Tennis Paparazzi

Roger Federer avenged his defeat against Guillermo Canas in Rome

2008-05-07T18:58:00.001+08:00

The Internazionali BNL d’Italia had begun well for the World No.1 Roger Federer who avenged his defeat to Argentine Guillermo Canas in Miami and Indian Wells last year. Roger Federer finish off Guillermo Canas in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to advance into the third round.

World No.6 American Andy Roddick join Federer in the third round by crushing his fellow countryman Mardy Fish 6-1, 6-4. Fernando Gonzalez however managed to survive a tough test by Janko Tipsarevic 3-6, 7-6(0), 7-6(6) to secure a spot in the second round.

Rafael Nadal reign again at Monte-Carlo for the fourth consecutive times and defeated World No.1 Roger Federer 3 consecutive times

2008-04-27T23:07:00.001+08:00

Top seed Roger Federer was crushed by No.2 seed Rafael Nadal for the third consecutive time in Monte-Carlo finals. Roger Federer was not able to take advantage of the two early break in the second set and Nadal superb ground stroke level back the score and eventually won the championship 7-5, 7-5 in 103mins. World No.2 Rafael Nadal indeed lives up to his clay court king title winning his fourth consecutive Monte-Carlo Masters Series title this year.

Roger Federer clash with Rafael Nadal for third consecutive Monte-Carlo finals

2008-04-27T04:08:00.003+08:00

Three times champion Rafael Nadal is through to the finals to defend his Monte-Carlo title and also hoping to capture his fourth consecutive Monte-Carlo AMS title. World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko was not able to play his best tennis in the semifinals and lost the match on his serve 6-3, 6-2. World No.2 Rafael Nadal also advanced into the doubles finals with fellow countryman Tommy Robredo and will be facing Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles.

World No.1 Roger Federer will be meeting his arch-rival defending champion Rafael Nadal for the third consecutive times in the Monte-Carlo finals. Federer push World No.3 Novak Djokovic to the limits and Djokovic decided to retire after losing the first set 3-6. It was a pity that Djokovic was not able to continue due to illness (sore throat).

Though Rafael Nadal has not drop a single set to reach the Monte-Carlo finals, Roger Federer was also showing great confidence on clay after winning his first clay court title of the year at Estoril Open.

Blockbuster Semifinals in Monte-Carlo with all Top 4 seeds!

2008-04-26T17:24:00.001+08:00

World No.1 Roger Federer struggles through to the semifinals along with World No.2 Rafael Nadal, World No.3 Novak Djokovic and World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko. It is the second time that all top 4 seeds made it to the semifinals of a ATP Masters Series since 1999.

In this Saturday blockbuster Monte-Carlo semifinals, Top seed Roger Federer will play against the third seed Novak Djokovic. Second seed Rafael Nadal will take on the fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko.

Talking about the quarterfinals, it was a tough match for top seed Roger Federer. He drop the first set 7-5 but fought back with an amazing result 6-2 in both the second and third set. Roger Federer improves his career lead against World No.7 David Nalbandian after losing two consecutive AMS matches in 2007 to David Nalbandian.

World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko also struggled a little bit to defeat Igor Andreev 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to advance to the seminfinals. But Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic comes to the semifinals with splendid performance of not forfeiting a set.

Semifinals
[1]Roger Federer vs [3]Novak Djokovic
[2]Rafael Nadal vs [4]Nikolay Davydenko

The Top 5 players storm into Monte-Carlo quarterfinals

2008-04-25T09:39:00.002+08:00

Roger Federer pulled off a more steady win in the third round against Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 to secure a place in the Monte-Carlo quarterfinals. He will be playing against World No.7 David Nalbandian who crushed No.18 seed Tommy Robredo in the third round 6-1, 6-0. Roger Federer was beaten by David Nalbandian for the past two meetings in 2007. Will Roger Federer be able to maintain his current form and avenge for his past two losses?

World No.3 Novak Djokovic upset the No.20 seed Andy Murray again 6-0, 6-4 to advance into the quarterfinals and will be facing the big server American Sam Querrey who dismissed World No.9 Richard Gasquet 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

World No.2 Rafael Nadal overrun his opponent Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 to setup an epic quarterfinals match against fellow countryman World No.5 David Ferrer who also had a spectacular win over Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 6-0.

