The initial week at the U.S. Open is complete and the men’s field has been scaled down to sixteen players.  Two names missing from the roll call are Andy Roddick and Andy Murray.  These two touted favorites were upset early on. Here’s a summary of the past seven days and an analysis of what could unfold the next few rounds.

While Rafael Nadal barely passed his pre-tournament exams in Toronto and Cincinnati, in his first three matches at the Open, the Spaniard gets an A plus.  Despite being tested, with a beefed up first serve to the tune of 130 miles per hour at times, Nadal has dispatched each adversary in three sets.  In the fourth round, Nadal will face compatriot Feliciano Lopez.  With Nadal’s 5-2 record against his fellow citizen, Lopez is likely the subsequent sacrificial lamb.

After surviving a five set tussle in the first round against Fabio Fognini ranked 86th, Fernando Verdasco is in the round of 16 and will take on David Ferrer, the tenth seed.  Although Verdasco has a 6-4 edge in their encounters, Ferrer prevailed at their last meeting on clay and at their only battle on hardcourt in 2004.  David Nalbandian, one of the few players who could have troubled Nadal, was easily given his marching orders by Verdasco in the third round.

Also in the top section of the draw, seventh seed Tomas Berdych was surprised in the first round by Michael Llodra.  However, the jaw dropper came today with  Murray, the 2008 finalist and fourth seed, dismissed by Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round. The Swiss advanced for the third occasion to the fourth round in New York.   Wawrinka will meet Sam Querrey for a spot in the quarterfinals.  Consequently, for Querrey, this is the ideal scenario to book his maiden quarterfinal berth at a major.

The Spaniards have ruled and Tommy Robredo made sure to partake in the round of 16 festivities. With John Isner beaten by Mikhail Youzhny in the third round, Robredo and the Russian will fight for a place in the quarterfinals.

Another American  propelled into the limelight this week was eighteen year old Ryan Harrison.  After coming through three rounds of qualifying, Harrison stunned Ivan Ljubicic, the fifteenth seed, in the first round.  Furthermore, Harrison was one point from a win in a fifth set tiebreaker in the second round.  Harrison became the first American teen to vanquish a top twenty player at a major since Roddick in 2001 also at this event.

With Murray done and dusted, Verdasco, Lopez, Ferrer, Wawrinka, Querrey, Robredo and Youzhny are the survivors in the top half of the draw.  Nadal has a record of 48 victories and 9 defeats against the guys left .  Thus, one can effectively write Nadal’s name on the final’s program.  As the axiom says, “one never knows for whom he works”.

Following a routine debut match, Roddick was toppled in the second round by Janko Tipsarevic.  As such, Roddick’s quest for a second major will be delayed another year.  With Roddick taking leave, a formidable hindrance to Novak Djokovic was removed in the bottom half of the draw.

After a near exit in the first round against Victor Troicki, Djokovic cleaned up his act to reach the fourth round against Mardy Fish.  The American had a strange five set, first round match whereby he lost one game in the three sets he carried.  In the third round, Fish escaped again, wrapping up the win in five sets against veteran Arnaud Clement who shocked Marcos Baghdatis in the first round.  Fish will be in search of his initial victory against Djokovic in five attempts.  With the wave Fish has been riding recently, it’s a feasible goal.

In the second round, sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko fell to Richard Gasquet. With his most successful showing at a major since 2008, Gasquet is now into the fourth round and will collide with fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils.  In contrast to Monfils whose play has had many highs as well as lows, Gasquet bounced his adversaries in three sets.  Hence, if Gasquet continues to be consistent, he has an excellent shot at making the quarterfinals.

In the same section, Marin Cilic, the eleventh seed, ran into Kei Nishikori in the second round.  Cilic was worn out by his opponent and the heat.  Yet, an injured Nishikori retired the subsequent round giving Albert Montanes safe passage.

Robin Soderling progressed to the fourth round after getting through the first round in five sets.  Since then, Soderling has been flawless and faces Montanes in the fourth round.  Thus, for Soderling, a quarterfinal meeting with Roger Federer appears almost certain.

Compared to Nadal, Federer has not been pushed and has readily reached the round of 16.  Federer will confront Jurgen Melzer whom he knocked out in their sole career meeting at Wimbledon two months ago.  For the five time champion, the real work will start with Soderling his likely quarterfinal counterpart.

With Roddick and Murray gone, it’s time to recalibrate.  In the top half of the draw, Nadal appears to be holding all the aces and seems a shoo-in for his first final in the Big Apple.  The singular brainteaser is who will be on the other side of the net on that day.  If Federer maintains the form he has demonstrated of late, in spite of the difficulties which Soderling or Djokovic could present in the quarterfinals or semifinals respectively, he should solve them.  In that case, there will be a Nadal-Federer final with the latter having a high chance of bagging his seventeenth major.  To the contrary, Soderling, Djokovic or Fish will be the one standing between Nadal and the career grand slam.  Under those circumstances, the Spaniard would be sitting pretty and hoisting his first U.S. Open trophy.

