That was quite a final, last night. I'm inclined to say it was one of the better women's grand slam finals of the last three or four years, and if you throw out matches that featured Venus and Serena, it was probably the best for the last half-decade. I was surprised to see the way Henin played against Serena, not the way she had played their previous encounters. She was on the attack just about from the word go, and it very nearly worked. But in the end, Serena's serve and power was just a bit too strong for the Belgian.
But this has to be an encouraging result for Justine. Second tournament back, and she gets to the final and nearly beats the number one player in the world? Watch out at the French Open, which is Henin's best surface and Serena's worst. It will be interesting to see how committed she is to playing the smaller events on the tour, and how well she does at them.
It was a worthy match to decide the championship. If Justine had served a little better or Serena had served a little worse, or if Justine had capitalized on a few more of her break points, it could have swung either way. More than anything else, I root for good tennis, and I got what I was hoping for in that final. Excellent play from both competitors, and in the end, the player who was stronger that day came out on top.
I hope that the men's final tonight is as competitive, but I have my doubts. The most interesting thing going into this final is that Federer, now that he has completed his ascent to the top tier of the tennis pantheon, doesn't seem to mind saying it when he knows how good he is. When asked about the pressure of facing Murray, Federer was anything but deferential to his opponent, one of the few who has a winning record against him on tour today. To Federer, Murray was the one who was playing under all the pressure - the pressure of winning his first grand slam and of ending Britain's three-quarter century-long drought. And he would have to beat the greatest player of all time to do it.
Now, Federer's not wrong in saying anything of this, but he usually is a bit more guarded in his pre-match commentary. I'm used to hearing him say things like, "We've had a lot of tough matches in the past, he's gotten me a few times, so I know I'm going to have to go out there and play my best game to beat him." His candor is both surprising and a bit refreshing, when he doesn't give Murray much of a chance out there.
I'm not sure I do, either. The most relevant matches to look at are the last two, when Federer beat Murray at the end of year championships and last Masters Series tournament before the U.S. Open. The other match, and the one that Federer is going to be looking towards the most, is their meeting in the final of the 2008 U.S. Open, where Fed won in straights. That's their only other meeting in the majors, which is interesting by itself. In that same timeframe (since 2005), Federer and Roddick have met six times in Grand Slams.
In order for Murray to win tonight, he is going to have to be absolutely on the top of his game. His movement, serve, and backhand down the line are all going to have to be firing on all cylinders. He's also going to have to hope that Federer's level drops a bit from where it was in the last two and a half sets against Davydenko, or the entire match against Hewitt.
Fortunately for Murray, in two out of Roger's last three five-set finals, he's wilted in the fifth. He did it against Del Potro in New York and here against Nadal last year. I think that the longer this match goes, the better Murray's chances get. If he can stretch Federer to a fifth, I like his chances. But he has to be careful, and he has to start strong, or else he'll be out of there as quickly as he was the last time they met at this stage, which was 111 minutes.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Women's Final Tonight
After Federer breezed through Tsonga last night, there isn't a lot to say today, other than to tell Andy Murray to watch out. Federer himself abandoned most of his pretense at being a humble champion, and went ahead and talked some smack about Murray.
Anyway, moving ahead to the much-anticipated Women's final tonight, it really is a pick-em. Serena Williams is the favorite, as she has every right to be, since she is the world number one and the defending champion. But unranked Justine Henin, in just her second tournament back from retirement, is only a 2.12:1 underdog. Keep in mind that 2:1 is an even coin flip.
Justine has made it to the final, even though she hasn't displayed her most impeccable form. But on-form or not, her opponent has to be tired. Venus and Serena won the doubles title yesterday, and Serena did not look that much the worse for wear, but she has just played so much tennis lately. If she were as fresh as Justine, I'd take Serena on form, no question. As it stands, this has the potential to be one of the most interesting and competitive grand slam finals in recent history.
Or, of course, one of the players could be exhausted (either one, really) and unable to bring her best game, and we'll have another blowout. We'll wait and see what happens on the court.
Anyway, moving ahead to the much-anticipated Women's final tonight, it really is a pick-em. Serena Williams is the favorite, as she has every right to be, since she is the world number one and the defending champion. But unranked Justine Henin, in just her second tournament back from retirement, is only a 2.12:1 underdog. Keep in mind that 2:1 is an even coin flip.
