Thursday Preview - Nadal to meet del Potro, Murray to meet Verdasco

The final two semi-final spots of the Sony Ericsson Open will be determined on Thursday as ATP World Tour No. 1 Rafael Nadal takes a 4-0 lifetime record against No. 6 seed Juan Martin del Potro and No. 4 Andy Murray brings a 5-1 career mark against No. 8 seed Fernando Verdasco. Between the foursome, they have won 24 of 26 sets thus far in the tournament. Nadal and del Potro have yet to drop a set while Murray and Verdasco have lost one set each. On Wednesday, No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic advanced to the semi-finals. Federer owns a 7-2 career advantage over Djokovic.

THURSDAY QUARTER-FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS – In Order of Play

(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (6) Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)    Nadal Leads 4-0 (9-0 in sets)
07 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 6-0 6-4
07 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-3 6-2
07 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain)Grass R32 Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4
09 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-4

NADAL FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The 22-year-old Spaniard enters the quarter-finals with a 17-5 record in Miami with his best results a runner-up finish in 2005 (l. to Federer in five sets) and last year (l. to Davydenko)…Also a quarter-finalist in 2007 (l. to Djokovic)
· Has yet to drop a set in first three rounds, holding serve 26 of 30 games (87%) , saving 10 of 14 break points (71%) while converting 11 of 27 break points (41%)
· Opened the tournament with a 62 62 victory over Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili and followed with a 75 63 win over Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil and 76(2) 76(4) over No. 16 seed Stanislas Wawrinka in two hours and 43 minutes (longest two set match of the season)

2009 Highlights:
W: Australian Open (d Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d Murray); F: Rotterdam (l Murray); QF: Doha (l Monfils)
 
2009 in Review:
· The ATP World Tour No. 1 comes in with an 11-match winning streak and he is off to a career-best  24-2 start (22-2 on hard)…Leads the ATP World Tour with a 6-1 record against Top 10 opponents
· He’s looking to reach the semi-finals (or better) for the fourth time in 2009…This is the first time in his career he’s won two hard court titles in the first three months of the season
· He is coming off his 13th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells (d. Murray) on March 22
· Has already surpassed $2 million in prize money, the earliest in a season in men’s tennis
· The Mallorca native has a 33-9 career record in finals and he’s tied for No. 16 on the Open Era titles list with Arthur Ashe and Mats Wilander…He is also 13-4 lifetime in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals, trailing only Andre Agassi (17) and Roger Federer (14)
· Last month he led his country to a 4-1 first round Davis Cup victory over Serbia...Posted straight-set wins over Janko Tipsarevic and No. 3 Djokovic, losing only serve once in six sets
· Began the season by reaching the quarter-finals in Doha (l. to Monfils) and winning the doubles title (w/M. Lopez) over last year’s No. 1 team of Nestor-Zimonjic
· Then captured his sixth career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, his first on hard courts, with a five-set victory over rival Roger Federer...In semi-final win over countryman Fernando Verdasco, won a tournament record 5:14 battle in five sets
·  He became first Spaniard to win Australian title and third player at age 22-under to win three of four Grand Slam titles, joining Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras...Also first player to win Aussie Open title winning five-set SF and F matches since Mats Wilander in 1988
· On Feb. 15 reached his third career ATP World Tour indoor final (1-2) in Rotterdam and injured his right knee in three-set loss to Murray...Withdrew from Dubai before returning for Davis Cup tie
· Has ranked No. 1 for 33 consecutive weeks since first taking over the top spot on Aug. 18, 2008

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· Has a sparkling 132-27 career match record and a 13-4 mark in finals, winning at least two titles in each of the past four years…Won a personal-best four in 2005 and three each in 2007-08
· He and Federer are the only players to reach eight different Masters 1000 finals…Prior to this year, the Spaniard has reached the final in every tournament except Cincinnati…Federer had reached every final except Paris (Bercy)

