Marin Cilic defeated the always problematic Ivo “MC” Karlovic 7-6(6) 6-4. Karlovic rained down 24 aces on his compatriot, but the 21 year old was able to get the upper hand in the tiebreak and then obtain a break in the second set.

The world no. 10 will play Austrian Jurgen Melzer in the semifinal. Cilic leads their head-to-head 3-1, but Melzer won their last meeting in Vienna where he had the home field advantage. The tables will be turned on the Austrian tomorrow.

On the other side of the draw, German Michael Berrer upset fourth-seed Viktor Troicki in straight sets. He will advance to play Philipp Petzschner in an all-German semifinal. Petzschner rallied to beat Lukas Lacko, who just came off his upset of second-seed Ivan Ljubicic yesterday. Berrer and Petzschner have never played in ATP competition, but Petzschner does lead their head-to-head 2-1 on the challenger circuit.

Friday’s Results
Singles Quarterfinals
1 Marin Cilic (CRO) def. 7 Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 7-6(6) 6-4
3 Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs Ilya Marchenko (UKR)
Michael Berrer (GER) def. 4 Viktor Troicki (SRB) 6-4 6-3
Philipp Petzschner (GER) def. Lukas Lacko (SVK) 6-7(1) 6-2 6-2

Doubles Semifinals
A. Clement (FRA)/O. Rochus (BEL) def. B. Becker (GER)/R. Schuettler (GER) 6-3 1-6 10-3

Saturday's Matches
Singles Semifinals
1 Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. 3 Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Michael Berrer (GER) vs. Philipp Petzschner (GER)

Doubles Semifinals
3 M. Damm (CZE)/F. Polasek (SVK) vs. J. Melzer (AUT)/P. Petzschner (GER)

Saturday’s Order of Play

(Image: PBZ Zagreb Indoors)

Top-seed Marin Cilic made a rather impressive premiere in his 6-2 6-2 rout of Czech Jan Hajek after just 56 minutes of work. Seventh-seed Ivo Karlovic advanced after just 38 minutes when his opponent, Croat Antonio Veic retired with an ankle injury.

Ivan Ljubicic was not so lucky. The second-seed had to put in a little more work in his meeting with Arnaud Clement. He beat the French veteran 7-6(4) 6-3 after 96 minutes of play.

Wednesday's Results
Singles First Round
1 Marin Cilic (CRO) def. Jan Hajek (CZE) 6-2 6-2
2 Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. Arnaud Clement (FRA) 7-6(4) 6-3
7 Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. WC Antonio Veic (CRO) 4-5 RET. (left ankle)

Singles Second Round
3 Jurgen Melzer (AUT) def. Oliver Rochus (BEL) 6-2 6-3
4 Viktor Troicki (SRB) def. Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 7-5 7-5
Ilya Marchenko (UKR) def. WC Ivan Dodig (CRO) 6-4 6-2

Doubles First Round
3 M. Damm (CZE)/F. Polasek (SVK) def. J. Levinsky (CZE)/M. Zverev (GER) 6-7(4) 6-3 10-8
B. Becker (GER)/R. Schuettler (GER) def. WC M. Draganja (CRO)/L. Zovko (CRO) 7-6(7) 26 10-4
M. Kohlmann (GER)/A. Peya (AUT) def. J Murray (GBR) / J Murray (GBR) 2-6 7-6(1) 10-7

Thursday’s Order of Play

(Image: Reuters)

During the first-two days of the Paris tournament, the French had lost five-straight matches. To start out the third day of play, Jeremy Chardy lost his hard-fought match against Juan Monaco. Things were looking bleak for the French fans.

Out of nowhere, French qualifier and world no. 179 David Guez upset Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets. Julien Benneteau beat Philip Petzschner in a tight match. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga then had a routine win over Albert Montanes to kick off the evening matches.