The French are known for their flare and Nicolas Mahut is undoubtedly part of the establishment.  In the second round of qualifying, Mahut outlasted his opponent 24-22 in the third set to advance.  Then, Mahut went five sets to make it into the main draw. In the first round of the main draw, Mahut faced John Isner. On Tuesday, the match was interrupted due to darkness after the two split four sets.  When the players returned on Wednesday, the night ended with a 59-59 draw in the fifth. Even the scoreboard was exhausted, crashing when the score got to 40+.  On Thursday, the match concluded when Isner hit two consecutive winners to break Mahut and grab a 70-68 victory.

The encounter which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, shattered all previous records and redefined the meaning of marathon match. The fifth set alone spanned 8 hours and 11 minutes.  However, despite a full day’s rest, Isner could not recuperate.  The next round, Thiemo De Bakker, who won his prior round 16-14, dismissed a depleted Isner in just 1hour 14 minutes.  For Isner, the physical consequences may reverberate for months.

While defending champion Roger Federer did not go to such extremes, it was a struggle to survive nevertheless.  Federer was nearly a spectator as 60th ranked Alejandro Falla forced Federer to climb out of a two sets to love deficit, even serving for the match.  With a bit of “luck” as Federer put it, he moved on.  The Swiss’ second round was also tough as qualifier Ilijac Bozoljac prevailed in the second set tiebreaker. Federer carried the match by capturing the fourth set tiebreaker.  The third round, Federer played close to flawlessly against Arnaud Clement.

Rafael Nadal also willed himself to advance.  After a routine initial round, Nadal required five sets the second and third round against Robin Haase and Philipp Petzschener respectively.  More importantly, Nadal had a flare up of his niggling knee problem and was treated for elbow issue.

Following a five setter with Oliver Rochus, Novak Djokovic thumped his next opponents Taylor Dent and Albert Montanes in the subsequent rounds.  British hopeful Andy Murray has been efficient, booting his counterparts in straight sets.  Even the Queen’s first appearance at Wimbledon since 1977 did not distract her subject as Murray dispatched Jarkko Nieminen in the second round.

After an uncomplicated primary round, Andy Roddick was rattled a bit by Michael Llodra and Philipp Kohlschreiber the next rounds, pushed to four sets by each.  Roddick has friendly company into the second week as Sam Querrey secured a fourth round berth after a five set tussle with Xavier Malisse.

Unsurprisingly, his second tournament back from injury, Nikolay Davydenko fell in the second round.  Shocking though was Fernando Verdasco, the 8th seed, Marin Cilic, the 11th seed, Marcos Baghdatis, the 24th seed, and Stanislas Wawrinka, the 20th seed, all exiting their first day out.

Robin Soderling, the 6th seed, has been on cue this week.  The Swede has sailed through his matches, duration under two hours.  His first event since his back injury, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s performance has been mixed.  In the second round, Tsonga went five sets after having a two sets to none lead against Alexandr Dolgopolov.  Yet, the following round, Tsonga cruised against qualifier Tobias Kamke.

This tournament has seen a revival of the French veterans.  Paul-Henri Mathieu knocked out 13th seed Mikhail Youzhny and De Bakker in the second and third round respectively to earn a spot in the final 16 at a major for the first time since 2008.  Also, Julien Benneteau is into the second week after surviving two five set matches.

Conversely, Gael Monfils had his fortnight cut short by Lleyton Hewitt in the third round.  Monfils was no match for Hewitt who recently beat Federer in Halle. The Aussie is grooving on grass despite two hip surgeries.

After coasting for two matches, Tomas Berdych had to shake off Denis Istomin in five sets in the third round.  In the round of 16, Berdych could have faced Victor Hanescu, but the Romanian retired after a bizarre incident.

In front two sets to none, Hanescu was forced to a fifth set by Daniel Brands.  Irked that play was not stopped since in his opinion it was too dark, Hanescu got irritated.  A series of purposeful foot fault followed.  Then, the crowd got under Hanescu’s skin resulting in him spitting in its direction.  After being cited for a code violation, Hanescu retired stating a thigh injury.  Hanescu has been sanctioned with a substantial fine for “unsportsmanlike conduct” and the episode is still under review.  Brands, who ousted Davydenko, is the beneficiary as the 22 year old reached his first round of 16 at a major.

Taiwanese Yen-Hsun Lu also caught a break with Cilic sent out early.  The 27 year old is likewise in his maiden fourth round at a major. Tenacious David Ferrer fought his way into the second week.  Ferrer regrouped after squandering a two sets to love advantage against Jeremy Chardy in the third round.  Jurgen Melzer equally dealt with adversity to arrive to the fourth round.  In the second round, Melzer toppled Victor Troicki in five sets and came back after dropping the first set to Feliciano Lopez in the third round.

On Monday round of 16 play begins with Federer and Melzer opening the proceedings on Centre Court.  Despite their decade on tour, astonishingly, the two have never met on court.  This has been a breakthrough year for Melzer, the world number 16 and 2010 French Open semifinalist.  A lefty like Falla, but with more confidence, Federer will need to be at his best, particularly on the backhand wing, if he plans to remain in the hunt for  a record seventh title.

