Today’s Men’s News (5/10) – Madrid

Written by: Staff on 9th May 2013

Today's Men's News (5/10) - Madrid

epa03689842 US tennis player Sam Querrey returns the ball to Poland's Jerzy Janowicz during their first round match of the Madrid Open tennis tournament at the La Caja Magica tennis center in Madrid, central Spain, 06 May 2013. Janowicz won 6-3 and 6-4. EPA/JUAN CARLOS HIDALGO |

Madrid

Singles – Third Round: (14) K Nishikori def. (2) R Federer 6-4 1-6 6-2

This is starting to get rather ugly. Roger Federer had a great spring last year, and this means that he didn’t defend any of the titles. And he was just barely clinging to #2 anyway. This means he will fall to no better than #3, and he might find himself just barely ahead of David Ferrer if Ferrer keeps playing well. Indeed, we might see Federer at #5 after Wimbledon. A scary thought…. Kei Nishikori has now just about clinched his Top Fifteen spot.

Singles – Third Round: (3) A Murray def. (16) G Simon 2-6 6-4 7-6(8-6)

Once again we saw a late match last most of forever — in this case, close to three hours. The tiebreak was emblematic of the seesaw contest: Andy Murray went up an early minibreak, lost it, then got it back, lost it, got it back again — and the last one was decisive. Murray had already clinched the #2 ranking (and, for practical purposes, the #2 Roland Garros seed) when Federer lost, but this made his grip stronger. Gilles Simon will have to settle for staying at #17.

Singles – Third Round: (4) D Ferrer def. (13) T Haas 7-5 4-6 6-4

Tommy Haas’s winning streak finally ends, with Haas still stuck at #13.

Singles – Third Round: (5) R Nadal def. M Youzhny 6-2 6-3

Not what we’d call big news…. The main effect is to leave Mikhail Youzhny at #30. Well, and to set up a match between Nadal and David Ferrer. If Ferrer wins that, it’s all over; Ferrer will be the #4 Roland Garros seed (or, just possibly, #3, ahead of Roger Federer). If Nadal wins, then it’s just possible that Nadal could still make it to #4….

Singles – Third Round: (6) T Berdych def. K Anderson 7-6(7-5) 7-5

Tomas Berdych looked rather bad in the early part of this match, but he managed to pull it together — a big recovery, since the win lets him stay ahead of Juan Martin del Potro; del Potro will remain stuck at no better than #7. Kevin Anderson adds points but will not climb in the rankings.

Singles – Third Round: (7) J Tsonga def. F Verdasco 4-6 6-3 6-2

Fernando Verdasco made the quarterfinal last year, so he is looking at losing his Top Fifty spot. On the bright side, he played some good matches here, so maybe he’s finally getting over his problems.

Singles – Third Round: (15) S Wawrinka def. G Dimitrov 3-6 6-4 6-1

A rather poor follow-up to the biggest upset of Grigor Dimitrov’s career. He will remain below #25.

Singles – Third Round: (WC) P Andujar def. D Gimeno-Traver 5-5, retired

Daniel Gimeno-Traver has been closing in on the Top Fifty. He almost seems like one of those guys who doesn’t want to make it — although this loss may have been too late to “save” him from that fate.

Doubles – Second Round: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. Isner/Querrey 7-6(8-6) 7-5

Doubles – Second Round: Marrero/Verdasco def. (2) Granollers/M Lopez 7-6(7-4) 6-3

Granollers/Lopez seem to be in a real slump, plus David Marrero knows just how Marc Lopez plays. And Fernando Verdasco is playing pretty well in doubles. So maybe this isn’t a huge surprise. But Granollers/Lopez really need to get some things worked out.

Doubles – Second Round: (6) Bhupathi/Bopanna def. Zeballos/Monaco 6-3 3-6 10-5

Doubles – Second Round: (7) Peya/Soares def. Fyrstenberg/Matkowski 6-4 6-0

The deep slump continues for Fyrstenberg/Matkowski. Note that they weren’t even seeded here! Bad enough when they were losing on hardcourt; it is truly disastrous when they are losing on clay.

Doubles – Second Round: Haas/Stepanek def. (8) Melzer/Paes 7-5 6-1

An interesting contest, since Radek Stepanek and Leander Paes usually play together. Presumably Paes or Stepanek made different arrangements due to doubts about Stepanek’s (or Paes’s) health. Interesting that Stepanek was the stronger when they actually met….