Men Tennis Update – Miami Thursday, March 21, 2013

Written by: Staff on 20th March 2013

Men Tennis Update - Miami Thursday, March 21, 2013

epa03538740 Xavier Malisse of Belgium in action during his match against Fernando Verdasco of Spain, round two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2013. EPA/MARK DADSWELL AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Miami

Singles – First Round L Hewitt def. J Sousa 6-1 7-6(7-3)

Believe it or not, this is officially an upset — Lleyton Hewitt is (or was) the lower-ranked of these two, by five places.

Singles – First Round A Ramos def. J Hajek 6-3 6-1

Albert Ramos’s ranking has fallen to #61, so this was a welcome win. Not many points yet, of course.

Singles – First Round I Sijsling def. L Mayer 3-2, retired

Leonardo Mayer has been playing very well lately — so naturally he had to retire. He will remain below #60.

Singles – First Round G Zemlja def. R Bautista-Agut 3-6, retired

Bautista-Agut came in ranked #52, but this presumably means no Top Fifty spot.

Singles – First Round X Malisse def. R Ram 6-4 6-7(6-8) 6-4

This probably means Rajeev Ram will remain below #100, although it could be close.

Singles – First Round T Kamke def. B Kavcic 7-6(7-5) 6-3

Formally a slight upset, but both players were ranked below #80, so no big surprise.

Singles – First Round M Llodra def. B Paire 7-6(9-7) 6-2

Benoit Paire wasn’t defending anything that matters, but this means that he will remain below #35.

Singles – First Round S Devvarman def. E Donskoy 4-6 7-6(7-5) 6-2

Somdev Devvarman’s comeback is accelerating — he ought to rise above #250.

Singles – First Round V Hanescu def. And. Kuznetsov 4-6 6-3 4-1, retired

This made it three retirements in the first ten matches. Ouch. In more ways than one.

Singles – First Round L Rosol def. G Muller 7-5 6-4

We’d guess Lukas Rosol is going to have another of his one-win-and-out events — because he faces Novak Djokovic next.

Singles – First Round J Melzer def. R Berankis 3-6 6-3 7-6(7-1)

Finally, a win for Jurgen Melzer. Unfortunately, he made the third round last year, so he still needs one more to defend his points.

Singles – First Round H Zeballos def. T de Bakker 6-1 3-6 6-3

Thiemo de Bakker came here at #102, so making in through qualifying might make him Top Hundred. It will be close. Horacio Zeballos has really struggled since winning his first title, but he wasn’t defending anything, so this should assure that he stays Top Forty.

©Daily tennis news wire

Topics: Leonardo Mayer, Lleyton Hewitt, Lukas Rosol, Miami, Somdev Devvarman, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Xavier Malisse