Another first meeting is Berdych and Brands battling for a quarterfinal spot.  As a semifinalist at the French, Berdych should have no trouble moving on to his initial Wimbledon quarterfinal where he could see Melzer or Federer.

Nadal faces Mathieu for the tenth time and has a perfect record against the Frenchman.  Therefore, the Spaniard is unlikely to fall.  Similarly, Soderling encounters Ferrer whom he has vanquished five out of seven times.  As such, Soderling could clash with Nadal in the quarterfinals.  With the way Soderling has been striking the ball, the Swede may prove an unsolvable puzzle for the world number one.

Deadlock in their head to head at 3 a piece, Tsonga and Benneteau battle for a quarterfinal berth while Murray takes on Querrey.  Although Murray has won their three prior matches, their last meeting was in October 2008 and Murray has not been up to snuff since the Australian Open.  Conversely, Querrey captured the warm-up title at Queen’s Club. Consequently, the American could provide the upset and reach his first quarterfinal at a major, possibly the semifinals with Tsonga or Benneteau as his potential quarterfinal opponent.

Already twice this year, Roddick has given Lu his marching papers.  So, it’s almost a given that Roddick will claim the quarterfinal slot.  However, the same cannot be said  for Djokovic in Hewitt’s case.  Although Djokovic has a 3-1 record versus Hewitt, the two have avoided meeting the last two years.  With Djokovic service woes, Hewitt has the door ajar to form part of the last eight.

It’s unfathomable that the excitement of this last week can ever be replicated moving into the second week.  Many questions have been raised with the performances of Federer and Nadal in the primary rounds.  For these two men who have had a lock on Wimbledon since 2003, the outsiders, Roddick, Soderling and Murray may have found a way in.

The first week of play has come to a conclusion at the French Open.  While Andy Murray, the fourth seed, going out in the fourth round to Tomas Berdych was a shock.  The biggest eye popper was David Ferrer, the ninth seed, a definite threat to Rafael Nadal in the bottom half, being ousted in the third round in three sets by Jurgen Melzer.  With both Roger Federer and Nadal methodically working through their sections, the possibility of a final between these two is very much alive.

Despite stumbling at times, Federer, the defending champion, has pulled through all four matches in straight sets.  Robyn Soderling, the 2009 finalist, has played steady ball.  Soderling had no difficulty with Albert Montanes in the third round nor Marin Cilic in the fourth round.  Now, Soderling faces Federer in the quarterfinals and will get the opportunity to seek revenge for last year’s defeat.  Although Federer has an ATP 12-0 record against him, Soderling prevailed in an exhibition in Abu Dhabi this January.  Therefore, Soderling will not be intimidated.

The French will have to wait for their homegrown champion yet another year.  In the first round, Richard Gasquet went down to Murray in a thrilling five setter. Then, in the second round, Gael Monfils was sent packing in a marathon two day drama.  Lastly, in the fourth round, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was compelled to retire against Mikhail Youzhny due to a back injury.  Youzhny battles Berdych as the other quarterfinalist in the top half of the draw.

In the bottom half, after outlasting Mardy Fish in a five set brawl, Ivan Ljubicic could not withstand another assault from 22 year old Thomaz Bellucci.  Yet, in reaching the fourth round for the first time at a major, Bellucci’s prize is Nadal.

At the start of the tournament, Americans with authentic possibilities were likely Andy Roddick, John Isner and Sam Querrey.  The greatest hope was for Isner and Querrey, the latter had prevailed over the former in the finals in Serbia.  With no prior clay court competition, for Roddick, it was going to be an uphill battle to make it deep into the draw.  In the third round, Roddick was outplayed by qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili and went out in straight sets.  Similarly, in the third round, Berdych expedited Isner.  Still, there is a Stars and Stripes bearer into the second week, he is Bobby Ginepri ranked 98th.  After beating Querrey in the first round, Ginepri outfoxed former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round.  In the fourth round, Ginepri battles Novak Djokovic.  Djokovic has not been performing at his peak, needing four sets in the first round against Evgeny Korolev, had a tough second round match versus Kei Nishikori and another four setter against Victor Hanescu.  If that pattern continues, Ginepri has a good shot at an upset.

Speaking of not being sharp, Fernando Verdasco is in need of a tune-up.  Verdasco had to claw his way out of trouble in the third round against Philipp Kohlschreiber.  In the fourth round, Verdasco meets countryman Nicolas Almagro who has been impressive thus far.  Thus, Almagro will be a challenge for the seventh seed as he attempts to reach his first quarterfinal in Paris.

For Federer, there’s something else at stake other than the trophy.  This past week, he collected his 700th career victory.  Moreover, in Paris, by getting to the semifinals, Federer has the opportunity to equal Pete Sampras’ record, at 286, of most weeks at number one.  However, should Federer be dethroned prior to that stage, he could surrender that coveted spot to Nadal.  As one who is acutely aware of his place in the history of the game and takes pride in possessing the top ranking, one has the sense that such a factor will motivate Federer to the point of assuring that he sees Nadal on that final Sunday.

