Men Tennis Update – Indian Wells Thursday, March 7, 2013

Written by: Staff on 6th March 2013

Men Tennis Update - Indian Wells Thursday, March 7, 2013

epa03606016 Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic during the semi final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 01 March 2013. EPA/ALI HAIDER |

Men’s Look Forward: Indian Wells

Federer versus Nadal in the quarterfinal?

That’s what the draw said. With Federer seeded #2 here (behind only Novak Djokovic) and Nadal seeded #5 (behind Djokovic, Federer, Andy Murray, and David Ferrer), there was one chance in four, and Federer got unlucky. Obviously most people would think it better if Nadal had ended up in Ferrer’s quarter — but based on recent form, Federer might have struggled against any of his potential quarterfinal opponents, #6 Tomas Berdych (drawn to face Ferrer), #7 Juan Martin del Potro (in Murray’s part of the draw), or #8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (drawn to face Djokovic).

At least Federer has Ferrer as his potential semifinal opponent; Djokovic drew Murray.

In the Round of Sixteen, it’s supposed to be Djokovic against #14 Juan Monaco, Tsonga against #12 Marin Cilic, Murray versus #16 Kei Nishikori, del Potro against #11 Nicolas Almagro, Berdych versus #10 Richard Gasquet, Ferrer against #13 Gilles Simon, Nadal against #9 Janko Tipsarevic, and Federer versus #15 John Isner. Which just happens to be a repeat of last year’s final.

And, just in case that wasn’t enough fascinating stories, we can add that it is now official: Mardy Fish is in the draw. He is the #32 seed (meaning that every one of the top 32 players in the world is here) and is supposed to face Tsonga in the third round. Other third round matches are Djokovic vs. #31 Dimitrov, Monaco against #23 Querrey, Cillic vs. #17 Raonic (that should light up the ace tracker), Murray vs. #26 Klizan, Nishikori against #22 Dolgopolov, Almagro vs. #19 Haas, Del Potro vs. #25 Chardy, Berdych against #27 Florian Mayer, Gasquet against #24 Janowicz, Simon trying to out-scramble #21 Kohlschreiber, Ferrer against fellow Spaniard #29 Verdasco, Nadal against #30 Youzhny, Tipsarevic vs. #20 Seppi, Isner vs. #18 Wawrinka, and Federer vs. #28 Benneteau.

Even before that, we could see some interesting contests. Cilic could open against Horacio Zeballos, who seems finally to have fulfilled his potential. Raonic starts against tricky Michael Llodra. Del Potro will face either Nikolay Davydenko or Paul-Henri Mathieu in round two. Berdych might face Jurgen Melzer, although Melzer is far off-form these days. Mayer opens against Viktro Troicki or David Goffin. Janowicz will face either Marcel Granollers or David Nalbandian — and Nalbandian has big points to defend. Gasquet has to take on either Thomaz Bellucci or Bernard Tomic. Kohlschreiber will likely open against Benoit Paire. Ferrer’s first opponent could be Kevin Anderson, who would have been seeded had they used last week’s rankings. Seppi may start against Marcos Baghdatis. Tipsarevic will likely open against Feliciano Lopez. Isner, who has seemed a little shaky this year, may face Lleyton Hewitt. And Federer will probably start against Denis Istomin.

How strong is the field? The only Top Fifty player missing is #41 Radek Stepanek. The next player down to be absent is #56 Brian Baker.

The Rankings

If you’re looking for excitement this week — don’t look to the rankings.

That’s partly because Novak Djokovic has a huge lead in the contest for #1 and partly because Roger Federer, the #2 player, is the defending champion. Obviously there is no way Federer can move up in those circumstances! John Isner was last year’s shock finalist; Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were semifinalists; the quarterfinalists were Nicolas Almagro, Gilles Simon, Juan Martin del Potro, and David Nalbandian. Andy Murray lost his opener (to Garcia-Lopez, if you will believe it). Tomas Berdych lost in the Round of Sixteen, David Ferrer in the third round, Richard Gasquet went out in his opener, Janko Tipsarevic in the third round, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth.

If Djokovic is safe at #1, Federer isn’t especially comfortable at #2. He leads Andy Murray by only about 350 safe points. That means that if Murray makes the final and Federer loses by the quarterfinal, or if Murray wins Indian Wells, then Murray is #2.

Federer and Murray are sure to be #2 and #3 in some order.

David Ferrer’s Acapulco loss means his #4 ranking is in danger. Rafael Nadal has to win Indian Wells and Ferrer has to lose by the quarterfinal, but Nadal does have a shot to return to #4. Nadal is sure to stay #5 at least.

As is usual lately, we have a contest between Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro for #6, but Berdych has about a 400 point lead; del Potro needs at least a final to move up. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could possibly pass del Potro, but only with a title.

Those eight are sure to be Top Ten when this is over, and we’d guess Tipsarevic will be too. But Richard Gasquet is in some danger; Marin Cilic could pass him with a semifinal, and Nicolas Almagro and a few others with a final or better.

John Isner is a mere #23 in safe points, with Philipp Kohlschreiber the leading candidate to take his Top Twenty spot. Interestingly, there are no obvious candidates to enter or leave the Top Thirty; seven of last year’s eight quarterfinalists came here ranked in the Top Fifteen. (The exception is, of course, Nalbandian, whose Top Hundred ranking is in grave danger.)

KEYWORDS: Preview Indian Wells Men

©Daily tennis news wire

Topics: Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Indian Wells, men tennis news, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News