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  • Dev Varman, Roddick alive and kicking for Legg Mason quarters

    8/15/08 4:27 PM | Ricky Dimon
    Dev Varman, Roddick alive and kicking for Legg Mason quarters
    Somdev Dev Varman and Andy Roddick survived thrillers on Thursday and they will be bidding for semifinal spots in Washington D.C. on Friday. Tommy Haas is also in action against Alejandro Falla.

    Alejandro Falla vs. (4) Tommy Haas

    Haas, one of John Isner's upset victims last year, is looking to improve upon his 2007 quarterfinal showing at the Legg Mason classic. The No. 4 seed is making quiet headway through the draw, although he did drop the second set to Rik De Voest in round one before cruising in the third. Haas followed that up with a straight-set victory over Nicolas Mahut. The German has enjoyed a solid summer, but he failed to capitalize on a solid showing in Cincinnati (lost to Rafael Nadal in the third round) by bowing out of Los Angeles in shocking fashion to Donald Young in round one. Falla is enjoying one of his best tournaments, having already scored two huge wins. He upset Mardy Fish in three sets and then survived Florent Serra in two tiebreakers, the last of which ended 13-11. Haas is whole different beast, however, and he should take this in two sets.

    Andy Roddick vs. Viktor Troicki

    Roddick has been far from dominant this summer, and he was anything but dominant in the second round against Eduardo Schwank. The top-seeded American saved two match points with Schwank serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set before prevailing in a third-set tiebreaker. Roddick was also extended to a tiebreaker by Ramon Delgado in round one, although that only took two sets. Roddick had to pull out of Cincinnati just before his first-round match there a few weeks ago with a neck problem, and then reached the final in Los Angeles but lost to Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets. Troicki will be no pushover on Friday, especially considering Roddick's lack od dominance at the moment. The 6'5'' Serb crushed Denis Gremelmayr on Tuesday and then came back from a break deficit in the third set on Thursday to survive American Bobby Reynolds. Roddick and Troicki met for the first time earlier this season in Miami and Roddick prevailed 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. Expect another competitive, but this time Roddick should get the job done in straight sets.

    Somdev Dev Varman vs. Igor Kunitsyn

    This is quite a surprise quarterfinal but it is not one without intrigue. Dev Varman, who attended nearby UVA and is the two-time reigning NCAA singles champion, is receiving American-esque support this week. He has been cheered on to his first two career wins at the ATP level this week, first over Taylor Dent on Monday and then a thrilling 7-5 win over Robert Kendrick last night. That continues an incredible hot streak for Dev Varman, who won four Futures and Challengers events right out of college and--after finally losing a match--won three matches over the weekend to qualify for the Legg Mason main draw. Kunitsyn has also gone the distance in each of his two matches this week. The Russian recovered rom a first-set tiebreaker loss to defeat Mischa Zverev in three, then saved a match point en route to outlasting Fabio Fognini 8-6 in a third-set tiebreaker. That match ended well after one in the morning, so Kunitsyn (and Dev Varman) could be feeling it on Friday. Dev Varman in a three-set upset is the pick.

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