Another unseeded player Igor Andreev put off Spainard Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to get into the quarterfinals. His next opponent in the quarterfinals will be World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko.

Quarterfinals

[1]Roger Federer vs [7]David Nalbandian
[3]Novak Djokovic vs Sam Querrey
[4]Nikolay Davydenko vs Igor Andreev
[2]Rafael Nadal vs [5]David Ferrer

Roger Federer fought back in style. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic advance strongly into third round.

2008-04-24T19:58:00.002+08:00

World No.1 Roger Federer was tested to his limit by the No.137 seed Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain in the second round. The Spainard was leading Roger Federer by 1-5 in the deciding third set but the World No.1 held his nerve and won five games in a row to force a tie-break. Roger Federer took 124mins to defeat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(1) and setup a third round match with Frenchman Gael Monfils.

World No.2 Rafael Nadal maintained his perfect form on clay and will meet two-times Monte-Carlo champion in 2002 & 2003, Juan Carlos Ferrero. World No.3 Novak Djokovic will face off with Top British player, Andy Murray in the third round. Other top players who will pull through to the third round are No.4 seed Nikolay Davydenko, No.5 seed David Ferrer, No.7 seed David Nalbandian, No.9 seed Richard Gasquet. Other Top 10 players who are not playing in Monte-Carlo are No.6 seed Andy Roddick, No 8 seed James Blake and No.10 seed Tomas Berdych.

World No.1 Roger Federer finally won his first 2008 ATP title.

2008-04-21T12:43:00.002+08:00

World No.1 Roger Federer started off his clay court season this year at Estoril Open in Portugal. Roger Federer also won his first ATP title for year 2008 in Estoril Open with World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko retired in the second set. Roger took the first-set tie-break in 62min and Davydenko could not hold on any longer with a muscle strain in his left leg during the second set. The battle between the World No.1 and World No.4 brought a record attendance of 53,888 spectators this year but it was a pity that Nikolay Davydenko could not finish the match.

Estoril Open Title sure is a great boost in Roger's confidence after falling out earlier in the Australian Open, AMS Indian Wells and AMS Miami. It also does help to secure his first place ranking with additional 175 South African ATP Rankings points. This week will be the AMS Monte-Carlo. Can World No.2 Rafael Nadal win for the fourth consecutive times?

Nikolay Davydenko won the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami!

2008-04-08T00:16:00.002+08:00

What a big upset for the World No.2 Rafael Nadal in the finals of the Sony Ericsson Open. He was outshined by World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko who really played his best tennis at the right moment when he needed most. This Sony Ericsson Open title will be Nikolay Davydenko’s second ATP Master titles since 2006 BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. I was in Taiwan when they played the finals in Miami on Sunday and I was not able to capture Davydenko’s impressive performance in the finals.

Sony Ericsson Open final showdown between Rafael Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko

2008-04-06T01:39:00.003+08:00

World No.10 seed Tomas Berdych was down with a break but fought back to level the match against the World No.2 Rafael Nadal. Tomas Berdych tried his best in the first-set tie-break but serve a double fault to give away the first set to Rafael Nadal. Rafael Nadal maintain his momentum and got an early break in the second set to get ahead of Berdych. After 101mins, World No.2 Rafael Nadal reach the final of Sony Ericsson Open in Miami defeating World No.10 Tomas Berdych 7-6(6), 6-2.

World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko is the next challenger for the World No.2 Rafael Nadal in the finals of the Sony Ericsson Open. Davydenko dismissed the World No.6 Andy Roddick who just eliminated the World No.1 Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. Andy Roddick was not able to get so much cheap points from Nikolay Davydenko and lost the match 6(5)-7, 2-6 to the Russian.

This will be their third career meetings and Rafael Nadal have a 2 win lead over Russian Nikolay Davydenko. This will be a tough match for the Russian based on the career statistics.

World No.1 Roger Federer lost again in Miami Sony Ericsson Open! Nikolay Davydenko advance to semifinals.

2008-04-04T23:36:00.005+08:00

Federer Express is derailed from Miami and that means he have not won any titles so far this year! World No.1 is defeated for the second time by World No.6 Andy Roddick. Both Swiss Roger Federer and American Andy Roddick did not concede any of their own service games in the first set and they had to go into the tie-break which Federer made too many unforced errors on his own service games to give away the first set.

