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SHARK STATSATP Stats guru Greg Sharko ATP Bracket Challenge Circuit -- BNP Paribas Masters The final ATP Bracket Challenge of the season at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris gets underway Sunday with another outstanding field assembled. There are four former champions in the tournament, led by last year's winner David Nalbandian, Nikolay Davydenko (2006), Tomas Berdych (2005) and three-time champ Marat Safin (2000, '02, '04). Overall, every player in the Top 10 and 18 of the Top 20 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings are in the draw. There are 10 players in contention for three singles positions remaining for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. Last year Nalbandian came into Paris No. 25 in the ATP Race before jumping to No. 9 with the title. In addition, Frenchman Richard Gasquet went from No. 13 to No. 8 after reaching the semifinals in Paris to qualify for Shanghai. The field is led by World No. 1 and last year's runner-up Rafael Nadal, who leads the ATP circuit with eight titles and an 80-10 match record. The Spaniard will meet the winner of Michael Llodra and a qualifier in his opening round match and the first seed he could meet is No. 16 Gael Monfils in the third round. Monfils opens with Safin or a qualifier. In the quarterfinals, Nadal could play No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko (Nadal leads 3-1) or No. 12 Stanislas Wawrinka (Nadal leads 3-0). In the second quarter of the draw, No. 4 seed and Madrid champion Andy Murray takes on the winner of Marcos Baghdatis (Baghdatis leads 2-0) and Sam Querrey (Murray leads 1-0). The first seed Murray could meet is No. 15 Fernando Verdasco (they played in St. Petersburg semifinals) in the third round. Verdasco plays the winner of Tommy Robredo and French wild card Jeremy Chardy. In the quarterfinals, Murray could encounter No. 8/defending champ David Nalbandian (Nalbandian leads 1-0) or No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro (Murray leads 2-0). Nalbandian and del Potro have played each other the last past two weeks (Madrid, Basel). In the final quarter of the draw, No. 2 Roger Federer, who's best result in Paris was the quarterfinals (2002-03), plays the winner of wild card Josselin Ouanna (never played) and Robin Soderling (Federer leads 7-0) in his opening round match. The first seed the Swiss could meet is No. 14 Richard Gasquet in the third round (Federer leads 6-1) and in the quarterfinals he could play No. 5 David Ferrer (Federer leads 8-0) or No. 11 James Blake (Federer leads 8-1). Ferrer and Blake enter Paris No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, in the ATP 2008 Race, and they could meet in the third round (Blake leads 1-0).
ATP Bracket Challenge Circuit -- Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid The seventh ATP Bracket Challenge begins Sunday at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid with a star-studded line-up featuring every player in the Top 30 South African Airways ATP Rankings. There are four former winners in the field, led by defending champion David Nalbandian, World No. 2 Roger Federer (2006), World No. 1 Rafael Nadal (2005) and wild card Marat Safin (2004). There are four singles positions remaining to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. Last year David Nalbandian came into Madrid No. 33 in the ATP Race and he captured the title along with Paris to finish No. 9. Nalbandian is in a similar position this year, coming into Stockholm at tied for No. 26 in the ATP 2008 Race. While four spots are up for grabs, the Top 4 of Nadal, Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have already secured a place in next month's year-end championship. Nadal is playing in his first tournament since reaching the semifinals at the US Open last month (l. to Murray). But the Mallorca native did appear in the Davis Cup semifinals three weeks ago, leading his country to the final with wins over Sam Querrey and Andy Roddick. The 22-year-old left-hander could wrap up the year-end No. 1 ranking in Madrid, depending on his and Federer's results. Nadal, who enters with an ATP-best 77-9 match record (27-4 in ATP Masters Series play) and eight titles, takes on the winner of Nicolas Kiefer-Ernests Gulbis in his opening round match. The first seed he could face is No. 15 Richard Gasquet in the third round (Nadal leads 5-0). In the