds At Indian Wells
By Richard Pagliaro
(March 8, 2010) INDIAN WELLS — The sun was out and so were the stars at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Women's qualifying play began today at the BNP Paribas Open with several familiar faces, including Karolina Sprem, Michelle Larcher de Brito and Shenay Perry advancing.
Some of the biggest crowds turned out to watch the stars practice.
Wild card Justine Henin, who will play in Friday night's "Hit For Haiti" exhibition alongside Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova against Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport, attracted a large crowd for her morning practice.
Rallying with a male hitting partner as coach Carlos Rodriguez offered encouragement, Henin spent much of her training session hugging the baseline and taking the ball early. During one sequence, she drilled several inside-out forehands before abruptly changing direction and diring her forehand downt ehline. It was a pattern Henin, who was hitting the ball flatter than she typically does, repeated over and over.
Reigning women's champion Vera Zvonareva practiced twice. Zvonareva opened up practice on the outer court then hit on stadium court at about 4:30 local time. Looking fit and wearing K-Swiss sweat pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt for both sessions, Zvonareva hit serves while her coach stood outside the service box and fed her quick forehands after her serves landed. The drill, designed to simulate a rapid return, forced Zvonareva to move her feet quickly and respond with a crosscourt reply. In her stadium court practice session, Zvonareva worked on her return game.
Families were out in full force as Taylor Dent walked out to the practice court with father and former Australian Open finalist Phil Dent. Taylor stopped en route signed autographs and took photos with several fans.
Melanie Oudin ate a late lunch with her younger brother. Larcher de Brito and her brother also hit the dining room together at the same time Ernests Gulbis, who won his first career title in Delray Beach two weeks ago ate while his father smoked a cigarette.
Second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki warmed up for her second practice of the day by running the stadium steps alongside Agnes Szavay. Wozniacki's parents joined her in the dining area after lunch.
A pair of former French Open champs were in the dining area at the same time: wild card Carlos Moya and Gaston Gaudio.
Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 champion, stopped traffic when she walked through the player dining area ahead of her team, including her mom, who trailed behind.
Female fans were out in full force to watch Fernando Verdasco practice shortly after 5 p.m. Gil Reyes, Andre Agassi's trainera and a member of the adidas training team who works with Verdasco, stood with his back to the wall on court watching his charge.
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