Roger Federer being the World No.1 put the first set loss behind him very quickly. Federer won the second set by converting his break point opportunity and made only 4 unforced errors. Roddick made a remarkable comeback in the deciding third set converting his one and only break point to get the lead and finish off the World No.1 Roger Federer 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3 in 115mins.

World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko eliminate the Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-1 in 72mins to set up the seventh meeting with No.10 seed Tomas Berdych in the semifinals and winning all six previous meetings against Berdych.

Looks like I am wrong about the Sony Ericsson Open semifinals lineup this year. I am still a Roger Federer fans and I believe he will eventually overcome all obstacles to stay in the No.1 spot this year.

Semifinals
[4] Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs [6] Andy Roddick (USA)
[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs [10] Tomas Berdych (CZE)

World No.2 Rafael Nadal did it again! Tomas Berdych march in to the semifinals Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

2008-04-03T11:45:00.002+08:00

World No.2 Rafael Nadal defeated World No.9 James Blake again in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open after his triumph over James Blake in the quarterfinals at the Indian Wells Masters recently. James Blake convert his only break point to take the first set 6-3 but was not able to maintain his lead in the second set and third set. Rafael Nadal finished off the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in 115mins and improves his career record against James Blake.

World No.10 Tomas Berdych was playing in his top form breaking down No.32 seed Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-4 to advance into semifinals. Tomas Berdych was able to convert both his break point to end the match in 77mins. Tomas Berdych will face a semifinals clash with World No.2 Rafael Nadal and this is their 7th career meeting.

There are still two more semifinals spots left and I guess World No.1 Roger Federer and unseeded Janko Tipsarevic will break through and fill up the last two semifinals spots. It is just my prediction and I will know the result today.

Federer vs Roddick, Nadal vs Blake in the quarterfinals.

2008-04-02T16:01:00.002+08:00

World No.1 Roger Federer performance was outstanding and looks very confident to reclaim his title this year. Roger Federer eliminate the Argentine Jose Acasuso 7-6(5), 6-2 to set up a epic quarterfinals match against No.6 seed Andy Roddick who kicked out his opponent Julien Benneteau 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. This will be their 17th career meetings and Roger holds a 15-1 career lead over Roddick.

The only unseeded player left in the tournament, Serbian Janko Tipsarevic made a great comeback to in the three-set match against No.11 seed Mikhail Youzhny. Tipsarevic took 118mins to dismiss No.11 seed Mikhail Youzhny 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. Janko Tipsarevic will encounter another Russian, World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko, in the quarterfinals. No.4 seed Nikolay Davydenko went through another tough match against Mario Ancic but he managed to pull through a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win after losing the first set.

World No.2 Rafael Nadal took out the Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu easily in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. No.9 seed James Blake also ended off No.27 seed Radek Stepanek in straight set 6-3, 6-4 and will face off with World No.2 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. James Blake has the second opportunity to avenge for his quarterfinals defeat to Nadal in Indian Wells 2008.

No.10 seed Tomas Berdych is on his top form in Miami this year to reach the quarterfinals without dropping a set. He defeated the Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-2 in 64mins and his next opponent in the quarterfinals will be the No.32 seed Igor Andreev who beat No.15 seed Guillermo Canas 6-4, 7-6(6).

Well that completes the round of 16. There are still six Top 10 players in the quarterfinals so there will definitely be some major upsets happening today and tomorrow.

Quarterfinals
[1] Roger Federer (SUI) vs [6] Andy Roddick (USA)
[4] Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
[10] Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs [31] Igor Andreev (RUS)
[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs [9] James Blake (USA)

No.12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga knocked out. Andy Roddick secure his fourth round placing.

2008-04-01T23:10:00.002+08:00

The unseeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau upset the No.12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-3. The Frenchman will face World No.6 Andy Roddick in the fourth round. Jose Acasuso is another unseeded player who overcome his opponent Dudi Sela in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 will meet the World No.1 Roger Federer in the fourth round.

