2008 US Open Preview

Men's Singles:

For the first time in his career, Rafael Nadal will be the top seed in a grand slam event. The Spaniard has had an amazing year winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal. Although he has never made it past the quarterfinals in the US Open, he is already the favorite to win the title. He won 38 of his last 39 matches. Looking at his draw, the path is quite smooth until the quarterfinals where he can face either David Nalbandian or James Blake. He could also face dangerous opponents like Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro and Gilles Simon, who collectively won 4 titles in the US Open series this summer.

Roger Federer, now ranked no. 2 after a staggering 237 weeks at the top, will find himself in an unfamiliar place - the bottom half of the draw. He has been the top seed of the grand slams since the 2004 French Open. He has also looking to salvage this season by winning his fifth consecutive US Open title. Federer could meet Radek Stepanek (who beat him in the QFs of the Rome Masters this year) in the third round and Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals.

So in which draw does Novak Djokovic land in?

Djokovic, the world no. 3 is in perhaps the most difficult quarter of the draw. His opening match will be against Wimbledon quarterfinalist Arnaud Clement. In the fourth round, he could have the no. 19 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (runner-up to Djokovic in this year's Autralian Open) or no. 15 Tommy Robredo. He could also face the 2000 and 2003 US Open champions Marat Safin and Andy Roddick respectively in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he could face Federer.

Women's Singles:
An all-Williams final like that in Wimbledon is not possible as the sisters could face in the quartfinals. Just like last year, the balance of players in the women's draw is very much uneven. Top seed and French Open champion Ana Ivanovic and US Open series winner Dinara Safina could also face in the quarterfinals and meet either one of the Williams sisters in the semifinal of the top half.

In the bottom half, Jelena Jankovic has a much smoother road to the semifinals. She could meet no. 14 Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round and meet either Vera Zvonareva, Marion Bartoli or Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. In the other bottom quarter, Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva could meet 2004 US Open champ and 2007 runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.

The Round-up:
As always, the men's singles event is always very exciting. Nadal just made it to the fourth round last year but given his current form, he is likely to surpass that and even make it to the finals at least. Federer has had a year to forget only winning two small titles and dropping down to the no. 2 ranking. He has won at least one grand slam since 2003. Djokovic is considered by many to be the best hardcourt player today so he has a lot to prove. With a good result, it could also give him enough momentum to eventually overtake Federer by the end of the season. Dark horses for the title are Murray and Del Potro. Murray won over the Serb in Cincinnati to capture his first Masters series title. He also made it to the semifinals at the Rogers Masters. Del Potro meanwhile is in a 19-match winning streak (second only to Nadal's 32) which includes 2 US Open series titles.

Currently, there is no dominant force in the WTA tour. World no.1 Ana Ivanovic has been inconsistent since winning at Roland Garros and clinching the top ranking. She was also forced to pull-out the Olympics due to her inflammed thumb. Jelena Jankovic became no. 1 last week but immediately lost it after a quarterfinal loss at the Olympic Games. She also has yet to reach a grand slam final. As was the case for the last few WTA tournaments, we could have a new no. 1 by the end of the US Open.

Rafael Nadal is ATP no. 1

After 237 consecutive weeks, Rafael Nadal takes over the ATP ranking, displacing Roger Federer after 4 and a half years of dominance. It took a monumental effort for Nadal to take over the top spot. In the Hamburg semifinal, the Spaniard almost dropped to no. 3 had he lost to Novak Djokovic. Nadal won the match and eventually the tournament to retain his ranking as world no. 2. So far this year, he was won 7 titles including his fourth successive French Open title and Wimbledon. He also just recently won the Olympic gold medal for the men's singles event. Congratulations, Rafa!

Dementieva wins gold - Women's Singles

Elena Dementieva led the all-Russian sweep in the Women's Singles event as she defeated Dinara Safina 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Dementieva won the silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics losing to Venus Williams. The Russian has reached two grand slam finals (20054 French Open and US Open)but has yet to win one. Indeed, this is her biggest achievement in her career. With this win, she moves back into the top 5 WTA bouncing compatriot Maria Sharapova down to no. 6. Welcome to Tennis ACES, Elena!

Nadal wins gold, bronze for Djokovic - Men's Singles

Rafael Nadal continues his year by winning the gold medal in the men's singles by beating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3. This is Nadal's first Olympic medal and also the first time he participated in the men's singles event. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic won the bronze medal against James Blake 6-3, 7-6(4). The Serb was defeated in the semifinals against Nadal in an exciting three-set match. This is also Djokovic's first Olympic medal.

