Article

  • Indian Wells Quarterfinal: Mardy Fish vs. David Nalbandian

    3/21/08 4:24 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Mardy Fish and David Nalbandian have escaped near defeats at the Pacific Life Open, but both are still alive and have advanced to a quarterfinal showdown on Friday. Does Fish have another upset in him, or will Nalbandian extend his Masters Series win streak?

    Mardy Fish and David Nalbandian will do battle in a Pacific Life Open quarterfinal showdown on Friday, having survived some tough tests in the earlier stages of the tournament. This is the second time the two players have squared off, and coincidentally the first encounter also came in a quarterfinal of a Masters Series event (2003 Cincinnati). Fish took that contest 7-6(3), 6-3, but it should have no bearing on a rematch five years later.

    Both Fish and Nalbandian are rounding into form just at the right time, when big points are at stake in the spring Masters Series events leading up to the French Open. Fish got all the way up to No. 22 in the world rankings last March, but a dismal summer stretch and a fall season that wasn't much better has left him with a current standing of 98th. The American is beginning to turn things around, however, in 2008. He reached the third round of the Australian Open and promptly followed that up with quarterfinal appearances in both Delray Beach and San Jose. This week Fish has handled Florian Mayer, 31st-seeded Igor Andreev, and No. 4 seed Nikolay Davydenko without dropping a set. On Wednesday he took out No. 24 Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4).

    Nalbandian is also in fine form at the moment, although it’s nothing compared to when he took the tennis world by storm last fall, winning two straight Masters Series events. The Argentine kicked off this season with a disappointing blowout loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round of the Australian Open, but he has since righted the ship. He won the title in Buenos Aires and then finished runner-up in Acapulco (lost to Nicolas Almagro). So far in Indian Wells, Nalbandian has taken out Ernests Gulbis, Radek Stepanek, and Ferrero, the first two in third-set tiebreakers.

    This match is going to be a hard-hitting baseline battle, and unlike in the Fish-Hewitt tilt, both players will look to be aggressive. Nalbandian, who has won 15 straight Masters Series matches, is the clear favorite, but he better not have mental lapses like he did against Gulbis and Stepanek if he doesn’t want to be another Mardy Fish upset victim.

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: