Frankly, I'm happy for the reprieve. Gives us time to rest and regroup a bit before the so-called Best Day in Tennis (R) (TM) (SM) (C)! It's earned that moniker because after a day off on Sunday, all 16 players left in the men's and women's draws will play on the same day. Tremendous!
Here's who I'm especially interested in seeing:
- Nadal v. Del Potro - Delpo's on his way back after a long-healing injury. But aside from Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, he's the only male player to win a major since early 2005(!). In other words, he's no slouch. So it should be a good match.
- Fish v. Berdych - I picked Berdych to win this one, because I think he may overpower Fish, but Mardy's been playing some pretty impressive tennis, so we. shall. see. I wouldn't mind Fish proving me wrong.
- Ferrer v. Tsonga - Ferrer has been playing great, and Jo-Wili is a little unpredictable, but he's an entertaining player with great heart. He showed off his sportsmanship this week (here and here), as well, so I'm all in with Tsonga. (Even though I picked Ferrer to beat him.)
- Tomic v. Malisse - I picked Soderling to beat Tomic in the previous round, so I've got nothing riding on this one, but Tomic is a true up-and-comer, as Dave said. I'm interested in seeing how deep a run he can make. On an unrelated and unimportant note, I wish his first name began with an A, so I could refer to him as Atomic. What were his parents thinking?
And as for the women:
- Sharapova v. Peng - I've taken Sharapova all the way to the title so I'm interested in every match she plays! She should get through this one, but Peng, who I know nothing about, is seeded 20th, so it's not like it's a walk in the park.
- Lisicki v. Cetkovska - If the hard-hitting and impressive, yet somehow never-before-noticed-by-me, Lisicki wins this, she'll most likely take on Serena in the quarterfinals. And as successful as Serena has been so far, it would be good to see her up against another power server.
- Azarenka v. Petrova - I've got Azarenka through to the final, so I'm hoping she beats Petrova. Not sure what Petrova's been up to lately (I didn't pick her past the second round) so I'm unsure what to expect.
- Venus v. Pironkova - Not only did Pironkova take Venus out at last year's Wimbledon, she also took her out of the 2006 Australian Open. So Venus is likely going to come out guns blazing, in her own Venus-like way, which may mean she seems lethargic at first and then turns the power up when it really matters. This is as far as I've taken Venus in the draw, because I thought she'd be playing Zvonareva (who lost last round after hurting her ankle). So... while my heart roots for Venus to get some redemption, my bracket roots for Venus to lose.
Oh! And before we go - here are the bracket standings after the third round:
Bess
Men: 84/112
Women: 68/112
Total: 152/224
Dave
Men: 70/112
Women: 65/112
Total: 135/224
The pressure's definitely on as far as the women are concerned.
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