Gilles Simon had a difficult matchup with Ivan Ljubicic. The Croat has been playing really well of late and had caused a lot of trouble during the indoor circuit. He was especially troublesome for French players. In the last month, Ljubicic picked off Paul-Henri Mathieu, Julien Benneteau, Gael Monfils, Florent Serra, Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra. Plus, it did not help matters that Gillou has played victim to the Croat in all three of their previous meetings.

On paper, it looked like he might cause trouble for Simon again. Instead, the 24 year old played well for the most part of the match. The Frenchman was finally able to post his first win over the veteran able by surpassing Ljubicic 6-3 3-6 7-6(4) in a three-set thriller. Gilliou now advances to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in an evil matchup of compatriots in third round.

After hemorrhaging matches for the first-two days, the French ended day three 4-1. Things are starting to look up for the tricolor.

Tuesday’s Results
Singles First Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) def. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 6-2 6-4
[Q] David Guez (FRA) def. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 6-3 6-4
Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 7-6(6) 7-5
Julien Benneteau (FRA) def. Philipp Petzschner (GER) 4-6 7-5 6-3
[Q] Arnaud Clement (FRA) def. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 6-3 6-1
Singles Second Round
6 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. Benjamin Becker (GER) 6-2 6-1
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) def. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-7(3) 6-4 6-4
8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. Albert Montanes (ESP) 6-1 7-5
11 Gilles Simon (FRA) def. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 6-3 3-6 7-6(4)

Doubles First Round
B. Soares (BRA)/K. Ullyett (ZIM) def. P. Cuevas (URU)/O. Marach (AUT) 6-1 7-6(6)
M. Granollers (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) def. J. Del Potro (ARG)/F. Gonzalez (CHI) 7-6(2) 6-2
C. Kas (GER)/P. Kohlschreiber (GER) def. J. Monaco (ARG)/R. Nadal (ESP) 4-6 7-5 15-13 - saved 2 M.P.
J. Kerr (AUS)/T. Parrott (USA) def. M. Damm (CZE)/J. Erlich (ISR) 6-3 6-4
J. Brunstrom (SWE)/J. Rojer (AHO) def. WC S. Grosjean (FRA)/F. Santoro (FRA) 6-3 3-6 10-5

Wednesday’s Order of Play

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(Image: C. Saidi/FFT)

Fourth-seed Novak Djokovic had an easy time over Ivan Ljubicic in his opening US Open match. He was able to beat the Croat 6-3 6-1 6-3 and now advances to play Aussie Carsten Ball in the second round. The Serb should not take Ball for granted, as he has been dangerous of late.

(Image: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

City: Eastbourne, Great Britain
Surface: Outdoor Grass
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: Igor Andreev
2008 Doubles Champions: Bruno Soares and Kevin Ullyett

Igor Andreev is the top-seed and will defend his title against Dmitry Tursunov, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Mikhail Youzhny, Janko Tipsarevic and Ivan Ljubicic. Youzhny has had the hot hand of late, and he could possibly give Andreev some trouble in the quarterfinals.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Today was a cooler day than other two days. Play was suspended for two hours due to a rain delay. Most of the matches were completed, but the Clement/Tursunov and Santoro/Rochus matches were not completed due to lack of light and will finish tomorrow. The winners of both of these matches will play each other, so there will be no rest advantage.

Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Tommy Robredo advanced in straight-forward fashion. Djokovic only played two sets after Nicolas Lapentti had to pull out after spraining his left ankle. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga advanced but dropped a set in a tricolor battle with compatriot Julien Benneteau.

James Blake was the only top-seeded casualty of the day. This was no surprise since he has been struggling, in general, of late. He is also part of the latest incarnation of no-clay-playing Americans. The deadly combination resulted in a first-round boot out of Roland Garros this year.

The surprise of the day was Juan Carlos Ferrero’s win over Ivan Ljubicic. Ljubicic had been playing well over the last couple of weeks, and Ferrero has been struggling for years with injury and lack of play. The former French Open champ and current world no. 103 upset Ljubicic 2-6 6-4 6-4 3-6 6-3 after three hours and 17 minutes of play.

Ferrero will meet German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round. Kohlschreiber leads their head-to-head matchup 2-1. His wins come courtesy of the hardcourts of Auckland for the last two-consecutive years. Ferrero’s victory came at Roland Garros three years ago.

(Images: FFT)

This year has not been the greatest year for Gilles Simon. The Frenchman has struggled of late. Today, we were treated to some of the style of play that helped Simon rocket up the rankings last year.

Simon came out playing well. He was playing Ivan Ljubicic off the court. The result – the Frenchman was up a set and a break in the second set. It looked like Simon was on his way to a routine win.

Simon was in total control of the match until Ljubicic broke in game eight to level the second set to 4-4. The Croat went on to win the next two games to take the set and level the match at one set apiece.

In the third set, Simon fell completely apart. He was back to playing like he has been playing as of late. He began hanging out on the baseline and counterpunching. The unforced errors crept into his game, and it was downhill from there.

All credit to Ljubicic. The veteran was down and out. He made adjustments to turn the match around, and the Frenchman had no answers for these adjustments. In the end, the Croat was able to take the match from Simon 3-6 6-4 6-3 and advance to the quarterfinals, where he will play Novak Djokovic. Their head-to-head matchup is tied at 1-1.

(Images: AFP/Getty Images, DPPI)

It was a bad day for some of the seeded players in Belgrade. Brazilian Marcos Daniel took down sixth-seed Ivan Ljubicic 6-4 6-3. Qualifier Flavio Cipolla upset seventh-seed Arnaud Clement 1-6 6-4 6-2. Luckily, fourth-seed Andreas Seppi restored order by beating Leonardo Mayer 6-4 6-1.

Perhaps the surprise of the day came on the doubles side. Marko Djokovic (that’s right, Novak’s younger brother) and Darko Madjarovski (pictured) defeated top-seeds Daniel Nester and Nenad Zimonjic 7-6(2) 2-6 10-6. The Serbian pair will play Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer in the quarterfinals.

Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki, the other Serbian pair, were not so lucky. They were defeated by second-seeds Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach.

(Image: Serbia Open)

After the rain caused havoc yesterday, the tournament got back on track. Rafael Nadal’s half of the draw had to play twice because they did not finish their matches yesterday. At the end the day, all of the qualifiers and wildcards were knocked out of the draw while the usual suspects, minus Roger Federer and plus Stanislas Wawrinka, advanced to the semifinals.

Rafael Nadal finished off Nicolas Lapentti 6-3 6-0 in the morning and beat Ivan Ljubicic 6-3 6-3 in the afternoon to advance. He will meet Andy Murray, who beat Fabio Fognini and Nikolay Davydenko today, in the semifinals. It will be a rematch of the Indian Wells final, except on clay. Alex Corretja has done a good job with Murray for the clay season, and this is Murray’s best result on clay to date.

Novak Djokovic resisted a challenge from Fernando Verdasco and beat the Spaniard in straight sets. The Serb is starting to get back to form and is playing with a lot more confidence than at the beginning of the year. Djokovic will meet Stanislas Wawrinka in the next round where he leads the Swiss 5-2. He has won their last four meetings.

At the end of the day, it was good to see veteran players like Ivan Ljubicic and Nicolas Lapentti make a run in the tournament. Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Monaco returned from injury and played well this week. Hopefully, the young qualifiers, Andreas Beck and Fabio Fognini will be in the mix in the future.

Friday’s Results
Singles Quarterfinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 6-3 6-3
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-2 4-6 6-3
4 A. Murray (GBR) def. 8 N. Davydenko (RUS) 7-6(1) 6-4
13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. Q Andreas Beck (GER) 6-2 6-4

Singles Round of 16
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 6-3 6-0
4 Andy Murray (GBR) def. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) 7-6(11) 6-4
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. 12 David Nalbandian (ARG) 6-4 5-7 6-3
WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. Simone Bolelli (ITA) 7-5 7-6(2)

Doubles Quarterfinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) def. 6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) 4-6 6-2 10-4
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) 6-7(3) 6-4 10-8
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) def. 7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) 7-6(3) 6-3
N Djokovic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) def. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) 6-4 4-6 12-10

Doubles Round of 16
4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) def. F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) 6-4 6-4

Saturday’s Matches
Singles Semifinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. 4 Andy Murray (GBR)
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Doubles Semifinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND)
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB)

Saturday’s Order of Play

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(images: Getty Images, AFP)

Today was more orderly than yesterday. It looked like the Grimaldi curse had struck the seeded players, but most of them advanced today without too much trouble.

Tenth-seed David Ferrer was extra efficient in his victory. He played like he had better things to do. The Spaniard beat the last Frenchman in the draw, Marc Gicquel 6-1 6-0 after just 49 minutes of play.

Juan Martin del Potro met a surprise from wildcard Ivan Ljubicic, former ATP World No. 3. After losing the first set, Ljubicic rallied to upset the fifth-seed 4-6 6-1 6-4.

Marin Cilic met an Italian surprise in the form of Fabio Fognini. The fourteenth-seed lost to the qualifier in straight sets and won only two games in the entire match. As consolation, Cilic still is in doubles contention with Nicolas Kiefer.

In doubles, the seeded teams took care of business except for the eight-seeds Jeff Coetzee and Jordan Kerr who lost to Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troiki 4-6 4-6. The Serbs advance to the quarterfinals where they await the winner of the Verdasco/Lopez-Bhupathi/Knowles match.

Wednesday’s Results
Singles Second Round
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) 6-2 6-3
2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) def. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-4 6-4
WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. 5 Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 4-6 6-1 6-4
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-3 6-4
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-4 6-3
10 David Ferrer (ESP) def. Marc Gicquel (FRA) 6-1 6-0
12 David Nalbandian (ARG) def. Marcel Granollers (ESP) 4-6 6-3 6-1
13 Stani Wawrinka (SUI) def. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 2-6 7-5 6-2
Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) def. 14 Marin Cilic (CRO) 6-2 6-0
Simone Bolelli (ITA) def. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 7-5 6-3
Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) def. Marat Safin (RUS) 7-6(6) 2-6 7-6(6)
Albert Montanes (ESP) def. WC Jene-Rene Lisnard (MON) 6-2

Doubles Second Round
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. WC M. Gicquel (FRA)/P. Mathieu (FRA) 6-3 6-7(5) 10-4
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) def. A. Montanes (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) 2-6 7-6(5) 10-8
6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) def. N. Davydenko (RUS)/O. Marach (AUT) 6-3 6-4
7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) def. S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA) 7-6(3) 6-2
N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB) def. 8 J. Coetzee (RSA)/J. Kerr (AUS) 6-4 6-4

Thursday’s Matches
Singles Round of 16
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) vs. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)
A Montanes (ESP) vs [3] N Djokovic (SRB)
4 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA)
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. 10 David Ferrer (ESP)
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. [12] D Nalbandian (ARG)
Q Andreas Beck (GER) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)
Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)

Doubles Round of 16
F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) vs [4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH)

Doubles Quarterfinals
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER)

Thursday's Order of Play

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(Image: AP)

Juan Carlos Ferrero did it again. He beat Potito Starace 6-4 7-6(1) and now has advanced into the quarterfinals to play Victor Hanescu, who beat Ivan Navarro in straight sets. The two players have never played in an ATP event. Let’s hope there are no surprises in the next round.

Federico Gil rallied to beat Ivan Ljubicic 5-7 6-3 7-5. The Portuguese troublemaker gave Rafael Nadal a run for his money in the first set of their Indian Wells match. He is currently enjoying a career-high ATP ranking of 70 and will face Albert Montanes in the next round. The two have yet to meet in an ATP event.

Wednesday’s Matches
Singles Second Round
3 Albert Montanes (ESP) def. Santiago Ventura (ESP) 5-7 6-3 7-5
4 Victor Hanesco (ROU) def. Ivan Navarro (ESP) 6-1 6-0
Frederico Gil (POR) def. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 6-7(2) 7-5 6-4
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) def. Potito Starace (ITA) 6-4 7-6(1)

Doubles Second Round
1 L. Kubot (POL)/O. Marach (AUT) def. N. Devilder (FRA)/C. Rochus (BEL) 7-5 6-4
L. Friedl (CZE)/D. Skoch (CZE) def. WC R. Chaki (MAR)/R. El Amrani (MAR) 6-7(6) 6-3 10-2
A. Montanes (ESP)/S. Ventura (ESP) def. WC M. Saber (MAR)/M. Ziadi (MAR) 6-4 6-3

Doubles Quarterfinals
2 S. Aspelin (SWE)/P. Hanley (AUS) def. T. Bellucci (BRA)/E. Butorac (USA) 6-3 6-3
3 C. Kas (GER)/R. Wassen (NED) def. F. Gil (POR)/H. Tecau (ROU) 7-6(3) 6-2

Thursday's Matches
Singles Second Round
Mischa Zverev (GER) vs. Marc Gicquel (FRA)
Igor Andreev (RUS) vs. Nicolas Devilder (FRA)
Florent Serra (FRA) vs. Olivier Rochus (BEL)
Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) vs. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP)

Doubles Quarterfinals
J. Brunstrom (SWE)/J.J. Rojer (AHO) vs. D. Skoch (CZE)/L Friedl (CZE)
L. Kubot (POL)/O. Marach (AUT) vs. A. Montanes (ESP)/S. Ventura (ESP)

Doubles Semifinals
3 C. Kas (GER)/R. Wassen (NED) vs. 2 S. Aspelin (SWE)/P. Hanley (AUS)

Thursday's Order of Play

(Image: El Khiat)

Thomaz Bellucci and Sergiy Stakhoysky turned out to be no trouble at all because they both lost today. Federico Gil survived a three setter against Alberto Martin, so he lives to cause trouble another day. He will play Ivan Ljubicic in the next round, who took care of Arnaud Clement in three sets. The two players have never met in an ATP event.

Monday’s Results
Qualifying Third Round
Santiago Ventura (ESP) def. Carlos Poch-Gradin (ESP) 6-3 6-1
Flavio Cipolla (ITA) def. Lamine Ouahab (ALG) 7-6(9) 4-0 Ret’d
Olivier Marach (AUT) def. Olivier Patience (FRA) 6-7(4) 6-4 6-1
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) def. Boris Pashanki (SRB) 6-1 6-2

Singles First Round
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. 8 Arnaud Clement (FRA) 7-6(6) 5-7 6-4
4 Victor Hanescu (ROU) def. Steve Darcis (BEL) 6-4 7-5
5 Florent Serra (FRA) def. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 6-3 6-3
Frederico Gil (POR) def. Alberto Martin (ESP) 6-3 3-6 7-6(4)
Ivan Navarro (ESP) def. Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 7-5 4-2 Ret’d wrist

Doubles First Round
S. Aspelin (SWE)/ P. Hanley (AUS) def. O. Hernandez (ESP)/A. Martin (ESP) 6-3 6-7(5) 10-6

Tuesday's Matches
Singles First Round
1 Igor Andreev (RUS) vs. WC Rabie Chaki (MAR)
2 Rainer Schulettler (GER) vs. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP)
3 Albert Montanes (ESP) vs. WC Reda El Amrani (MAR)
6 Marc Gicquel (FRA) vs. Kristof Vliegen (BEL)
Olivier Rochus (BEL) vs. WC Mehdi Ziadi (MAR)
Potito Starace (ITA) vs. Oscar Hernandez (ESP)
Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs.Teimuraz GABASHVILI (RUS)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) vs. 7 Christophe Rochus (BEL)
Santiago Ventura (ESP) vs. Oliver Marach (AUT)
Nicolas Devilder (FRA) vs. Daniel Koellerer (AUT)
Mischa Zverev (GER) vs. Flavio Cipolla (ITA)

Doubles First Round
J. Brunstrom (SWE)/J.J. Rojer (AHO) vs. T. Gabashvili (RUS)/S. Stakhovsky (UKR)
R. Bopanna (IND)/L/ Zovko (CRO) vs. T. Bellucci/E. Butorac
F. Gil (POR)/ H. Tecau (ROU) vs. M. Gicquel (FRA)/F. Serra(FRA)
Y. Allegro (SUI)/A. Clement (FRA) vs. C. Kas (GER)/R. Wassen (NED)

Tuesday's Order of Play

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(Image: El Khiat)

City: Casablanca, Morocco
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: Gilles Simon
2008 Doubles Champions: Albert Montanes/Santiago Ventura

Gilles Simon will not defend his title and will take a much needed break from the tour. Igor Andreev and Ivan Ljubicic will most likely fill the void. Juan Carlos Ferrero returns from being out with an injury, so let’s hope he advances deep in the draw because he needs the points. Also, look out for Thomaz Bellucci, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Frederico Gil as possible troublemakers.

On the doubles side, Albert Montanes and Santiago Ventura will defend their doubles title. They will have to contend with the top Euro teams - Kubot/Marach, Kas Wassen, and Aspelin/Hanley.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

Monday’s Matches
Qualifying Third Round
Santiago Ventura (ESP) vs. Carlos Poch-Gradin (ESP)
Flavio Cipolla (ITA) vs. Lamine Ouahab (ALG)
Olivier Patience (FRA) vs. Olivier Marach (AUT)
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) vs. Boris Pashanki (SRB)

Singles First Round
Arnaud Clement (FRA) vs. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
Florent Serra (FRA) vs. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)
Victor Hanescu (ROU) vs. Steve Darcis (BEL)
Alberto Martin (ESP) vs. Frederico Gil (POR)
Ivan Navarro (ESP) vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)

Doubles First Round
O. Hernandez (ESP)/A. Martin (ESP) vs. S. Aspelin (SWE)/ P. Hanley (AUS)

Monday’s Order of Play

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(image: AP)

The last musketeer left standing, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was upset by Russian Igor Andreev last night 7-5 6-4. Andreev will play Ivan Ljubicic in the round of 16 where Ljubicic leads their match-up 3-1.

The Croat won their last meeting in Monaco in 2006, but a lot has changed since then. That year Ljubicic had his best year and was ranked world number three. Since then, Ljubicic has slid in the rankings to 74, and Andreev finished 2008 with his highest ranking at 19.




(image: AP)

Fernando Gonzalez decisively beat James Blake 7-5 6-1 in 65 minutes of play. The Chilean will advance to play Roger Federer in the next round.

Fernando Verdasco, in all his super-fauxhawk glory, beat Richard Gasquet handily 6-3 6-2. The Spaniard will play Philipp Kohlschreiber in the next round. Kohlschreiber currently leads their head-to-head 3-1. Their last meeting was in Austria in 2008 where Kohlschreiber won in straight sets. Verdasco is now a different player, so I am sure the German's advantage will begin to fade.

The day was not a total loss for Gasquet. He did win in doubles with Swiss partner Stanislas Wawrinka. The duo will play Fernando Gonzalez and Tommy Robredo in the quarterfinals.

Former world no. 3, Ivan Ljubicic upset Gilles Simon 6-3 7-6(3). The current world no. 74 has struggled of late, and this win puts an end to three-consecutive, first-round losses. Ljubicic awaits the winner of the Tsonga-Andreev match.

Tommy Robredo beat Marin Cilic 7-5 7-6(2). The Spaniard ousted the Croat, who has won two ATP titles already this year. Robredo has been on a hot streak of late by winning two South American titles last month. Now on hardcourts, he advances to play Andy Murray into the round of 16. Robredo currently leads their head-to-head 2-0.

(images l-r, l-r: AP, Jeff Gross/Getty Images, Jeff Gross/Getty Images, AP)