Tournament favorites Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray all had little trouble in their Cincinnati openers yesterday. The top three seeds went 6-0 in sets and today there could be more one-way traffic.
Four-time champion Federer faces Aussie talent Benard Tomic. The Swiss has won both times they’ve played (in Australia) but is aware of the danger of Tomic.
“Obviously he likes the big stage,” Federer said of Tomic. “He likes playing against the best players. That’s what gets
him going right now. So it’s going to be a difficult match for me, I do believe. The last time couple of times I played him,
I was able to win. I did have to work hard, and that’s kind of what I expect this time around as well. Obviously this is much faster conditions than the Australian Open, so it will play very different. It’s going to be interesting to see how he comes
out and plays.”
Tomic had lost eight of his past nine matches entering Cincinnati.
Djokovic duels former Top 5 Nikolay Davydenko while Murray meets Frenchman Jeremy Chardy who upset Andy Roddick in the first round.
“Well, I haven’t played him for a while now, but he’s been around for a long time,” Djokovic said looking ahead to the Russian. “Great competitor and one of the quickest guys on tour. Very good from the baseline. I think these conditions here suit his game. It’s going to be a tough one.”
Juan Martin Del Potro was a winner Wednesday defeating the red hot Tommy Haas. Fourth seed David Ferrer was upset by Stanislas Wawrinka and Janko Tisparevic retired with a virus to Pablo Andujar.
The women are also in Cincinnati this week. Bidding for a first Cincinnati title Serena Williams will play a Radwanska sister for the third time in her last four events. Serena is riding an 18-match winning streak, claiming her last 11 in straight sets. Big sister Venus is also in action against French Open finalist Sara Errani.
CENTER COURT start 11:00 am
[10] M Fish (USA) vs R Stepanek (CZE) – ATP
Not Before 1:00 PM
[Q] U Radwanska (POL) vs [2] S Williams (USA) – WTA
Not Before 2:30 PM
[1] R Federer (SUI) vs B Tomic (AUS) – ATP
Not Before 7:00 PM
N Davydenko (RUS) vs [2] N Djokovic (SRB) – ATP
Not Before 8:30 PM
[9] N Li (CHN) or S Cirstea (ROU) vs [Q] J Larsson (SWE) – WTA
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
[1] A Radwanska (POL) vs [WC] S Stephens (USA) – WTA
[LL] J Chardy (FRA) vs [3] A Murray (GBR) – ATP
[WC] V Williams (USA) vs [7] S Errani (ITA) – WTA
Not Before 7:00 PM
[6] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [17] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) – WTA
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