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, the Mallorca native became the first left-hander to finish No. 1 since John McEnroe in 1984, in addition to becoming first Spaniard to end the season as world’s top player in history of ATP Rankings (since 1973)
· Became first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in same year
· Led the ATP World Tour with eight titles in 10 finals, 82 match wins, most matches (93) played and a 17-6 mark against Top 10 opponents ...Also helped his native country to Davis Cup title (vs. Argentina) by winning all three of his matches during year
· He advanced to the semi-finals or better in all four Grand Slam tournaments for first time in his career...
· Opened with runner-up effort in Chennai (l. to Youzhny) and reaced SF at Aust. Open (l. to Tsonga)
· In March, reached SF at Indian Wells (l. to Djokovic) and followed with runner-up in Miami (l. to Davydenko)...Began year with a 22-6 record in first six tournaments before going 60-5 rest of season
· During clay court circuit, won titles at Monte Carlo (d. Federer) and Barcelona (d. Ferrer) for fourth straight year and for first time at Hamburg (d. Federer)...Lost his only clay match (24-1) in 2nd Rd. at Rome (l. to Ferrero)
· Captured his fourth straight Roland Garros crown (d. Federer) and became first player since Borg in 1978-81 to accomplish feat...Also first player since Borg in 1980 to win without dropping a set in Paris
· Then moved to grass and won titles at Queen’s (d. Karlovic, Roddick, Djokovic) and Wimbledon, defeating five-time champ Federer in a 4:48 marathon (9-7 in fifth set) in longest final at All England Club...Became first Spaniard to capture Wimbledon title since Manuel Santana in 1966
· Three weeks later in Toronto, earned his first hard court title of season (d. Murray in SF, Kiefer in F)...Following week in Cincinnati, reached SF (l. to Djokovic), ending his career-best 32-match winning streak...His result guaranteed No. 1 ranking on Aug. 18, which he obtained after earning gold medal at Beijing Olympics (d. Gonzalez)
· Spent a record 160 straight weeks at No. 2 from July 25, 2005 to Aug. 17, 2008
· Then advanced to first SF at US Open (l. to Murray)...Later in month, defeated Querrey and Roddick in Davis Cup SF to lead Spain into final...Clinched year-end No. 1 at Madrid with SF effort (l. to Simon)
· Compiled an ATP-best 46-10 mark on hard, 24-1 on clay and 12-0 on grass...Has a 133-4 record on clay since 2005 (2-0 in '09)

DEL POTRO FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The 20-year-old Argentine advanced to his first quarter-final with a 63 62 victory over No. 11 seed David Ferrer on Tuesday…Also posted a 64 61 win over Janko Tipsarevic in the third round and a 62 62 triumph over countryman Martin Vassallo Arquello in the second round (after a first round bye)
· Competing in Miami for the third time and owns a 7-2 record
· Has held serve 17 of 18 games thus far and has won 86% of first serve points…Also has broken opponents 11 times in 21 games
· Two years ago he reached the fourth round with wins over Jonas Bjorkman, Marcos Baghdatis and Mikhail Youzhny before falling to then No. 2 Rafael Nadal

2009 Highlights:
W: Auckland (d Querrey); QF: Australian Open (l Federer); San Jose (l Fish); Memphis (l Stepanek); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Nadal)
2009 in Review:
· The top Argentine/South American enters the quarter-finals with an 18-4 match record on the season and last year he didn't win his 18th match until mid-July in Kitzbuhel en route to the title
· Will jump to a career-high No. 5 next week (from No. 7) ahead of No. 5 Davydenko and No. 6 Roddick
· Has reached the quarter-finals or better in all six tournaments he’s played this season…In his last tournament advanced to the quarter-finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (l. to Nadal)
· He began the season by capturing his fifth ATP World Tour title in Auckland (d. Querrey) and followed by advancing to his second straight Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open (d. Cilic, l. to Federer)...Jumped from No. 9 to No. 6 after Auckland title on Jan. 19
· In February, reached back-to-back quarter-finals in San Jose (l. to Fish) and Memphis (l. to Stepanek)
· Although he didn’t play in his country’s first round Davis Cup victory over the Netherlands, he is expected to lead the charge in the quarter-final tie in July at the Czech Republic

