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.