quarterfinals, Nadal could meet No. 6 David Ferrer (Nadal leads 6-3) or No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka (Nadal leads 3-0). In the second quarter of the draw, No. 3 Novak Djokovic is coming off a semifinal appearance last year (l. to Nalbandian). The 21-year-old Serb trails No. 2 Roger Federer by 22 points in the ATP 2008 Race and could overtake the Swiss by the end of the season. Djokovic opens against the winner of Dmitry Tursunov and a qualifier and the first seed he could play is No. 14 Ivo Karlovic (Djokovic leads 1-0) in the third round. In the quarterfinals, Djokovic could face No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko (Davydenko leads 1-0) or No. 11 James Blake (Djokovic leads 1-0). Davydenko could meet countryman Marat Safin for the second week in a row. Safin, who beat the top Russian in the quarterfinals of Moscow, opens with Michael Llodra. In the bottom half of the draw (third quarter), No. 4 seed Andy Murray, who won the last ATP Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati in August (d. Djokovic), opens with the winner of Nicolas Almagro and a qualifier. The British No. 1's first seeded opponent is No. 13 Fernando Verdasco in the third round (Murray leads 3-0). In the quarterfinals, he could encounter No. 8 Andy Roddick (Murray leads 4-2) or No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez (tied 1-1). Gonzalez has an 8-6 career mark in Madrid, reaching the final two years ago (l. to Federer) and quarterfinals in 2005 and last year. Roddick is 2-4 lifetime in Madrid. In the last quarter of the draw, No. 2 Roger Federer attempts to win his first ATP Masters Series title of the year. He is is 14-3 lifetime in Madrid, winning two years ago and reaching the final last year. He faces the winner of Juan Monaco (Federer leads 1-0) and Radek Stepanek (Federer leads 5-2) in his opening round match. Federer could face No. 16 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round (have never played). In the quarterfinals, Argentines David Nalbandian (Federer leads 9-8), the defending champion, and Juan Martin del Potro (Federer leads 2-0), the No. 7 and 9 seeds, respectively, are looming. Nalbandian has a tough draw, having to face the Rainer Schuettler-Tomas Berdych winner and then possibly his countryman (Nalbandian leasd 1-0) in the third round. Nalbandian is trying to become the first player to defend his title in the tournament's short history (since 2002). ================================================================ ATP Bracket Challenge Circuit -- ATP Masters Series Cincinnati The sixth ATP Bracket Challenge begins Monday at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati with an outstanding field assembled. This year's draw includes nine of the Top 10 players (16 of the Top 20 overall) in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. In last year's final, World No. 1 Roger Federer captured his second tournament title in three years with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over James Blake. Federer looks to get back on track after an opening round loss in Toronto. In addition to Federer, two-time champion Andy Roddick (2003, '06) and Carlos Moya (2002) are former winners in the draw. World No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who is closing in on the No. 1 ranking, has reached the quarterfinals once ('06) in four previous appearances (3-4 record). No. 3 Novak Djokovic is 1-3 in his career in Cincinnati. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have captured 11 of the last 14 ATP Masters Series titles in 2007-08, with Nadal winning five times, Djokovic four and Federer twice. One of the threesome has reached the final in each of the last 14 Masters Series tournaments. Federer, who is 13-5 lifetime in Cincinnati, takes on the winner of a qualifier and American Robby Ginepri in his opening round match. Federer comes into the tournament with a 43-10 match record on the season and two ATP titles (Estoril, Halle). He is looking to capture his first title on hard courts and first ATP Masters Series title in ‘08. The first seed Federer could meet is big-serving No. 16 Ivo Karlovic in the third round (Federer leads 6-0). Possible quarterfinal opponents include No. 6 Andy Roddick (Federer leads 15-2) and No. 12 Tommy Robredo (Federer leads 8-0). In the second quarter of the draw, No. 4 seed Nikolay Davydenko, a semifinalist last year, opens against the winner of