Justine has made it to the final, even though she hasn't displayed her most impeccable form. But on-form or not, her opponent has to be tired. Venus and Serena won the doubles title yesterday, and Serena did not look that much the worse for wear, but she has just played so much tennis lately. If she were as fresh as Justine, I'd take Serena on form, no question. As it stands, this has the potential to be one of the most interesting and competitive grand slam finals in recent history.
Or, of course, one of the players could be exhausted (either one, really) and unable to bring her best game, and we'll have another blowout. We'll wait and see what happens on the court.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Second semifinal, Australian Open
While the results were about what I expected from yesterday, the routes that the various matches took weren't quite what I thought they would be. Serena Williams struggled against a solid Li Na and was clearly hurting, physically. But after she won in straight sets, she went out with her sister and beat Lisa Raymond and Renee Stubbs in the doubles semifinal. The doubles final is today, and then the women's final is tomorrow. That's a lot of tennis for Serena to play in not a lot of time.
And her opponent in the final is going to be relatively fresh, as Justine Henin breezed through Zheng Jie, dropping only one game in the process. It would be a shame if the first meeting between these two champions in a major final featured a Serena who was at less than her best, but we'll see. Nadal should have been exhausted in last year's final as well, but he found a way to come out on top.
The men's semi from yesterday looked like it was going to be a repeat of the Murray-Cilic match from last year's U.S. Open, with Murray coming out tentative and Cilic coming out on fire. But Murray upped his game and his offense, while Cilic just ran out of gas. A great first run to the semifinals for the young Croat, and I expect we'll see him here again.
For tonight, Federer plays Tsonga. The pair have a 1-1 record, but their last meeting was one of the craziest ones from 2009. After Tsonga took the first set at Montreal in a tiebreak, Federer stepped it up. He took the second set 6-1, and then was up 5-1 in the third. Suddenly, amazingly, he took his foot off the gas, and Tsonga break Fed while he was serving for the match, twice. He then took the third in a tiebreak.
I don't expect Federer to drop off like that in this semifinal, and Tsonga has to be exhausted, after winning the first two five-set matches of his career in the last two rounds. It seems like a Murray-Federer final is all but a sure thing at this point. Unless J.W. "Ali" Tsonga can get back to the gear he was playing at two years ago at this tournament, but honestly, I haven't seen him play that well since.
And her opponent in the final is going to be relatively fresh, as Justine Henin breezed through Zheng Jie, dropping only one game in the process. It would be a shame if the first meeting between these two champions in a major final featured a Serena who was at less than her best, but we'll see. Nadal should have been exhausted in last year's final as well, but he found a way to come out on top.
The men's semi from yesterday looked like it was going to be a repeat of the Murray-Cilic match from last year's U.S. Open, with Murray coming out tentative and Cilic coming out on fire. But Murray upped his game and his offense, while Cilic just ran out of gas. A great first run to the semifinals for the young Croat, and I expect we'll see him here again.
For tonight, Federer plays Tsonga. The pair have a 1-1 record, but their last meeting was one of the craziest ones from 2009. After Tsonga took the first set at Montreal in a tiebreak, Federer stepped it up. He took the second set 6-1, and then was up 5-1 in the third. Suddenly, amazingly, he took his foot off the gas, and Tsonga break Fed while he was serving for the match, twice. He then took the third in a tiebreak.
I don't expect Federer to drop off like that in this semifinal, and Tsonga has to be exhausted, after winning the first two five-set matches of his career in the last two rounds. It seems like a Murray-Federer final is all but a sure thing at this point. Unless J.W. "Ali" Tsonga can get back to the gear he was playing at two years ago at this tournament, but honestly, I haven't seen him play that well since.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Australian Open Semifinals Underway
I'm surprised at how much injuries and illnesses have proved to be in these late stages of the Australian Open. It is not a good sign for the rest of the season if the year is just underway and nobody can stay fit.
Djokovic was looking good against Tsonga last night, up two sets to one, when he became physically ill. I give him a lot of credit for two things - first of all, he didn't throw up in a flowerpot on court a la Pete Sampras, and second, he did finish the match, unlike last year. It's a shame, though. I don't know whether it was a problem with conditioning or something that he ate, or what, but he has to regret losing that first set tiebreak. If he'd taken it, he would have been off the court in straight sets. Instead, Tsonga is in to his second grand slam semifinal, where he will face...
