6-JAMES BLAKE V. MICHAEL RUSSELLbet at homeThese two Americans know each other quite well, and there will be little trickery or major changes of strategy in the match. The victor will be the man who hits his forehand better and who is able to paint the lines when given opportunities.
Just because the veteran Russell hasn't had a superstar career doesn't mean he can't play. He nearly took down three-time Roland Garros champ Gustavo Kuerten in Paris one year and lost a five-setter and took Australian Lleyton Hewitt to five sets earlier this year Down Under. He's a solid and smart player without huge weapons, but one who believes he's capable of pulling off upsets.
betfair tennisBut Blake has been playing standout yellowball during August and has been an impressive second-week threat at the US Open during the last two years. With Andre Agassi now retired, he might become the most popular male player at this year's event. He's been lethal off the ground and has been making better use of the net. Russell will push him during two sets, but Blake will come through in three.
5- ANDY RODDICK V. JUSTIN GIMELSTOBGimelstob waved good-bye to Wimbledon after losing to Roddick in the first round and may do the same at the US Open after this contest. New Jersey's finest player has had some fine moments over the years, including taking a set off Andre Agassi in the third round in 1999. He has a terrific first serve and can volley more than a touch, but injuries have worn the 30-year-old's body down, and he has a hard time keeping up with the rest of the tour from the baseline.
He also has trouble with his return game, which against Roddick, is certain death. The 2003 US Open champion is a dominant server, who is willing to take chances on his foe's service games when he's in a good rhythm, and there's no reason to think that Roddick won't be confident here, given that he believes he can more than match Gimelstob blow for blow. But Gimelstob loves playing in New York, and on a great day at the net, he can take a set off Roddick. He will, but then will likely wave goodbye to his home country Grand Slam in a four-set defeat.
SAM QUERREY V. ALBERT MONTANESThere's no question that Southern Californian Querrey is here to stay, but it's still difficult to tell how far the 19-year-old will go. He's a service bomber with big groundstrokes and has already hit a number of excellent players off the court, including James Blake and Tommy Haas.
At 6-foot-6, movement is not his forte, but when he gets his feet set and is in proper position, he can hurt anyone. Querrey has already cracked the top 50, with all of his positive results coming on hard courts and indoors. This is his season to shine, and in Montanes, he'll face a fast, veteran Spanish baseliner who is not going to give away a lot of cheap points.
Querrey will have to earn this victory by serving well, taking chances on his foe's second serves and burying mid-court balls. The happy-go-lucky U.S. Davis Cup aspirant will get through in straight sets.
JOHN ISNER V. 26-JARKKO NIEMINENIsner is the U.S. flavor of the summer, as he's the first collegian this century to make a substantial impact in singles, reaching the Washington final. At 6-foot-9, he's nearly unbreakable, and in DC, he set an ATP Tour record by winning five straight matches in third-set tiebreakers and serving 144 aces throughout the week. You think any player wants a piece of that blinding action?
A former All-American at Georgia, Isner still has a ways to go in developing the other parts of his game, but at least he knows he can hang in matches until the tiebreaks come. He'll have to do that against the lefty Nieminen, who has a tricky serve himself and can do damage from the back court. While Isner is nowhere the seasoned all-around player that the Fin is, the gut feeling here is that he will rise to the occasion and upset Nieminen in four tiebreakers.
Men's Bottom Half16-LLEYTON HEWITT V. AMER DELICLooking for a second-week lock at the 2007 US Open? Go no further than Hewitt, who in the past seven years has reached two finals (winning the title in 2001), three semis and two quarters. The Aussie absolutely loves Flushing Meadows and its medium-speed hard courts. Even when he's come into the event in questionable form, he's been impressive, like last year, when he out-toughed Novak Djokovic and Richard Gasquet before falling to Andy Roddick.
Hewitt again showed in Cincinnati that he's ready to rumble, taking top-ranked Roger Federer to a third-set tiebreaker. He's got a good shot at another semifinal, as he's in Djokovic's quarter, and he nearly beat the Serb at Wimbledon.
It's hard to see Hewitt going down to Delic, unless the American has the serving day of his life, and Hewitt has always been a tremendous returner. Concede the American one well-played set, but Hewitt will grind him down quickly after that.
ROBBY GINEPRI V. OLIVIER ROCHUSThis has become a watermark tournament for Ginepri, who was so impressive in reaching the semifinals two years ago and has dropped off precipitously since then. It's hard to tell exactly why, given that's he's in good physical shape and isn't a high-risk player, but he's lost a lot of confidence in himself and has only won two straight matches twice this year. He's way better than that but doesn't seem to believe it.
In Rochus, he'll face a creative and competent Belgium veteran who will give him very little to work with. Ginepri will have to wear his opponent down and not go for too much too early, or Rochus will have him spinning around. If Ginepri doesn't get off to a good start, he could be toast, but one has to think that he has at least one decent win in him at the tournament where he briefly came to fame. Look for the Georgia native to win an intriguing five-setter.
william hill 250http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2007-08-24/200708241188007726078.html
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6-JAMES BLAKE V. MICHAEL RUSSELL
Top seed Davydenko pulls out in third set in Poland
