Spain Ready To Receive France In Cordoba

Spanish Davis Cup Captain Albert Costa acknowledged that his team is the favorite in this weekend’s semi-final tie versus France in Cordoba, but he knows that doesn’t mean much.

“[Being favored} doesn’t mean anything until we prove it on the court,” Costa said yesterday, noting that France is still dangerous even without its No. 1 player, Gael Monfils. Monfils will not be playing this weekend because of injury.

Even without Monfils, Costa explained, “they continue to have a great team, with great players, very competitive players, and they are going to make this tie very complicated, I still see it being very difficult.”

Indeed, France will bring quite a formidable team to Andalucia, including world nos. 10 and 11, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon respectively, and world no. 15 Richard Gasquet.

Spain will counter with world no. 2 French Open champion and US Open runner-up Rafael Nadal, no. 5 David Ferrer, no. 22 Fernando Verdasco and no. 28 Felieciano Lopez.

The order of play, or in fact if Nadal will be playing when the action commences on Friday, is still up in the air. This will be the eighth time these countries have met in Davis Cup play; Spain holds a 5-2 record against their neighbors to the north, but France blanked Spain 5-0 in the 2010 quarter-finals in France.

Ferrer Advances in French Opener; Cilic Bit By Upset Bug

David Ferrer moved into the second round of the French Open Sunday with a convincing straight set victory over Jarko Nieminen 6-3 6-3 6-1.

Ferrer, seeded No. 7, struck more than twice as many winner than unforced errors, 33 to 16, and never faced a break point en route to his second win this year over the Finnish player in a Grand Slam.  The Spaniard also beat Nieminen in the first round of the Australian Open.

The first set was closer than the score indicated, with Ferrer taking advantage of the only break point in the set.  From there, though, the match was decidedly one-sided--Ferrer dominated the rallies from the baseline and came up with all the answers when Nieminen came to net--passing him off both wings and using an effective lob.  Ferrer cruised through the final two sets in just under an hour, dropping just nine points on serve in the match.

Ferrer will await the winner of Julien Benneteau and Rui Machado in the second round.

The upset bug did not wait long to rear its ugly head at Roland Garros as No. 19 seed Marin Cilic was defeated today by Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.  The Croat was the first seeded player to fall this year.

Cilic had two chances to put away the first set, serving at both 5-4 and 6-5 before dropping the opener in a tiebreaker and going on to lose in straight sets, 7-6 6-4 6-4.  Cilic never got his big serve going in the match, converting on just 54% of his first serves while winning just 37% of his second serve points.  It was a recipe for disaster against Ramirez Hidalgo, who was content to spend most of the match waiting for Cilic to make errors.  The Croat finished with 67 unforced errors.

Ramirez Hidalgo, who advanced to the Round of 16 at Roland Garros in 2006, will play fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes in the second round.  Montanes beat Lucky Loser Marc Gicquel, who got a spot in the main draw when Lleyton Hewitt withdrew with an injury.

Djokovic Tops Nadal For 4th Straight Time, Streak Lives

Novak Djokovic will carry his season-long 37 match win streak with him to Roland Garros later this month after beating Rafael Nadal for the fourth time in 2011, the latest a 6-4 6-4 triumph to claim his seventh title of the year today at the Internazionli d’Italia.

Djokovic claimed his fourth Masters 1000 event of the season, and became just the second player to beat Nadal in four consecutive matches.  Combined with his two wins to lead Serbia to its first-ever Davis Cup championship last November, the No. 2 ranked Serb has now won 39 matches in a row.  Djokovic will eclipse John McEnroe’s record of 42 straight wins to start a season by reaching the finals at the French Open.

The start of the match, delayed several hours because of rainy weather in the Italian capital, was the tennis equivalent of a heavyweight boxing match, with both players slugging the ball relentlessly from one side of the baseline to the other.

Neither player wavered until the latter stages of the first set.  After Djokovic was unable to serve out the set at 5-3, he again pressured the Spaniard’s serve with aggressive returns, and when given a short ball on set point the Serb made no mistake in blasting a crosscourt backhand winner.

One of the keys to Djokovic’s success during his streak has been his ability to turn defense into offense.  His movement around the court has been unmatched.  Tonight was no different--no matter where Nadal would place the ball or how much heavy spin he would apply, Djokovic always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.  Nadal was forced to play perfect shots to get his opponent out of position, and most often would watch as Djokovic returned balls back over the net that would be clear winners against other players.

Nadal did his best to fight back in second set, energizing himself with fist pumps and shouts of “Vamos” after winning points.  At times the crowd responded with equally loud chants of “Nole Nole,” referring to the Serb’s nickname.  But each time it appeared Nadal may be able to get his nose in front, Djokovic would slam the door.  After serving for a 5-4 advantage, Djokovic won three consecutive points to earn the first of the four championship points he would need to put an end to the match after two and a quarter hours.

Djokovic committed ten more unforced errors than his opponent, mostly because he was going for much more on his shots.  Every ball that landed short was promptly smacked away for a winner--Djokovic finished the match with 26 winners, eleven more than Nadal.

Djokovic won for the eleventh time over Nadal in twenty-seven matches in what has quickly surpassed Federer-Nadal as the marquee rivalry in men’s tennis.  The two will be the overwhelming favorites to meet again in the final at Roland Garros, this time with the season’s second Grand Slam, and the number one ranking, in the balance.

Djokovic Keeps Streak Alive, Beats Murray In Thriller

The streak continues.

In perhaps the best match of the clay court season, and certainly the biggest challenge to his season-long win streak, Novak Djokovic survived a spirited battle from Andy Murray, 6-1 3-6 7-6(2), for his 36th consecutive victory and a berth in the finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

The No. 2 ranked Serb was able to distance himself in the third set tiebreaker after three hours on court.  The match was a high-quality affair, exemplified perfectly by the penultimate point.  A dropshot and lob combination, both played to perfection by the Djokovic, finally brought him to the cusp of victory.  In order to reach the tiebreaker, Djokovic had to fend off a determined Murray, who raised the level of his game after an uneven first set.  The Scot served for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set, but was unable to put an end to Dokovic or his streak.

Djokovic ran away with the first set, moving the Scot around the court as if he had him on a string.  The Serb opened that match with an ace and took a 2-0 lead after capitalizing on his third break point opportunity in Murray’s first service game.  Murray fought back and recaptured the break in the very next game, a marathon that lasted almost 15 minutes and featured five deuces.

But that would be the last whimper out of Murray in the first set; Djokovic relentlessly pushed him deeper and deeper behind the baseline, forcing Murray to play defense on almost every point.  The deeper Murray got, the more effective the drop shot became, and Djokovic played several to perfection throughout the opening set en route to the easy 6-1 score.

Armed with a much improved serve, the Scot completely reversed his fortunes in the second set.  Murray, who did not win a single point on his second serve in the first set, won 70% of those points in the middle stanza.  Murray played much more offensively for a majority of the second set, seeking to end the points quicker, and was finally able to break through against the Serb’s serve in the seventh game.

Few roller coasters could match the up and down nature of the deciding set.  Djokovic took the first advantage by breaking Murray in the fourth game, but the lead was short-lived.  In the following game, trailing 1-3, Murray hit spectacular down-the-line winners off sub-par Djokovic second serves on back-to-back points to draw the set back on serve.

Halfway through the deciding set, the Serb had yet to commit an unforced error, but four successive errors plagued Djokovic at 3-3 in what could have been the most unremarkable game he’d served all year.  It was the first of three consecutive breaks of serve and gave Murray the chance to serve for the match.

But it was not to be on this night.  Murray, battling not only nerves but the mental demons of all the near misses in big matches throughout his career, could not put the match away.  He saved two break points, but could not save the third.  His second double fault of the game brought Djokovic back from the brink of defeat.  On they would play at the Foro Italico, into the final tiebreaker, much to the delight of a packed Campo Centrale.

The question remains to be seen if Djokovic will have enough energy left in the tank to keep his streak intact against the best player in the world, Rafael Nadal, in tomorrow afternoon’s final.  It will be the fourth Masters 1000 final between the world’s two top-ranked players this year, and Djokovic is looking for his seventh title of 2011.

Djokovic snapped a personal three match losing streak to Murray by beating him in the Australian Open final earlier this year to win the first title of his amazing 2011 season.  Today was only the second time the two had met on clay--the Serb easily won the last encounter in 2008 in Monte Carlo.

Nadal Beats Gasquet, Advances To Final In Rome

Rafael Nadal advanced to the finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the sixth time in his career, surviving a close first set to beat Richard Gasquet, 7-5 6-1.

Gasquet learned first-hand exactly why it is so difficult to beat Nadal on his favorite surface; he equaled, and even exceeded, the Spaniard’s level of play throughout the first set.  But Nadal would not yield the crucial points.  Gasquet earned the first three break points of the set, first at 2-1 when Nadal played a perfectly disguised drop shot from the service line to deny the Frenchman, and later the Spaniard saved two more with powerful serves Gasquet could not return.

Gasquet was playing with new-found confidence throughout the week. He came back from a set down to beat top ten players on consecutive days on the Roman clay, taking out Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych.  The Frenchman played the first set like he believed he could make it three in a row, but Nadal pounced on his first opportunity of the match, ripping a backhand return of serve past Gasquet as he came to net.  Nadal saved the fourth break point against him in the final game of the set.

Sensing the slightest crack in his opponent’s spirit, Nadal took his game to another level in the second set, breaking in the opening game and again in the fifth game to take firm control of a match that was much closer than the score indicated.  The top-ranked player in the world, who fired 26 winner to only 12 unforced errors, closed the match by winning 16 of the last 21 points to improve his career record against Gasquet to 9-0.

Rome Roundup: Day 2

An action packed day at the BNL d’Italia Masters 1000 left just two Americans standing, sent last week’s breakthrough semifinalist packing in the first round, and set the stage for the top three players to take center stage tomorrow in Rome.

Sam Querrey notched his first win of the clay court season today when South African Kevin Anderson was forced to retire one game into the second set after rolling over on his ankle.  The American, who dropped to No. 25 in the rankings this week, won the first set 7-6(1).  Querrey fought off seven break points in the first set to force the tiebreaker and will face No. 9 seed Nicolas Almagro from Spain in the second round.

Also in the first round, the big serve of North Carolinian John Isner was neutralized by the slow red clay and Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.  The South American won a tight first set and pulled away in the second, winning 6-4 6-1.  Isner only managed two aces in the match and was largely ineffective when missing his first serve, winning only five points the entire match off his second serve.  Isner’s loss combined with Andy Roddick’s defeat yesterday leave Querrey and No. 11 seed Mardy Fish as the only Americans still alive in the tournament.

The top three players in the world will all be in action Wednesday.  Top-ranked Rafael Nadal will face Italian qualifier Paolo Lorenzi, who authored the surprise of the day by knocking off Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci.  Bellucci rose to No. 22 in the rankings this week after beating No. 4 Andy Murray and No. 7 Thomas Berdych last week to reach the semifinals in Madrid, where he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in three sets.  Djokovic will put his season-long 32 match win streak on the line Wednesday against Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot.  No. 3 seed Roger Federer will get his tournament started with a difficult second round match against former Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

In the featured second round match of Day 2, No. 5 Robin Soderling of Sweden outlasted Spaniard Fernando Verdasco after losing the first set and saving three match points in the second set, 2-6 7-5 6-4, to advance to the third round.  Soderling jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a power outage delayed play for several minutes at the beginning of the third set.  Verdasco fought all the way back to even the match before the Swede was able to close out the match with a break of serve in the tenth and final game of the set.

Talented Belgian journeyman Xavier Malisse pushed Murray to three sets in the last match of the night, but the Scotsman prevailed 6-2 2-6 6-3.  Murray overcame a 50% first serve rate and spirited play by the Belgian in the second set to move into the third round in a match that last two hours and ended just before 11:30pm local time.

Almagro advanced to the second round with his first win since entering the top ten for the first time in his career two weeks ago.  The Spaniard beat Italian wildcard Simone Bolelli in the first match of the day on Campo Centrale.  After blowing Bolelli off the court in the first set, the Italian held a break of serve in the second, but could not hold the lead as Almagro came back to win 6-0 7-5.

In other action, Ivan Ljubicic won the first 12 points of the match against another Italian wildcard, Flavio Cipolla, en route to a 6-2 6-3 win to advance to a second round date with Fish.  No. 14 seed Stanislas Wawrinka overcame some uneven play and hot-headed Italian wildcard Fabio Fognini to move into the second round where he will face yet another Italian wildcard, Filippo Volandri.  Spaniard Feliciano Lopez continued his run of favorable results on clay this season, beating Michael Llodra of France in straight sets, 7-6(2) 6-1, and Marin Cilic was also the benficiary of a retirement.  He led 6-4 1-0 when Ivo Karlovic was forced to quit with back pain.

Second round winners include No. 7 seed Berdych and No. 16 seed Richard Gasquet, who both won in straight sets to advance to the third round.  Probably the most thankful player to be in the third round is Jarko Nieminen, who beat Sergiy Stakhovsky in a tight third set tiebreaker 6-3 1-6 7-6(6).  Nieminen gained entry to the main draw after both Gael Monfils and Kei Nishikori withdrew because of illness, and has gone on to win two matches.

The Masters 1000 event in Rome is the last chance for most of the top players to round their games into form ahead of the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, which gets underway May 22 in Paris.

Roddick Beaten In Rome Opener

Andy Roddick’s European clay court woes continued today, falling in straight sets to Gilles Simon, 6-3 6-3, at the Italian Open Masters 1000 in Rome.

Roddick lost in the 1st round for the second consecutive week-- he was also beaten in his opening match last week in Madrid.  The American committed 27 unforced errors to only 9 winners--a recipe for disaster against a quality clay court player like Simon.  Roddick was not able to win many quick points, as he so often does on quicker surfaces, firing only one ace on a blustery day.

“As soon as we got into rallies, it became a battle of not really ball striking but movement,” Roddick said.  “I was coming in second most times.”

The opening set was book-ended by breaks of serve for the Frenchman, who came into the match as the consensus favorite despite his lower ranking.  Roddick had few opportunities to do any damage to the Simon serve, and when he did get close, at 30-30 in the 8th game, the 19th-ranked Simon calmly closed out the game with two aces.

Roddick appeared to be headed in the right direction to open the second set, breaking Simon.  But just as quickly as his advantage materialized, it vanished; Simon won 12 of the next 15 points to take control of the match.

“I feel great physically,” he said after the match.  “I feel fine, there’s no excuses.”

Roddick has struggled to win matches on clay throughout his career, but it has been a disappointing season for him in general since winning the title in Memphis in February.  A staple in the top ten over the last decade, Roddick’s ranking has slipped to No. 12 after a sub-par performance on the American hard courts this spring.  Roddick has not won a match since beating Isner in the 3rd round at Indian Wells in March.  He lost his first match in Miami, as defending champion, to Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas in straight sets.

“Nobody likes losing,” the former world No. 1 explained.  “I’m trying at the moment, but the last couple of weeks I haven’t felt comfortable.”

The American will play in Nice next week, the last chance to fine-tune his clay court game before the French Open.  With most of the top players electing to take the week off before Roland Garros, Roddick should have the chance to improve his comfort level on the slow European red clay against lesser competition.

Nadal Beats Federer, Advances To Madrid Final

On a day Spain was mourning the loss a national sports icon, the country’s newest athletic superhero gave all Spaniards a reason to feel a bit better.

Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer today in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open, 5-7 6-1 6-3, after a touching on-court tribute to legendary Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros.  Ballesteros, a five-time major winner and one of the best shot-makers in the history of golf, died earlier Saturday from complications of a cancerous brain tumor.  Nadal honored the life of “the inventor of Spanish golf” by showing he was a pretty good shot-maker himself, albeit on the tennis court.

Nadal came from behind in a match whose scoreline does not adequately describe the closeness of the encounter.  Federer, who was blown off the court by Nadal in a lackluster effort just two months ago in Miami, had a chance to take control of the match early in the final set, but was unable to overcome the tenacity of the Spaniard when it mattered most.

With Nadal serving at 1-1 in the deciding set, Federer earned a break point by dictating play with pinpoint groundstrokes and aggressive returns, but squandered it by sending an easy backhand well beyond the baseline.  One clutch serve and one unforced error later, Nadal had escaped the threat, saving his absolute best tennis for the most critical points of the match.

In the very next game, with Federer leading 40-15 and seemingly on his way to an easy hold, Nadal fought back to deuce and then came up with one of the best shots of the match.  Federer induced a short ball off a scorching crosscourt forehand, and played a beautiful drop shot.  Nadal streaked to the net just in time to flick the ball at an impossible angle by the Swiss, splitting the sideline with incredible accuracy, and seizing the all-important break of serve.  In a blink of the eye, Nadal went from the brink of being down 1-3 to being in firm control of the match at 4-1 after he easily consolidated the break by holding serve at love.

The No. 1 ranked player in the world came into the match with a dominating 36 match winning streak on clay, dating back to the 2009 French Open, during which he had only dropped three sets.  From the outset, it appeared as if Nadal would again run away and hide from his opponent, breaking the former No. 1 Swiss in the opening game of the match.  Nothing went well for Federer at the beginning of the first set, especially his serve.  He struggled mightily to get his first serve in the play, and Nadal was hammering away at his second serve offerings.  Midway through the opening set, though, Federer became more aggressive and starting mixing up drop shots with aggressive approaches to the net, and it started to pay dividends.

With Nadal up a break and serving at 4-3, Federer hit a running down-the-line forehand winner to set up a break point.  After failing to convert on three previous break points, Federer stepped into a return of serve and evened the match.  Serving at 5-5, Federer found himself in trouble once again, down 0-40 and facing three break points.  From that point, Federer won 9 out the final 11 points to come back and steal the set from Nadal and stun the Spanish crowd.

Nadal came out in the second stanza determined to keep his clay court win streak alive in front of his home fans, and again broke Federer in the opening game.  This time, however, the Spaniard was relentless in defending his advantage and cruised through the second set to set up the final set triumph and seal his come-from-behind victory.

It was the 24th meeting of this rivalry that has defined the last half-decade of men’s tennis. Nadal, with this victory, doubles Federer’s victory total at 16-8.  More importantly, afte the last two matches, there have to be some serious doubts creeping into Federer’s head on whether or not he sustain the level of play necessary to beat Nadal.  In fact, it raises the question if there is anyone who can get the better of Nadal on his favorite surface, especially at the French Open, where his opponents will need to win 3 out of 5 sets.

The answer to that question could be known as early as tomorrow evening, when Nadal will face the world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the final.  It will be the third Masters 1000 final the two have played this year--Djokovic won the other two matches on North American hard courts.  Djokovic will come into the match riding his own win streak--the Serb has yet to drop a match in 2011, and will put 31 consecutive victories on the line tomorrow.

Djokovic Extends Win Streak To 29; Federer Also Advances

Novak Djokovic today turned in his most impressive performance on a clay court this year at the Mutua Madrid Open, dismantling Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1 6-2 in less than an hour, equaling Ivan Lendl’s 29-0 record to start the 1986 seaon.

The world’s No. 2 ranked player rolled through the first set in just 23 minutes, dropping only 8 total points.  He was leading 5-0, and 20 points to 3, when the Spaniard was finally able to hold serve.  Djokovic has already won seven love sets this year.

Playing as well as he did earlier this year on hard courts, the Serb broke Garcia-Lopez to open the second set, and cruised through the rest of the set without facing a break point to advane to the quarterfinals.  Djokovic finished the match with only five unforced errors and lost just two points on his serve.

In a match played simultaneously, Roger Federer avoided the drama of his 2nd round thriller with Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, which he won in an exciting third set tiebreaker, taking down Belgian Xavier Malisse in straight sets, 6-4 6-3.

Federer did not play his best tennis on the heels of his escape act last night, but did enough to put away Malisse in an efficient 1 hour and 10 minutes.  The world No. 3 made it a bit more interesting than it needed to be in the first set.  After getting an early break and consolidating the advantage, Federer led 3-0 and appeared to be cruising.  But Malisse broke back in the 7th game and forced Swiss to come up with another break in the 10th game to take the first set.

In what may have been a bit of a hangover effect from last night’s theatrics, Federer, at times, did not look comfortable on court, engaging in a running conversation with the umpire about line calls and chiding himself for inconsistent play.  Both players were having a difficult time moving well as the court dried out and footing became slippery.

Federer, who won the tournament in 2009 and was the runner-up last year, advances to the quarterfinals, where he will meet either Robin Soderling or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  Djokovic will put his season-long win streak on the line in tomorrow’s quarterfinals against the winner of tonight’s match between David Ferrer and Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Del Potro Withdraws From Madrid Open With Injury, Will Miss Rome Next Week

Juan Martin Del Potro withdrew today from the Mutua Madrid Open with a hip injury before playing his 3rd round match against defending champion Rafael Nadal.  The match was the highlight of a star-studded day on the clay courts of Madrid.  Del Potro will travel to his native Argentina to have the injury assessed, ruling him out of next week’s Rome Masters and leaving his participation in the French Open in doubt.

Del Potro complained about hip pain en route to winning the Estoril Open last week in Portugal, and today described the pain as “strong.”

“I have experience about injuries so I took the decision not to play,” Del Potro said announcing his withdrawal from the fourth Masters 1000 event of the season.

Indeed, Del Potro missed almost all of 2010 with a wrist injury after winning the 2009 US Open and ascending to a career-high ranking of No. 4 in November of 2009.  The big Argentine fell all the way to No.485 at the end of January of this year after falling in the 2nd round of the Australian Open.

Since then, however, Del Potro, one of the most popular players on tour, has been on a torrid comeback, winning titles in Delray Beach and Estoril, and reaching the semifinals of three other tournaments, including the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells, where he lost to Nadal.  Del Potro has raised his ranking to No. 32, 453 places, in just three months.

Del Potro was in pre-injury top form coming into this week, and continued his solid play with wins over No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny and a 2nd round drubbing of Marin Cilic.  The 3rd round tilt with Nadal  had been anticipated since the draw came out last week, and was to highlight an evening session on Madrid’s main stage, the aptly-named Magic Box.  With the withdrawal, Nadal will advance to the quarterfinals, where he will face the winner of a 3rd round match between Michael Llodra and Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

Federer Wins Thriller In Madrid, Other Top Seeds Advance

The Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open kicked into high gear Wednesday, with all four top seeds in action.  Unseeded Feliciano Lopez did his best to steal the show.

The Spaniard, born and raised in Madrid, played inspired tennis in front of a star-studded crowd in his hometown, taking Roger Federer deep into the third set tiebreaker before succumbing to the world No. 3 in a shade under 3 hours.  Lopez jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the final set tiebreaker before missing a sitting overhead that would have given him three match points.  Federer smashed a ball way up into the crowd after Lopez’s final shot sailed long and he survived the upset bid 7-6(13) 6-7(1) 7-6(7).

Both players squandered multiple opportunities to put the first set away before Federer finally prevailed on his 9th set point, taking the tiebreaker 15-13.  Lopez was unable to convert on four set points as Federer saved his best serves for the biggest points to bail himself out of trouble time and time again.

Lopez, though, didn’t fold in the second set after the disappointment of dropping the dramatic tiebreaker.  In fact, with Real Madrid superstars Xabi Alonso and Cristiano Ronaldo sitting courtside, Lopez, ranked No. 39, did not face a break point in the second set.  But the Spaniard failed to cash in on either of the two break points he had on Federer’s serve, and had to pull the second set out in another tiebreaker.  This time, Lopez dominated the breaker, taking the first five points en route to an easy 7-1 win.

The third set was just as tight as the first two, and it was only fitting that it ended in another dramatic tiebreaker.  Federer raised the level of his serve in the final set, dropping just 3 points in the entire set, but wasn’t able to find a way to break Lopez.  In the 6th game, leading 3-2, Federer raced out to a 0-40 advantage, but squandered four break points in the game.  He never again came close to breaking Lopez, setting up the dramatic climax to what was easily the best match of the clay court season thus far.

Hours before the drama of the Federer-Lopez match, world No. 2 Novak Djokovic extended his season-long winning streak by defeating South African Kevin Anderson in straight sets, 6-3 6-4.

Djokovic took advantage of Anderson’s second serve throughout the match, winning 56% of points when his opponent missed his first serve.  It was a recipe for disaster for the South African, who was only able to get his first serve in play at a rate of 61% for the match.

Djokovic used a well-timed break of serve in each set to cruise to his 28th consecutive victory to start the 2011 season.  Anderson was unable to break the Serb’s serve.  Djokovic has won every tournament he has entered thus far, including a Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, is working on a winning streak of his own--he has not dropped a match on a clay court since the 4th round of the 2009 French Open.  He continued that streak today by beating Marcos Baghdatis in two easy sets, 6-1 6-3.

The world No. 1 opened the match with a break of serve and never looked back.  Baghdatis struggled all day long with the pace and depth of Nadal’s groundstrokes.  The Spaniard looked to be in good form as he ran Baghdatis from side to side of the court in dispatching the Cypriot in just 1 hour and 22 minutes.

Nadal’s victory secured the 3rd round matchup with Juan martin Del Potro, who crushed Marin Cilic earlier in the day 6-3 6-0.  It will be the marquee match of the 3rd round, pitting two Grand Slam champions against each other.  Del Potro, who is on the comeback trail after missing almost all of last year with a wrist injury, is playing his best tennis since capturing the 2009 US Open.  He won the tournament in Portugal last week, and has been winning matches over top 20 players with ease thus far on the European clay.  This will be the 9th meeting between the two players--Nadal won earlier this year on a hard court at Indian Wells, but Del Potro has lifted his game and his fitness level since then.  Del Potro won the three previous meetings, including a straight set drubbing in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open.

The No. 4 seed, Andy Murray, also moved into the 3rd round Wednesday, beating Frenchman Gilles Simon in three sets.  The two split two tight sets before Murray took control and ran away with the third set.  Murray won 6-4 3-6 6-0 and will face Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in his next match.  Murray has been battling an elbow injury which limited his effectiveness in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters, and he eventually withdrew from the tournament in Barcelona two weeks ago.

Other 3rd matches will pit Djokovic against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych will take on Argentine Juan Monaco, who advanced when No. 9 seed Gael Monfils retired during their second round match, and Spaniard David Ferrer, runner-up to Nadal in both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, will play Ukranian Sergiy Stakhovsky.  On Nadal’s side of the draw, No. 5 seed Robin Soderling will battle Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Federer will take on Belgian Xavier Malisse and in the most surprising match-up, Spanish qualifier Daniel Gimeno-Traver will play Frenchmen Michael Llodra.

Lopez Stays Hot, Comes From Behind To Dump Raonic

Feliciano Lopez continued his string of impressive clay court results today, coming from behind to beat Milos Raonic 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4 at the Masters 1000 Madrid Open.

Lopez, who reached the final last week in Serbia before losing to white hot Novak Djokovic, broke the 20 year-old Canadian’s serve for the first and only time in the opening game of the third set and made it hold up, facing only one break point on serve in the deciding set.

Raonic, coming into the match with a career-high ranking of No. 25, capitalized on the only break point of the first set in the fifth game, and quickly consolidated the advantage to take control and win the opening stanza 6-4.  Raonic fired 11 aces in the first set, en route to 23 for the match, showing no ill effects from a lower back strain that caused him to retire in the semifinals last week at the Estoril Open in Portugal.

Lopez hung tough in the second set, which seemed destined to be decided by a tiebreaker from the outset.  Neither player faced a break point in the set.  The Spaniard seized control of the breaker early, using a combination of wide serves and powerful forehands, keeping the Canadian on his heels.

Lopez, who reached the 3rd round of this tournament last year, will face No. 3 Roger Federer in the 2nd round.  Lopez has never beaten Federer in seven matches against the former top-ranked Swiss superstar.  This will be their first matchup since 2008 and their first match ever on clay.  Federer had a bye in the 1st round.

It was another good win for Lopez, ranked No. 39, who has scored upset wins over Janko Tipsarevic, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Juan Monaco and Albert Montanes so far on this year’s European clay court swing.  

But the news was not all good for his fellow Spaniards as No. 15 seed Fernando Verdasco fell to Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan in straight sets, 7-6(7) 7-5.  Verdasco joins Montanes, Nicolas Almagro, who lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his debut as a top 10 player, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Pablo Andujar as Spaniards who failed to advance out of the 1st round.

John Isner, a day after beating No. 11 seed and top-ranked American Mardy Fish in the third set tiebreaker, found himself in the same position Tuesday evening on an outside court.  Isner, who won the match over Fish without breaking serve, was unable to keep the magic alive, falling to Ukranian Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-3 in the decisive tiebreaker.  Isner was only able to break serve once today.

The second round will continue tomorrow, with the top seeds taking the court for the first time.  Defending champion and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal will meet Marcos Baghdatis, and No.2 Djokovic, riding a year-long 27 match winning streak, will face South African Kevin Anderson.

Raonic Retires After 1st Set, Verdasco Advances To Meet Del Potro

Fernando Verdasco wanted revenge.  He didn’t think it would come quite so soon.

After bursting on the tennis scene with his journey into the 4th round at the Australian Open in January, young Canadian Milos Raonic announced to the world he was here to stay two weeks later when he ousted then No. 9 Fernando Verdasco twice in three days--first in the final in San Jose and then in the 1st round of the tournament in Memphis.

The two met again Saturday in the semifinals of the Estoril Open in Portugal, and Verdasco came away victorious after Raonic retired at the end of the first set.  Verdasco, now ranked No. 15 won the set 6-4, converting on one of just two break point opportunities for either player in the decisive 10th game.  Raonic saved the first set point with one of his 6 aces.

Neither player had made any serious threat to the other’s serve until the final game, and  the tall Canadian, now up to a career-high ranking of No. 27, did not seem to be laboring or favoring an injury.  After a net-cord sent his final forehand beyond the baseline, Raonic walked to the net and told Verdasco he would play no longer. 

Apparently, Raonic, who had to complete his quarterfinal match this morning after it was suspended for rain and ultimately darkness yesterday, was not feeling well and did not want to put his health in jeopardy with three big tournaments looming.  He will play two Masters 1000 events the next two weeks in Madrid and Rome respectively, and then the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, gets underway the third week of May.

Verdasco will meet Argentine and former top 5 player Juan Martin Del Potro in the final on Sunday.  Del Potro beat surprise semifinalist Pablo Cuevas earlier this morning to advance to the final.  Del Potro is on the comeback trail after having missed almost all of last year with an injured wrist.  He beat Roger Federer in an exciting five set final at the 2009 US Open for his first Grand Slam title.  Del Potro is looking in top form in his quest to regain a spot in the top ten.

Rain Halts Soderling-Del Potro Rematch

Rain washed out the much anticipated quarterfinal match Friday between Robin Soderling and Juan Martin Del Potro at the Estoril Open in Portugal.  Del Potro won the first set and was trailing in the second set when play was suspended.

The first set was decided on Del Potro’s superiority on the key points.  The Argentine, on the comeback trail after missing almost all of last year with a wrist injury, capitalized on his second break point opportunity in the fifth game of the match.

Soderling had his chances, but was unable to convert any of his four chances to break Del Potro, including two in the fourth game of the match and two more in the sixth game.  In the pivotal eighth game of the set, Del Potro went down 0-30 and came back to win four consecutive points to secure a 5-3 lead and take control of the set.

Soderling broke through to finally break Del Potro after holding serve to start the second set.  The Swede crushed an inside-out forehand that the tall Argentine returned beyond the baseline to jump out to an early 2-0 lead.

The match was played under ominously dark skies, and the rain finally began to fall with Soderling leading 4-1 and Del Potro serving at 15-30.  Play was delayed briefly at 15-15 when the spectators rushed for cover from the rain; Del Potro, irritated by the distraction and two previous calls he felt went against him, double faulted and the players were called back to the locker room.

Soderling is trying to win back-to-back matches at a tournament for the first time since winning the title at Marseille in mid-February.  He lost to Del Potro in the second round at the Sony Ericsson Masters 1000 in Miami at the end of March.  Del Potro dominated that match, played on a hard court, in straight sets without facing a break point.

The winner of this match will face Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas in the semifinals.  Cuevas backed up his win over No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the second round by beating No. 6 seed Tomaz Bellucci earlier Friday in the quarterfinals before the rain washed out play.

Nadal Bags Record 6th Barcelona Title

Another day, another milestone for world No. 1 Rafael Nadal.

Yesterday Nadal won his 500th career match to advance to the finals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.  Today, lifting the trophy on Pista Principal, he becomes the first player in the Open Era to win two different tournaments at least six times.

Nadal beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-2 6-4, his third victory in as many tries against Ferrer in a Barcelona final.  He also defeated his friend and Davis Cup teammate in the 2008 and 2009 finals.  Nadal blew through the field this week without losing a set, and has dropped only one set on clay this year.

The powerful lefty jumped on Ferrer early, after saving break point at 0-1, racing out to a 4-1 lead before the sellout crowd could get settled in their seats.  Each time Ferrer gave his opponent the slightest opening, Nadal would pounce--crushing forehands up the line on two key break points.  In just 39 minutes, the first set was over and another lopsided Nadal victory looked imminent.

Both players struggled to hold serve in the second set--a total of five breaks were recorded in the set.  Ferrer saved 9 break points in the second set alone, and definitely had his chances to send the match to a deciding third set.

After holding serve in a marathon service game at 2-2, Ferrer broke Nadal and extended his lead to 4-2.  Ferrer, ranked No. 6 in the world, was playing with confidence, dictating points and moving Nadal around the court with a variety of shots.  He looked to be in the driver’s seat.  The match appeared to be going the distance.

Displaying the grit of a true champion, though, Nadal came right back and jumped on Ferrer’s serve, leading 0-40.  Ferrer fended off three break points, and drew even at deuce with a gorgeous drop half-volley that elicited oohs and ahhs from the crowd and a look of admiration from Nadal.  Ferrer was just two points from a 5-2 lead, but against Nadal on his favorite surface, two consecutive points in a pressure-packed environment can be impossibly elusive.  He broke back, and just as quickly as Ferrer gained momentum in the match, Nadal snatched it back.

Ferrer seemed unhampered by his left knee, which he injured in his quarterfinal match against Jurgen Melzer, until late in the second set.  After another marathon game drew Nadal even at 4-4, Ferrer seemed to have a little problem moving freely, and limped back to his chair, all but defeated, after being broken in the 9th game of the set.

Nadal will take the week off before resuming his defense of last year’s clay court sweep--the next month will be crucial to his continued reign as the No. 1 player in the world.  He needs to defend title points at Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome, and the French Open championship.  At this point, however, it’s probably not wise to bet against the King of Clay.

Nadal & Ferrer To Face Off In Barcelona Final

Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer will square off in an encore of last week’s Monte Carlo final tomorrow in Barcelona after both Spaniards won their semifinal matches Sautrday in straight sets.

Nadal beat surprise semifinalist Ivan Dodig, a Croat ranked #56 in the world, 6-3 6-2, after starting the match by winning the first 8 points.  Dodig settled down and was able to hang with the world’s top-ranked player, getting the break of service back to even things up at 3-3.  Then Nadal did what Nadal does--he raised the level of his game and ran off the next six games, taking the first set and going up a break in the second.

Dodig, though, refused to give in and played some outstanding points throughout the second set, but couldn’t hold serve consistently enough to seriously challenge Nadal.  Dodig took more games off the Spaniard than any other player this week, and certainly earned the respect of the Spanish crowd with his gritty effort and determination.  In the end, however, Nadal was too tough an opponent.  The victory was number 500 in the already stellar career for the King of Clay.  It’s safe to say a lot more will follow.  Nadal will go for 501 against fellow Spaniard Ferrer in the final Sunday for the second consecutive week.

Ferrer was able to get past another Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro, in the first semifinal of the day on Pista Principal at the Real Club de Tenis, 6-3 6-4.

At times, Almagro, who will enter the top 10 for the first time Monday, was playing against both Ferrer and his own mental demons.  He chided himself throughout the match, especially after crucial points which he was not able to convert.  Almagro was competitive in most games, and had chances to break, but Ferrer was too tough on the key points.  Alamgro slammed his racket to the red clay when Ferrer took a commanding 4-2 lead in the first set after a string of Almagro unforced errors.

At 2-2 in the second set, Almagro played some inspired points to save two break points and bring the game to deuce, but Almagro once again played a loose point, and Ferrer was able to break with a beautiful inside out backhand return of serve winner.

Almagro was able to save three match points before Ferrer, who like Nadal has yet to drop a set this week, was able to close out the match and punch his ticket to his third final in the last four years at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

The Nadal-Ferrer final will guarantee that a Spaniard will remain champion of the tournament.  The last time a non-Spaniard won the event was way back in 2003, when Argentine Gaston Gaudio hoisted the trophy.  Ferrer is looking for his first title in Barcelona; Nadal is gunning for his sixth.

Dodig Crashes Spanish Party; Nadal, Ferrer & Almagro Advance

Ivan Dodig continued his impressive run of results at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, ousting Feliciano Lopez in three sets to advance to the semifinals.  Dodig, from Croatia, is the last man standing at the tournament who isn’t from Spain.

Dodig will meet Rafael Nadal in the semifinals after his third consecutive quality win in this ATP World Tour 500 tournament.  He beat #3 seed Robin Soderling and #15 seed Milos Raonic in the second and third rounds respectively.  The Croat continued his confident and inspired play by jumping on Lopez with an early break and holding his own serve easily throughout the opening set, which he won 6-4.  His level of play dipped a bit in the second set as Lopez raced out to a 3-0 lead and took the set comfortably, 6-2.  For the second day in a row, however, Dodig answered the call in a tight third set.  Both players were taking care of their own serves until Dodig, who upped his record to 15-7 in 2011, came through with the key break of serve in the 9th game to take a 5-4 advantage, and secured the opportunity to serve for his first-ever berth into an ATP 500 semifinal.  A highly partisan Spanish crowd, hoping for an all-Spanish final four, was no deterrent for Dodig, who comfortably finished the match with a fist pump to set up his date with the world’s top-ranked player on Saturday.

Earlier on an overcast and at times rainy afternoon on the clay courts of the Real Club de Tenis, Nadal and fellow Spaniards David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro won their quarterfinal matches in straight sets.  Nadal made Frenchman Gael Monfils, a dangerous player with a top 10 pedigree, look like a weekend hacker with a lethal combination of blistering groundstrokes and clever angles.  Nadal’s stellar play reduced Monfils to chuckles on several occasions, looking skyward for answers that didn’t exist.  Nadal was first on court Friday afternoon, and wrapped up his match before the rains arrived and delayed play for more than an hour.

When the rain stopped, Ferrer took the court to face Austrian Jurgen Melzer for the second time in as many weeks.  Ferrer beat Melzer last week in the semifinals at Monte Carlo, and the Austrian was again no match for Ferrer’s consistency, though at times Melzer appeared to be his own worst enemy.  

