3/29/08 12:46 PM | David Cox
The seeds of the top half enter the fray today and Ferrer, Davydenko, Murray and Youzhny are all in action
Murray vs Ancic
Murray started sluggishly in Indian Wells, going 4-0 down to Jurgen Melzer before turning things around to win in 3. He can ill-afford a similar start this time round against one of the game’s biggest servers. They’ve met twice before, Ancic beating a very raw Murray 6-3, 7-6 in Auckland at the start of 2006 and then most recently in the Marseille final where the Murray returning proved too hot to handle and the Scot won 6-3, 6-4
Both men will be eyeing this draw with anticipation, each are equally capable of scything through to the latter stages. Davydenko and Ferrer are the top seeds in the quarter and neither have been in sparkling form lately
Davydenko vs Gulbis
A tricky opener for the world number 4, Gulbis looked impressive during a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 defeat of veteran Domnik Hrbaty in round 1 and he came close to putting Nalbandian out in Indian Wells, losing in a third set breaker. Davydenko was a casualty of Mardy Fish’s power hitting in the 4th round last week but after he meted out the same treatment to Federer two rounds later, the Russian’s loss wasn’t such a surprise ! Miami hasn’t been a particularly successful tournament for Davydenko in the past, he’s never been past the 4th round (losing to Delic, Ancic and Monfils in the past 3 years) which is strange as the surface plays very much like the US Open where he’s a 2-time semi-finalist.
Youzhny vs Reynolds
Reynolds disposed of the Russian no 5 in the opening round now can he do the same and create an even bigger upset against the Russian no 2 ? Youzhny was one of the form players for January -a title in Chennai and then the Aussie Open quarters but two round 1 losses in Rotterdam and Dubai have followed. At Indian Wells he was outhustled 7-5, 6-1 by Lleyton Hewitt in the 3rd round. However, crazy as the tournament has been so far, I think Youzhny will progress. Reynolds is a scrapper with a massive serve but Youzhny’s a better returner than Safin and one of the toughest competitors out there. With Fish out, there’s a very good chance for him to make the 4th round.
Tell a friend »
Did you know that... Nicolas Massu won a gold medal in both singles and doubles at the 2004 Olympic games.
sstay, Sep 8, 2008 9:32 AM
mara2, Sep 8, 2008 7:00 AM
RafaNadalGirl20, Sep 8, 2008 6:50 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:47 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:42 AM
kaitepai, Sep 8, 2008 6:04 AM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:43 PM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:36 PM
Did you know that... Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement fought during 6 hours and 33 minutes in the longest match ever played, in French Open 2004.
sstay, Sep 8, 2008 9:32 AM
mara2, Sep 8, 2008 7:00 AM
RafaNadalGirl20, Sep 8, 2008 6:50 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:47 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:42 AM
kaitepai, Sep 8, 2008 6:04 AM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:43 PM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:36 PM