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· Has a 20-13 career match record and his best results were the quarter-finals in his last tournament in Indian Wells (l. to Nadal), last year in Madrid (l. to Federer) and now in Miami

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, finished as the youngest player (20) in the year-end Top 10 at No. 9 with four ATP World Tour titles in five finals while compiling a 46-16 match record
· Finished as top Argentine and South American for first time and also helped his country to Davis Cup final (l. to Spain 3-1)...Fell to Lopez in four sets, injuring his right thigh in the match, which kept him out of reverse singles
· In first half of season, went 9-8 with his best results a SF in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Ferrer) and QF in Munich (l. to El Aynaoui)...Struggled with back problems, retiring twice
· After 2nd Rd. exit at Wimbledon, won 37 of 45 matches, including a 23-match winning streak...Won first ATP title in Stuttgart (d. Gasquet) and following week won in Kitzbnhel (d. Melzer), both on clay
· Moved to hard courts and won back-to-back titles in Los Angeles (d. Roddick) and Washington (d. Troicki) before streak ended with QF loss at US Open (l. to Murray)...Climbed from No. 65 on July 7 to No. 13 on Sept. 8…Reached Tokyo final (l. to Berdych) to break into Top 10 on Oct. 6...Reached QF at Madrid and SF in Basel…In Tennis Masters Cup debut  went 1-2 in round robin play
· Was 27-11 on hard, 15-3 on clay and 4-2 on grass
· Compiled a 5-9 record against Top 10 opponents in 2008 and is 6-21 in his career (0-10 vs. Top 3s)

(4) Andy Murray (GBR) vs (8) Fernando Verdasco (ESP)       Murray Leads 5-1(13-4 in sets)
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Andy Murray 7-6(4) 7-5 6-4
07 St. Petersburg (Russia) Carpet F Andy Murray 6-2 6-3
08 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R16 Andy Murray 6-3 3-6 7-6(5)
08 St. Petersburg (Russia) Hard SF Andy Murray 6-0 6-3
08 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Hard R16 Andy Murray 6-3 7-6(6)
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Fernando Verdasco 2-6 6-1 1-6 6-3 6-4
Other Meetings:
03 Segovia CH (Spain) Hard R32 Fernando Verdasco 6-1 6-3

MURRAY FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The 21-year-old Scot has a 7-3 record in Miami, reaching the semi-finals two years ago (l. to eventual champion Djokovic)
· En route to the quarter-finals has posted wins over Juan Monaco (46 63 62), Nicolas Massu (64 64) and Viktor Troicki (61 60)
· Has held serve 25 of 31 games (81%) while converting 15 of 28 break points (54%)…Has broken opponents the most (15) in the tournament
· Made his debut in 2006 and lost to Stanislas Wawrinka in three sets in the first round…Last year fell in three sets to Mario Ancic in his opening round match (after a bye)

2009 Highlights:
W: Doha (d Roddick); Rotterdam (d Nadal); F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Nadal); QF: Dubai (W/O vs Gasquet)

2009 in Review:
· The World No. 4 is off to a career-best 23-2 start and he’s appearing in his fifth ATP World Tour quarter-final or better…Has a 4-1 mark against Top 10 opponents (25-21 in career)
· He’s coming off his third ATP World Tour final of the season at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (d. Federer in SF, l. to Nadal), his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final in past four 1000 tournaments (going back to Cincinnati last August)
· Last year he won his 23rd match in the third round at Queen’s on June 12
· He opened the season by defending his title in Doha with back-to-back wins over No. 2 Federer (SF) and No. 8 Roddick (F)...Held serve 47 of 50 games throughout tournament
· Then followed with a fourth round showing at the Australian Open where he lost to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco for the first time (5-1) in five sets
· On Feb. 15, defeated World No. 1 Nadal in three sets in Rotterdam to capture his second ATP World Tour title of the season and 10th of his career
· In late February he reached the quarter-finals in Dubai and withdrew against Richard Gasquet due to a virus...Also withdrew from first round Davis Cup home tie (in Scotland) vs. Ukraine

