Indian Wells Tuesday Preview

Third round play concludes Tuesday at the BNP Paribas Open with World No. 1 and three-time champion Roger Federer, World No. 4 and last year’s finalist Andy Murray and No. 7 seed Andy Roddick on Stadium 1. In addition, No. 6 seed Robin Soderling and No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga highlight Stadium 2 action. In the opening match, Murray takes on American Michael Russell for the first time. Murray is trying to reach the fourth round or better here for the fourth straight year. In the second match, Roddick meets 21-year-old Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker for the second time this season. In January, the top American prevailed in straight sets in the first round at the Australian Open. In the evening match, Federer brings a 6-0 lifetime mark against No. 27 seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. Here is a look at Tuesday’s third round match-ups:
 
No. 1 Roger Federer vs. No. 27 Marcos Baghdatis  Federer leads 6-0
No. 4 Andy Murray vs. Michael Russell    First Meeting
No. 6 Robin Soderling vs. No. 28 Feliciano Lopez  Lopez leads 4-2
No. 7 Andy Roddick vs. Thiemo de Bakker   Roddick leads 1-0
No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. No. 24 Albert Montanes   Tsonga leads 2-0
No. 18 Tommy Robredo vs. Dudi Sela    Sela leads 3-0
No. 22 Jurgen Melzer vs. Simon Greul    Melzer leads 1-0
Nicolas Almagro vs. James Blake    Blake leads 1-0

TUESDAY THIRD ROUND HEAD-TO-HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

Stadium 1

(4) Andy Murray (GBR) vs Michael Russell (USA)   First Meeting  

MURRAY FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 22-year-old Scot has a 13-4 career record and he opened with a 64 64 victory on Sunday over top Italian Andreas Seppi, breaking serve four times while losing his serve twice in the one hour and 26-minute match
• He reached the final last year (l. to Nadal) and was the first Briton in the title match here since Tim Henman in 2004 (l. to Federer)…Henman was also runner-up in 2002 (l. to Hewitt)
• He made his debut in 2006 and lost to No. 5 ranked Nikolay Davydenko in three sets in the second round...The following year posted back-to-back Top 10 wins over No. 4 Davydenko (4th) and No. 9 Tommy Haas (QF) before falling to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals...Two years ago he fell to Tommy Haas in three sets in the 4th Rd.

2010 Highlights:
F: Australian Open (l Federer)

2010 in Review:
• The World No. 4 enters the third round with an 8-2 match record on the season…He opened the year by reaching his second career Grand Slam final at the Australian Open…He lost only one set en route to the final, posting wins over John Isner (4th Rd.), No. 2 Rafael Nadal (QF) and Marin Cilic (SF) before falling in straight sets to No. 1 Roger Federer
• He returned the week of Feb. 22 in Dubai and lost in the second round to Janko Tipsarevic in three sets

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has a 74-31 career match record and has won four of five finals the past two years…Won his first title in Cincinnati (d. Djokovic) and in Madrid (d. Federer in SF, d. Simon in final) in 2008…Last year won titles in Miami (d. Djokovic) and Montreal (d. del Potro) while reaching the final here

Miscellaneous:
• In 2009, the Scot captured an ATP World Tour best six titles and reached a career-high No. 2 ranking in August before finishing No. 4 for the second straight year…Led circuit with .857 winning percentage as he compiled a 66-11 match record

RUSSELL FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 31-year-old American is the oldest player left and he has a 6-2 career record, reaching the fourth round in 2007 when he defeated Marc Gicquel, No. 12 Tomas Berdych and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets before losing to Juan Ignacio Chela…Last year he qualified and was ranked No. 263, defeating Garcia-Lopez before losing to Dmitry Tursunov in the second round in three sets
• En route to the third round he’s defeated Italian Paolo Lorenzi 62 75 and No. 32 seeded Russian Igor Andreev 46 63 62 
• One of three players 30-over remaining – Ivan Ljubicic (30) is in 4th Rd., James Blake (30) in 3rd Rd.