Like pack-man, Nadal has been systematically gobbling up the field.  Bellucci and Nadal have played only once, ironically at Roland Garros in 2008.  Since then, Bellucci’s game has matured a great deal.  Perhaps  as an un-jaded commodity, he could be an obstacle for Nadal.  Still, his prospects look bleak.  Considering Nadal’s record against the rest of the field, when all is said, the ball appears squarely in his corner to carry his fifth French Open.

On Sunday, the 2010 French Open gets underway.  Before the first ball is struck at Roland Garros, here’s a taste of how the proceedings may unravel on the gentlemen’s side.

Since 2006, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer had made it a habit of contesting for the trophy on the final Sunday. Last year, Robin Soderling interrupted that cycle by ousting Nadal in the fourth round.  After descending a wee bit in the rankings, with a record three Masters clay court titles, Nadal returned to his familiar spot at number two this week.  Therefore, this sets up the possibility of a final featuring defending champion Federer and his old nemesis Nadal.

By far, Nadal has been the best clay court player this season.  As such, it’s almost a given penciling his name as a finalist.  In examining the draw, Nadal, the top seed in the bottom section, appears to have a green line through the round of 16.  In the quarterfinals, the Spaniard could see slight resistance from fellow countrymen Fernando Versdasco and Nicolas Almagro.  The latter in particular competed well against Nadal in Madrid.  Still, Nadal should pull through.

Also in the bottom half are Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic, potential semifinal adversaries for Nadal.  Last year, Roddick had a career best showing in Paris by reaching the round of 16.  In the first round, Roddick takes on veteran Jarkko Nieminen, then, a possible third round match with Juan Monaco.  Hence, the American may say his goodbyes to Paris early. Assuming Roddick advances to the quarters, he could face the second best performer on clay this year, David Ferrer.  Considering that Roddick has not competed since the Sony Ericsson Open and with clay being his least successful surface, it hard to imagine Roddick progressing to the second week.

Despite a clay title and two other finals, Djokovic went down in the third round in 2009.  This year, Djokovic withdrew early in Serbia and his best result was the semifinals in Monte-Carlo. Consequently, for Djokovic, resting may be a blessing.  On the other hand, it could be a curse, not allowing the Serb to be clay fit.  With former French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero potentially as a third round opponent and Ferrer in the quarterfinals, the third seed could have his hands full before getting a crack at Nadal.

For the top seeds in the top half of the draw, Federer and Andy Murray, struggling has been the operative word lately.  Federer seems to have shaken off some of the cobwebs by advancing to the finals in Madrid.  Still, the proof will be how Federer fares against potential third round rivals Gael Monfils or Stanislas Wawrinka.  In the quarters, Federer may battle Robin Soderling over whom he triumphed in the finals last year.  Additionally, Ernests Gulbis and Albert Montanes brimming with belief after their victories over Federer in Rome and Estoril respectively as well as Marin Cilic, a youngster excelling with each major, could cause Federer’s downfall in the quarters.  In the semifinals, Federer may see the always dangerous Murray itching to avenge his Australian Open final defeat.  Alternate possibilities in the semis include Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who will have the home crowd behind him or Tomas Berdych who stopped Federer in Miami.  Needless to say, the world number one has a journey fraught with peril to the finals.

In the first round, Murray clashes with hometown favorite Richard Gasquet.  For Gasquet, it’s a golden opportunity to regain loss ground by vanquishing a vulnerable Murray.  Moreover, Murray’s round of 16 counterpart may be John Isner, a finalist in Serbia or Tomas Berdych a formidable rival especially after his great run in Miami.  Furthermore, in the quarters, both Mikhail Youzhny and Tsonga may present serious challenges for the Scot.

An impediment for Tsonga in the third round may be Thiemo De Bakker who stunned the Frenchman in Barcelona.  Later, in the round of 16, Tsonga could play either Tommy Robredo or Youzhny who are quite proficient on the red dust.

No matter how one dissects the draw, the outcome is advantage Nadal.   It’s simply difficult to conceive how Federer, Djokovic, Verdasco or Ferrer can halt the four time champion from capturing his fifth French title.

At the Sony Ericsson Open, Tomas Berdych and Robin Soderling claimed the remaining semifinal positions.  Berdych pulled his act together against Fernando Verdasco to win 4-6,7-6,6-4.  Conversely, Soderling expedited Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets 6-1,6-4.

In the first set, after Verdasco survived a love-40 game, he worked his way to double break point.  Verdasco broke for a 3-2 advantage.  With that sole break, Verdasco went on to capture the first set.

One of Berdych’s greatest issue was too mistakes on the forehand side.  His initial game of the second set, Berdych dropped serve.  Verdasco then rubbed out a break point to get to 2-0.  But, as Verdasco served at 3-2, Berdych picked on his rival’s backhand to get to double break point.  When Verdasco’s forehand landed long, the set was tied at 3 all.  After double faulting to give Verdasco break point, Berdych maintained serve for a 4-3 edge.  As the set progressed, Berdych found his forehand and forced a tiebreaker.  In carrying the tiebreaker, Berdych sent the match into a third set.