Serena and Venus win gold - Women's Doubles

Serena and Venus Williams won the gold medal in the women's doubles event beating Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-2, 6-0. This is the second gold for the Williams sister after their first win in the 200o Sydney Olympics. Four year ago in Athens, they did not participate as Serena was injured. Both participated in the singles event but were ousted in the quarterfinals.

Roger Federer wins gold medal - Men's Doubles

Roger Federer finally wins an unlikely Olympic medal after disappointing results in Sydney and Athens. Ranked no. 1 for 237 weeks in the ATP men's singles ranking, the Swiss star earned the gold medal for his country in the men's doubles with friend and world no. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka. The Swiss pair beat Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3.

Olympics - Nadal seeking first medal

Men's Singles Semifinals:
Rafael NADAL (ESP) d. Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
Fernando GONZALEZ (CHI) d. James BLAKE (USA) 4-6, 7-5, 11-9

Women's Singles Quarterfinals:
Dinara SAFINA (RUS) d. Jelena JANKOVIC (SRB) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3

Olympics - Federer, Williams crashes out

Men's Singles Quarterfinals:
James BLAKE (USA) d. Roger FEDERER (SUI) 6-4, 7-6(2)
Rafael NADAL (ESP) d. Jurgen MELZER (AUT) 6-0, 6-4
Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) d. Gael MONFILS (FRA) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

Women's Quarterfinals:
Elena DEMENTIEVA (RUS) d. Serena WILLIAMS (USA) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

Olympics Day 3 - Top seeds advance

Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) d. Mikhail YOUZHNY (RUS) 7-6(3), 6-3

Rafael NADAL (ESP) d. Igor ANDREEV (RUS) 6-4, 6-2

Roger FEDERER (SUI) d. Tomas BERDYCH (CZE) 6-3, 7-6(4)
“Of course you have memories of such a big tournament and losing. He’s a good player. So I’m very happy with this win, because I think this was the first true test in this tournament.”

Jelena JANKOVIC (SRB) d. Dominika CIBULKOVA (SVK) 7-5, 6-1

Serena WILLIAMS (USA) d. Alize CORNET (FRA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
“I’ve been really working on my temper. But I was just making so many errors, and I wasn’t practicing like that at all. It came to a point, I think I hit a backhand in the net, and I had just had enough.”

Olympics Day 2 - Results so far

Rafael NADAL (ESP) d. Lleyton HEWITT (AUS) 6-1, 6-2 The score suggests a thrashing but the 90-minute match says otherwise. Hewitt, former world no. 1 really had the odds stacked against him after an intense five-set match yesterday. Of course, he was also up against next week’s no. 1 player, Nadal. The Spaniard played better this time than in his opening match characterized by uncharacteristic errors. "Very happy about my performance. I think I play one of my best matches in the last weeks on hard court."

Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) d. Rainer SCHUETTLER (GER) 6-4, 6-2

Roger FEDERER (SUI) d. Rafael AREVALO (ESA) 6-2, 6-4
Olympics rematch in the third round as Federer will face Tomas Berdych who upset him in the second round of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

"He (Berdych) has got a great game," Federer said. "Obviously I'm aware of the danger."

Paul-Henri MATHIEU (FRA) d. Nikolay DAVYDENKO (RUS) 7-5, 6-3
Davydenko, the fourth seed, is upset by Frenchman Mathieu. The Russian once again falls early in big tournaments. His win at the Sony Ericsson Open Masters early in the year didn’t seem to give him momentum as this year has been quite disappointing for him.

Jelena JANKOVIC (SRB) d. ALona BONDARENKO (UKR) 7-5, 6-1

Serena WILLIAMS (USA) d. Samantha STOSUR (AUS) 6-2, 6-0
Unlike the Nadal-Hewitt clash, this match was all Serena Williams. The American just took 44 minutes to dismantle Stosur by winning the last 10 games with her powerful strokes.

"I've never played singles at the Olympics, so this has been really cool for me. Every time I walk out there, it's like I'm playing in my match, but at the same time I have the whole U.S. team on my side. It's good. I really like that feeling."

Olympics Day 1 – Top seeds advance

Roger FEDERER (SUI) d. Dmitry TURSUNOV (RUS) 6-4, 6-2
"In some ways, it's such a nice change to the regular tour we play in. I would never want to miss an Olympic Games, ever again, if I would have a chance to compete in them."

Rafael NADAL (ESP) d. Potito STARACE (ITA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
"I am very happy to be here. Just trying to enjoy 100 percent the experience, and later try my best on court."

Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) d. Robby GINEPRI (USA) 6-4, 6-4

Jelena JANKOVIC (SRB) d. Cara BLACK (ZIM) 6-3, 6-3

Serena WILLIAMS (USA) d. Olga GOVORTSOVA (BLR) 6-3, 6-1
"It's a great thing going out there playing for your country.”

Upsets:
Na LI (CHI) d. Svetlana KUZNETSOVA (RUS) d.7-6(5), 6-4

Janko TIPSAREVIC (SRB) d. David FERRER (ESP) 7-6(8), 6-2

It’s official! Jankovic is new WTA no. 1

Jelena Jankovic officially becomes the world no. 1 and the 18th woman to top the rankings since the system began in 1975. She displaces fellow Serbian Ana Ivanovic who falls the no. 2 after being on top since winning the French Open in June. Despite not having reached a grand slam final yet, Jankovic has been consistent enough over the past year. She won her sixth career title in Rome and reached 3 finals and six semifinals including the Australian Open and Roland Garros.

Former world no. 1 Serena Williams climbs back into the top 4 for the first time since 2005. She has won three titles this year and was runner-up at Wimbledon. Swapping with Williams is Maria Sharapova who moves down to no. 5 The Russian started the year at no. 5 but eventually climbed back to the top by clinching the Australian Open along with 2 more titles and the sudden retirement of Justine Henin. She is in danger of falling out of the top 5 because of a shoulder injury which prevented her from participating in the Beijing Olympics and the upcoming US Open.

Ivanovic withdraws from the Olympics

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia is out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics even before hitting the court. Ivanovic is reported to have a pain at the joint between the thumb and forefinger of her right hand. She says that the pain was felt first when she practiced after Wimbledon and that it has gone worst ever since. Her participation in the Olympics was in doubt after a third round exit at the Rogers Cup in Montreal due to the pain. The current world no. 2 released the following statement from her blog:

This is the most disappointing moment in my career.

A whole team of doctors have been helping me over the last 15 days or so but the improvement came too late. Yesterday I was able to hold my racket properly for the first time but I still have a lot of pain in my thumb. There's no way I can hit the ball.

Beijing Olympics Tennis Preview

Tennis at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will start on August 10 and ends with the final-round play on August 16-17. The competition will be held at the newly built Olympic Green Tennis Center. The court surface is Deco Turf II which is also the same one as in the US Open. More details:

All matches will be best-of-three sets except that the final rounds in men's singles and doubles will be best-of-five. Tiebreakers will not be used in fifth sets of the men's finals nor in third sets of all other matches. Gold, silver, and bronze medals will be awarded to the top three in all events.

Current world no. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland will be looking to win his first Olympic medal to salvage his disappointing season. He has only won 2 titles and has been slam-less for the first time since 2002. This is his third time participating in the Olympics and he hopes that it will be better this time. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Federer lost the bronze-medal match to Arnaud di Pasquale of France. As world no. 1 and the top seed, he was upset by Tomas Berdych in the second round in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Meanwhile, it will be the first Olympic games for world no. 1 in waiting Rafael Nadal of Spain and world no. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia. Both are looking to add an Olympic medal to their already impressive achievements for the year. The in-form Andy Murray of Great Britain is also hoping to continue his great form following his first Masters Series title from Cincinnati last week. But as in the past, the gold medalist in the men’s singles is never quite predictable. Three winners have never won a grand slam: Miloslav Mecir in Seoul 1988, Marc Rosset in Barcelon 1992 and Nicolas Massu in Athens 2004.

In the women’s singles, the past five gold medalists have been multiply grand slam winners: Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriatti, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Justine Henin. This year, the women’s draw is perhaps the most open in years. Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia are the top two in the WTA rankings. Their results in recent tournaments however, have been less than impressive. Former world no. 1 Maria Sharapova of Russia withdrew from the Olympics due to a shoulder injury. The in-form Dinara Safina, world no. 7, is a favorite following her back-to-back wins in Los Angeles and Montreal. She already has 3 titles this year alone and has reached the finals in 5 of her last 6 tournaments. And of course, the Williams sisters should never be discounted. Venus Williams is looking to follow her fifth Wimbledon title with another gold medal while younger sister Serena wants her first Olympic medal to accompany her eight grand slam titles.

Notes:

• Federer will face either Ivo Karlovic or Tomas Berdych in the third round
• Nadal could face Murray in quarterfinals and Djokovic in the semifinals
• Jankovic and Safina are in the same quarter
• Ivanovic could face S. Williams in the semifinals
• An all-Williams final is possible

Check the draws here:
http://www.itftennis.com/olympics/drawsheets/index.asp

Serbian duo qualify for SE Championships

Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic are the first two players to secure slots in the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships from November 4-9, 2008 at Doha, Qatar. Jankovic is the current leader of the WTA race with 2,770 points followed closely by Ivanovic with 2,761 points.

By next week, Jankovic will become the new WTA world no. 1 displacing her compatriot for the first time in her career. She has earned six titles including the Tier I event in Rome this year. She also finished runner-up at Miami and reached five semifinals including the Australian Open and French Open. "Qualifying for the Sony Ericsson Championships is always one of the important goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year," Jankovic said. While her achievements have been good, her rise to the top is met with some disfavor. For one, she has never made it to a grand slam final. Also, she had four opportunities to clinch the top ranking but failed to do so.

Ivanovic became world no. 1 after she made it to the finals at Roland Garros and eventually captured her first grand slam title. She has also won the Tier I event at Indian Wells and reached the finals of the Australian Open and two more semifinals. "I'm proud to have already qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships," Ivanovic said. "This season has been a great year for me as I achieved two of my life's goals by winning my first Grand Slam and reaching No.1.” Since reaching the WTA summit, Ivanovic has performed poorly exiting at the third round of Wimbledon and the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

This is the second time the Serbian duo will appear in the year-end tournament following their debut last year. Jankovic was eliminated in the round-robin stages losing all three of her matches. Ivanovic advanced to the semifinals losing to eventual champion, Justine Henin.

Murray wins the Cincinnati Masters

Andy Murray took out Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(5) after more than 2 hours in a thrilling final of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. The match will be remembered for the long rallies, excellent shot-making and quick movement. Although the score suggests a pretty even match, from the very start, it was clear that Murray always had the upper hand.

Djokovic was looking to avenge his first loss against the Scot in five meetings just last week at the Rogers Masters quarterfinals. The third seed was in top form all week snapping Nadal 32-match winning streak. He also hasn’t dropped a set. Meanwhile, Murray has at least reached the quarterfinals of his last 4 tournaments including a semifinal run at Toronto.

In the first set, both players were able to hold serve forcing a tie-break. Djokovic had to fight several break points though while Murray quite easily held serve. The Serb seemed a mere shadow of the player who downed Nadal just a day before. He committed over 30 unforced errors and lost the set. In the third game of the second set, Djokovic broke Murray’s serve to lead 2-1. However, he wasn’t able to take advantage of the break as he committed two successive double faults and lost his service game to level it at 2-2.

Sensing a tentative opponent, Murray broke Djokovic to lead 5-3 and serve for the championship. Nerves seemed to get to the British no. 1 as he could not convert the four championship points he earned. The world no. 3 fought back to level the set at 5-5. Both players again held serve to force a second set tie-break. Tied at 4-4, the shot of the match came as Murray put a crosscourt backhand to end a 25-shot rally that left both players exhausted. On his sixth match point, Murray finally ended the match and secured his first ever Masters Series title. With this win, he climbs to no. 6, up 3 spots in the ATP rankings.

The tournament will perhaps be remembered more for what it has done to the rankings than the actual matches that took place. By reaching the semifinals, Rafael Nadal is guaranteed to reach the ATP summit on August 18 following top-ranked Roger Federer’s third round loss. The title match was a perfect ending for to the dramatic and exciting tournament!

Result:
[8] Andy MURRAY (GBR) d. [3] Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) 7-6(4), 7-6(5)

Cincinnati Masters: Djokovic and Murray to meet in the final

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have met in 4 matches this year with the Spaniard leading 3-1. Particularly memorable was their thrilling semifinal encounter in Hamburg. Had Djokovic won, he would have overtaken Nadal as the world no. 2. The Spaniard prevailed and eventually won the tournament. From then on, he never looked back, winning four straight titles including two grand slams. En route to the French Open and Artois Championship titles, Nadal won over Djokovic in the semifinals and finals respectively. The only time the Serb won was at the semifinal round of the Pacific Life Open at the hard courts of Indian Wells.

Djokovic is considered as possibly the current best hard court player of the game especially after reaching the final of the 2007 US Open and winning his first grand slam at the Australian Open this year. However, he failed to defend his title at the Rogers Masters last week falling to Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. Clearly, he has much to prove.

In the match, Djokovic immediately commanded a 5-0 lead against Nadal who looked tired and simply out of touch against the Serb. He was able to hold his serve for the first time but that was all he could manage as the no. 3 seed continued his aggressive play to close out the set. The Spaniard was eager to fight back battling every point with Djokovic. In the tenth game at 5-5, the Serb was finally able to get the crucial break. Up 6-5, he served the close the match and advance to the finals. Djokovic clearly had the upper hand from the beginning up to the end. Nadal only had one break point which he failed to convert. After weeks of brutal play and victories from the Spaniard, he admitted that he was starting to feel the effects of all those. This loss snaps his 32-match winning streak since Hamburg in May. He will also have to wait until August 18 to be the official no. 1 in the ATP rankings.

Earlier, no. 8 seed Andy Murray secured his slot in the final by overcoming Ivo Karlovic, conqueror of Roger Federer in the third round. The Scot was able to return very well against the big server breaking him four times to avoid a tie-breaker which has become the trademark of matches involving Karlovic. Murray won in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Currently no. 9 in the world, he is certainly one to watch out for especially given his strong performance in this tournament as well as during the Rogers Masters in Toronto last week.

Results:
[8] Andy MURRAY (GBR) d. [16] Ivo KARLOVIC (CRO) 6-4, 6-4
[3] Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) d. [2] Rafael NADAL (ESP) 6-1, 7-5

Cincinnati Masters Quarterfinal Results

To clinch the world no. 1 ranking, Rafael Nadal had to at least reach the semifinals of the tournament. In his quarterfinal match, he was up against Ecuadorian Nicolas Lapentti who put up a good match against Nadal especially in the first set earning two break points in the eighth game. Saving both break points spurred the Spaniard into action dominating the tie-break and just conceding one game in the second set. With this victory, he is assured to steal the no. 1 ranking held by Roger Federer since February 2004 (that’s 235 weeks) by August 18 at the latest.

Nadal can become the world no. 1 before August 18 if advances into the next rounds. However, he has to go through world no. 3 Novak Djokovic in the semifinal round, undoubtedly his toughest match yet. The Serb earned his slot in this round by defeating longtime friend Ernest Gulbis 6-3, 6-4. The rallies between both players were exciting but it was the experience of the current Australian Open champion which helped him prevail.

Rogers Cup Quarterfinal Results

With the early exit of world no. 1 Ana Ivanovic, fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic could have another shot at the WTA summit if she reaches the finals at Montreal. Perhaps succumbing to the pressure of potentially becoming the no. 1 player in the world, Jankovic chokes again in her quarterfinal match against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-5, 6-2, another up-and-comer in the women's game.

Jankovic looked on course to sail into the semifinals as she led 5-1 in the opening set. Cibulkova who admitted that she was nervous and intimidated by the world no. 2, shook her nerves off to win eight straight games and gain a 7-5, 2-0 lead over the Serb. Jankovic could no longer keep up with the powerful Slovak as she won only 2 games before conceding a slot in the semis.

With Ivanovic and Jankovic eliminated and Sharapova retired, Svetlana Kuznetsova was the highest seed remaining and the only surviving player from the WTA top 5. It was an all-Russian affair in this quarterfinal match between Kuznetsova and seventh seed Dinara Safina. The last encounter between the two was at the French Open semifinals which Safina dominated. The world no. 4 was out to get revenge immediately breaking her compatriot to lead 2-0 and taking the first set 6-2. That, however, was the most she could do in the match as Safina remained calm and took control of the next two sets with her impressive serves. Just as Wimbledon a couple of weeks ago, the top 4 seeds have been eliminated even before the semifinals.

Sharapova pulls out of Beijing Olympics and US Open

After battling through in the second round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Maria Sharapova announced that she would retire from the tournament due to a right shoulder injury. Her decision immediately cast doubt on her participation on the Beijing Olympics which starts next week. Today, it was made official that Sharapova has to pull out of the Olympics after doctors discovered torn tendons on her right shoulder. This would have been the first time Sharapova participated in the Olympics playing for Team Russia.