Roger Federer, who gets half the credit in his win against Nikolay Davydenko. He was getting blown off the court for the first set and a half. He wasn't even in the match. But the moment that Davydenko blinked, Federer was more than happy to snatch control of the match out of the Russian's hands. They only played well at the same time in the last three games of the match, and it was Federer in four. Davydenko was at least very good-spirited in his defeat. You should definitely see his post-match interview, if you can.
Also, the Williams sisters' opponents showed much more game than I expected of either of them. Serena's match was a lot like Roger's, with Serena starting slow while Azarenka was blowing her off the court for the first set and a half. But then Serena started playing the best possible tennis. Not her best, but *the* best. There was nothing Azarenka could do after Serena reached that gear, except hope that Serena would let up. She didn't.
Venus was less lucky, losing an ugly third set against Li Na of China. She was broken five times in the last set, which went to 7-5. I wouldn't expect Serena to repeat that kind of performance against Li. That match is tonight, and the only danger is that Serena might not be able to recover very well without a day of rest in between her quarter and semifinal matches. Even without rest, I expect Serena to win.
Li Na's compatriot Zheng Jie has a tough ask as well, as she's up against Justine Henin in the other semifinal. The Chinese players are both trying to act as spoilers, preventing the world from getting the Serena-Justine final that everybody has been wanting since Clijsters was knocked out of the tournament. We'll see if that's what we get.
The men's semifinal tonight is a rematch of a fourth-round matchup from the U.S. Open, when Andy Murray came out distracted and never got his game together against Marin Cilic. I expect that things will be much tougher tonight. Marin has just played too much tennis, and add that to the fact that he's in his first grand slam semifinal, and this is Murray's match to win or lose. He was so sharp against Nadal, and he only had to play two sets. I expect him to be fresher, more focused, and hungrier.
Djokovic was looking good against Tsonga last night, up two sets to one, when he became physically ill. I give him a lot of credit for two things - first of all, he didn't throw up in a flowerpot on court a la Pete Sampras, and second, he did finish the match, unlike last year. It's a shame, though. I don't know whether it was a problem with conditioning or something that he ate, or what, but he has to regret losing that first set tiebreak. If he'd taken it, he would have been off the court in straight sets. Instead, Tsonga is in to his second grand slam semifinal, where he will face...
Roger Federer, who gets half the credit in his win against Nikolay Davydenko. He was getting blown off the court for the first set and a half. He wasn't even in the match. But the moment that Davydenko blinked, Federer was more than happy to snatch control of the match out of the Russian's hands. They only played well at the same time in the last three games of the match, and it was Federer in four. Davydenko was at least very good-spirited in his defeat. You should definitely see his post-match interview, if you can.
Also, the Williams sisters' opponents showed much more game than I expected of either of them. Serena's match was a lot like Roger's, with Serena starting slow while Azarenka was blowing her off the court for the first set and a half. But then Serena started playing the best possible tennis. Not her best, but *the* best. There was nothing Azarenka could do after Serena reached that gear, except hope that Serena would let up. She didn't.
Venus was less lucky, losing an ugly third set against Li Na of China. She was broken five times in the last set, which went to 7-5. I wouldn't expect Serena to repeat that kind of performance against Li. That match is tonight, and the only danger is that Serena might not be able to recover very well without a day of rest in between her quarter and semifinal matches. Even without rest, I expect Serena to win.
Li Na's compatriot Zheng Jie has a tough ask as well, as she's up against Justine Henin in the other semifinal. The Chinese players are both trying to act as spoilers, preventing the world from getting the Serena-Justine final that everybody has been wanting since Clijsters was knocked out of the tournament. We'll see if that's what we get.
The men's semifinal tonight is a rematch of a fourth-round matchup from the U.S. Open, when Andy Murray came out distracted and never got his game together against Marin Cilic. I expect that things will be much tougher tonight. Marin has just played too much tennis, and add that to the fact that he's in his first grand slam semifinal, and this is Murray's match to win or lose. He was so sharp against Nadal, and he only had to play two sets. I expect him to be fresher, more focused, and hungrier.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Matches to watch, day 10
While the lineup for last night's matches may have prefigured a blockbuster, once again injuries kept us from getting as much as we could have. The Roddick-Cilic match was competitive, but it shouldn't have been. Roddick was hobbled and only managed to win a couple of sets when Cilic took an hour-long walkabout. In the fifth set, Cilic realized he had to start playing again while Roddick, who seemed within reach of an impossibly unlikely victory, tightened up. A very strange match.