On serve at 1-1 in the first set and Melzer leading 15-30, he hit a backhand that clipped the line and skidded over the racket of Ferrer.  The ball was called out and then immediately corrected by the linesman, but the umpire, much to Melzer’s disappointment, ruled the point to be replayed.  Melzer argued with the umpire throughout the next two games, which only served to alienate and vocalize an already pro-Ferrer crowd.  Instead of 15-40 and two break points to take an early advantage in the opening set, Ferrer held serve and responded by breaking Melzer and cruising to a 4-1 lead.

There was, however, a scary moment for Ferrer and his fans when he tweaked his left knee rushing the net to play a short ball at the beginning of the second set.  The trainer was on court for a full medical timeout with Ferrer trailing 1-2.  The Spaniard returned with his knee taped up, and seemed to suffer no obvious negative effects for the duration of the match, though Melzer tried unsuccessfully to take advantage of the injury by moving Ferrer from side to side and up and back on the court.

Ferrer found himself in a spot of trouble at 3-3, down break point, but he came up with a beautiful lunging backhand drop volley to save the point and, eventually, the game.  That was the last whimper from Melzer, who didn’t win another game as Ferrer served out the match for a 6-3 6-3 victory and a date in the semifinals.

Almagro, who secured a spot in the top 10 for the first time with his 3rd round win over Nikolay Davydenko, cruised into the semifinals with a straight set triumph over yet another Spaniard, Juan Carlos Ferrero.  Ferrero, the former #1 player in the world, playing in his first tournament since last year’s US Open, seemed to be fatigued as the match progressed.  Almagro, though himself a bit inconsistent on serve at times, continued his solid play on clay in 2011.  Almagro won two events earlier this year in South America and was a finalist in Acapulco, where he lost to Ferrer in three sets.  Those two will square off in a rematch of the Acapulco final Saturday with a berth in the final on the line.

Nadal Beats Monfils, Rain Into Barcelona Semis

Rafael Nadal served notice to the tennis world that it will take a monumental effort to beat him on the red clay courts of Europe this spring.

Nadal saved his best tennis of the week for #7 seed Gael Monfils, dismantling the Frenchman in straight sets, 6-2 6-2 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.  The world’s #1 ranked player never faced a break point, dominating the middle portion of each set.  Monfils simply could not keep up with the blistering pace and spin of Nadal’s forehand, which seems to only be getting better as the clay court season goes on.

The two sets were mirror images of each other.  Monfils opened the match with a service hold before losing five straight games.  He held a 40-love lead at 1-1 when he netted a relatively easy forehand down the line.  Nadal came all the way back to break, and raced to a 5-1 lead before Monfils could hold again to make the scoreboard look a little more respectable.

The second set unfolded in the same manner--the Frenchman opened by holding serve and then lost five consecutive games.  He held one more time at 5-1 before Nadal served out the match on an overcast afternoon in Barcelona in just under an hour and a quarter.  On the first point of the second set, Monfils went high to play a backhand smash and tumbles awkwardly to the court.  He slightly favored his left ankle during the remainder of the match, but never called for the trainer.

Not only did Nadal beat Monfils for the 8th time in 9 matches, he caught a break fromMother nature and the schedule makers.  A steady rain began to fall shortly after the match, delaying the three other quarterfinal matches. Nadal advances to the semifinals tomorrow where he will meet the winner of the quarterfinal match between Ivan Dodig and fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.  Nadal is chasing his 6th title in Barcelona, including five consecutive years from 2005-2009.

Year To Date: Who's Hot, Who's Not

Who’s Hot

Novak Djokovic

Saying Dkokovic has had a great start to the year could actually go down as the understatement of the year.  His 2011 campaign has thus far been historically good--he has yet to lose a match and has four titles, including a Slam and two Masters 1000 victories.  His streak of 24 straight wins to start the year has not been built on the backs of second-tier competition, either.  He’s beaten Rafael Nadal twice, Roger Federer three times, and has 8 wins on this streak over top 10 players.  Not bad.  The Djoker did pull out of Monte Carlo, to rest his bones, ease some aches and pains, and get ready for the grueling clay court season.  He’ll play next week on home soil in Belgrade at the Serbian Open--look for the streak to continue, and look for Djokovic to make a deep run at the French Open in May.  Can he get through the clay season unbeaten?  Not likely, but still, a stellar start for the hottest player on tour.

Rafael Nadal

The #1 ranked player in the world is coming off his first tournament victory of 2011, believe it or not, at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.  Still, even without a tournament title to his name before April, Nadal has been, as usual, one of the most consistent players on tour.  He suffered an unfortunate leg injury at the Australian Open and got steamrolled by countryman and friend David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.  Since then, though, he has made three straight finals at Masters 1000 events, losing to Djokovic at Indian Wells and Miami and beating Ferrer at Monte Carlo.  The King of Clay is back on the European dirt, and looks to be in good form to make a run at another clay court season sweep.  Nadal has a massive amount of points to defend between now and then end of the French Open, so the Spaniard’s motivation should be unmatched.

Milos Raonic

Though his results are beginning to taper off just a bit after bursting on the scene with his wicked serve at the Australian Open, we still have to include Raonic in the year’s first quarter “Hot List.”  His ranking has shot up 128 spots--he’s currently ranked #28--and he won his first ATP World Tour title in San Jose.  He backed up his performance in San Jose with an appearance in the Memphis final (losing to Andy Roddick on an amazing down the line passing shot), beating Fernando Verdasco at both events.  His results were less-than-stellar at Indian Wells and Miami, but Raonic certainly has a bright future.  And, based on the fact he has almost zero points to defend, his ranking should continue to climb even if we don’t see him in any semis or finals on the red clay.  If Milos can tread water through the clay court season, he could be very dangerous at Wimbledon and back home on the hard courts of North America this summer.

Ryan Sweeting

While there are players who have probably had better seasons than Sweeting, we’re going to give him the nod here because he picked up his first career ATP World Tour Title, and he did it in impressive fashion at the US Clay Court Championships in Houston.  He took out Sam Querrey and Ivan Ljubicic and then beat Kei Nishikori (who just missed this edition of the “Hot List”) in the final.  His ranking has surged into the 60s, which makes him the highest ranked American after the Big Four of Mardy Fish, Roddick, Querrey and John Isner.  He’s also made good showings in the spring hard court Masters events in the States, picking up some nice wins along the way.  Now, let’s see if he can back up these results with a good summer hard court season and maybe even make himself a household name at the US Open in September.

