It promises to be a star-studded day the first Tennis Masters Series event of the year, the 2008 Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, with the entire men's sweet 16 set for action.
The 96-player field has been trimmed to 16 going into Wednesday’s action, led by No. 1 and three-time winner Roger Federer, No. 2 and defending champion Rafael Nadal, and No. 3/last year’s runner-up Novak Djokovic. Overall, there are 12 players in the Top 25 South African Airways ATP Rankings remaining in the draw.
Country Breakdown – There are 11 countries represented in the fourth round, led by Argentina, France, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S. with two players each. There is one each from: Australia, Croatia, Germany, Great Britain,Korea, and Serbia.
Former Champions Remaining – All three former Pacific Life Open champions who began the tournament are remaining in the draw, led by defending champ Rafael Nadal, three-time winner (2004-06) Roger Federer and twotime title-holder (2002-03) Lleyton Hewitt.
Australian Open Rematch – One of the most intriguing matches on Wednesday is between No. 17 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 2 Rafael Nadal. In their last meeting at the Australian Open semifinals, Tsonga fired 18 aces and defeated Nadal 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. The 22-year-old Frenchman was never broken in the one hour and 56 minute match and he went on to his first Grand Slam final (l. to Djokovic in four sets).
Davis Cup Preview – No. 8 Richard Gasquet takes on No. 9 James Blake in the last match of the day session on Wednesday. Next month the U.S. hosts France in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Winston-Salem, N.C. Gasquet is 2-0 lifetime against the American, winning in straight sets at ATP Masters Series Toronto two years ago and at ATP Masters Series Paris last year. Gasquet, who advanced to the doubles semifinals on Tuesday (w/Robert Lindstedt), is the only player remaining in both draws.
Working Birthday – No. 23 Ivan Ljubicic turns 29 years old Wednesday and the Croat looks to break an eight-match losing streak against No. 1 Roger Federer. This is the third time in the last four years the two have met at the Pacific Life Open with Federer winning two tie-breaks in the fourth round in 2005 and 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals two years ago. Ljubicic is also attempting to reach the quarterfinals for the third straight year. Ljubicic’s last win over Federer came in the second round of Basel in October 2003.
Unseeded Quarterfinalist(s) – Hyung-Taik Lee of Korea plays Swiss No. 2 Stanislas Wawrinka in the only fourth round match-up between two unseeded players. It guarantees at least one unseeded player into the quarterfinals with two others still remaining (Mardy Fish and Tommy Haas). Lee and Wawrinka each have beaten two seeded opponents in their first three matches. Lee outlasted No. 5 David Ferrer in three tie-breaks in the third round Monday and No. 26 Jarkko Nieminen in the second round. Wawrinka beat No. 10 Tomas Berdych in the second round and No. 18 Marcos Baghdatis in the third round. The other unseeded potential quarterfinalists are Fish, who is the lowestranked player remaining at No. 98 (vs. No. 24 Lleyton Hewitt) and Haas, who plays No. 11 Andy Murray. Both players also have eliminated two seeds en route to the fourth round. (ATP Digital Services)
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