Dulko gets biggest win at Indian Wells

Gisela Dulko defeated Justine Henin in the 2nd Round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.  It was not technically an upset, as Dulko is seeded 31 and Henin is a wildcard, but, in reality, Dulko was the underdog.  Henin, unranked because she is just coming back from a 2 year retirement, has made the finals in both of the events she has played this year, including the Australian Open.

Dulko played outstanding right from the beginning, easily winning the 1st set 6-2.  It seemed she could not miss during that set.  In the second set, Henin came back and the crowd just knew it was the beginning of the end for Dulko.  Henin broke Dulko’s serve 3 times in the 2nd and took the set at 6-1.  Dulko showed surprising resilience as she roared back to dominate the final set, winning 6-4. 

In other matches, top-10 players Caroline Wozniacki (2), Elena Dementieva (4), Agnieska Radwanska (5), and Maria Sharapova (10) all advanced to the 3rd round.  Sharapova had to come back from a set and a break down for her win.  The upset of the day was 7th seed Na Li losing to qualifier Elena Baltacha in straight sets.

Headlining the men’s 1st Round action was James Blake, winning in straight sets over Daniel Gimeno-Traver.