At 3 a piece in the decisive set, with back to back backhand errors, Verdasco faced double break point.  With a spectacular backhand pass, Berdych secured the break for 4-3.  After Berdych consolidated, Verdasco held at love to force him to serve for the match.  With Verdasco’s forehand miscue, Berdych had double match point. Then, with a forehand winner, Berdych seized the victory.

Tonight, Soderling raced through the first set taking it 6-1 against Youzhny.  However, in the second set, Youzhny woke up, making it more compelling.  After Soderling sprinted to a 3-1 lead, Youzhny held at love to keep the deficit to one break.  The following game, Youzhny had break point and capitalized.  Still, Soderling was too much for his rival.  The next game, Soderling wrestled another break from Youzhny and consolidated for 5-3.  Although Youzhny held at love, Soderling guarded serve to claim the match. Soderling and Berdych will square off in the semifinals.  In their head to head series, Soderling leads 4-2.

In doubles action, Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy defeated Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo 6-3,6-0 to advance to the finals.  Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi beat Arnaud Clement and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4,6-7,10-4 in the quarters.  Tomorrow, they will face Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in the semifinals.

At the Sony Ericsson Open today, the women finalists will be determined along with the semifinalists for the top half of the men’s draw.

For the third time, Venus Williams takes on Marion Bartoli. Their head to head stands at one all.  Williams carried their 2007 Wimbledon final match while Bartoli won their last encounter in Stanford in 2009.  In the ultimate session, Kim Clijsters clashes with Justine Henin.  Earlier in the year, they played in the finals in Brisbane.  Clijsters defeated Henin in three sets in what she stated was “ one of . . .  most exciting matches I think that I’ve played [in]  my career . . . we had a great time out there”.

In the initial male quarterfinal, Tomas Berdych faces Fernando Verdasco.  After his amazing triumph over Roger Federer, Berdych attempts to at least equal his best result in Miami, he reached the semifinals in 2008.  Berdych has 5-3 record against Verdasco.  They’ve split their last two meetings.

Mikhail Youzhny and Robin Soderling battle it out for the ultimate semifinal berth.  Soderling has been victorious their last three out of four matches. In Rotterdam this year, Soderling beat Youzhny. Soderling was well on his way to securing the trophy before the Russian retired with a hamstring problem.

In addition, there’s a sprinkling of doubles as Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo square off against Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes for a spot in the finals.  Arnaud Clement and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga meet Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi in the quarterfinals.  Last year, Mirnyi won the title with partner Andy Ram.

Here is today’s complete schedule :

THURSDAY, APRIL 1

STADIUM start 1:00 PM
[13] M Bartoli (FRA) vs [3] V Williams (USA) – WTA

Not Before 3:00 PM
[16] T Berdych (CZE) vs [10] F Verdasco (ESP) - ATP
Almagro/Robredo vs [3]Dlouhy/Paes

Starting at 7:00 PM
[13] M Youzhny (RUS) vs [5] R Soderling (SWE) – ATP

Not Before 9:00 PM
[14] K Clijsters (BEL) vs [WC] J Henin (BEL) – WTA

COURT 2 Not before 4:30 pm
Clement/Tsonga vs. [4]Bhupathi/Mirnyi

Nearly a year, Madrid May 2009, has elapsed since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal butted heads in an ATP final.  Fans were hopeful that Federer and Nadal would rekindle their rivalry at the Sony Ericsson Open.  That possibility was dashed in the fourth round as Tomas Berdych beat Federer 6-4,6-7,7-6.

After a double fault gave Federer a break point, the world number one broke to open the match, then consolidated for 2-1.  In a game where Federer donated a double fault, Berdych got two chances to break.  On his second opportunity, Berdych knotted the set at 3 all.  Down the road as Federer served to push the set to a tiebreaker, at love-40, he double faulted to gift Berdych the set.

From the opening game of the second set, Federer applied pressure, but failed to convert on four break point opportunities.  The same story was repeated in the 7th and 9th games.  Finally in a tiebreaker, Federer captured the second set.

In the third set, after breaking, Berdych stretched his advantage to 3-1. However, serving at 4-3,  Berdych double faulted on double break point to equalize things at 4 all.  With no break point the rest of the way, a tiebreaker settled the set.  Post saving match point at 6-7, Berdych won the next three points to seal the victory and quarterfinal spot.

Fernando Verdasco, Berdych’s quarterfinal opponent, is probably relieved not to see Federer against whom he has a 4-0 lifetime mark.  Verdasco triumphed over the 7th seed, Marin Cilic, 6-4,7-6.

In the round of 16, Nadal clashed with countryman David Ferrer.  After the two exchanged early service breaks and neither manufactured another break point, the set went to a tiebreaker.  In the latter stages, Nadal finally strung together two consecutive points to claim it.  In the second set, Nadal went up by a break.  However, again, Ferrer crawled back to 4 all.  With Ferrer serving to tie the set at 5 all, Nadal gained the upper hand and penned his name into the quarterfinals .  Nadal takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  Earlier in the day, Tsonga sent Juan Carlos Ferrero home in straight sets 6-2,6-2.

Also into the quarterfinals are Andy Roddick and Nicolas Almagro.  Roddick defeated Benjamin Becker 7-6,6-3.  Almagro prevailed over Thomaz Bellucci in three sets.  These two will do battle in the next round.

Unfortunately for Mardy Fish, a sciatic nerve injury caused him to pull out of his match against Mikhail Youzhny.  Fish was on the losing end 1-6,0-1 when he retired.  Youzhny has Robin Soderling as his quarterfinal adversary.  Soderling dismissed Fernando Gonzalez in three sets 6-0,6-7,6-2.

After fighting off Daniela Hantuchova tooth and nail to advance to the quarterfinals, Williams eased her way to the semifinals with a 6-3,6-1 win over Agnieszka Radwanska. Williams secured a break for 2-1 on Radwanska’s opening game.  Promptly though, Radwanska squared the set at 2 a piece.  Then, with back to back double faults, Radwanska went down 15-30, Williams won the next two points for a 5-4 lead.   With an easy game, Williams closed out the first set.  The second set, Williams once more took Radwanska’s first service game.  By allowing Radwanska only one game the entire set, Williams walked into the semis.

Venus meets Marion Bartoli.  Bartoli defeated Yanina Wickmayer 6-4,7-5 to advance to her first semifinal in Miami.

Following a complicated initial match at the Sony Ericsson Open, Roger Federer was again rattled in his third round match.  The world number one was seriously pressed by Florent Serra.  Still, Federer came away unscathed with a 7-6,7-6 win.

Subsequent to neither competitor having issues on serve, Serra had a double fault on game point.  Federer took the next two points to break.  Then, with a love service game, Federer consolidated for a 5-2 lead.  However, as Federer served for the first set at 5-3, he made two costly errors allowing Serra two chances to break.  With a forehand down the line return winner, Serra put the first set back on serve. Still, Federer arrived at double set point on Serra’s service.  But, the Frenchman did not cave in.  With the two men holding at love the next two games, a tiebreaker was initiated.  With Federer’s backhand down the line pass landing out of bounds, Serra opened with a mini-break.  Then, with a forehand down the line winner of his own and with Serra flubbing an overhead, Federer got a mini-break for 2-1.  Federer went on to comfortably carry the breaker.

In the second set,  by enticing errors from Serra, Federer obtained a double break lead for 4-1.  Yet, Serra climbed back.  With a backhand overhead winner and a forehand down the line winner, Serra decreased the deficit to 4-2.  Then, Serra survived double break point to stay in touch at 3-4.  With Federer serving for the match at 5-4, a double fault gave Serra double break point.  The Frenchman converted with a forehand up the line winner.  Eventually, a second tiebreaker was called upon.  Again, after Serra got the early mini-break, Federer rebounded to easily capture the second set.

In the post match interview, Federer responded as such to the questions from MiamiTennisNews.com:
Q.  Do you have a preference. . . A match like this [where] you are tested . . . as opposed to having a quick match in the earlier rounds?
FEDERER:  Well, I mean, most important is to come through the rounds, you know.  So I don’t have a preference how it’s done.  I always like to come out with confidence, that’s for sure.  So it’s nice . . . having won two breakers, because that doesn’t happen every match you play.  Sure, I still have to tidy up my game a bit, you know, having had one break up in the first and two breaks up in the second, it’s normally something that doesn’t get away from me. But I thought he came up with some good stuff, and that made it difficult for me, you know, to close it out. That’s why I’m happy to still be through.

Q.  Were you surprised being down a double break that he was still mentally pretty strong and still fighting?
FEDERER:  Well. . . I didn’t have the feeling he was playing the score too much.  He was just playing his style, which is aggressive, you know, taking chances.  Sometimes missing by many feet.  Sometimes, you know, hitting it right in the corners.  So I knew that was going to happen kind of thing, but it’s still impressive to see when it does happen against you.  You know, that he hits the spots three, four, five, six points in a row, and there’s not much you can do sometimes.  I wish I would have maybe served better, you know, at the crucial stages of the match, which I wasn’t able to do.  But then he took advantage of that and was able to come up with some amazing stuff. Then you can only hope that, you know, he’s going to cool off again and that . . . you’re going to get your act together so you don’t allow him maybe to play that way.

In the round of 16, Federer faces Tomas Berdych who defeated Hector Zeballos in straight sets 6-4, 7-5.

Marin Cilic probably thought that Marcos Baghdatis was going to be a difficult out.  Yet, the 7th seed had a smooth entrance into the next stage with a 6-3,6-4 victory. In contrast, Fernando Verdasco, Cilic’s subsequent opponent, required a second set tiebreaker to prolong the match.  In the end, Verdasco vanquished Jurgen Melzer 3-6,7-6,6-1.

Mardy Fish is for the first time in the last 16 in Miami.  On the heels of his spectacular triumph over Andy Murray, Fish eliminated Feliciano Lopez 7-5,6-3. Fish will clash with Mikhail Youzhny next.   After seeing the first set blow, Youzhny regrouped to prevail 1-6,7-6,7-5 over Stanislas Wawrinka.