Janko Tipsarevic and Carlos Moya. Davydenko is 2-0 against Tipsarevic but 2-4 against Moya. The Russian's first seeded opponent is No. 15 Radek Stepanek, who leads 4-3 (winning last three meetings) in the third round. Other seeds in that section include No. 11 Richard Gasquet (vs. Michael Llodra) and No. 8 Andy Murray. Gasquet is 1-3 lifetime in Cincinnati while Murray reached the quarterfinals two years ago. If Gasquet gets through his opener, he would take on the winner of Russians Dmitry Tursunov and Marat Safin in round two. In the bottom half of the draw, in the third quarter, No. 3 Novak Djokovic meets the winner of a qualifier and Simone Bolelli. The first seed Djokovic could face is No. 13 Fernando Gonzalez (vs. Tomas Berdych) and along with Berdych, Wimbledon quarterfinalist Feliciano is also a possible third round opponent. In the quarterfinals, Djokovic could meet No. 7 and last year's runner-up James Blake, No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka (vs. Thomas Johansson) or dangerous floaters Nicolas Kiefer and Gilles Simon. They were playing each other in the Toronto semifinals. In the last quarter section, No. 2 and Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal meets the winner of a qualifier and Frenchman Florent Serra. The first seed the Spaniard could play is No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny (vs. Tommy Haas). Although Nadal leads the series 7-4, he is 3-4 on hard courts against the Russian. Other seeds he could face in the quarterfinals are No. 5 David Ferrer (Nadal leads 6-3) or No. 10 Fernando Verdasco (Nadal leads 6-0). ATP Bracket Challenge Circuit -- ATP Masters Series Toronto The fifth ATP Bracket Challenge of the season gets underway Monday at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, Canada for the Rogers Masters. ATP Bracket Challenge Circuit -- ATP Masters Series Hamburg Welcome to the fourth ATP Bracket Challenge of the 2008 season and here's the draw analysis and a few tips for ATP Masters Series Hamburg, which features nine of the Top 10 players in the South African Airways ATP Rankings and 16 of the Top 20 overall (as of Saturday). Four-time champion and World No. 1 Roger Federer along with No. 2/last year's finalist Rafael Nadal lead the field. This is the third and final clay ATP Masters Series tournament of the year. Federer has won 25 of his last 26 matches in Hamburg, capturing titles in 2002 (d. Safin), '04 (d. Coria), '05 (d. Gasquet) and last year (d. Nadal). With both players losing before the semifinals in Rome, they will be looking for a strong result in their last tournament in preparations for Roland Garros. Nadal has not lost in back-to-back clay court tournaments since July 2004. Federer, who is off to an 11-2 start on clay this season, comes into the tournament as the top seed for the fourth time. The Swiss superstar will face the winner of Jarkko Nieminen-Rainer Schuettler (Nieminen leads 4-3) in his opening round match. Federer is 8-0 against Nieminen and 3-1 against Schuettler. The first seed he could face is No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round (never met). No. 5 David Ferrer, a three-time quarterfinalist in Hamburg or No. 10 Mikhail Youzhny (vs. Fernando Verdasco) could be Federer's quarterfinal opponent. Ferrer, who is 11-3 on clay this season, will have a difficult opening match against the Nicolas Almagro-Feliciano Lopez winner. Federer is 8-0 against Ferrer and 10-0 against Youzhny. In the second quarter of the draw, No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 8 Richard Gasquet are the highest seeds. Both players are coming off early round losses in Rome. Davydenko, a semifinalist in Hamburg three years ago, takes on the winner of Steve Darcis-Ivan Ljubicic in his opening round match. The first seed Davydenko would face is No. 16 Paul-Henri Mathieu (vs. Nicolas Kiefer) or the newest expected member of the Top 10 Stanislas Wawrinka (vs. qualifier) in the third round. Gasquet, who reached the final as a qualifier in 2005, is looking to break out of his slump (won one of last five matches) and 10-9 on the season. The top Frenchman will play the winner of German wild card Michael Berrer and Andreas Seppi in his opening round match. He could meet No. 12 seed Juan Monaco (vs. Filippo Volandri) or rising Italian Simone Bolelli in the third round. In the bottom half of the draw (third section), No. 3 Novak Djokvoic and No. 7 James Blake are the highest