Davydenko Heads Thin Pre-Open Field at ATP New Haven

With Russian Nikolay Davydenko the only Top 10 representative, the big dogs rest with seven days before the start of the US Open, while the 56-player draw at this week's Pilot Pen Tennis giving plenty of lower-ranked competitors some last-minute match play before heading to New York.

Joining Davydenko among the Top 8 of the 16 seeds are Chileans Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu, Spaniards Dave Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, former No. 2-ranked German Tommy Haas, and Belgian Olivier "Coch" Rochus.

Stand-outs among the Bottom 8 seeds are Brit "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, Austrian imploder Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, rappin' Vince Spadea, Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, and French teen threat Gael "Force" Monfils.

Potential quarterfinal meetings include (1) Davydenko vs. (6) Haas or (WC) Blake, (9) Rusedski vs. (16) Monfils, (8) O.Rochus vs. (15) Srichaphan, and (2) Gonzo vs. (5) F-Lo or (12) Spadea.

Scheduled for Monday are (WC) Jenkins vs. Nieminen, (WC) Gimelstob vs. Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez, Sanguinetti vs K.Kim, Koubek vs. (WC) Reynolds, Tursunov vs. Seppi, Juan "The Principality" Monaco vs. Andreev, Hanescu vs. Luis "Me So" Horna, Wawrinka vs. Saulnier, Hernych vs. Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, and Muller vs. Zib.