Sony Ericsson Open – the men’s draw
Originally published on: 26/02/10 15:42
World No.1 Rafael Nadal arrives in Miami looking for his first Sony Ericsson Open title and a rare Indian Wells-Miami double, something only six players have achieved since 1991.
Nadal collected his 13th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells last week and could face the man he beat in Sundays final, Andy Murray, in the last four in Florida.
The world No.1 and top seed can map out his route to the semi-finals at Crandon Park after the 96-player draw was made on Monday.
Nadal could face 26th seed Ivo Karlovic in the third round if he overcomes Simone Bolleli or Teimuraz Gabashvili in the second round after a bye in the first round.
Spaniard David Ferrer, Croat Marin Cilic, Austrian Jurgen Melzer, Stanislas Wawrinka from Switzerland or Russian Igor Andreev are all potential fourth round opponents for the Spaniard, while Juan Martin del Potro could be waiting for Rafa in the quarters.
World No.4 Murray will play Frenchman Marc Gicquel or Juan Monaco in his first match and could face American Mardy Fish in the third round and either Argentine David Nalbandian or Richard Gasquet from France in the last 16.
Should Murray progress to the last eight the Spaniard who beat him in the fourth round of the Aussie Open, Fernando Verdasco, is expected to be waiting for him in what would be an intriguing re-match.
After losing in the second round last year, a good run for Murray could see him narrow the gap on the man above him in the world rankings, Novak Djokovic.
World No.3 and 2007 champion Djokovic is projected to meet second seed Roger Federer in the semis in the bottom half.
Djokovic will open his account against either a qualifier or German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round.
If the Serb triumphs, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Ernests Gulbis or Marcos Baghdatis could be his third round opponent followed by a potential fourth round encounter with 13th seed James Blake or Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic.
Djokovic is also in the same quarter as French dangermen, seventh seed Gilles Simon and tenth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
In the bottom quarter two-time champion Federer, still looking for his first title of the year, plays his first match against either Michael Llodra or a qualifier. Federers potential last 16 opponents include Spaniards Tommy Robredo or Nicolas Almagro.
In the quarter-finals the Swiss star could face fifth seed Andy Roddick, Frenchman Gael Monfils, or Russian duo Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov.
To check out the draws in full visit the official Sony Ericsson Open website.
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