seeds. In his last two tournaments, Djokovic reached the semifinals in Monte Carlo and will be playing in the final in Rome on Sunday. Djokovic, a quarterfinalist in Hamburg last year, will open against the qualifier-Juan Ignacio Chela winner. In the third round, he could face 2006 Hamburg champion and No. 13 seed Tommy Robredo, who plays top German Philipp Kohlschreiber. Robredo is 10-4 in his last four tournaments after a 4-6 start. Blake will take on the winner of Janko Tipsarevic and German wild card Andreas Beck. Blake's first seeded opponent is No. 9 Tomas Berdych, who is returning from an ankle injury last month (vs. Jose Acasuso) in the third round. In the last section, No. 2 Rafael Nadal will meet the winner of qualifier-Potito Starace in his opening round match. Nadal's other seeded opponents in his section of the draw are No. 6 Andy Roddick, who is coming off a semifinal in Rome, No. 11 Carlos Moya (vs. qualifier), both possible quarterfinal opponents, and No. 15 Andy Murray (vs. Dmitry Tursunov) in the third round. Rome semifinalist and 2006 Hamburg runner-up Radek Stepanek plays a qualifier in the first round and could face Moya in the second round. Good luck and thanks for playing ATP Bracket Challenge! ATP Bracket Challenge Circuit -- ATP Masters Series Hamburg Masters Series Hamburg tidbits of interest:
Just a reminder, the draw will come out Saturday, May 10 at 11am CEST (5am EST) ATP Bracket Challenge Circuit -- ATP Masters Series Rome Welcome to the third ATP Bracket Challenge of the 2008 season and here's the draw analysis and a few tips for ATP Masters Series Rome, which features nine of the Top 10 players in the South African Airways ATP Rankings and 16 of the Top 20 overall. Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal leads the second clay ATP Masters Series tournament of the year and he is playing in his third consecutive tournament. The 21-year-old Spaniard, who defeated Guillermo Coria in 2005, rival Roger Federer in 2006 and Fernando Gonzalez last year, owns a 17-0 career record in Rome. Going into the Barcelona semifinals on Saturday, he has a career mark of 19-1 in clay finals. While Nadal is a strong favorite to become the first player in tournament history to win the title four consecutive years and Federer is aiming to keep pace with another final showing ('03, '06), a Spaniard has won the title in six of the last seven years (except '02). Federer, who is off to a 9-1 start on clay this season, comes into the tournament as the top seed for the third consecutive year. The Swiss superstar could face a tough opponent in his opening match in Argentine Guillermo Canas, who has won three of the previous five meetings (all on hard courts). They have never met on clay. No. 12 Paul-Henri Mathieu (vs. Ivo Karlovic) would be the first seeded opponent in the third round and either No. 10 Richard Gasquet (Federer leads 6-1) or No. 5 David Ferrer (Federer leads 8-0) in the quarterfinals. Ferrer reached the semifinals two years ago and is off to a strong clay court start this year, winning Valencia. Ferrer will face the winner of Radek Stepanek-Jarkko Nieminen in his opening round match. In the second quarter of the draw, No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 7 David Nalbandian are the highest seeds. Federer defeated both players in Monte Carlo en route to the final. Djokovic, a quarterfinalist in Rome last year and coming off a semifinal in Monte Carlo, takes on the winner of Steve Darcis-Ivan Ljubicic in his opening round match. Djokovic could meet No. 13 seed Juan Monaco (vs. qualifier) or unseeded Igor Andreev in the third round. Nalbandian is likely to face 2008 clay court match wins leader (23-4) Nicolas Almagro (vs. Flavio Cipolla) in his opening round match and the first seed he could play is No. 12 and last year's runner-up Fernando Gonzalez (vs. Janko Tipsarevic) in the third round. In the bottom half of the draw (third section), No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 6 Andy Roddick, who is making his '08 clay court tournament debut, are the highest seeds. Roddick reached the semifinals in 2002 and quarterfinals two years ago. Davydenko, a semifinalist last year, will open against the Mario Ancic-Feliciano Lopez winner. The Russian is 4-2 against Ancic and 0-4 vs. Lopez. Davydenko could meet No. 14 Tommy Robredo (vs. Juan Ignacio Chela) in the third round. Roddick will play the winner of Michael Llodra-Mardy Fish in his first match and the first seed he could face is No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (vs. Gilles Simon), who is coming back from a knee injury and playing in his first clay court tournament of '08. In the last section, No. 2 Rafael Nadal will meet the winner of countryman/2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero-Nicolas Kiefer (tied 2-2) in his opening round match. Nadal's other seeded opponents in his section of the draw are No. 8 James Blake, No. 11/2004 champ Carlos Moya (vs. Fernando Verdasco), both possible quarterfinal opponents, and No. 16 Andy Murray (vs. qualifier) in the third round. Murray could face the winner of Marat Safin-Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round. Blake will face the winner of Andreas Seppi-Fabrice Santoro in his opening round match. Moya, who has a 20-11 career mark in Rome, owns a 5-0 career mark against Verdasco. But he's lost three straight matches in Rome since the title and has lost in the opening round the last two weeks. Here are some tidbits of interest:
Good Luck and don't forget Hamburg is next week (starting Sunday)! Chilean Wins Second ATP Bracket Challenge; Rome Next Week
Bauerle finished atop the standings, which featured nearly 7,000 contestants, with 166 points. He correctly picked seven of the eight quarterfinalists in Masters Series Monte-Carlo and selected the semifinalists and the Nadal over Federer final. "I feel very happy on winning the second tournament of the ATP Bracket Challenge," said Bauerle, who will receive $1,000 of Penn HEAD products. "As the tournament progressed and I was within first place, I was convinced that I had great chances of winning. I hope to win the complete circuit because I want to travel to an ATP tournament." Second place finisher Sean Doran of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania picked up 164 points and will receive $500 of Penn HEAD products while third place finisher Tania Carrazo Rodriguez of Arrecife-Lanzarote, Canary Islands picked up 162 points and will receive $250 of Penn HEAD products. Bauerle, who was a fan of countryman Marcelo Rios when he played on the ATP Tour, says his favorite player is Roger Federer. He also added that if he wins the Grand Prize of attending the ATP tournament of his choice in 2009, he would consider, "Dubai or Monte Carlo because there can I see a very good level of tennis and know they are nice places." Eric Winter, of Newark, Delaware, who won the first ATP Bracket Challenge in Miami, is the overall leader after two tournaments with 278 points. The third tournament, ATP Masters Series Rome, begins next Monday and the draw will be conducted at noon Central European Summer Time (CEST) on Saturday, May 3. Picks are due by 1 p.m. (CEST) time on May 5. Don't miss out on a chance to win a trip to any ATP tournament in the world in 2009. Sign up! Masters Series Monte Carlo Bracket Challenge - April 20 - April 27 Welcome to the second ATP Bracket Challenge of the 2008 season and here's the draw analysis and a few tips for the Masters Series Monte Carlo, which features seven of the Top 10 players in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, including the Top 5. Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal leads the first clay ATP Masters Series tournament of the year. The 21-year-old Spaniard, who has defeated rival Roger Federer the last two years in the final, makes his season debut on clay. Over the past three seasons Nadal has won 107 of 110 matches on clay with 17 titles. While Nadal is a strong favorite to become the first player in tournament history to win the title four consecutive years and Federer is aiming for another final showing, a Spaniard has won the title in five of the last six years (except '04). Federer comes into the tournament as the top seed for the fourth consecutive year. The Swiss superstar could face No. 6 seed and long-time rival David Nalbandian in the quarterfinals (tied 8-8) with the Argentine winning the last two meetings in 2007. But both players will have to win two rounds before getting to the quarters. Federer will open against a qualifier or Frenchman Gilles Simon and the first seed he could face is No. 15 Ivo Karlovic. But the Croat will have his hands full with veteran Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, a two-time Monte Carlo semifinalist, in the first round. The Gael Monfils-Fernando Verdasco winner could also be a possible third