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8/30/09 7:54 AM | Ricky Dimon
Andy Murray, seeded second for the first time at a Grand Slam, seeks his first major title at the U.S. Open. In order to do it, he might once again have to get past Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinals.
If Andy Murray is going to win his first Grand Slam title at the 2009 U.S. Open, he'll have to do it the hard way.
Seeded second for the first time at a slam after recently taking the No. 2 world raking from Rafael Nadal, Murray is part of arguably the toughest section of the draw. Other seeded players in Murray's section include No. 6 Juan Martin Del Potro, No. 9 Gilles Simon, No. 16 Marin Cilic, No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 24 Juan Carlos Ferrero, and No. 27 Ivo Karlovic.
Only No. 25 Mardy Fish--due to a back injury--appears to be a relatively unimposing seeded opponent. When healthy, however, Fish is a force on hard courts; he even reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals last summer.
Murray's nearest seed is Karlovic, who is always dangerous thanks to his booming serve. The 6'10'' Croat, however, is a good matchup for Murray because the Scot's return of serve is impeccable. Round four could feature a rematch between Murray and Wawrinka, who battled for five sets at the same stage of Wimbledon two months ago.
On the other half of this quarter, Del Potro and Simon could square off in the fourth round, which would be a rematch of a high-quality third-round thriller at last year's U.S. Open. Del Potro outlasted Simon in that one and would be favored to do so once again, as the Argentine is on fire heading into New York for a second straight summer.
Despite the quality of this section, it's hard not to look ahead to a Murray-Del Potro quarterfinal. The two fast-rising stars are already part of a rivalry that at times has been contentious, but now seems mostly amicable. They have met five times (three in 2009), including in last year's U.S. Open quarters. Murray prevailed 7-6(2), 7-6(1), 4-6, 7-5 on his way to the final and he now leads the head-to-head series with Del Potro 4-1.
Breakdown of Murray's quarter:
Favorite: Murray
Potential surprise: Philipp Petzschner
Upset Alert: Daniel Koellerer over Mardy Fish in round one
First-round match to watch: Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Fabrice Santoro
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RickyDimon , 8/30/09 10:19 PM
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fish reached the us open semifinal last summer?:o
lolethhh , 8/30/09 10:06 PM