Men’s Matches

Rafael Nadal’s Quarter

• The Nadal-Nalbandian match is intriguing.  If Nalbandian can hold up physically, I think he has a chance at the upset.  Rafa has not looked sharp since Wimbledon, and David Nalbandian is exceptionally good at changing pace and direction during a rally.  This skill somewhat blunts Rafa’s ability to grind and get into patterns within the match.  Rafa has a 65% chance of advancing.
• I think Muller advances to face Rafa while Roddick and Ferrer set up a Davis Cup rematch on Tuesday

Andy Murray’s Quarter

• I think Murray and Donald Young will move through and set up an Indian Wells rematch.
• John Isner should get through Alex Bogomolov and continue what has been a nice season.  Isner has two 250 point titles and 1 runner-up finish since losing to Almagro at Wimbledon.
• The Giles Simon-Juan Martin del Potro match is hard to pick.  Simon is a tough customer.  I watched him up close at Indianapolis in 2008 and Cincinnati in 2009.  He is a true fighter on the court and has great foot speed.  Del Potro obviously has  a power advantage.   This match will come down to whether Delpo can control the middle of the court or not.  If his first strikes on the serve and return pin Simon into poor court positioning, Delpo wins.  If Simon can get his teeth into enough points, I think Simon wins.  I would call this one 60-40 in favor of Simon as Delpo’s post-Wimbledon results have been shaky.

Women’s Preview 

• I will take consistency over power – Maria Kirilenko reaches the quarterfinal round with a win over Sam Stosur
• The Sabine Lisicki – Vera Zvonareva match is a tossup, but I think Lisicki continues her era of good feelings with a hard fought win.
• I think Pennetta builds on her win over Sharapova and defeats Shuai Peng in another close match.
• Finally, I have no idea as to who wins between   Monica Niculescu  and Angelique Kerber.

As an editorial note, I think women’s tennis is in terrible shape.  To have the three holders of the previous four Grand Slam championships either not playing or eliminated in the first round speaks to the lack of continuity on the women’s tour.  The grunting controversies are not helping either.  Women’s tennis needs someone under 25 to step forward as a consistent champion and ambassador for the sport.  Such a player could be a foil for the inconsistent players and players who resort to gamesmanship (not a mutually exclusive group).