But at least it was a match. Nadal and Murray played two tight sets before Nadal had to retire. Pencil Murray in through to the finals, as he won't be losing to Cilic in two slams in a row.
On the women's side, Justine Henin will face unlikely semifinalist Zheng Jie for a spot against whichever Williams sister opts to play better in the other half of the draw.
I admit that the events of the past few days have tempered my excitement for the upcoming season. If the players can't even stay healthy in the first month of the season, it's tough to expect them to do so for the last nine. But anyway...
Even though tonight's matches look like they could possibly be stunners, I'm feeling a bit cynical.
Roger Federer vs. Nikolay Davydenko - For the first few rounds of the tournament, Federer struggled while Davydenko looked like a world-beater. But in the 4th round, order was restored. Federer demolished Hewitt while Davydenko limped past Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, who gifted him nearly a set's worth of double-faults. While Davydenko may be 2-0 against Federer in the past couple of months, that run ends here.
Novak Djokovic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Another potentially interesting match, and a rematch of the 2008 final, which Djokovic won. Since then, Tsonga has prevailed in four out of their five contests. But this is a grand slam, and it's three-out-five, where Djokovic has proven himself to be a stronger competitor than the Frenchman.
As for the women, the only reason one of the Williams sisters might lose is if they don't show up for the match. It's really out of their opponents' hands.
But at least it was a match. Nadal and Murray played two tight sets before Nadal had to retire. Pencil Murray in through to the finals, as he won't be losing to Cilic in two slams in a row.
On the women's side, Justine Henin will face unlikely semifinalist Zheng Jie for a spot against whichever Williams sister opts to play better in the other half of the draw.
I admit that the events of the past few days have tempered my excitement for the upcoming season. If the players can't even stay healthy in the first month of the season, it's tough to expect them to do so for the last nine. But anyway...
Even though tonight's matches look like they could possibly be stunners, I'm feeling a bit cynical.
Roger Federer vs. Nikolay Davydenko - For the first few rounds of the tournament, Federer struggled while Davydenko looked like a world-beater. But in the 4th round, order was restored. Federer demolished Hewitt while Davydenko limped past Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, who gifted him nearly a set's worth of double-faults. While Davydenko may be 2-0 against Federer in the past couple of months, that run ends here.
Novak Djokovic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Another potentially interesting match, and a rematch of the 2008 final, which Djokovic won. Since then, Tsonga has prevailed in four out of their five contests. But this is a grand slam, and it's three-out-five, where Djokovic has proven himself to be a stronger competitor than the Frenchman.
As for the women, the only reason one of the Williams sisters might lose is if they don't show up for the match. It's really out of their opponents' hands.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Matches to watch, day 9
Some of the possible tight contests from yesterday turned out to be rather one-sided, in the end. Federer and the Williams sisters all won, with only Venus having even a hiccup. Wozniacki lost injured, and Zvonareva had a patented meltdown. But that's not to say there weren't good matches!
Davydenko-Verdasco was hard fought, with some great shots and good rallies, but the only reason it was tough was due to a couple of mentally weak moments from both players. Verdasco nearly gave away an entire set in double-faults, while Davydenko hit fewer winners in 52 games yesterday than he did in 22 games in his first round match. Still, a good contest, for the honor of facing Federer.
Tsonga-Almagro was also a tough match, with a bit more mental toughness being shown by both players. Tsonga played (and won) his first five-setter, while Almagro stumbled just short of his first quarterfinal at a hard court major. Both players are tons of fun to watch, move well, and hit stupendous shots. Almagro should have had a better career by this point, considering his talent. He'll be back.
Looking ahead to the first night of the quarterfinals, the tournament has really entered crunchtime at this point. Really, every one of these is a match to watch.
