Article

  • Nadal, Djokovic, and Roddick headline Tuesday's Dubai action

    3/4/08 5:54 AM | Jonathan Morgan
    - 3 of the world's top 6 players will play in Dubai on Tuesday on the heels of Federer's surprising exit.

    Marin Cilic vs. Novak Djokovic

    Novak Djokovic is coming in on the heels of his Australian Open victory. Since then, he hasn't fared very well in Davis Cup (sick) or Marseille (lack of interest/tank). He appears to have shown up in Dubai looking and playing well to try to get some match play in before he has to defend a bucketload of points from Indian Wells and Miami. Marin Cilic's year has also been solid, posting good results in several events. This match will pit the big serving Cilic against the stable baseline game of Djokovic. In a simple word, Djokovic has way too much game for the Croat. Not only will he dominate the baseline rallies, his serve is very good as well. Cilic's only shot is to have the best serving day of his life and win in the tiebreaks with well placed serves, crisp volleys, and an overall flawless match. Djokovic should win it.

    Andy Roddick vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero

    Oh, how the mighty have fallen. These two competed in the 2003 US Open final and were both ranked #1 at some point that year. Roddick has never lost to JCF in 3 career meetings, all on hard courts. Ferrero's year started off very well but has since dropped off the map. Roddick won the title in San Jose before losing in the latter stages of the Memphis event last week. Expect Roddick to shake off the jetlag, crank up the serve and forehand, and beat Ferrero easily like he usually does.

    Rafael Nadal vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber

    Poor Nadal. With Federer losing in the first round, he will become agonizingly close to the #1 ranking, but can't quite reach it. Nadal's main problem is his continually dropping quality of play on hard courts. He had an incredibly embarrasing loss to Youzhny earlier this year in Chennai, then had another one to Seppi in Rotterdam a few weeks back. Not to mention his Nalbandian drubbings late last year. Kohlschreiber had a great Aussie Open, taking out Roddick 8-6 in the 5th before falling the next round. Kohli has a strong game, the very type of game that can and will trouble Nadal. #2 losing here is not out of the question. They played 3 times last year. 2 on clay which Nadal obviously won, but another matchup in the 2007 Aussie Open, where Nadal won in 4. I expect Nadal to win this one, but an upset is a real possibility.

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: