NOTE: This is my own version of draw analysis on 2010 Sony Ericsson Open. In this self-version of draw analysis, I will pick who I think will be 2010 Sony Ericsson Open Men's Champion.
The 2010 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami has just started and the top four seeds lead the strong field in the event. Who will came out as a champion? Will there be a Federer-Nadal final as they are in the opposite of the draw? Or a new face will be crowned as a champion?
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| Andy Murray 2009 Sony Ericsson Open Men's Champion |
The Quarters - Part 1
Looking at the draw, Roger Federer has a smooth sailing among the top four seeds. I will expect to see Federer in the final. Of course, he needs to get past Gilles Simon in the third round. Simon, who owns a winning record against Federer. But with his form, I don't think this will be a problem for Federer. Then, Tomas Berdych in the fourth round, who could be dangerous in any given day. Marcos Baghdatis, who upset Federer in the third round of Indian Wells, as well as Marin Cilic will battle it out to reach fourth round where they could face Fernando Verdasco. And the winner of this encounter will meet Federer for a place in the semifinals.
Semifinalist: Federer
Player to watch: Is Baghdatis ready to take on the challenge of the top men of tennis? I wanna see how he will perform at this year's second ATP World Tour Masters 1000.
Player to watch: Is Baghdatis ready to take on the challenge of the top men of tennis? I wanna see how he will perform at this year's second ATP World Tour Masters 1000.
The Quarters - Part 2
Compared to Djokovic, Andy Murray has a relatively tough draw going into the semifinals. In the second round matchup, he could meet Mardy Fish which might cause an upset and an early exit of the No.3 seed. If he wins it, he could meet either Stanislas Wawrinka or Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round. If Murray survives, then he will have an encounter with either Fernando Gonzalez or Robin Soderling. But I expect a Murray-Soderling match.
Semifinalist: Soderling
Player to watch: A possible Murray-Wawrinka match is just around the corner. The last time I saw them play is at 2009 Wimbledon, where Wawrinka almost upset Murray in front of home crowd.
Player to watch: A possible Murray-Wawrinka match is just around the corner. The last time I saw them play is at 2009 Wimbledon, where Wawrinka almost upset Murray in front of home crowd.
The Quarters - Part 3
Rafael Nadal could meet serve-and-volleyer Taylor Dent in the second round, but I think he is too strong for Dent. A real treat for tennis spectators is the Nadal-Nalbandian matchup in the third round, that is, if David Nalbandian escape an early exit or upset Viktor Toicki in the second round. Nalbandian, who is trying to comeback from injury, owns a rare wining record against the Spaniard. If Nadal wins this match, he could meet his compatriot David Ferrer or the big serving Croat Ivo Karlovic in the fourth round, or maybe another Spaniard in the name of the in-form Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarterfinals. That is, if Ferrero gets past of the giant John Isner in a possible third round match and a possible fourth round match against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. But it will be likely a match between two Spaniards in the quarterfinals.
Semifinalist: Nadal
Player to watch: Ryan Harrison, as he faces left-handed Michael Llodra in the first round.
Player to watch: Ryan Harrison, as he faces left-handed Michael Llodra in the first round.
The Quarters - Part 4
Among the top four seeds, I think Novak Djokovic has the toughest draw. Given a bye in the first round, he will start to play in the second round where he could have meet Richard Gasquet and a possible clash with James Blake in the third round. If he win all of his match and reaches fourth round, three talented players are waiting for him: Nicolas Almagro, Mario Ancic, or Sam Querrey who would try to battle it out to book a place in the quarterfinals. And the nightmare doesn't end there because Djokovic needs to dig deep if he wants to reach semifinals.
But before anything else, there could be a repeat of Indian Wells finals match between Andy Roddick and Ivan Ljubicic. Having said that, the Djokovic-Ljubicic match is possible, a repeat of their fourth round encounter at Indian Wells, where Ljubicic upset Djokovic on the way to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 shield. Would there be another repeat of upsets at Key Biscayne?
Semifinalist: Ljubicic
Player to watch: I want to see Gasquet struck the ball with his beautiful backhand. If he avoid an early exit, then a second round clash with Djokovic will be an intriguing match.
Player to watch: I want to see Gasquet struck the ball with his beautiful backhand. If he avoid an early exit, then a second round clash with Djokovic will be an intriguing match.
The Semifinals
Federer vs. Soderling: This will be the 14th meeting between Federer and Soderling and I would say the their head-to-head record will speak for itself. Federer in straight sets.
Nadal vs. Ljubicic: Nadal will try to escape and avoid another upset against Ljubicic, who will try to achieve the rare feat Indian Wells-Miami double. Nadal in three sets.
Finalists: Federer, Nadal
The Finals
The Federer-Nadal rivalry will be renewed in this event, their third meeting in Miami and 21st meeting overall, since ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid. This will be the most anticipated and the most awaited match between the two. In this event alone, they have a tied head-to-head record, where Nadal winning their first encounter in 2004 and Federer winning their second encounter in 2005, coming back from two set to love down and recovered from third set tiebreak. Both players are coming back from their respective layoff with Nadal show his strong performance at Indian Wells. Will Federer get better of him once again? Federer in three sets.
Champion: Roger Federer
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