Andy Murray v. Rafael Nadal - You could reasonably expect to see this match in a final, and here we are in the quarters. Murray has shown better form heading into this match (his play against Isner was imperious) but Nadal has the edge in their head-to-head, even on hardcourts. They met here for the first time three years ago and had a five-set epic, which Nadal ended up winning 6-1 in the fifth. At that point, it was all about fitness. This time, I think Murray is much stronger and healthier, so it will down to mental strength, and whether or not Nadal can get back into his very best form.
Andy Roddick v. Marin Cilic - Roddick must have been happy to see Del Potro out of the tourney, but the opponent he ended up with in the quarters is basically just Del Potro lite. Cilic has a similar game, with just less overwhelming power behind the forehand and fewer big-stage results. But he's just as eager, if not more so, by his lingering outside of the top ten. Roddick will have his work cut out for him, and he's had trouble with up-and-comers at the big stage, in the last few years.
Justine Henin v. Nadia Petrova - Even though she's only played about ten matches since her comeback started, Justine Henin has already beaten Petrova, in two tight sets in the first round at Brisbane. Even though Nadia has won two spectacular matches in the last two rounds, it's tough to see how her game has changed enough in the past three weeks to change the outcome of this match. But I keep saying Justine has got to be getting worn down by the grind of a Grand Slam, after so long away. I feel like I have to say it again, even if it's never going to actually be an issue.
Jie Zheng v. Maria Kirilenko - Two surprise quarterfinalists! Who knows which one of these two is going to make it through, but the odds are great that whichever one it is will then lose to either Henin or Petrova.
Davydenko-Verdasco was hard fought, with some great shots and good rallies, but the only reason it was tough was due to a couple of mentally weak moments from both players. Verdasco nearly gave away an entire set in double-faults, while Davydenko hit fewer winners in 52 games yesterday than he did in 22 games in his first round match. Still, a good contest, for the honor of facing Federer.
Tsonga-Almagro was also a tough match, with a bit more mental toughness being shown by both players. Tsonga played (and won) his first five-setter, while Almagro stumbled just short of his first quarterfinal at a hard court major. Both players are tons of fun to watch, move well, and hit stupendous shots. Almagro should have had a better career by this point, considering his talent. He'll be back.
Looking ahead to the first night of the quarterfinals, the tournament has really entered crunchtime at this point. Really, every one of these is a match to watch.
Andy Murray v. Rafael Nadal - You could reasonably expect to see this match in a final, and here we are in the quarters. Murray has shown better form heading into this match (his play against Isner was imperious) but Nadal has the edge in their head-to-head, even on hardcourts. They met here for the first time three years ago and had a five-set epic, which Nadal ended up winning 6-1 in the fifth. At that point, it was all about fitness. This time, I think Murray is much stronger and healthier, so it will down to mental strength, and whether or not Nadal can get back into his very best form.
Andy Roddick v. Marin Cilic - Roddick must have been happy to see Del Potro out of the tourney, but the opponent he ended up with in the quarters is basically just Del Potro lite. Cilic has a similar game, with just less overwhelming power behind the forehand and fewer big-stage results. But he's just as eager, if not more so, by his lingering outside of the top ten. Roddick will have his work cut out for him, and he's had trouble with up-and-comers at the big stage, in the last few years.
Justine Henin v. Nadia Petrova - Even though she's only played about ten matches since her comeback started, Justine Henin has already beaten Petrova, in two tight sets in the first round at Brisbane. Even though Nadia has won two spectacular matches in the last two rounds, it's tough to see how her game has changed enough in the past three weeks to change the outcome of this match. But I keep saying Justine has got to be getting worn down by the grind of a Grand Slam, after so long away. I feel like I have to say it again, even if it's never going to actually be an issue.
Jie Zheng v. Maria Kirilenko - Two surprise quarterfinalists! Who knows which one of these two is going to make it through, but the odds are great that whichever one it is will then lose to either Henin or Petrova.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Matches to watch, day 8
Week 2 of the tournament officially starts today, and we definitely kicked it off with a bang last night. After a day full of blowouts and retirements, we had a day of excellent tennis yesterday, particularly on the men's side. Two quick reflections before moving on to look at the upcoming matches.
That was a very impressive display from Andy Roddick. He weathered a storm from Fernando Gonzalez, who was played out of his shoes for three sets, and still managed to come away with the win. Except for break point conversions, that was very solid play from Roddick. If he can up that stat, I like his chances against Cilic. They both might be tired from the matches they played today, as the tall Croat ousted Del Potro in another thriller.
