2010 BNP Paribas Masters: Thursday Preview (Evening Session)
As play continues in the Palais Omnisports
de Paris-Bercy, exhilarating nail-biting tennis action awaits fans with seeded players battling it out for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Czech Tomas Berdych’s London fate is on the line as he plays his third round match again Russian Nikolay Davydenko later in the day. Although Berdych ranks sixth in ATP YTD rankings, a Paris exit at this point might put his position
in danger should those below him in the ranking have a better run in Paris. The two have met on nine different occasions before with their score at 8-1 in the Russian’s favour. Their last meeting was in 2009 Wimbledon when Berdych finally broke the one-sided
winning record of Davydenko. Was that a one-hit-wonder or has Berdych finally broken Davydenko’s winning streak against him? Both being seeded players have played only one match in the event so far, enjoying superb straight set wins over their opponents.
As these two battle it out in the central court, Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka meets Swede Robin Soderling in Court 1. Seeded fourth in the event, Soderling ranks much higher than Wawrinka in the ATP rankings. The Swiss player clearly
has his work cut out for him, though the head-to-head (HTH) score sings a different tune. Having met thrice before on different occasions, their HTH score rests at 2-1 in the Swiss’s favour. Since no London qualification pressure looms over any professional’s
head, the players will just be playing for a spot in the quarterfinals. Soderling, looking to level the HTH score, might bring a little more to the court. Soderling’s YTD win loss score is 51-20 whereas that of Wawrinka is 34-14. Based on numbers one could
predict Soderling’s win, though Wawrinka might just surprise tennis fans all over.
Swiss Maestro Roger Federer was bumped up to top seed when Spaniard Rafael Nadal announced his retirement on account of an injury in his left shoulder. Coming in fresh from a win at Basel this Sunday, Federer is totally in-form
and ready to improve his run in Paris. To date, Federer has managed at most a quarterfinal run. Seeded first, Federer comes with high hopes of a title win at Paris this year.
With the Maestro much motivated, any player to have drawn against him would have been unlucky. Czech Radek Stepanek really isn’t to blame if he’s to play Federer to battle it out for a spot in the quarterfinals. Having met eleven
times before, Stepanek has only managed a win over the Swiss phenomenon once in 2002 and then again in Italy 2008. With a YTD win loss score of 57-12 and four titles this season, Federer clearly emerges as the winner in the encounter (on paper at least).
Finishing up the day’s play would be Brit legend Andy Murray drawn against Croat Marin Cilic. Although Cilic’s hope of a London qualification ended in Basel last week, he aims to give it his all for a better season ending. Having
a YTD win loss score of 39-21 and two titles this season, a good run in Paris will be a befitting end to Cilic’s season.
Murray, on the other hand, is coming fresh from a surprise exit in Valencia where he lost the chance to defend his title. Driven for another title win before the finals in London, Murray will probably bring his A game to the courts.
Having met five times before, the pair’s HTH score rests at 4-1 in Murray’s favour. They say numbers don’t lie, so considering the 42-15 YTD win loss score and the HTH score, a Murray win is easy to predict.
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