Good morning everyone. Here's your daily gathering-place for discussing the ongoing tennis in Monte Carlo. As is usual on any Crisis Center post, we ask that you restrict the conversation to tennis until after the day's play is over, after which it's acceptable to drift mildly off-topic.
There should be plenty to please most fans of claycourt tennis today - the Order of Play can be found on this link. The tournament is wheeling out two of its biggest names this afternoon, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer both due to play tomorrow. Murray will play Victor Hanescu for the first time; Djokovic takes on the Spaniard Oscar Hernandez, also a first-time meeting.
There are also encounters to anticipate between Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt (these two haven't met on clay since 2002) and Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer (Lopez has won their last three matches and leads the head-to-head 5-2, though Ferrer won their only match on clay). Both of these matches are to be played on the Court des Princes, as higher-ranked players will take priority on Court Central, kicking off with a first-time encounter between Gael Monfils and Janko Tipsarevic, followed by another new matchup, between Gilles Simon and Andreas Beck.
Later in the day, out on Court 2, Tommy Robredo will face Juan Monaco, one of yesteday's winners (pictured above). The last time these two met was in this year's final in Buenos Aires. It's Monaco's hometown; Robredo triumphed in three sets. If it's to be a revenge match, it's unfortunate that we won't see it on TV. These two have only played each other on clay - Robredo leads the head-to-head 2-1, but their matches have typically been close.
Enjoy the day's tennis.
- Rosangel Valenti
[Note: as of around 9.55 p.m. EST, an Overflow post is available for you to carry on talking, as it appears that TypePad is freezing again. The link is in blue just below].
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