I must admit that I feel really bad for Dinara Safina. She couldn't have asked for the draw to open up any better for her, and she was cruising, but the tone of her voice during her interview last night made it sound like her back is really a problem. Here's hoping she'll have a swift recovery.
Anyway, looking ahead to tonight's matches, there is a good chance that we'll see a reversal of fortune from two nights ago, when the top half of the men's draw frankly disappointed.
Roger Federer v. Lleyton Hewitt - I'll admit that it is difficult for me to imagine a scenario where Hewitt beats Federer, tonight. Despite a competitive head-to-head of 7-16, the last 14 matches have been won by Federer, going all the way back to 2005. Hewitt has looked sharp so far, but it's just such a big ask. Even with the crowd behind him, I'm not sure how he could pull it off.
Fernando Verdasco v. Nikolay Davydenko - This is for the pleasure of facing Federer in the quarters. Probably the tightest match tonight, at least potentially. Davydenko has been playing imperious tennis thus far, but he has routinely wilted in the second week at slams. If this is his time to really break through, he'll need to show it against last year's semifinalist.
William Sisters v. Two of last year's toughest players - Serena takes on Sam Stosur, while Venus takes on Francesca Schiavone. With neither Williams has really been tested so far, both of their opponents are the toughest that they've faced, yet this year. It could be a difficult pair of matches for them to come through.
Vera Zvonerava v. Victoria Azarenka - Azarenka should be the favorite here, but oddly enough, Victoria has never beaten Vera. So while I think that the younger player here has the better form going in, it's hard to bet on somebody who has never won a set!
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v. Nicolas Almagro - This could be interesting match, as both players are big hitters, but I think Almagro is struggling with some injury, and Tsonga is fired up after coming through Haas, a more tested opponent than Nicolas.
Expect Djokovic to blow through lucky 4th-rounder Lukasz Kubot in record time. He does not belong at this stage right now, and unfortunately for him, he knows it.
That was a very impressive display from Andy Roddick. He weathered a storm from Fernando Gonzalez, who was played out of his shoes for three sets, and still managed to come away with the win. Except for break point conversions, that was very solid play from Roddick. If he can up that stat, I like his chances against Cilic. They both might be tired from the matches they played today, as the tall Croat ousted Del Potro in another thriller.
I must admit that I feel really bad for Dinara Safina. She couldn't have asked for the draw to open up any better for her, and she was cruising, but the tone of her voice during her interview last night made it sound like her back is really a problem. Here's hoping she'll have a swift recovery.
Anyway, looking ahead to tonight's matches, there is a good chance that we'll see a reversal of fortune from two nights ago, when the top half of the men's draw frankly disappointed.
Roger Federer v. Lleyton Hewitt - I'll admit that it is difficult for me to imagine a scenario where Hewitt beats Federer, tonight. Despite a competitive head-to-head of 7-16, the last 14 matches have been won by Federer, going all the way back to 2005. Hewitt has looked sharp so far, but it's just such a big ask. Even with the crowd behind him, I'm not sure how he could pull it off.
Fernando Verdasco v. Nikolay Davydenko - This is for the pleasure of facing Federer in the quarters. Probably the tightest match tonight, at least potentially. Davydenko has been playing imperious tennis thus far, but he has routinely wilted in the second week at slams. If this is his time to really break through, he'll need to show it against last year's semifinalist.
William Sisters v. Two of last year's toughest players - Serena takes on Sam Stosur, while Venus takes on Francesca Schiavone. With neither Williams has really been tested so far, both of their opponents are the toughest that they've faced, yet this year. It could be a difficult pair of matches for them to come through.
Vera Zvonerava v. Victoria Azarenka - Azarenka should be the favorite here, but oddly enough, Victoria has never beaten Vera. So while I think that the younger player here has the better form going in, it's hard to bet on somebody who has never won a set!
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v. Nicolas Almagro - This could be interesting match, as both players are big hitters, but I think Almagro is struggling with some injury, and Tsonga is fired up after coming through Haas, a more tested opponent than Nicolas.
Expect Djokovic to blow through lucky 4th-rounder Lukasz Kubot in record time. He does not belong at this stage right now, and unfortunately for him, he knows it.
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