Janko Tipsarevic stopped Thomas Johansson quest for his first ATP title this year. The Serbian Janko Tipsarevic took 90mins to eliminate Thomas Johansson 6-4, 6-4. No.11 seed Mikhail Youzhny was pushed to the third-set tie-break by No.24 seed Nicolas Almagro but Mikhail Youzhny prevail in the deciding set tie-break 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(6). No.19 seed Juan Monaco was brought down by Mario Ancic 6(5)-7, 6-4, 1-6.

Fourth Round

[1] Roger Federer (SUI) vs Jose Acasuso (ARG)

[6] Andy Roddick (USA) vs Julien Benneteau (FRA)

[4] Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs Mario Ancic (CRO)

[11] Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)

[10] Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)

[15] Guillermo Canas (ARG) vs [31] Igor Andreev (RUS)

[9] James Blake (USA) vs [27] Radek Stepanek (CZE)

[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs [16] Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)

Roger Federer eliminated tired Robin Soderling. Nikolay Davydenko survived the third round test

2008-04-01T03:30:00.002+08:00

World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko was not playing his best tennis today against the Italian Simone Bolelli. Davydenko lost the first-set tie-break but managed to come back in the second set with Simone Bolelli double faulted the set point. Unseeded Simone Bolelli was futher broken down by the more experienced World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko in the third set. Simone Bolelli double fault the second time on the game point to give Davydenko a break up in the deciding third set at 4-1. Davydenko convert the second break in the third set to serve out the match 6(5)-7, 7-5, 6-1 to secure his fourth round placing.

World No.1 Roger Federer opened the match against Robin Soderling with an ace but did not display his best form in the first set. He got the first break to get ahead at 3-1 but did not make good use of his break and allowed Robin Soderling to level the match at 3-3. There are too many unforced errors coming from Robin Soderling’s racquet and that cost him the first set at 6-4. World No.1 Roger Federer improves his level of play in the second set but Robin Soderling decided to retire from the match due to heat exhaustion at 3-0 in the second set. Federer moves on to the fourth round 6-4, 3-0(ret.).

Rafael Nadal, Jame Blake, Tomas Berdych stays on to the fourth round

2008-04-01T00:46:00.001+08:00

World No.2 Rafael Nadal overrun the German Nicolas Kiefer 6-2, 6-4 to reach the fourth round with perfect record of not dropping a single set so far. Rafael Nadal will next confront No.16 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu who has never won Nadal in his 7 career meetings with the World No.2. The past career meetings shows that Rafael Nadal stands a higher chances of securing a place in the quarterfinals but the tennis ball is round so anything can happen.

The match between No.15 seed Guillermo Canas and No.18 seed Fernando Gonzalez was really encouraging for Guillermo Canas and disappointing for Fernando Gonzalez. After Gonzalez lost the first-set tie-break to Guillermo Canas, he broke Canas in the second set and serving for the set at 5-4 but did not convert his break and allowed the Argentine Guillermo Canas to end the match earlier in straight set 7-6(6), 7-5. No.32 seed Igor Andreev dismissed qualifier Kevin Anderson who upset World No.3 Novak Djokovic in the second round. Igor Andreev will face off with Guillermo Canas to battle for a place in the quarterfinals.

No.10 seed Tomas Berdych defeated No.23 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 6-3 will face the next challenger, Dmitry Tursunov in the fourth round. Both the No.9 seed James Blake and No.28 seed Radek Stepanek advanced to the fourth round.

Roger Federer determine to reclaim his title this year. David Ferrer will have to come back next year.

2008-03-30T14:41:00.004+08:00

Another major upset happens in Miami again. World No.5 David Ferrer was very frustrated by his performance and start smashing his racquet during the last game of the second set. Thomas Johansson made his first career win over No.5 seed David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5 in 104mins.

No.13 seed Andy Murray who overcome Mario Ancic to win the 2008 Marseille Title lose out to Mario Ancic in Miami 2-6, 6-2, 6(7)-7. More seeded players were added to the elimination list. Israeli Dudi Sela stopped No.14 seed Tommy Robredo from advancing to the third round in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-1. Jose Acasuso sends home the No.22 seed Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 7-6(4). Robin Soderling put up a good fight against Swiss No.2 Stanislas Wawrinka and took the 111mins match 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. No.20 seed Ivo Karlovic was put off by Frenchman Julien Benneteau 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2). No.31 seed Juan Ignacio Chela was beaten by a qualifier Ivo Minar 3-6, 7-5, 3-6. No.27 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber overpowered by Italian Simone Bolelli 4-6, 3-6. The Serbian Janko Tipsarevic dismissed No.30 seed Fernando Verdasco in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(4).

