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Only the victory is beautiful because the final was a disater!

This is a guest post by Ruari Grant. This post was also published on the AndBeThere blog. You can connect to us via:

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I would like to thank Tennis-Buzz for this opportunity.

Well the first Masters 1000 event of the 2013 season is now well and truly underway, with all the seeds having completed their first matches. All 32 seeds receive a bye in the first round, so here I plan to give you a succinct run-down of round 2.

Top Half

Novak Djokovic had a bit of a lapse of concentration in his 6-0 5-7 6-2 win over Fabio Fognini. Having taken the opener without any resistance whatsoever, one bad game from the number one seed, and some great slow-court tennis from the Italian saw it go to a decider. However Djokovic said that he never really felt in trouble, given the great run of form he’s currently on and the confidence that goes with it. Next up for him is Dimitrov, a straight sets winner, who could provide quite a spectacle, though he’s unlikely to pose any real threat.

In a few days’ time the winner of that one will face the victor of the Querrey-Matesevic clash. Matesevic is a name to watch out for this season, and he upset 14th seed Monaco 7-5 6-0 in R2. This could be fairly close, though I’d expect the more experienced and big serving American to come through for a presumed rematch of his win over Djokovic in Paris last Autumn.

Further down, Cilic came through in two against Ramos, and he will play Raonic who was granted a walkover by Llodra. This could be interesting. Cilic is the more experienced, though Raonic is the more upcoming player at the moment. Though they’re both big servers, I think the slower courts will favour Cilic, as he probably has a slightly more solid defensive game than the all-offensive Canadian.

Mardy Fish continued his comeback to the tour with  6-3 3-6 6-4 win over countryman Bobby Reynolds. This tournament has been a happy hunting ground for him in the past, so he will be hoping for a couple more wins. Trying to prevent that will be Tsonga – a 7-6 6-4 winner over James Blake. A very tight affair where the American held 3 set points in the opener, Tsonga did well to grit out the win, and that should give him confidence going forward. He shouldn’t struggle too much with Fish on current form.

Andy Murray overcame a rocky start, eventually rallying to beat Donskoy 5-7 6-2 6-2. It was the Scot’s first match since the Aussie Open so he was bound to be a bit rusty. He’s said that he’s expecting peak fitness over the next couple of weeks given the training time he’s recently put in in Miami. So after a couple of matches to ease himself into the tournament he should be quite a force. The slow surface should also suit him. Next up is Yen-Hsun Lu.

Carlos Berlocq caused an upset, overcoming the 22nd seed Dolgopolov 6-3 6-7 6-3. A great win for the Argentine, it’s just another appalling loss for the talented Ukrainian. He really needs to look at where his game is at and start considering where he wants to take it – the regularity of his bad performances represent the only consistency in his game. Berlocq will next have his work cut out against Nishikori, one of the brightest young hopes on the tour at the moment.

One of the best prospects for the next round is the Almagro-Haas matchup. Both came through in two sets against unseeded opponents, and both have been playing at a high level of late. I’m picking a slight upset here, with Haas to come through – he really is having a late-career resurgence!

At the bottom of the top half, Del Potro was very impressive against a dangerman in Davydenko. The Russian had beaten him comfortably in the championship match at the World Tour Finals a couple of years back so the Argentine was aware of the possible risk. But Davydenko was never given a look in. Next up is Bjorn Phau – for me the fastest man in tennis. He plays great exhibition stuff, though won’t have the necessary firepower to hurt the seventh seed.

Bottom Half

At the very bottom of the draw, the number 2 seed (he could lose his number 2 ranking if he fails to defend his Indian Wells crown this week) is Federer. He came through very comfortably 6-2 6-3 against a dangerous opponent in Istomin. After two poor losses in recent weeks, he’s in need of confidence boosting wins like this ahead of a possible quarter-final showdown with Nadal. In R2 he faces Dodig; an opponent you wouldn’t expect to cause too much trouble. 

My pick of Saturday’s matches was Lleyton Hewitt‘s gritty comeback, beating last year’s finalist John Isner 6-7 6-3 6-4. The veteran Aussie has slipped in the rankings, so big wins like this are more important than ever to him, as he looks to extend his injury plagued career as long as he can. He faces Wawrinka in a potentially intriguing clash in the next round.

Ernests Gulbis continued his fine run of form, backing up last week’s win in Delray Beach, with a devastating 6-2 6-0 win over the struggling Serb Janko Tipsaravic. Though still in the top 10, he has had a distinctly average year since the Aussie Open, and is sure to see that ranking slip if he doesn’t change things soon. Gulbis on the other hand looks as if he may finally be putting a leash on that massive game; with a bit of reigning in, he should shoot up the rankings. His next opponent Seppi, will look to make very few errors – that type of opponent is a real test for the Latvian. 

One of the most noteworthy matches was Nadal‘s 7-6 6-2 win over Ryan Harrison. Though the American went up a break in the first, the Spaniard wasn’t about to let up, and powered through, recording his first win on hard courts in 12 months. He said that his movement still needs some attention, though he feels good and is happy to be at the tournament – potentially an ominous sign for his next round opponent, Leonardo Mayer!

The biggest upset thus far came in Kevin Anderson‘s 3-6 6-4 6-3 win over fourth seed Ferrer. The South-African seemed to have too much power for Ferrer, hitting winners-galore. The Spaniard doesn’t seem to have quite recovered fromt the routing Nadal gave him a week ago in the final of Acapulco. Anderson next faces Jarko Nieminen, who conceded just one game against fellow lefty Fernando Verdasco. A great win for the aging Fin, though Verdasco seriously needs to sit down and look at the direction his career is taking as a player with his innate ability shouldn’t be suffering these losses.

The rest of the seeds in this half all came through fairly comfortably with the exception of Kohlschreiber who bowed out to Benoit Paire 6-4 6-2. The young flashy Frenchman will look to put on another show in the next round against countryman Simon; I reckon his metronomic style might just infuriate the youngster.

Gasquet was a straight sets winner over a potential hurdle in Bernard Tomic, and sets himself an interesting first time clash with Jerzy Janowicz. I pick Gasquet to come through, though it could be far from simple. Similarly, Berdych wasn’t troubled in his opener against Zverev, and goes on to probably beat Florian Mayer in round 3. I’m really hoping for a Berdych-Gasquet R4. If Gasquet comes to the party there could be some phenomenal shotmaking!

That’s pretty much the gist of the first few days’ action. Lots more promises to be coming our way though, so check back soon for more roundups, and special features on certain players!

Photos by Tennis Buzz (Del Potro, Roland Garros 2012 – Anderson, Bercy 2012)

Li Na and Maria Sharapova secure their spot in the semifinals with victories over Agnieszka Radwanska and Elena Makarova.

Nicolas Almagro leads by two sets to love, serves three times for the match, but falls to David Ferrer in 5 sets. Nerves anyone?
Disappointing performance by Tomas Berdych who loses to gluten-free Djokovic in 4 sets.