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  • Miami Second Round Preview: Bottom Quarter of the Draw

    3/28/08 4:06 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - The Sony Ericsson Open gets under way in earnest on Friday. Seeing action are David Nalbandian, James Blake and Ian Ljubicic.

    David Nalbandian (7) vs. Xavier Malisse

    The sometimes genius Argentine, David Nalbandian, will take on Belgian Xavier Malisse in his second round match on Friday. Unsurprisingly, Nalbandian has had somewhat inconsistent results in 2008. He lost in the third round of the Australian Open, but won the clay court tournament in Buenos Aires. He made the quarterfinals last week in Indian Wells, where he was defeated by an inspired Mardy Fish. His opponent, Belgian Xavier Malisse, has slipped all the way down to 311 in the world. His best result was a quarterfinal appearance in Chennai; otherwise he has lost in the first or second round of each tournament he has entered. Malisse has never beaten Nalbandian in the four times they've played. Nalbandian last beat the Belgian in straight sets at the US Open last year. In his current form, it is hard to imagine Malisse posting his first win now - Nalbandian in two.

    James Blake (9) vs. Andreas Seppi

    American James Blake has enjoyed a good hard court season thus far this year. He racked up quarterfinal appearances at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells last week, and made the finals of Delray Beach. His Italian opponent, Andreas Seppi is ranked number 46 in the world and still obtains many of his ranking points from playing on the Challenger circuit. Interestingly, he actually holds a winning record of the American. They have only played once, in 2006 at Adelaide, which Seppi won in three sets. Blake has had the far better hard court form thus far; it would be surprising if Seppi were to win. Blake in straight sets.

    Ivan Ljubicic (23) vs Fabrice Santoro

    Frenchman Fabrice Santoro gave Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman an absolute beatdown in the first round, winning 6-1, 6-0. He will come into his second round match with a lot of confidence. His opponent, the Croatian Ivan Ljubicic has had a somewhat difficult past twelve months. In March of 2007, the Croat was ranked number 7 in the world. Since that time, he has slowly slipped down the rankings, landing at number 24. He even played a Challenger event earlier this year, which he won. Ljubicic holds a slight lifetime edge over Santoro 4-3. Their last meeting happened at this very tournament in 2007 - Ljubicic won in three sets. Santoro's style of play troubles many players, Ivan Ljubicic included. Santoro in three.

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