World No.1 and two-times champion Roger Federer proves his determination in reclaiming his title this year by taking only 67mins to finish off Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4. Other Top 10 players like No.4 seed Nikolay Davydenko and No.6 seed Andy Roddick move through to the third round after a three-sets match against their opponent. No.12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not played his best tennis this time but still managed to pull through with a 6(4)-7, 7-5, 6-1 win over Jurgen Melzer. Both No.11 seed Mikhail Youzhny and No.25 seed Nicolas Almagro were in good form and trashed their competitor with the same result 6-2, 6-2 to secure their third round placing. That completes the second round of the ATP Singles.

Third Round

[1]Roger Federer (SUI) vs Robin Soderling (SWE)

Jose Acasuso (ARG) vs Dudi Sela (ISR)

[12]Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs Julien Benneteau (FRA)

Ivo Minar (CZE) vs [6]Andy Roddick (USA)

[4]Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA)

[18]Juan Monaco (ARG) vs Mario Ancic (CRO)

[11]Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs [25]Nicolas Almagro (ESP)

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs Thomas Johansson (SWE)

Defending Champion and World No.3 Novak Djokovic suffered unexpected defeat in the second round.

2008-03-29T16:10:00.004+08:00

Defending Champion and World No.3 Novak Djokovic made a surprising early exit in the second round of this year Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. A 21-year old South African qualifier, Kevin Anderson, defeat the World No.3 Novak Djokovic 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4 to prevent Djokovic from defending his title this year. Kevin Anderson is ranked No.122 seed currently and met the World No.3 for the first time in his career. Novak Djokovic who won in the Indian Wells Masters series recently will have to try harder next year to recover his title.

There are other seeded players who suffered early defeat namely World No.7 David Nalbandian, World No.8 Richard Gasquet, No.23 seed Ivan Ljubicic and No.25 seed Jarkko Nieminen. On the hand, World No.9 seed James Blake secure his place in the third round with his victory over Andreas Seppi 7-5, 6-3. World No 2 Rafael Nadal also triumph over his opponent Benjamin Becker 7-5, 6-2 to setup a clash with another German Nicolas Kiefer who oust out No.25 seed Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-2. Although there are already three Top 10 players out of the tournaments, there are still other seeded players who advance into the third round.

Third Round

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs [32]Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
[22]Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) vs [10]Tomas Berdych (CZE)

[15]Guillermo Canas (ARG) vs [17]Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)

[31]Igor Andreev (RUS) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA)

Xavier Malisse (BEL) vs [27]Radek Stepanek (CZE)

Fabrice Santoro (FRA) vs [9]James Blake (USA)

[16]Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) vs [20]Carlos Moya (ESP)

Nicolas Kiefer (GER) vs [2]Rafael Nadal (ESP)

32 more players lead by World No.1 Roger Federer will be playing today 29th Mar starting 11am local time to fill up the 16 spots in the third round.

Sony Ericsson Open in Miami

2008-03-29T15:42:00.002+08:00

Sony Ericsson Open is the second Masters Series of the year following the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells. Sony Ericsson Open is held in Miami, Florida USA. World No.3 Novak Djokovic was the champion for 2007 Sony Ericsson Open overcoming finalist, Guillermo Canas who defeated World No.1 and two-times champion of Sony Ericsson Open, Roger Federer twice last year.

Novak Djokovic capture his first Pacific Life Open title upsetting American Mardy Fish

2008-03-25T00:30:00.003+08:00

Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells was an all Serbian affair for both ATP and WTA Singles. World No.3 Novak Djokovic spoils the American dream of getting his ATP Masters title. This is the first Pacific Life Open title for Djokovic and also adds up to a two times career win over Mardy Fish. Novak Djokovic was brought to a three-set match by unseeded Mardy Fish and fired off 10 aces which help him to win the match 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Mardy Fish also moved up to No.40 South African Airways ATP Rankings with his impressive effort to reach the finals.

Another Serbian lady World No.2 Ana Ivanovic also did not disappoint her Serbian supporters defeating World No.3 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3 to make her the first Serbian woman to hold the Indian Wells title.

