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  • Murray, Safin and Berdych take the court for round two

    5/14/08 2:44 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - The entire bottom section of the draw is in action on Tuesday as Andy Murray, Marat Safin and Tomas Berdych all vie for a spot in the third round.

    Andy Murray vs. Gilles Simon

    Considering that Gilles Simon is generally considered a competent clay-courter, his 2008 season on the dirt has been something of a disappointment so far. He has yet to advance beyond the second round of a tournament in Europe this spring. He will be looking to rectify that statistic on Wednesday.

    Andy Murray, ranked 14 in the world, certainly does not play his best tennis on clay. He has been criticized by more than one opponent for being too passive and not taking opportunities when they present themselves. He had a dreadful loss to eventual finalist Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round of Rome last week. He made some strides in repairing the damage to his confidence on Monday, however by winning convincingly (6-4, 6-1) over Dmitry Tursunov.

    Simon has beaten Murray the only other time they’ve played each other, last year on the clay of Rome. Neither man is enjoying good clay court form right now which makes it a difficult call. Conditions are not as heavy this year as they have been in prior years, which helps Murray a bit. A slight edge to Murray, but a Simon win would not be a surprise either.

    Tomas Berdych vs. Marat Safin

    Nobody can deny that Marat Safin is struggling right now. His ranking has slipped to 89 in the world and except for a quarterfinal appearance in Munich, his year has been marked by a string of first and second round losses. The good news for Safin is that Berdych is not very comfortable playing on clay. In fact, Safin handed Berdych a defeat earlier this year on clay when Russia took on the Czech Republic in Davis Cup. It took Safin 5 grueling sets, but he secured the win for his country.

    Berdych is playing his first clay tournament of the season. He had an excellent result in Miami, where he lost in the semi-finals to Rafael Nadal. His only other clay matches this season came in Davis Cup, where he lost to both Safin and Davydenko. If Berdych does not manage to shake off the rust quickly, this match could well be over before he realizes it. Despite Safin’s recent form, this match could very well produce the tournament’s first big upset. Safin in three.

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