The ATP tour is in Miami this week for the Sony Ericsson Open, which means that the tennis player/dolphin photo ops are pretty much inevitable. As is great tennis. And our down and dirty preview of the draw. So here’s the run down of what to expect (or not) from the men this week in Miami, including the juiciest potential match-ups.
TOP HALF vs. BOTTOM HALF:
TOP HALF Top Seeds: Nadal and Murray
TOP HALF Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Del Potro and Murray vs. Verdasco
TOP HALF spoiler: Nalbandian in Murray’s Rd. of 16.
BOTTOM HALF Top Seeds: Federer and Djokovic
BOTTOM HALF Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Roddick and Djokovic vs. Simon
BOTTOM HALF Spoiler: Tsonga in Simon’s Rd. of 16 (and Djokovic’s Quarterfinal)
JUICY MATCHES:
Taylor Dent and John Isner both through qualifying!
Gulbis vs. Baghdatis in Rd. 1
Hewitt vs. Simon in Rd. 2
Federer vs. Llodra in Rd. 2
Djokovic vs. Baghdatis in the Rd. of 16
Murray vs. Nalbandian in the Rd. of 16
Roddick vs. Marat Safin OR Gael Monfils in the Rd. of 16
Federer vs. Roddick in the quarterfinals
Verdasco vs. Murray OR Nalbandian in the quarterfinals (or substitute F-Lo, Gonzo, or Stepanek for Verdasco)
Tsonga vs. Djokovic in the quarterfinals
Nadal vs. Murray OR Verdasco OR Nalbandian redeux, in the semis (which would be your favorite match-up?)
FINAL PREDICTIONS:
The plot has thickened considerably since last week (or since 2007, depending on who you talk to), making it damn hard to pick a Federer vs. Nadal final. Nadal vs. Tsonga would be awesome, but in my dreams, Federer gets his revenge over Andy Murray or Rafa and everybody STFU for a while.
YOUR CALL:
Who will win Miami: ATP edition Total Voters: 674
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Photo: Gonzo, Tsonga, Zimonjic (dubs player) feed the dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium prior to the Sony Ericsson Open (by Marc Serota/Getty Images for Sony Ericsson)
