FEDERER, NADAL, AND DJOKOVIC FLY INTO PARIS THIRD ROUND & MORE TENNIS NEWS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 4th November 2015

BNP Paribas 2015 Masters Tennis Tournament photo

FEDERER, NADAL, AND DJOKOVIC FLY INTO PARIS THIRD ROUND & MORE TENNIS NEWS BY RICKY DIMON

epa05011140 Switzerland's Roger Federer in action against Italy's Andreas Seppi during their round 2 match at the BNP Paribas 2015 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 04 November 2015. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT |

Upsets often occur with more frequency during the fall swing, when players are worn out at the end of a long year. But don’t tell that to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and and Andy Murray at the BNP Paribas Masters.

That trio surged through opening matches on Wednesday without the loss of more than two games in any set. Federer crushed Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-1, Nadal destroyed Lukas Rosol 6-2, 6-2, and Murray made quick 6-1, 6-2 work of Borna Coric.

“It’s very pleasant to play matches like this one,” Federer assured. “Of course, I like great battles–playing two, three, four, five hours. But 47 minutes is always very pleasant. You need to focus a lot for the very short time you are on the court; not to make any mistakes. I’m very happy with this mental performance.”

Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action against Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol during their second round match at the BNP Paribas 2015 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 04 November 2015. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT

“I didn’t prepare differently,” Nadal said of his second date with Rosol in the span of 10 days. “It was just another match–a tough match against a difficult player. He’s always tough, but I was playing much better than I did last week in the first round. I played a solid match; not many mistakes. I served well and went for the points with my forehand.”

Federer, Nadal, and Murray should have much tougher times at the office on Thursday

Up next for the 34-year-old Swiss is a seventh career meeting with John Isner. The head-to-head series stands at 5-1 in favor of Federer, who beat Isner 7-6(0), 7-6(6), 7-5 during fourth-round action at the U.S. Open. Isner’s lone victory came in his opponent’s home of Switzerland via a four-set Davis Cup upset on clay in 2012. Federer is 4-0 against the American on hard courts (all outdoors).

Isner punched his ticket to the last 16 by taking care of Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday. The world No. 13 is 44-24 for the season and a modest 7-4 during this fall stretch, which is generally his least favorite time of year.

Kevin Anderson will be going up against Nadal for the third time. Anderson trailed Dominic Thiem by a set and a break in round two, saved one match point in the second, and stormed back for a 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory that required two hours and 44 minutes of tennis. Thus continues an awesome year for the 12th-ranked South African, who reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open and is still standing with a 46-23 record.

It may not continue much longer. Anderson has been dealing with a shoulder injury at the end of a long 2015 campaign and an epic struggle with Thiem certainly will not help matters. The No. 11 seed is also 0-2 lifetime against Nadal and 0-5 in total sets heading into Thursday night’s tilt. Nadal prevailed 6-2, 7-6(6) at the 2010 Rogers Cup and 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 at the Australian Open early this season.

Murray vs. David Goffin is a preview of what could decide the 2015 Davis Cup, as Great Britain will visit Belgium in the final later this month to vie for the trophy.

Murray and Goffin are set to square off for the second time in their careers, having previously faced each other last summer at Wimbledon. The Scot cruised 6-1, 6-4, 7-5, after which Goffin immediately went on a 25-match winning streak.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Andreas Seppi, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Bnp Paribas Masters, Borna Coric, David Goffin, Lukas Rosol, Novak Djokovic, Paris, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

November 4, 2015 at 6:20 pm

-@rogerfederer, @RafaelNadal, And @DjokerNole Fly Into #ParisMasters Third Round & More #Tennis News by @Dimonator https://t.co/pjHq2kqNFu