Article

  • Round 2 Summary - Third Quarter of the Draw

    1/17/08 10:54 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - There was only one real surprise in the second round of the third quarter on Wednesday, as 26-seed Stanislas Wawrinka retired in the fourth set of his match with Marc Gicquel of France.

    Other than that, all of the favored players, including fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko and eighth-seeded Richard Gasquet, prevailed.

    The third quarter of the draw is somewhat flying under the radar in the shadow of the loaded top half of the draw, but it’s shaping up like it could be the quarter to watch in the third and fourth rounds. That’s because almost all the top players are winning, most notably Nikolay Davydenko, who has won six straight sets over two matches. The Russian dismantled Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 on Wednesday and will now take on Marc Gicquel, the beneficiary of Stanislas Wawrinka’s retirement.

    However, it won’t be smooth sailing for Davydenko all the way into the quarterfinals. Richard Gasquet looms especially large in the top part of the draw. The Frenchman destroyed Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 and he did it in spectacular fashion. Gasquet fired 35 winners to just 12 unforced errors. Igor Andreev, who defeated Kristof Vliegen in straight sets, will have to hope Gasquet is not quite as on fire in the third round.

    Another up-and-coming Frenchman, unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, is already making serious noise Down Under. Two days after stunning eighth-seeded Andy Murray, Tsonga erased American Sam Warburg 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2. He put on a dizzying display of tennis is the process, blasting 14 aces and 54 winners while committing just 14 unforced errors. Tsonga will be once again favored in his next match against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, a four-set winner over Alejandro Falla.

    Seeds Ivo Karlovic (20) and Mikhail Youzhny (14) are quietly and efficiently making their way through the bracket. Karlovic rolled over Dudi Sela of Israel after stumbling in the first set, while Youzhny got by Andreas Seppi in a fourth-set tiebreaker. The giant Croat and the Russian will do battle in what looks like the best matchup of the third round in this quarter of the draw.

Tell a friend »

Comments


Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.
Username:

Password: