Wind tests Sharapova; hot air greets Roddick

By Lisa Dillman

March 15, 2008 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Question of the day: When does Indian Wells really begin?

A) With the first serious blast of wind whipping through the desert, creating havoc with service tosses and groundstrokes.

B) With a men’s main-draw match on the Stadium Court going the limit, ending 7-6 in the third set?

C) With Andy Roddick getting asked a question about his love life?

D) All of the above.

Try D.

Fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova bested the wind Friday and her opponent, winning, 6-1, 6-0, against qualifier Stephanie Cohen-Aloro of France, and promptly summed up the wind-swept conditions at the Pacific Life Open, saying, “It was basically not tennis.”

The conditions were nearly as surreal in the interview room when Roddick was hit with this gem from a female questioner:

“Andy, what is going on in the love department? You know, you’ve got all these pretty little kitty girls in the tennis skirts and they’re going to come and oogle and ogle you and give you the little winky.”

Said Roddick, loudly: “Yeah! Woo!”

That wasn’t all. If anything, Roddick was an excellent verbal sparring partner after that line of questioning continued, matching her volume and then some.

“I finally have somebody more hyperactive than I am,” Roddick said. “Unbelievable. What did you eat for breakfast?”

So much for that (abridged) chapter in great interview-room moments . . .

Luckily, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were spared that sort of in-depth drilling in their media sessions. And, incredibly, wild card John Isner was asked about tennis: His Indian Wells debut, a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2) win against Simone Bolelli of Italy in 2 hours 25 minutes, and even his next opponent, fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.

Isner, 22, landed in view -- not hard to do when you are listed as 6 feet 9, though he puts his height at 6-10 -- after he reached the final in Washington last summer and took a set from Federer at the U.S. Open in New York.

He hit the challenger circuit in the fall, playing seven of those smaller tournaments, and said he was disappointed not to win any of them.

At least Isner will always have Rimouski, Canada, where he reached the quarterfinals on what he called a very fast court, saying: “It was like playing on glass.”

Despite the charm of snow, the lure of the Comfort Inn and getting to watch junior hockey in Quebec, Isner is happy to be back at the major league level.

“I play better when I’m on a bigger stage,” he said.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com

Featured matches

Today at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden:

STADIUM COURT, 11 A.M.

* Andreas Seppi, Italy, vs.

Novak Djokovic, Serbia

NOT BEFORE 12:30 P.M.

* Gisela Dulko, Argentina, vs.

Lindsay Davenport

* Santiago Giraldo, Colombia, vs.

Rafael Nadal, Spain