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· In 2008, captured two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles – Cincinnati (d. Djokovic) and Madrid (d. Federer in SF, d. Simon in final)…He enters the quarter-finals with a 56-26 career record

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, the British No. 1 compiled his best season by winning a career-high five ATP titles and reaching his first Grand Slam final
· Became first British player to win five titles in a year in Open Era and first Briton to appear in a Grand Slam final since Greg Rusedski at US Open in 1997
· Also the first British player to finish in Top 4 in 36-year history of ATP World Tour Rankings
· Jumped off to a 10-1 start with titles in two of his first three tournaments in Doha (d. Davydenko in SF, Wawrinka in F) and Marseille (d. Ancic)...In between, suffered a 1st Rd. loss at Australian Open (l. to eventual runner-up Tsonga)…In March, beat No. 1 Federer in opening round of Dubai en route to QF
· After reaching quarters at Wimbledon (l. to Nadal), during summer hard court circuit, reached semi-finals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Toronto (d. Wawrinka, Djokovic, l. to Nadal) and followed with first ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati (d. Djokovic)
· After a 1st RD loss to Lu at Beijing Olympics, regrouped to reach US Open final, handing Nadal his first loss as World No. 1 in SF...Also beat No. 10 Wawrinka in 4th RD and No. 17 del Potro in QF before falling in straight sets to Federer...Climbed from No. 6 to No. 4 afterwards
· Compiled a personal-best 14-match winning streak with two Davis Cup wins vs. Austria’s Peya and Melzer although Great Britain lost 3-2…During indoor circuit, won second straight AMS title in Madrid (d. Federer in SF, Simon in F), repeated crown in St. Petersburg (d. Golubev) and reached QF at AMS Paris (l. to Nalbandian)

VERDASCO FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The Madrid native enters his first quarter-final with an 8-6 career record and his previous best result was the third round in 2003, ’05-06
· En route to the quarter-finals, has defeated qualifier Benjamin Becker 63 64, No. 32 seed and countryman Feliciano Lopez 36 63 64 and No. 18 seed Radek Stepanek 62 62
· Has held serve 27 of 32 games (84%) while converting 12 of 25 break points (48%)
· Made his debut in 2003 and defeated Karol Kucera and Max Mirnyi before losing to countryman No. 5 Carlos Moya...In 2005, beat No. 3 Andy Roddick (ret.) in the second round and then lost to then No. 31 Rafael Nadal 62 62...The following year, beat Vincent Spadea and lost to No. 4 Roddick
· The last two years lost in the opening round (after a bye) to Florian Mayer and Janko Tipsarevic

2009 Highlights:
F: Brisbane (l Stepanek); SF: Australian Open (l Nadal); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Federer)

2009 in Review:
· The 25-year-old Spaniard comes into his fourth quarter-final (or better) with a career-best 15-3 start and he’s coming off a quarter-final at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (l. to Federer)
· Last year he didn’t win his 15th match until late May in the first round at Roland Garros
· Has a 2-2 mark against Top 10 opponents this season (9-33 in career)
· He opened the first month winning nine of 11 matches, reaching his first ATP World Tour hard court final in Brisbane (l. to Stepanek) and following with a Grand Slam-best semi-final showing at the Australian Open
· Posted back-to-back wins over No. 4 Murray in five sets in 4th Rd. and No. 6 Tsonga in the quarter-finals before falling in an epic five-set marathon to countryman and World No. 1 Nadal...Played longest singles match in tournament history (5:14) and afterwards broke into Top 10 for first time at No. 9 (from No. 15) on Feb. 2
· Missed Dubai and first round Davis Cup tie (vs. Serbia) due to a left foot injury he sustained in Australia
· Before coming to Indian Wells worked for a month on fitness and conditioning in Las Vegas with Gil Reyes, and some times hit with Andre Agassi…Has been coached part-time by Darren Cahill, who is not in Miami