2010 Highlights:
QF: San Jose (l Querrey)

2010 in Review:
• The Houston resident is playing in his sixth ATP World Tour tournament of the season and he comes in with a 6-5 match record
• Last month he advanced to his first career ATP World Tour quarter-final in San Jose (l. to Querrey)
• He also reached the 2nd Rd. in Chennai (l. to Wawrinka) and Memphis (l. to Berdych) and fell in the 1st Rd. at Australian Open (l. to No. 5 del Potro in four sets) and Delray Beach (l. to Zverev)
• In January, he captured his 12th career Challenger title in Honolulu (d. Zemlja)…He has a 12-6 career mark in Challenger finals with a 203-129 match record…He is 36-76 in his career in tour level play
• At No. 68, he is the fifth-highest ranked American in the Top 100, behind No. 8 Roddick, No. 20 Isner, No. 22 Querrey and No. 52 Blake

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has an 8-7 career match record with his best result the fourth round here in 2007 (l. to Chela)

Miscellaneous:
• In 2009 he finished in the Top 100 for the second time in three years at No. 83 (No. 72 in ’07) and he compiled a strong Challenger campaign by winning three titles with a 42-15 match record…He played limited on the ATP World Tour (2-4 record with one win at Indian Wells and one in Miami)
• He reached a career-high No. 60 on Aug. 13, 2007 and a win would lift him to around his personal-best
• Has an 0-7 career mark against Top 10 opponents and he played his first Top 10 foe in No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten in the 4th Rd. at Roland Garros in 2001, losing in five sets (after winning first two sets and holding match point in the third set)…Kuerten went on to capture the title…The last Top 10 he played was No. 5 del Potro in the first round at the Australian Open and lost in four sets

Thiemo de Bakker (NED) vs (7) Andy Roddick (USA) Roddick Leads 1-0
10 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Andy Roddick 6-1 6-4 6-4 

DE BAKKER FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 21-year-old Dutchman is the youngest player remaining in the draw and in his first tournament appearance, posted a 63 63 win over Brazilian Marcos Daniel and 3-2 retired victory (abdominal strain) over No. 30 seed Janko Tipsarevic
 
2010 Highlights:
QF: Chennai (l Tipsarevic)

2010 in Review:
• The Dutchman is playing in his fourth ATP World Tour tournament of the year (5-3 record) with his best result a first career ATP World Tour quarter-final in Chennai (l. to Tipsarevic) in January
• He fell in 1st Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Roddick) then reached 2nd Rd. at Rotterdam (l. to Monfils)
• He is ranked a career-high No. 73 coming into the tournament

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• This is his first career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament and the only Dutchman to win a Masters 1000 title was Richard Krajicek, who won Miami in 1999 and Stuttgart-indoor in 1998

Miscellaneous:
• In 2009, was first Dutchman to finish in Top 100 at No. 98 since Raemon Sluiter was No. 82 in 2004…He won four Challenger titles and rose over 150 ranking positions from previous year
• Was year-end No. 1 junior in 2006, highlighted by Wimbledon junior title
• Has an 0-3 career mark against Top 10 opponents, losing to No. 8 Ljubicic in 1st Rd. of ’07 Rotterdam, No. 7 Tsonga in ’09 Davis Cup World Group tie and No. 7 Roddick in ’10 Australian Open 1st Rd.
• Working with former Richard Krajicek mentor Rohan Goetzke, who is the technical director of Dutch Tennis Federation

RODDICK FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 27-year-old American comes into the third round with a 21-7 career mark and he opened the tournament Sunday with a 64 64 win over qualifier Yen-Hsun Lu…Last year he lost in the semi-finals to eventual champion Rafael Nadal…It was his third semi-final (2005, ’07, ‘09)
• Four of his losses here have come to Top 10 opponents – No. 10 Henman in ’04 QF, No. 2 Hewitt in ’05 SF, No. 2 Nadal in ’07 SF and No. 1 Nadal last year
• He captured the doubles title last year (w/Fish), defeating Mirnyi-A. Ram 14-12 in match tie-break

2010 Highlights:
W: Brisbane (d Stepanek); F: San Jose (l Verdasco); QF: Australian Open (l Cilic); Memphis (l Querrey)

2010 in Review:
• The Austin, Texas resident enters the third round with a 16-3 match record on the season, all on hard courts…Last month he reached the final in San Jose where he lost to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 36 64 64 and followed with a quarter-final in Memphis (l. to eventual champ Querrey)…He also has an ATP World Tour-best 13-2 mark in tie-breaks
• The top American opened the season by capturing his 28th career ATP World Tour title in Brisbane (d. Stepanek) to extend his title streak to 10 consecutive years (tied w/Federer among active players)…
Then followed by reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open (l. to Cilic in five sets)
• He came into the tournament tied for lead (w/Karlovic) on ATP World Tour in service games won (91%) and was No. 2 in aces (258) and first serve points won (80%) and No. 3 in first serve pct. (72%) and 2nd serve points won (57%)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has a career record of 131-56 since playing his first Masters 1000 tournament in Miami (falling second round to Agassi) in 2000…Owns a 4-3 in finals, winning his last Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati in 2006 (d. Ferrero)…Also won there in 2003 (d. Fish)…His other titles have come in Montreal in 2003 (d. Nalbandian) and Miami in 2004 (d. Coria, ret.)

Miscellaneous:
• In 2009, the top American finished in the Top 10 for an eighth consecutive season at No. 7…He and Federer have the longest streak among active players on the ATP World Tour
• His 28 career titles is No. 3 among active players on the ATP World Tour, behind Federer (62) and Nadal (36)

(1) Roger Federer (SUI) vs (27) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) Federer Leads 6-0
04 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Roger Federer 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3 6-1
05 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-2 6-2 7-6(4)
06 Doha (Qatar) Hard QF Roger Federer 6-4 6-3
06 Australian Open (Australia) Hard F Roger Federer 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2
07 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati  Hard R16 Roger Federer 7-6(5) 7-5
08 Halle (Germany) Grass QF Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 

FEDERER FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 28-year-old Swiss enters the third round with a 29-6 career mark and he opened the tournament Sunday with a 63 67(5) 61 win over Romanian Victor Hanescu
• Last year he lost in the semi-finals to Andy Murray…His 29 career match wins is second-most in the tournament (behind Agassi-31)
• The three-time champion from 2004-06 did not lose a set in each final, defeating Henman, Hewitt and  Blake in the three year title run…Michael Chang and Jimmy Connors also won three titles
• Since his last title in 2006, lost in the opening round (after a bye) to Guillermo Canas in 2007, to Mardy Fish in the semi-finals in 2008 and Murray in the semis last year

2010 Highlights:
W: Australian Open (d Murray); SF: Doha (l Davydenko)

2010 in Review:
• The Swiss superstar comes in with an 11-1 match record…This is his first appearance since Jan. 31 when he captured his 16th career Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open (d. Murray)…It was his fourth title in Melbourne (2004, ’06-07)
• He opened the campaign with a semi-final showing in Doha (l. to eventual champ Davydenko)
• He comes in ranked No. 1 for 274 weeks, only trailing Pete Sampras (286) for the most weeks atop the South African Airways ATP Rankings…He will break the record on June 14 if he remains No. 1
• Last month he withdrew from Dubai due to a lung infection

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has a career record of 203-61 since playing his first Masters tournament in Miami (falling first round to Carlsen) in 1999…Has won 16 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, second all-time (since ‘90) behind Andre Agassi’s 17…Overall he is 16-9 in finals…Agassi is also the all-time leader with 209 match wins
• Has won six different tournaments - Hamburg (four times), Indian Wells (three times), Cincinnati (three times), Miami (twice), Toronto (twice) and Madrid (twice) and runner-up in two others – Monte Carlo (three times) and Rome (twice)
 
Miscellaneous:
• The all-time men’s leader with 16 Grand Slam titles is approaching 700 career match wins (689-162)…
Nine players in the Open Era have reached the 700 wins plateau
• His 62 titles is tied for No. 6 on the Open Era titles list (w/Guillermo Vilas) and his next title will tie Bjorn Borg

BAGHDATIS FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 24-year-old Cypriot has a 5-3 career mark and he is making his fourth appearance…His best result was in 2006 debut as he reached the quarter-finals (l. to Nadal)…He also reached 3rd Rd. in 2008 (l. to Wawrinka); dropped opener in 2007 (after 1st Rd. bye, l. to Garcia-Lopez in 2nd Rd.)
• On Sunday, he saved six first set points and defeated Frenchman Arnaud Clement 76(7) 61 in 2nd Rd.

2010 Highlights:
W: Sydney (d Gasquet); SF: Dubai (l Djokovic)

2010 in Review:
• The Limassol native is playing in his seventh ATP World Tour tournament of the year and he enters with a 16-5 match record…Last year he didn’t win his 16th match until late July in Los Angeles
• In January, he won his fourth ATP World Tour title in Sydney (d. Gasquet) and followed with 3rd Rd. at Australian Open (ret. vs. Hewitt w/right shoulder injury)…In his last tournament in Dubai he reached the semi-finals (l. to Djokovic)…In three other events (Brisbane, Rotterdam, Marseille), lost in 2nd Rd.    
• Went 3-0 in recent Davis Cup tie vs. Egypt, winning both singles matches and doubles rubber

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has a career record of 21-19 and made a successful ATP World Tour Masters 1000 debut here in 2006 as he reached the quarter-finals (d. Bjorkman, No. 8 Gaudio, Berdych, l. to No. 2 Nadal)…His best result was the semi-finals in Paris in 2007 (d. Ferrero, No. 15 Ljubicic, No. 4 Davydenko, No. 8 Robredo before losing to No. 2 Nadal in three sets)

Miscellaneous:
• At No. 33, he is one of two Cypriots ranked on ATP World Tour (also No. 615 Kallias)
• After an injury-plagued 2008, finished last year in Top 50 at No. 42 highlighted by winning his third career ATP World Tour title in Stockholm (d. O. Rochus) and three Challenger titles
• Ranked No. 1 in world in juniors in 2003, winning Australian Open and runner-up at US Open that year
• Has a 12-20 career mark vs. Top 10 opponents with his last win coming over No. 8 Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-finals of Marseille in February 2008…His highest-ranked win came over No. 3 Roddick in the 4th Rd. at the Australian Open in 2006
• Reached a career-high No. 8 on August 21, 2006 and spent 13 non-consecutive weeks in Top 10 (all between July 10 and October 22, 2006)
• Coached by former David Nalbandian mentor Eduardo Infantino (since Roland Garros last year)
 
Stadium 2

(28) Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs (6) Robin Soderling (SWE) Lopez Leads 4-2
04 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo  Clay R64 Feliciano Lopez 7-5 6-4
04 Athens Olympics (Greece) Hard R64 Feliciano Lopez 6-3 3-6 6-4
04 Lyon (France) Carpet R16 Robin Soderling 4-6 6-3 6-3
05 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Robin Soderling 6-2 6-2 7-6(6)
06 Zagreb (Croatia) Carpet R32 Feliciano Lopez 7-6(4) 4-6 6-1
09 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai  Hard QF Feliciano Lopez 7-6(4) 6-3
Other Meetings:
09 Sunrise CH (U.S.A.) Hard SF Robin Soderling 6-4 6-4

Lopez FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
W: Johannesburg (d Robert)
YTD W-L: 8-4
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: September 20, 1981
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 34

Soderling FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
W: Rotterdam (d Youzhny); QF: Marseille (l Llodra)
YTD W-L: 9-3
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: August 14, 1984
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 7

(9) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs (24) Albert Montanes (ESP) Tsonga Leads 2-0
08 Casablanca (Morocco) Clay R32 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4 7-6(10)
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris  Hard R32 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1 7-5

Tsonga FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
SF: Australian Open (l Federer); Marseille (l Benneteau)
YTD W-L: 10-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: April 17, 1985
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 11

Montanes FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
SF: Auckland (l Isner); Buenos Aires (l Ferrer)
YTD W-L: 10-6
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: November 26, 1980
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 30

Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs James Blake (USA)  Blake Leads 1-0
06 Roland Garros (France) Clay R64 James Blake 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 6-4

Almagro FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
QF: Acapulco (l Ferrero)
YTD W-L: 8-5
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: August 21, 1985
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 40

Blake FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
QF: Brisbane (l Monfils); Delray Beach (l Karlovic)
YTD W-L: 7-5
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 10
Date of Birth: December 28, 1979
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 52

Stadium 3

Simon Greul (GER) vs (22) Jurgen Melzer (AUT) Melzer Leads 1-0
06 Munich (Germany) Clay R16 Jurgen Melzer 6-3 1-6 6-4
Other Meetings:
08 Dresden CH (Germany) Clay R32 Simon Greul 6-2  6-2
08 Graz CH (Austria) Clay R16 Simon Greul 7-6(5) 6-3

Greul FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 5-7
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 13, 1981
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 58

Melzer FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
SF: Zagreb (l Cilic); Dubai (l Youzhny); QF: Auckland (l Clement); Rotterdam (l Davydenko)
YTD W-L: 13-6
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: May 22, 1981
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 28

(18) Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs Dudi Sela (ISR) Sela Leads 3-0
08 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Dudi Sela 7-6(5) 6-1
08 Beijing (China) Hard QF Dudi Sela 6-4   6-1
09 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R32 Dudi Sela 7-6(8) 7-5 2-6 7-5

Robredo FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
QF: Auckland (l Isner)
YTD W-L: 4-5
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 9
Date of Birth: May 1, 1982
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 23

Sela FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
SF: Chennai (l Wawrinka)
YTD W-L: 6-8
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 4, 1985
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 72