According to the Associated Press, Sharapova has informed the US Open officials t that she won't be participating in the final grand slam of the year in New York City. She is expected to be out for around 2-3 months before she returns to the circuit

Rogers Cup Third Round Results

Indeed an upsetting day for the world no. 1s of tennis. First, Roger Federer loses his third round match against Ivo Karlovic leaving the door wide open for Rafael Nadal. In the women’s tour, Ana Ivanovic was stunned by Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Since winning the French Open in May and clinching the no. 1 ranking, Ivanovic has been struggling to live up to her top status. At Wimbledon, she lost in the third round to Zheng Jie, then ranked 133 in the world. Ivanovic said an inflamed right thumb is causing her pain.

With the loss of Ivanovic, her Serbian compatriot and world no. 2, Jelena Jankovic, could once again take over the top of the rankings as she is just 88 points behind in the tally. Last week at the East West Bank Classic, she would have reached the WTA summit had she won the tournament. However, she lost to eventual champion Dinara Safina in the semifinals.At Montreal, Jankovic easily advanced into the quarterfinals by beating another Canadian Stephanie Dubois in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. In order to clinch the no. 1 ranking, she has to make it at least to the finals of the tournament.

The no. 4 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova also advances into the next round by beating Portuguese qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

Cincinnati Masters Third Round Results

It only took 59 minutes for Novak Djokovic to dismantle Italian Andreas Seppi to advance into the quarterfinals for the first time of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters. The no. 3 had a shaky start immediately losing his opening service game. He was able to break back though and from then, the Serb never looked back. He won the next 10 games to win the opening set and take a 4-0 lead in the next. Seppi was able to reduce the embarrassment from this encounter by holding serve in his next two games. It was all futile though as Djokovic powered his way through easily.

Top seed Roger Federer was next on Center Court against the big-serving Ivo Karlovic. The players have met in 6 matches with the Swiss getting the better of the Croat each time. During the coin toss, Federer immediately opted to serve knowing how critical it is to hold his service game against Karlovic. Predictably, the first set went into a tie-break which went to the Croat after Federer shot a forehand long while on his serve. In the second set, the world no. 1 found the crucial break on the fifth game which helped him win the set and force a deciding set. Again, a tie-break was forced as both players held serve convincingly, never facing a break point. In his first service game, Federer’s backhand clipped the net and went wide to give a 2-0 advantage to Karlovic. The world no. 1-at least for now- played brilliantly throughout the match. It was unfortunate that his two unforced errors during both tie-breaks would be as costly as it is. Federer’s unforced error count was quite low compared to Karlovic and unlike his recent matches (particularly against Gilles Simon last week in Toronto), his forehand was glorious producing breathtaking winners.

With Federer’s early loss, Rafael Nadal’s chances of being world no. 1 by the end of the week are even greater. In his third round match, he was up against former world no. 2 Tommy Haas of Germany. Nadal was quick to assert his authority breaking the German in his first service game to lead 2-0. That was enough for the Spaniard to win the opening set as both players held serve. Haas continued his strong run into the second set preventing Nadal from breaking his serve. Nadal also held serve to force a tie-break. The German however lost all his steam as the Spaniard dominated the tie-break denying Haas to score any point. If Nadal wins the title, he will assume the no. 1 ranking by next week.

A title would give Nadal 6,730 points to Federer's 6,680 next Monday. If Nadal reaches the final, he will become No. 1 on Aug. 11. With a semifinal here, Nadal will become No. 1 on Aug. 18. The only way Nadal can't become No. 1 in the next three weeks is IF he loses in the quarterfinals here and Federer wins the Olympic gold medal AND Nadal does not reach the Third Round or better at the Olympics.

Nikolay Davydenko lost to Carlos Moya in a 3-set thriller which started Wednesday evening but was delayed to Thursday after some evening showers. The Spaniard was in control pretty much the entire match, never really allowing the Russian a chance to fight back.

Results:

[2] Rafael NADAL (ESP) d. Tommy HAAS (GER) 6-4, 7-6(0)

[3] Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB) d. Andreas SEPPI (ITA) 6-1, 6-2

[16] Ivo KARLOVIC (CRO) d. [1] Roger FEDERER (SUI) 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(5)

Carlos MOYA (ESP) d. [4] Nikolay DAVYDENKO (RUS) 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-2