Novak Djokovic

It would be hard to determine whether tennis gave itself a shot in the arm or shot itself in the foot Wednesday night. The BNP Paribas Open is a premier event, played in a gorgeous stadium at a gorgeous time of the year in the Southern California desert. It is one of the truly prestigious sports events in the world. Its top officials are talking about total attendance reaching 400,000 in a few years. Wednesday brought a dream schedule. Set to start in the afternoon were separate matches involving Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two truly marquee stars.

For a while Tuesday, the No. 1 men's tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, didn't play up to his rating and the No. 31 player, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, played well above his. But, as so often happens in big tournaments such as the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, form returns. Djokovic's did late in the first set, after trailing, 4-1 and 5-2. That was helped by several key double faults by Dimitrov, which became gift wrapping in a 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory by Djokovic. That marked 15 consecutive victories to start the year for the Serbian star, who won his third straight Australian Open in January and has won six Grand Slam event titles, including five in the last nine majors.

Mardy Fish gets a dispensation. He is seeded 32nd in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and, by the numbers, was expected to beat fellow American Bobby Reynolds, 30, a qualifier, who if he has gained any stardom, it has come from anchoring the Washington Kastles during the World Team Tennis season. But Fish has been tentative and emotional since discovering last summer that he has an uneven heartbeat. He had a procedure done on that most vital organ and didn't play in the Olympics.

Rafael Nadal had a spirited practice session Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open. He played with former Russian top-10 player Mikhail Youzhny, and crowds crammed four deep around the court trying catch a glimpse of one of the players. "Rafa, Rafa, Rafa, sign this, Rafa, Rafa, Rafa. " There's your clue. The draw was Nadal, the 26-year-old Spaniard who is ranked fifth in the world and who is playing his first hard-court tournament since Miami 11 months ago. Nadal missed the Olympics and the U.S. Open last year and this year's first major tournament, the Australian Open, because of knee tendinitis.

The home of the Galaxy and Chivas USA Major League Soccer teams is changing its name to StubHub Center in a new naming rights deal. The 125-acre facility known as the Home Depot Center since it opened 10 years ago will change its name on June 1. It is the first naming rights partnership for the San Francisco-based ticketing company. The price of the multiyear contract wasn't disclosed. However, Home Depot paid $70 million for a 10-year deal. The company declined to renew. ETC. NRA is title sponsor of race The National Rifle Assn.

Justin Gimelstob certainly is no Martin Luther King. But he has a dream. He is unhappy that professional tennis left Los Angeles and he wants it back. To that end, the first L.A. Tennis Challenge will be played Monday night at Pauley Pavilion. It is an exhibition, not a real tournament. Former tour player Gimelstob and his co-host, current player Mardy Fish, want the public to think of it as a bridge to the future. This is the city of Jack Kramer and Pete Sampras, to name just two, and Gimelstob feels that, if nothing else, their legacy deserves more than vacant dates and empty courts.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission fined and suspended boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Thursday over a failed drug test last year before a Mexican Independence Day fight in Las Vegas. The popular 27-year-old fighter, who's the son of a famous boxer by the same name, tested positive for marijuana in September after his first professional loss. Chavez (46-1-1) was suspended for nine months from the date of the fight and fined $900,000, which amounts to 30% of his $3-million purse for the bout against Sergio Martinez . Chavez, who spoke by phone from Mexico, said through an interpreter that he was sorry for his actions and had taken the drug to curb his stress eight or nine days before the much-anticipated fight.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic along with Mardy Fish of Los Angeles and Bob and Mike Bryan, who won the Australian Open doubles title last month, are the headliners of the Los Angeles Tennis Challenge on March 4 at Pauley Pavilion. Also in the field is 34-year-old German Tommy Haas, who made it to the final of last week's SAP Open in San Jose. Haas is ranked 18th in the world still. Also playing in the event is American James Blake, who was once ranked as high as fourth in the world but who is struggling now and playing lower-level events.

— Andy Murray was sucking in deep breaths, trying to recover from his exhausting victory over Roger Federer in an Australian Open semifinal Friday night. Pain and Novak Djokovic were on both players' minds. Murray said he'll "need to be ready for pain" in the final, after beating Federer, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2, in a four-hour semifinal, the Scotsman's first victory over the 17-time major winner at a Grand Slam event. Federer, who yelled at Murray and showed rare bursts of anger in the loss, said he expected Djokovic, a two-time defending champion who is on a 20-match winning streak at Melbourne Park, to have the advantage in the final Sunday.

What: Australian Open. Venue: Melbourne Park. When: Sunday-Jan. 26. Surface: Plexicushion 2012 MEN'S CHAMPION Novak Djokovic, Serbia TOP-SEEDED MEN 1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia 2. Roger Federer, Switzerland 3. Andy Murray, Britain 4. David Ferrer, Spain 5. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic 2012 WOMEN'S CHAMPION Victoria Azarenka, Belarus TOP-SEEDED WOMEN 1. Victoria Azarenka,...