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· Has a career record of 43-45 and his best result was the quarter-finals five times (including here) – Indian Wells last week (first on hard courts) – 2005 Rome, 2006, ’08 Hamburg (on clay)

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, the left-hander finished in the Top 20 for the first time at No. 16 by winning a career-high 47 matches and his second ATP World Tour title
· Helped his country to Davis Cup title (d. Argentina 3-1), clinching the tie with a five-set win over Acasuso...Also won doubles match and finished 3-1 (w/Lopez) during the year
· After compiling a 9-10 mark in first four months, went 38-17 rest of season, highlighted by ATP title in Umag (d. Andreev) and runner-up in Nottingham (l. to Karlovic)....Also SF in Bsstad, New Haven and St. Petersburg and QF in three other tournaments
· His best Grand Slam showing was the 4th Rd. at Roland Garros (l. to Nadal) and Wimbledon (l. to Ancic 13-11 in fifth set)...Went 1-6 vs. Top 10 opponents with lone win over No. 5 Ferrer at Hamburg
· Compiled marks of 22-16 on hard, 17-8 on clay and 8-3 on grass...Led Ricoh ATP MatchFacts in first serve percentage (73%)...Earned a career-high $977,961.

FRIDAY SEMI-FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS

Bottom Half –

(3) Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs (2) Roger Federer (SUI) Federer Leads 7-2
06 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo  Clay R64 Roger Federer 6-3 2-6 6-3
06 SUI v. SCG WG PO (Switzerland) Hard RR Roger Federer 6-3 6-2 6-3
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-2 7-5 6-3
07 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard QF Roger Federer 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3
07 ATP Masters Series Montreal (Canada)Hard F Novak Djokovic 7-6(2) 2-6 7-6(2)
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard F Roger Federer 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 6-4
08 Australian Open (Australia) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-3 7-6(5)
08 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Clay SF Roger Federer 6-3 3-2 ret
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard SF Roger Federer 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2

Potential Top Half –

(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (4) Andy Murray (GBR) Nadal Leads 6-2
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 6-7(3)  6-4 4-6 6-3 6-1
07 ATP Masters Series Madrid (Spain) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 7-6(5)  6-4
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay R16 Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2
08 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass QF Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-4
08 ATP Masters Series Toronto (Canada)Hard SF Rafael Nadal 7-6(2) 6-3
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard SF Andy Murray 6-2 7-6(5)4-6 6-4
09 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard F Andy Murray 6-3 4-6 6-0
09 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells  Hard F Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-2

(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (8) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Nadal Leads 7-0
05 Doha (Qatar) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-4
05 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-2
05 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay R16 Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2
06 London / Queen's Club (England) Grass R16 Rafael Nadal 2-6 7-6(3)  7-6(3)
07 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay R16 Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-0 6-2
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard SF Rafael Nadal       6-7(4) 6-4    7-6(2)6-7(1)  6-4
Other Meetings:
03 Hamburg CH (Germany) Carpet QF Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-5

(6) Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) vs (4) Andy Murray (GBR) Murray Leads 2-0
08 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay R64 Andy Murray 5-7 6-4 1-0 ret
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard QF Andy Murray 7-6(2)7-6(1) 4-6 7-5

(6) Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) vs (8) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) First ATP Meeting
Other Meetings:
06 Segovia CH (Spain) Hard QF Juan Martin Del Potro 6-7(3)  6-2 7-6(8)