round opponent. Nalbandian will take on the winner of Robin Soderling-Tommy Haas in his opening round match and possibly No. 12 Tommy Robredo in the third round (Nalbandian leads 3-2). In the second quarter of the draw, No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 7 Richard Gasquet are the highest seeds. Djokovic, making his season debut on clay, will play the winner of former two-time champion Gustavo Kuerten-Ivan Ljubicic (Kuerten leads Ljubicic 5-1) in his opening round match. Djokovic could meet No. 14 seed Andy Murray (vs. Feliciano Lopez) in the third round. Gasquet takes on the Andreas Seppi-Fabrice Santoro winner and the first seed he could play is No. 10 Carlos Moya (vs. Sam Querrey), the 1998 champion and '02 runner-up. Moya has a 26-11 career record in Monte Carlo but he's looking to break a three-match first round losing streak since reaching the semifinals in 2004. In the bottom half of the draw (third section), Russians Nikolay Davydenko (No. 4) and Mikhail Youzhny (No. 8) are the highest seeds. Davydenko will open against the Nicolas Kiefer-Juan Ignacio Chela winner and could meet No. 16 and last year's quarterfinalist Philipp Kohlschreiber (vs. Jose Acasuso) in the third round. Youzhny will face either countryman Igor Andreev or Dmitry Tursunov in his opening round match and possibly No. 11 Juan Monaco or unseeded Nicolas Almagro in the third round. In the last section, No. 2 Rafael Nadal could meet two countrymen in the later rounds. No. 13 seed and former two-time champion Juan Carlos Ferrero (Nadal leads 5-1) is a possible third round opponent and No. 5 David Ferrer (Nadal leads 4-3, including 3-1 on clay), a three-time Monte Carlo quarterfinalist, in the quarters. Nadal opens with a qualifier or wild card Mario Ancic (Nadal leads 2-1) while Ferrero takes on Michael Llodra. Ferrer meets the winner of wild card Marat Safin and Xavier Malisse and his first seeded opponent is No. 9 Paul-Henri Mathieu (vs. Janko Tipsarevic) in the third round. Good Luck! Masters Series Monte Carlo Bracket Challenge - Preview The Monte Carlo Bracket Challenge is just around the corner. Here are a few tips before the draw is announced Saturday morning:
Sony Ericsson Open Bracket Challenge - Recap While Nikolay Davydenko picked up his second career ATP Masters Series title at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, a 24-year-old engineer in the U.S. is the first winner of the 2008 ATP Bracket Challenge Circuit.
Winter graduated from the University of Delaware in 2005 with a degree in chemical engineering. Winter, who is a 4.0 USTA-ranked player, competes about twice a week in the summer and twice a month in the winter. Winter is the early leader to win the Grand Prize at the end of the ATP Masters Series tournament schedule to earn a VIP trip for two to any ATP tournament in 2009. Winter will receive $1,000 of Penn HEAD products for winning the first tournament ."If I won I would go to Australia because I think it would be fun to see the culture and the sights," said Winter. Second place finisher Javier Sala of Spain picked up 134 points and will receive $500 of Penn HEAD products while third place finisher Tulio Fantini of Chile picked up 127 points and will pick up $250 of Penn HEAD products. He says his favorite players are James Blake and Ana Ivanovic. When asked about his final pick, Winter said, "Davydenko is getting his game together and Federer and Nadal are struggling a bit." The second tournament is less than two weeks away at Masters Series Monte Carlo, which begins Sunday, April 20 and picks are be due at 5 a.m. EST on Apr. 20. Sony Ericsson Open Bracket Challenge - March 26 - April 6 Welcome to the first ATP Bracket Challenge of the 2008 season and here's the draw analysis and a few tips for the Sony Ericsson Open, which features 48 of the Top 50 players in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. Defending champion Novak Djokovic looks to win the first two ATP Masters Series tournaments of the season while top-ranked Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal attempt to break their title drought and capture their first title in 2008. Federer, a former two-time champion (2005-06), comes into the tournament as the top seed for the fifth consecutive year. The Swiss superstar has a tricky draw ahead of him, opening with the winner of Gael Monfils-John Isner. In the third round, Federer could meet countryman and No. 28 Stanislas Wawrinka. In