The 5th seed Robin Soderling sprinted through his third round match with Phillip Petzschner.  Soderling beat Petzschner 6-1,6-2.  Fernando Gonzalez was the ultimate one to join the round of 16.  After losing the first set in a tiebreaker, Gonzalez ended up grabbing the last two over Juan Monaco 6-7,6-4,6-2.  Gonzalez and Soderling will duke it out for a quarterfinal spot.

Of note, doubles top seed Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor were ousted in the second round by Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro in three sets.

For the second straight day at the Sony Ericsson Open, a highly ranked male seed went out in the second round.  World number three and defending champion, Andy Murray, was beaten by Mardy Fish 6-3,6-4 .  Although Roger Federer, the number one seed, was pushed by Nicolas Lapentti.  Federer still won comfortably 6-3, 6-3.

Poor serving and a tentative return game were what Murray brought to the table; thus, Fish took full advantage.  The initial game of the second set, Murray double faulted handing Fish his second break point opportunity, the American converted.  After consolidating and widening his lead to 3-1, Fish cruised on serve.  However, in the eighth game, Fish faced a 15-40 deficit.  Once again, the serve was his ally.  By raining a few bombs, Fish extricated himself out of this jam and maintained a 5-3 lead.  After Murray held, serving out the match, Fish once more was down break point.  Still, Fish snuffed Murray’s advantage with his serve.  Subsequently, with a couple of aces and unreturnables, Fish sealed the win.

Murray spends a lot of time training in South Florida, so MiamiTennisNews wondered:
Q.  You know this court almost more than anyone else.  You practice here all the time.  What made the difference in today’s match?
MURRAY:  Well, Mardy served well when he needed to.  You know, especially the second set when he was down break points he served well.  But I just wasn’t very good today, and I’m going to need to get a lot better.

After Murray’s debacle, a love-30 start to Federer’s opening game and a break point the subsequent one by Lapentti were preoccupying.  Still, with a few good serves, Federer held to stay on serve.  For his part, Lapentti had no difficulty holding with back to back love games for 2 all.  After multiple errant forehands, with Lapentti serving at 4-5, Federer connected on a forehand up the winner for deuce.  Later, Federer provoked a backhand error by Lapentti resulting in break point.  Then, the world number one produced a stellar backhand down the line pass to go ahead 5-3.  Following, with an easy game, Federer slammed the door on the first set.

Lapentti revealed no signs of disappointment, starting the second set strongly in part aided by Federer having trouble finding his mark with the forehand.  Similarly, Federer continued to have routine service games.  The good thing for Federer was that when it mattered, his forehand showed up.  With Lapentti serving at 3 all, Federer obtained break point with a forehand up the line winner.  When Lapentti’s forehand sailed long, Federer had the crucial break.  After getting out of love-30 mess to consolidate, with a backhand crosscourt winner, Federer broke Lapentti to finish the match.

As anticipated, Robin Soderling, Marin Cilic, Fernando Gonzalez and Fernando Verdasco advanced, all in straight sets.  Seeds Mikhail Youzhny, Tomas Berdych, Stanislas Wawrinka, Juan Monaco, Jurgen Melzer, Marcos Baghdatis and Feliciano Lopez also  moved on without difficulty.  On the other hand, Alberto Montanes, the 26th seed, Gilles Simon, seeded 20th, and Janko Tipsarevic, the 31st seed, were ousted.

For the women, it was business as usual.  Svetlana Kuznetsova, the top seed, with a 6-2,6-3 win, sent Agnes Szavay home . Venus Williams said arrivederci to Roberta Vinci with a 6-1,6-4 victory.  Agnieszka Radwanska took care of Ana Ivanovic 7-5,7-5.  Both Yanina Wickmayer and Marion Bartoli only needed two sets to pass to the round of 16.  The night match between Daniela Hantuchova and Nadia Petrova was less stimulating than expected.  Hantuchova prevailed over Petrova 6-2,6-4.  Timea Bacsinszky had an easy time with Polona Hercog 6-2,6-2.  Her next round will be more challenging as she faces Wickmayer.

The shocker for the women came from the doubles field as the top seed Cara Black and Liezel Huber were defeated in the first round by Natalie Grandin and Abigail Spears.

Second round play for the ATP concludes today at the Sony Ericsson Open with Roger Federer and Andy Murray from the top half of the draw the feature attraction.  On the women’s side, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Venus Williams play for a spot in the round of 16.

Fernando Verdasco, the 10th seed, begins the proceedings on stadium court by taking on Dudi Sela.  That’s followed by Williams and Roberta Vinci, their first tour meeting.  Then, Murray, the 3rd seed and defending champion, starts his title defense by facing American Mardy Fish. Murray holds a 3-1 record versus Fish and has prevailed in their last three meetings.  The afternoon session finishes with Kuznetsova battling Agnes Szavay.  In 2007, Szavay reached her first WTA final in New Haven and the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.  Both times, then 18 years old, Szavay’s dream run came to an end at the hands of Kuznetsova.  These two have not played since.  Therefore, this should be an intriguing battle.

