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  • Preview Marseille: Top half of the draw

    2/12/08 8:48 AM | David Cox
    - The new indoor season officially starts here in southern France this week and it features some big guns, limbering up before the upcoming two super-tournaments in Rotterdam and Dubai.

    Novak Djokovic is the no 1 seed this week but after breaking down and then retiring against Davydenko in Davis Cup at the weekend (he had been suffering from ‘flu) will he put his body to the test again so soon afterwards. As we go to press, he’s yet to withdraw from his rd1 clash against Croatian qualifier Dodig and the match has been put forwards to Wednesday but Djokovic’s participation has to be in doubt

    That would leave 4th seed Andy Murray as the favourite to come through the top half. He also opens against a qualifier - Jesse Huta-Galung, a contemporary of Murray from his junior days, they trained together at the Sanchez-Casal academy. However, their paths have verged dramatically since then, while Murray is talked of as a slam contender, Huta-Galung has never been higher than 182.

    Former world no 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero has been moving relatively unnoticed back up the rankings (to 15). He’s seeded 5 here and enjoyed some excellent wins on the rebound ace, reaching the Auckland final and putting Nalbandian out of the Aussie Open. He starts against the dangerous Korean Hyung-Taik Lee, who can be a handful on fast courts with his accurate serving and punching groundstrokes. Ferrero leads 3-1 on the head-to-head but every match has been close, the Spaniard twice winning 7-5 in the 3rd.

    Michael Llodra will be a dangerous floater in the top half. The lanky serve-volleyer won Adelaide at the start of the year and has achieved some notable scalps indoors with his flat, penetrating shots and regular chip-charges, a style most players are unaccustomed to facing. Llodra is a wildcard here but I’d expect him to beat Italy’s Seppi in rd1.

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