Yesterday would have been Fred Perry's 100th birthday. This is a great profile of the British champion (The Independent)
In addition to Fred Perry, May 18th is a great day for tennis birthdays (Open Court)
Like Serena, Nadal is Dinara's idol (Guardian)
An interview with Djokovic's manager (Blic)
Murray has gotten smart and is starting to manage expectations (ESPN Star)
Gaston Gaudio, who is the former French Open champion, received a wildcard from the tournament (TSN)
Kei Nishikori, Japan's best player, has pulled out of the French Open (Yahoo via AP)
Super Mario can forgive anything but adultery (Croatian Times)
Mr. and Mrs. Agassi inaugurated the new Wimbledon roof (Times Online)
Dubai agrees to pay WTA fine (Guardian)
Nalbandian will be sidelined for four months after hip surgery (TSN)
In a smart move, the USTA hires Jose Higueras to overhaul the American coaching corps (ESPN)
Speaking of American tennis -- remember Americans used to win on clay (NBC Sports)
Nadal and McEnroe will appear in Wii's newest game, Grand Slam Tennis (Blast Magazine)

(Image: fredperry.com)

Former Estoril champion Nikolay Davydenko took out the 2001 Estoril champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5 6-2. The Spaniard put up a fight in the first set, but the Russian was able to subdue his opponent in the second set. Davydenko will play sixth-seed Mardy Fish, who has managed to string together two-match wins on clay, in the quarterfinals. The two players are 1-1 in their head-to-head matchup.

On the other side of the draw, third-seed David Ferrer was upset in pretty convincing fashion by compatriot Oscar Hernandez 2-6 4-6. After being a finalist in Barcelona two weeks ago, Ferrer has had some puzzling exits in Rome (first round loss) and now Estoril (second round loss) to follow-up that good showing. Hernandez advances to the quarterfinals to play Paul Capdeville, who beat Maximo Gonzalez in three sets after upsetting David Nalbandian in the first round.

With the upsets of Ferrer and Nalbandian, the top-half draw is now open up for top-seed Gilles Simon. Whether Simon will take advantage of the situation is another story. He first needs to pass Fabio Fognini, who beat former French Open champion Gaston Gaudio in straight sets to secure his spot against the Frenchman. Simon did get the best of Fognini in their only meeting last week in Rome in the second round.

Wednesday’s Results
Singles First Round
4 James Blake (USA) def. Frederico Gil (POR) 6-3 6-4
Fabio Fognini (ITA) def. WC Gaston Gaudio (ARG) 6-3 6-4

Singles Second Round
2 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 7-5 6-2
Oscar Hernandez (ESP) def. 3 David Ferrer (ESP) 6-2 6-4
6 Mardy Fish (USA) def. Ivan Navarro (ESP) 2-6 6-1 6-4
Paul Capdeville (CHI) def. Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) 2-6 6-2 6-3

Doubles First Round
E. Butorac (USA)/S. Lipsky (USA) def. 1 B. Soares (BRA)/K. Ullyett (ZIM) 7-5 6-3
2 P. Cuevas (URU)/D. Vemic (SRB) def. M. Gonzalez (ARG)/J. Monaco (ARG) 6-3 6-4
L. Friedl (CZE)/D. Skoch (CZE) def. WC P. Sousa (POR)/J. Sousa (POR) 6-0 6-0
W. Moodie (RSA)/D. Norman (BEL) def. M. Gicquel (FRA)/F. Serra (FRA) 6-2 6-2

Thursday’s Matches
Singles Second Round
1 WC Gilles Simon (FRA) vs. Fabio Fognini (ITA)
4 James Blake (USA) vs. Marc Gicquel (FRA)
7 Albert Montanes (ESP) vs. Simon Greul (GER)
8 Florent Serra (FRA) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)

Doubles Quarterfinals
2 P Cuevas (URU) / D Vemic (SRB) vs. W Moodie (RSA) / D Norman (BEL)
3 F. Cermak (CZE)/M. Mertinak (SVK) vs. J. Blake (USA)/R. Kendrick (USA)
4 M. Damm (CZE)/R. Lindstedt (SWE) vs. L. Friedl (CZE)/D. Skoch (CZE)
E. Butorac (USA)/S. Lipsky (USA) vs. M. Fish (USA)/D. Martin (USA)

Thursday’s Order of Play

(Image: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images)

Preview: Estoril Open
City: Estoril, Portugal
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: Roger Federer
2008 Doubles Champions: Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie

Roger Federer will not defend his title this year. Gilles Simon was given a wildcard and now is the top seed. This is a good opportunity for the Frenchman to get his season on track. He has a good shot since his quarter of the draw is pretty easy. Simon will have to contend with David Ferrer should he make it to the semifinals.

Ferrer has the harder road to the semifinals since he has to pass David Nalbandian in the quarterfinals. Nalbandian had to pull out of the Barcelona quarterfinals due to injury, and there have been reports of an impending hip surgery. If he is healthy, Nalbandian could give the Spaniard trouble all day, as he won this tournament in 2002 and 2006.

The bottom half of the draw is anchored by Nikolay Davydenko, who won the title in 2003. The Russian played well in Barcelona, but he could have to contend with Juan Monaco in the semifinals. Monaco is looking to breakthrough this year, so this could be the week. The Argentine could possibly have to deal with the native favorite Federico Gil in the quarterfinals. Gil has been known to cause trouble and will be helped by the Portuguese crowd.

It is good to see veterans and former French Open champions Juan Carlos Ferrero and Gaston Gaudio in the tournament. Ferrero could meet Davydenko in the second round, and Gaudio, who just won a challenger tournament in Tunisia this weekend, could meet Simon in the second round.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

Monday’s Order of Play

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Juan Monaco has no trouble with Marat Safin, who is playing in his last Barcelona Open tournament. Monaco dismissed the Russian 6-4 6-1 after 65 minutes of play. The Argentine will play the Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the next round. The two players have never met in ATP action.

Nicolas Lapentti had a more difficult time overcoming from fellow-veteran Paul-Henri Mathieu. The Ecuadorian qualifier persevered and bested the Frenchman 6-3 2-6 6-2. Lapentti had a good week in Monaco but will play Fernando Verdasco play in the next round. The Spaniard leads Lapentti 4-2 though Lapentti won their last meeting in Cincinnati in 2008.

On the other hand, Fabio Fognini did not survive after having a good week in Monte-Carlo last week. Fellow-qualifier Daniel Gimeno-Traver beat the Italian pretty handily 6-1 6-3. The Spaniard plays Juan Monaco in the second round.

Gaston Gaudio beat fellow Argentine Diego Junquiera 6-4 3-6 6-4. The 2004 Roland Garros champion will meet sixth-seed Tommy Robredo in the next round. The Argentine leads their match-up 4-3 with Gaudio winning their last meeting in Monte-Carlo in 2006.

The match of the day was Mikhail Youzhny versus Viktor Troicki. It looked like the Serb would take the match, but the Russian rallied from behind to send the Serb home 6-7(5) 7-6(6) 6-3 after 163 minutes of play. Youzhny will now play Stanislas Wawrinka, who made it to the semifinals in Monte-Carlo last week. The Russian is 1-0 over Wawrinka.

In doubles, all three Spanish teams lost today, plus Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez lost yesterday. Doubles team, Travis Parrot and Filip Polasek rallied to beat Frantisek Cermak and Mertinak Mertinak 6-7(4) 6-2 10-7. They will play top-seeds Bryan brothers in the next round. The Bryan brothers and Travis Parrott are the only American players currently playing on the European clay circuit.

(Image: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images)