Radek Stepanek over Fernando Gonzalez 6-7 (7-2), 7-6 (7-1), 6-4: I picked Gonzalez in this match but that was definitely a heart-over-head pick. Stepanek destroyed Fernando at the French this year and if he can beat him on clay, he should have no trouble doing the same on hard. Plus Stepanek has been solid of late, since returning from injury, including his semi-final loss to Roddick in Washington 7-5 in the third. Fernando has all the talent in the world and he was realizing it early in the year (especially in Australia) but at this point in the season Stepanek is simply playing better.
Fernando Verdasco over Juan Igancio Chela 3-6, 6-1, 6-3: Chela has been nothing short of terrible recently, so this comes as no surprise at all. Both are actually pretty decent on hard courts even though they're clay-courters by nature, but Verdasco has enjoyed much better results at the Open--he lost to Roddick in five sets in the third round last year. It looks like Chela will be one-and-done in New York this year.
Andy Murray over Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-4: This was Murray's first match since the AMS Hamburg when he retired against Volandri leading 5-1 in the first set. Ginepri, meanwhile, has now lost in the first round of his last four tournaments and hasn't won a match since Queen's Club. I imagine this match must have consisted of some pretty bad tennis.
Marcos Baghdatis over Carlos Moya 7-6 (9-7), 6-1: Both of these guys should do quite well at the Open and this score is about what I expected, although a bit more lopsided in the second. Bagman's match with Agassi last year at the Open was unforgettable and he should be a crowd favorite there (outside of U.S. players) this time, so it's nice to see him playing well heading into the tournament.
Mario Ancic over Frederic Niemeyer 6-4, 6-2: This was just Ancic's ninth match of the entire year and his first win since the third round of the Australian Open. Obviously he's at least playing decent, but I doubt he'll be any kind of factor at the Open having missed this much time.
Ivo Karlovic over Max Mirnyi 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3): Is anyone surprised the matchup of these two behemoths went to a third-set tiebreaker?
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Ok, to link to other sites:
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