the fourth round, he could face long-time rival Lleyton Hewitt (Federer leads 13-7, winning last 11) or Tommy Robredo (Federer leads 8-0). A possible quarterfinal opponent could be the winner of No. 6 Andy Roddick (Federer leads 15-1, winning last 11) and No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (never met), who is coming off a career-best quarterfinal in an ATP Masters Series tournament. Also looming is No. 19 Ivo Karlovic and No. 30 Juan Ignacio Chela, a two-time quarterfinalist in Miami. Karlovic would meet Tsonga and Chela would play Roddick in the 3rd Rd. In the second quarter of the draw, No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 5 David Ferrer, a Miami semifinalist in two of the past three years, are the highest seeds, along with No.11 Mikhail Youzhny and No. 13 Andy Murray, a semifinalist last season. A couple of interesting first round match-ups in that section are wild card Mario Ancic who plays Gilles Simon with the winner to take on Murray. Indian Wells finalist Mardy Fish, who climbed from No. 98 to No. 40, plays Frenchman Arnaud Clement (tied 1-1). That winner will face No. 24 Nicolas Almagro. Fish has never advanced past the third round in six previous appearances in Miami. In the bottom half of the draw, No. 2 Rafael Nadal could meet No. 3 Novak Djokovic again in the semifinals after last week in Indian Wells (Nadal leads 6-3). The two met in the quarterfinals last year with Djokovic winning in straight sets en route to the title. Nadal's first seeded opponent would be No. 25 Jarkko Nieminen (Nadal leads 4-0) in the third round and either No. 16 Paul-Henri Mathieu (Nadal leads 7-0) or No. 20 Carlos Moya (Nadal leads 5-2) in the fourth round. Moya defeated Nadal in the second round two years ago and is a former finalist (2003).
In the quarterfinals, the Spaniard could face either No. 7 David Nalbandian (Nalbandian leads 2-0), a semifinalist two years ago, No. 9 James Blake (Blake leads 3-1), No. 23 Ivan Ljubicic (Nadal leads 3-1) or No. 27 Radek Stepanek (Nadal leads 4-0). In the third round, Nalbandian would meet Stepanek (Nalbandian leads 2-1) and Ljubicic (Ljubicic leads 4-1) would take on Blake. Although Ljubicic has dropped out of the Top 10, he reached the final two years ago and the semifinals last season. A couple of intriguing first round matches in that section include wild card Gustavo Kuerten, a finalist in 2000, against Sebastien Grosjean, a runner-up in 1999. Grosjean leads the series 3-2 and the two first met nine years ago in the second round in Miami with the Frenchman winning. That winner will play Stepanek. The two oldest players in the draw square off as 35-year-old Fabrice Santoro plays 36-year-old Jonas Bjorkman with the winner to face Ljubicic. Bjorkman leads the series 3-1 but the Frenchman won the last meeting in Cincinnati in 2004. Former Top 10 Germans Nicolas Kiefer and Tommy Haas also meet in the first round with the winner to play Nieminen. Kiefer has won three of the previous five meetings against his countryman although they are 1-1 on hard courts.In the third quarter of the draw, Djokovic's highest seeded opponent is No. 8 Richard Gasquet (Djokovic leads 2-1), who will have a difficult opening round match against the winner of Russians Dmitry Tursunov-Evgeny Korolev. The first seed Djokovic would meet is No. 31 Igor Andreev in the third round (Djokovic leads 3-0) and then either No. 15/last year's finalist Guillermo Canas (Djokovic leads 2-0) or No. 17 Fernando Gonzalez (Gonzalez leads 2-1). Gasquet, No. 10 Tomas Berdych, No. 22 Juan Carlos Ferrero or No. 32 Feliciano Lopez are possible quarterfinal opponents.
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Go from No. 5,373 to No. 1! That's what 37-year-old Erick Bauerle of Santiago, Chile did after playing the first bracket challenge in Miami. Bauerle won the Masters Series Monte-Carlo ATP Bracket Challenge. He correctly picked seven of the eight quarterfinalists along with the winning semifinalists and Nadal over Federer in the final.
Eric Winter, of Newark, Delaware, finished as the overall winner with
149 points in the bracket challenge of over 11,000 contestants. There
were 12 people who correctly picked Nikolay Davydenko to win the title
but Winter was the only person to correctly pick the Russian over Rafael
Nadal in the final. Overall, there were six contestants who picked a
Davydenko-Nadal final.
Copyright © ATP Tour, Inc. 2008. All Rights Reserved.