That sums up the 2008 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells and Sony Ericsson Open in Miami is the next upcoming Masters Series which I will not miss.

Roger Federer defeated by unseeded American Mardy Fish! Djokovic avenged his defeat last year.

2008-03-24T01:20:00.003+08:00

The American prevails and successfully oust out the World No.1 Roger Federer for the first time in his ATP career. The unseeded American Mardy Fish is aiming for his first ATP Masters Series title with a terrific run beating Mayer Florian, No.31 seed Igor Andreev, No.4 seed Nikolay Davydenko, No.24 seed Lleyton Hewitt, No.7 seed David Nalbandian and the World No.1 Roger Federer. Mardy Fish took only 63mins to finsh off Roger Federer 6-3, 6-2 and sets up a clash with the World No.3 Novak Djokovic. It was a disappointment for Roger Federer with his perfect record of not dropping a set and last until semifinals in this year Indian Wells Masters Series. I thought he stands a good chance of reaching the finals this year and regain his confidence a little after a lousy start this year. I will hope that he can pick himself up for the next ATP Masters Series in Miami starting from 26th Mar to 6th Apr 08.

World No.3 Novak Djokovic relinquishes his victory over World No.2 Rafael Nadal to avenge his defeat in last year Indian Wells finals. Djokovic overrun Nadal 6-3, 6-2 as well in 87mins to fight for his first ATP Masters Series title this year. The two finalists had only met each other for one time in the second round of the 2006 US Open and Djokovic won 7-6(5) 6-4 3-6 7-6(3). Mardy Fish will need to take down one more Top seed player to achieve his first ATP Masters Series title. I would support the American Mardy Fish in the finals. All the best Mardy!

The order of play today starts at 12noon local time with the WTA Singles finals between World No.2 Ana Ivanovic and World No.3 Svetlana Kuznetsova then followed by the ATP Singles finals between unseeded Mardy Fish and World No.3 Novak Djokovic.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic through to the semifinals in Indian Wells. American black horse Mardy Fish face off World No.1!

2008-03-22T11:30:00.000+08:00

World No.1 Roger Federer moves on to the Pacific Life Open semifinals with Tommy Haas retired with a sinus infection on Friday afternoon. It is a pity for Tommy Haas to miss an important match for him to secure a semifinals placing because Tommy Haas had worked very hard to come this far in the tournament by defeating Julien Benneteau, No.6 seed Andy Roddick, No.30 seed Fernando Verdasco and No.11 seed Andy Murray.

Mardy Fish did not let the American down by winning No.7 seed David Nalbandian 6-3, 6(5)-7, 7-6(4) to setup a clash with World No.1 Roger Federer in the semifinals. Mardy Fish has never won a single match against Federer in their last five meetings and two of those were lost in Indian Wells.

It looks like World No.1 could easily capture the finalist spot and will either meet World No.2 Rafael Nadal or World No.3 Novak Djokovic. Of course it is just my assumption and the ball is round so anything can happen.

Semifinals will start at about 1pm local time with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to start the ball rolling first and followed by World No.1 Roger Federer and Mardy Fish.

Rafael Nadal sets up a blockbuster semifinals match against Novak Djokovic

2008-03-21T14:26:00.000+08:00

It was really no surprise that World No.3 Novak Djokovic defeat the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka to advance into the semifinals. Swiss No.2 Wawrinka had reached his first career ATP Masters Series quarterfinals by defeating some seeded players like the No.10 seed Thomas Berdych and No.18 seed Marcos Baghdatis. Novak Djokovic will face another challenge in the semifinals meeting World No.2 Rafael Nadal who overcome No.9 seed James Blake 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in a 125mins 3-set match. This looks like a rematch of last year Pacific Life Open Finals when Nadal emerged the champion.

Rafael Nadal finally got his first career win against James Blake. Novak Djokovic stands a high chance of getting into the finals again based on his winning record so far in the competition but Nadal also have a career winning of 6 out of 8 meetings against Novak Djokovic. It will be a very exciting match to watch out on Saturday 22nd March 2008.

The other 4 quarterfinalists will be playing today. Can the World No.1 Roger Federer maintain his good form and stop Tommy Haas? Can the only American left in the competition, Mardy Fish, fight off No.7 seed David Nalbandian?