On the outside courts, Ana Ivanovic attempts to knock out 6th seed Agnieszka Radwanska. The latter defeated the former for the first time in Rome on clay last year.  With Ivanovic struggling with her game, Radwanska may run away with this one.  Marin Cilic, the male 7th seed, faces Stephane Robert. This is the initial encounter for these two.  With Cilic at the highest ranking of his career, it should be an uncomplicated match. Also, Robin Soderling, seeded 5th, squares off against Peter Luczak. Soderling won their only previous skirmish in 2005 in straight sets.

In the evening, Federer takes on Nicolas Lapentti.  With a 3-0 record against Lapentti, this should be no head-scratcher for the world number one.  The ladies’ night match-up is Nadia Petrova and Daniela Hantuchova. Petrova leads their head to head 4-1.

It’s men’s day at the grandstand where the must see players include Mikhail Youzhny, Fernando Gonzalez, Marcos Baghdatis and Gilles Simon. In addition, Rafael Nadal and fellow Majorcan Bartolome Salva-Vidal clash with doubles second seed Mike and Bob Bryan.

Here is the complete schedule :

SATURDAY, MARCH 27

STADIUM start 11:00 am
[10] F Verdasco (ESP) vs D Sela (ISR) – ATP

Not Before 1:00 PM
[3] V Williams (USA) vs R Vinci (ITA) – WTA
[3] A Murray (GBR) vs M Fish (USA) – ATP
[1] S Kuznetsova (RUS) vs [27] A Szavay (HUN) – WTA

Starting at 8:00 PM
[1] R Federer (SUI) vs [LL] N Lapentti (ECU) – ATP
[19] D Hantuchova (SVK) vs [16] N Petrova (RUS) – WTA

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
[Q] S Giraldo (COL) vs [13] M Youzhny (RUS) – ATP
[25] M Baghdatis (CYP) vs J Chela (ARG) – ATP
[WC] R Nadal (ESP) / B Salva-Vidal (ESP) vs [2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) – ATP
[9] F Gonzalez (CHI) vs [Q] Y Lu (TPE) – ATP

Not Before 5:00 PM
[20] G Simon (FRA) vs H Zeballos (ARG) – ATP

COURT 1 start 10:00 am
A Petkovic (GER) vs Y Shvedova (KAZ) – WTA
A Falla (COL) vs [23] J Melzer (AUT) – ATP
P Hercog (SLO) vs T Bacsinszky (SUI) – WTA
G Dulko (ARG) vs [13] M Bartoli (FRA) – WTA
[6] B Mattek-Sands (USA) / Z Yan (CHN) vs M Kirilenko (RUS) / A Radwanska (POL) – WTA

COURT 2 start 11:00 am
[12] Y Wickmayer (BEL) vs [WC] P Martic (CRO) – WTA
P Luczak (AUS) vs [5] R Soderling (SWE) – ATP
[25] A Ivanovic (SRB) vs [6] A Radwanska (POL) – WTA
S Robert (FRA) vs [7] M Cilic (CRO) – ATP

Not Before 5:00 PM
T de Bakker (NED) vs [16] T Berdych (CZE) – ATP

COURT 3 start 10:00 am
[31] J Tipsarevic (SRB) vs P Petzschner (GER) – ATP
[19] S Wawrinka (SUI) vs [Q] K Anderson (RSA) – ATP
A Medina Garrigues (ESP) / C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [4] L Raymond (USA) / R Stubbs (AUS) – WTA
[Q] M Ilhan (TUR) vs [22] J Monaco (ARG) – ATP

COURT 6 start 10:00 am
[8] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) vs J Knowle (AUT) / P Kohlschreiber (GER) – ATP
M Berrer (GER) vs [29] F Lopez (ESP) – ATP
[5] A Kleybanova (RUS) / F Schiavone (ITA) vs M Niculescu (ROU) / E Vesnina (RUS) – WTA

Not Before 1:30 PM
J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) vs J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) – ATP
A Clement (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) vs G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) / A Montanes (ESP) – ATP

COURT 7 start 10:00 am
T Garbin (ITA) / V Ruano Pascual (ESP) vs K Peschke (CZE) / K Srebotnik (SLO) – WTA
F Serra (FRA) vs [26] A Montanes (ESP) – ATP

Not Before 1:00 PM
N Almagro (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) vs M Melo (BRA) / B Soares (BRA) – ATP
B Becker (GER) / M Kohlmann (GER) vs [5] L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) – ATP

COURT 8 start 10:00 am
[1] C Black (ZIM) / L Huber (USA) vs N Grandin (RSA) / A Spears (USA) – WTA
M Damm (CZE) / F Polasek (SVK) vs I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) – ATP
T Bellucci (BRA) / M Lopez (ESP) vs C Kas (GER) / D Norman (BEL) – ATP
I Senoglu (TUR) / Y Shvedova (KAZ) vs [8] E Makarova (RUS) / S Peng (CHN) – WTA