Battle Of The Baseliners

Juan Carlos Ferrero and Gilles Simon are my two favorite players because they are both even-tempered baseliners, who play people off the court, and possess nice sets of wheels. Ferrero probably is more even-keeled than Simon because the Frenchman has a propensity, at times, to have spirited conversations with himself when things are not going well on the court.

The match looked like it would be a grinder of a match with lots of long rallies. Each player took a set and all was even in the third set until Simon called for the trainer. The Frenchman has suffered from tendinitis since the French Open, so it became a problem during this match. After the injury timeout, Ferrero was able to take the third set. Simon retired after the first game in the fourth set to give the Spaniard the victory 1-6 6-4 7-6(5) 1-0.

Ferrero advances to play the winner of the del Potro-Koellerer match later on today. His fourth-round showing ties his second-best result at the tournament in 2000. His best result was of course his 2003 final with Andy Roddick. Should his opponent be del Potro, Ferrero will have his hands full.

(Images: Denise/tennisfiend)