Indian Wells: Hit for ‘Hatey’

Shame that a single moment of madness overshadowed what was otherwise a successful event.

Sequels aren’t usually half as good as the original, and this was never going to capture Oz’s uncut feel.

Pete was as Pete is and Pistols usually are – as singular and sober as ever.

Rafa appeared in awe of everything and everyone around him – funny so many are intent on putting this down to language difficulties, you don’t need me to reiterate that this wasn’t the case in Oz.

Fed pitched in nicely, and made things as pleasant as he was allowed to.

Then there was Andre , who I thought was rather over-animated from the get go.

Nothing wrong with that considering this was for Haiti and that philanthropy rather runs in his blood. Except when you try too hard and for too long, bad things sometimes happen.

I never thought the valet tipping revelations in ‘Open’ were that great an idea, or even remotely appropriate.

The book had already garnered enough shock appeal from his revelations about drug use. Ending it with what seemed a callous and cheap shot at someone as decorated and illustrious as Sampras – an opponent he shared a decades worth of defining tennis history with -- only seemed acceptable after I’d convinced myself he’d been in touch with Pete’s people about it’s inclusion prior to publication.

Not so, as Pete’s disappointment would soon reveal.

Reiterating the episode as a ‘joke’ in front of 16,000 people assembled at a charity event however, would have to be said to represent the poorest of taste - an obvious miscalculation perhaps – but still in the poorest of taste: Andre should indeed have known better.

I’m less keen however, in the suppositions of those anxious to make more of this spat than it allows.

The opportunity to see (and hear) Fed emitting mock Rafa-Growls with a baseball cap worn backwards has got to be worth a million alone.

Was Andre really stoned off his head when he came to play last night? Rumours abound about his bloodshot eyes. Rumours I don’t much care for frankly – though he did look like a pile of nerves when Gimelstob attempted to smooth over those ruffled feathers in the changeover that followed that stinger which Pete had fired directly at him.

To think that James LaRosa thought it would be Henin’s first round outage that would make things awkward.

Play nicely next time boys.