Ivan Dodig

Who?  Dodig has quietly had a fabulous year, also claiming his maiden ATP World Tour title in Zagreb earlier this year with wins over Ljubicic and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.  His ranking has climbed from the high 80s to the mid 50s, but that will change again on Monday when the new rankings are released--Dodig will benefit from his performance in Barcelona, where he is in the quarterfinals and has a real chance at making the semis (he plays Feliciano Lopez in the quarters).  His results are solid, but what pushed him over the top and onto the “Hot List” is the fact he hasn’t lost to anyone ranked lower than him in 2011.  He has lost to Tomas Berdych (Chennai), Djokovic (Australian Open), Juan Martin Del Potro (Memphis), Janko Tipsarevic (Delray), Robin Soderling (Miami) and Tommy Robredo (Monte Carlo).  Couple that with his victory this week over Raonic in Barcelona, and Dodig is officially hot.

Who’s Not

Fernando Verdasco

Verdasco didn’t have a terrible beginning to the season, reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open and cruising into the final at San Jose.  That’s when he ran into Raonic, and that’s when his year took a turn for the worse--a lot worse.  Verdasco dropped the San Jose final to the young Canadian on Sunday, and then played him again in the first round at Memphis on Wednesday--he lost that one too.  And thus began a string of disappointing first round losses and his exit from the top 10.  Since the middle of February, Verdasco has a total of 1 win on tour (plus a big win for Spain in Davis Cup).  His first round (or first match, in events in which he had a bye) exits include Memphis, Acapulco, Miami and Monte Carlo.  His only win at Indian Wells came when Richard Berankis retired.   Verdasco is not defending his title in Barcelona this week, so his ranking will drop again next week.  All in all, not the start the Spanish lefty was hoping for in 2011.

Andy Roddick

It’s hard to ding a guy who has actually won a tournament in 2011, but we are going to do it anyway.  Roddick knew he had a big challenge at the outset of the year--a year ago, he dominated the spring Masters 1000 events in the US, reaching the final at Indian Wells and winning Miami.  It was crucial for Roddick to defend those points, especially given his track record on European clay (or lack thereof), and, quite frankly, he didn’t.  The 4th round loss in California wasn’t nearly as disastrous to his ranking as bowing out to Pablo Cuevas in his first match (2nd round with a bye) as defending champion at the Sony Ericsson.  Roddick, to be fair, was battling an illness in Miami, but computers don’t take that into account, and Roddick’s ranking took a beating.  Roddick can make up for these poor results by having a good showing in Europe and then returning home this summer and making some noise on the North American hard courts.  He also has anther chance to make Americans proud in a huge Davis Cup tie in his hometown of Austin, Texas in July.

Marcos Baghdatis

Things have gotten so bad for Baghdatis that apparently people have been sending him abusive messages on Facebook.  He came out with a letter on the social networking site to all his fans to ask for their support, and at the same time chided those who were deriding him.  His year didn’t start all that badly--he made the 3rd round at the Australian Open, losing to Jurgen Melzer, and he followed that up with a quarterfinal appearance at Rotterdam, beating Murray in the 1st round and Feliciano Lopez in the 2nd round.  Unfortunately, that win against Lopez was his last.  He’s riding a long losing streak, and hit rock bottom at the tournament in Morocco two weeks ago with a loss to Andrey Kuznetsov, ranked #244 in the world.  Baghdatis has not been 100% healthy this year, but he is usually at his best on the clay courts, and now is the time for him to turn his season around.  If he suffers early exits in Madrid and Rome, the pressure will be intense at the French Open.  Baghdatis is such a great guy, here’s to hoping he get things going in the right direction.  Right now, though, he’s scuffling.  Badly.

Quarters Set In Barcelona; Five Spaniards To Vie For Semifinal Berths

Five Spaniards won third round matches Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, including world #1 Rafael Nadal.

Nadal needed just under an hour and a half to knock out Colombian Santiago Giraldo in straight sets, 6-3 6-1.  Nadal is looking for his sixth title in Barcelona after missing the tournament last year--he won the event five consecutive years from 2005-2009.  Giraldo, ranked #54, provided a test for the first six games of the match, trading breaks with the King of Clay and mixing up his shots beautifully.  But Nadal proved to be too much for the top-ranked Colombian player.  Once Nadal got his nose out front, Giraldo started to lose confidence and unforced errors started to take their toll.  Nadal cruised into the quarters where he’ll meet #7 seed Frenchman Gael Monfils, who beat his countryman Richard Gasquet 6-4 7-6(7).

Keeping alive the possibility for a rematch of last week’s final in Monte Carlo, David Ferrer easily dispatched Victor Hanescu in the first match of the day on Pista Principal.  Ferrer continued his excellent play on clay with consistent groundstrokes and clever angles, never facing a break point in a 6-3 6-2 win over the 66th ranked Romanian.  Ferrer will face Austrian Jurgen Melzer, the #6 seed, who was the only player to defeat a Spaniard Thursday, taking out #11 seed Albert Montanes after dropping the first set, 6-7(2) 6-3 6-2.

The three other Spanish winners were all on the lower half of the draw, including a monumental win for Nicolas Almagro.  He took down the former #3 player in the world, Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(2) 6-3, assuring himself a spot in the top 10 when the new rankings are released Monday.  After securing the final point, Almagro went into a jubilant celebration with friends and family looking on from his box.  Almagro will be the third Spanish player in the top 10, joining Nadal and Ferrer.

Almagro will face former #1 player in the world Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarterfinals.  Ferrero, also a Spaniard, is competing in his first tournament since last year’s US Open.  He beat Italian qualifier Simone Vagnozzi in three tough sets, 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4.  Joining the Spanish parade into the quarterfinals was Feliciano Lopez, like Ferrero unseeded in this tournament.  Lopez beat Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-4 7-6(5).  Nishikori was riding a hot streak coming into the tournament, having reached the final in Houston two weeks ago and carrying the highest-ever ranking for a Japanese player.  Lopez will meet surprise quarterfinalist Ivan Dodig of Croatia.  Dodig upset Canadian Milos Raonic, seeded #15, 7-6(0) 4-6 6-3 in the last match of the day on the red clay courts of the Real Club de Tenis.  Raonic burst on scene earlier this year at the Australian Open with a run to the 4th round before falling to Ferrer in four sets.  Ferrer also beat Raonic last week in the 3rd round at Monte Carlo.  Lopez and Dodig, who has made his own impressive run up the rankings this year, will be the only quarterfinal match between two unseeded players.

All quarterfinal matches will be played Friday.  Nadal and Monfils will get things started at 12:30 local time, followed by Ferrer-Melzer, Dodig-Lopez and Almagro-Ferrero.