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8/12/08 4:02 PM | Ricky Dimon
The stars really come out in D.C. on Tuesday, with Marat Safin, Andy Roddick, and on-fire Juan Martin Del Potro take the court. American Mary Fish will also be in action.
Fabio Fognini vs. (6) Marat Safin
Safin has been his normal up-and-down self in 2008. He stunned Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon to reach the semifinals basically out of nowhere, sandwiched in between an awful start to the season and some uninspiring performances since. Safin lost in the second round in Canada and the first in Cincinnati, but reached the quarterfinals in Los Angeles only to be upset by Denis Gremelmayr. Fognini has enjoyed some breakout performances on clay this year, but he is not as comfortable on faster surfaces. The 21-year-old Spaniard lost to Safin in straight sets at Wimbledon and is 0-2 lifetime against the Russian. That should be 0-3 after today, but if Fognini gets out to a fast start and watches Safin implode mentally, an upset could be in the making.
(1) Andy Roddick vs. Ramon Delgado
Roddick had to pull out of Cincinnati just before his first-round match there a few weeks ago with a neck problem, but he came back to reach the final in Los Angeles. The American opted to bypass the Olympics in favor of honing his game during the U.S. Open Series in preparation for the U.S. Open. So this is a big week for Roddick, because he needs to make the most of that decision. The 31-year-old Delgado should not present too much of a problem in round one, as he is ranked 293rd in the world and is making his first ATP main-draw appearance of 2008. That said, the Paraguayan won three matches over the weekend to qualify so Roddick cannot take him lightly. As long as the No. 1 seed stays focused and serves relatively well, this will be over in two sets.
Jesse Levine vs. (2) Juan Martin Del Potro
The Legg Mason did Levine a favor by granting him a wild card into the tournament, but it did him no favors by pitting him against the hottest player in tennis in round one. Del Potro has won three straight events, two on clay and then another last week in Los Angeles, where he took out Roddick in the final. The Argentine is up to a career-high 19th in the world, while Levine is way back at No. 106. Levine is making a name for himself this season, but he is still struggling for marquee wins and he suffered a disappointing straight-set loss to Chris Guccione in the Cincinnati first round. Del Potro and Levine have already met once in 2008, with the American going down 7-5, 6-1 in the opening round of the Masters Series Miami. Any different result this time around would be a big surprise considering the way Del Potro is playing at the moment.
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