Sony Ericsson Tennis Tournament – Men Daily Update 03/26/12

Written by: Staff on 26th March 2012

Singles – Third Round: (2) R Nadal def. (25) R Stepanek 6-2 6-2

This took almost an hour and a half, but presumably most of that was the time Rafael Nadal took between points; Nadal won 60% of the points in the match and was never broken. Radek Stepanek will probably end up #24 or #25.

Singles – Third Round: (4) A Murray def. (26) M Raonic walkover (ankle)

We had a sort of notice of this the day before when Milos Raonic pulled out of the doubles, but it wasn’t clear how bad it was. No question now. There is still a chance that Raonic will make the Top 25, but the withdrawal definitely doesn’t help.

Singles – Third Round: (6) J Tsonga def. (32) P Kohlschreiber 6-4 7-6(7-2)

Once again Jo-Wilfried Tsonga moves ahead of David Ferrer in the contest for #5; once again we wait to see if Ferrer can catch up. Philipp Kohlschreiber loses his Top Thirty chance.

Singles – Third Round: G Dimitrov def. (7) T Berdych 6-3 2-6 6-4

Grigor Dimitrov has been slumping, but this looks like a definite slump-buster! Tomas Berdych will keep the #7 ranking, but this ends his hopes — which were never very strong — of moving above that ranking. This means that David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are in a straight head-to-head contest; one will be #5 and the other #6, guaranteed.

Singles – Third Round: (9) J Tipsarevic def. (18) A Dolgopolov 6-4 5-7 6-2

Janko Tipsarevic continues to lead in the contest for the #8 ranking, but we probably won’t settle that for several days. Alexandr Dolgopolov will fall to no better than #20, and it might be lower.

Singles – Third Round: (19) F Mayer def. (10) J Isner 6-4 6-2

When John Isner ran out of gas, he ran out fast. He becomes only the second of the Top Twelve seeds to fall. And that means that he will not be making it to #8; the best he can hope for is #9 — and that is far from guaranteed. He might even lose his newly-earned Top Ten spot. Juan Martin del Potro and Mardy Fish are both within one win of passing him, so the only way Isner can earn the #9 spot is if they both lose their next matches. If they both win, then Isner is out of the Top Ten. If one of them wins and one of them loses, then Isner will stay #10. And if Fish wins, then Fish will remain the #1 American.

Singles – Third Round: (13) G Simon def. (22) J Melzer 7-6(7-5) 6-4

Gilles Simon again moves ahead of Gael Monfils to be the #2 Frenchman — but of course Monfils can move back ahead in his next match. Jurgen Melzer may have earned enough points here to regain his Top Twenty spot; it’s going to be close.

Singles – Third Round: (16) K Nishikori def. L Rosol 6-4 6-2

Kei Nishikori keeps adding points — but he still isn’t moving. He needs two more wins to climb in the rankings!

Doubles – Second Round: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. Melo/Monaco 6-3 6-4

Doubles – Second Round: (2) Mirnyi/Nestor def. Marach/Peya 7-5 6-1

Mirnyi/Nestor aren’t gaining on the Bryans, but at least they are making life tougher for Llodra/Zimonjic. We currently show the Top Ten as follows:

1..(1) Bryan…………..9300

3..(3) Mirnyi………….8250

3..(3) Nestor………….8250

5..(5) Llodra………….7560

6..(6) Zimonjic………..7440

7..(7) Paes……………5105

8.(10) Matkowski……….4775

8.(10) Fyrstenberg……..4775

10..(8) Lindstedt……….4700

10..(9) Tecau…………..4700

Doubles – Second Round: Marrero/Verdasco def. Lopez/Lopez 7-5 6-4

An interesting alignment, since David Marrero plays a lot with Marc Lopez and Fernando Verdasco frequently teams with Feliciano Lopez. It’s less clear what this says about the relative strengths of the four players.

Doubles – Second Round: Bracciali/Cabal def. Qureshi/Rojer 6-2 7-6(9-7)

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Janko Tipsaravic, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Kei Nishikori, Mayer, milos raonic, Radek Stepanek, Rafael Nadal, Sony Eicsson Tennis Tournament, Sports, Tennis News