Roger Federer storm into the quarterfinals of Pacific Life Open 2008!

2008-03-20T14:23:00.000+08:00

It was the last fourth-round match for the men singles in Indian Wells and it is also a very dramatic and entertaining match to the spectators. Roger Federer loses confidence in the chair empire decision and therefore he used up all his challenges just to prove his point. Of course he does not need the challenges to win the match against Croatian Ivan Ljubicic.

Roger Federer was the last player to cruise into the quarterfinals and also not losing a single set so far. Federer defeat Ljubicic 6-3, 6-4 and ended the 76mins match with an ace. The World No.1 is back on track now and will be facing unseeded German Tommy Haas. It will be their 11th career meeting in 2008 Pacific Life Open quarterfinals with Roger Federer winning 8 of them. Will Roger Federer win the 9th time against Tommy Haas and march into the semifinals?

Quarterfinals

[1]Roger Federer vs Tommy Haas

Mardy Fish vs [7]David Nalbandian

[3]Novak Djokovic vs Stanislas Wawrinka

[2]Rafael Nadal vs [9]James Blake

7 quarterfinalists of Pacific Life Open are revealed!

2008-03-20T13:53:00.000+08:00

World No.2 Rafael Nadal took his revenge in an enduring 183mins match against his Australian Open arch-rival, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. No.17 seed Tsonga challenged Nadal to a third set decider where he nearly upset the World No.2 again serving at 5-3 but Nadal put up a good fight back to advance to the quarterfinals. The grueling match ended with a score of 6(4)-7, 7-6(3), 7-5.

World No.3 Novak Djokovic was the next quarterfinalist who overruns No.16 seed Guillermo Canas in straight set 6-2, 6-3. Another epic match was between 2 unseeded players, Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka and Korean Hyung-Taik Lee. Wawrinka took the first set without any major issue but Lee did not give Wawrinka an easy time in the second set. Wawrinka defeat Lee 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 and will meet World No.3 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

There are two Americans who managed to secure a place in the quarterfinals. No.9 seed James Blake who has never won the past 2 meetings against No.8 seed Richard Gasquet finally triumph over the Frenchman in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. The unseeded American Mardy Fish followed his fellow countryman into the quarterfinals after winning the third-set tie-break against No.24 seed Lleyton Hewitt.

Another unseeded player Tommy Haas also gets his placing in the quarterfinals beating No.11 seed Andy Murray. Andy Murray took the first set confidently but lost the match eventually 6-2, 5-7, 3-6 to the German Tommy Haas. Tommy Haas will be waiting for the winner of the match between World No.1 Roger Federer and No.23 seed Ivan Ljubicic. The Federer vs Ljubicic match have not ended yet when I wrote this post.

No.7 seed David Nalbandian breeze through No.22 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-2 to secure his placing in the quarterfinals.

Federer Express going strong and Ljubicic will be next

2008-03-19T20:27:00.000+08:00

World No.1 Roger Federer proves to be the more dominant player in the third round match against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. Federer took 53mins to wrap up the match 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the fourth round. No. 23 seed Ivan Ljubicic who defeat No.15 seed Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-4, will be Roger’s opponent in the fourth round. The Swiss No.1 and World No.1 has a career win of 11-3 over Croatian Ivan Ljubicic and 2 of those wins took place in Indian Wells.

World No.7 David Nalbandian triumph in the third-set tie-break against No.29 seed Radek Stepanek. Radek Stepanek was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set but Nalbandian bounced back to level the score and eventually defeat Stepanek 7-6(1), 0-6, 7-6(6). David Nalbandian will be playing against No.22 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero who also was intensively tested to a third-set tie-break by Mario Ancic in the third round. Juan Carlos Ferrero overcomes Mario Ancic 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7) to secure a Quarter-Final opportunity.

Surprisingly, unseeded American Mardy Fish swarm over World No.4 Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-2 and will run into former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round. Mardy Fish has not dropped a single set yet to reach the fourth round and same goes for No.24 seed Lleyton Hewitt.

Lastly, World No.11 Andy Murray battled off the towering No.20 seed Ivo Karlovic who fired off 11 aces in the match. Tommy Haas will be Murray’s next encounter in the fourth round.

That concludes all the third round matches for the Men Singles of 2008 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.