Filed under: Tennis
SONY ERICSSON OPEN: MIAMI, MARCH 23-APRIL 3, 2011After two false starts, British No. 1 Andy Murray can ill-afford a third as he attempts to resurrect his stuttering season in Miami at this week's Sony Ericsson Open.
Since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final in January the Scot has had two matches, against Marcos Baghdatis at the Rotterdam Open and qualifier Donald Young at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. He has lost both of them.
It is an all too familiar tale after he endured a similar slump in form right up until Wimbledon after losing to Roger Federer in the Melbourne final last year.
But if he is to string together a run at the elite 1000 series event, which arrives hot on the heels of last week's Indian Wells event, he will have to do it the hard way with man of the moment Djokovic, who is 18-0 in 2011 and newly-crowned Indian Wells champion, a likely opponent in the quarter-finals for the world No. 5, with Robin Soderling potentially lying in wait in the semis.
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Having been handed a first-round bye, Murray will begin his bid for glory against either Victor Hanescu or a qualifer on Friday or Saturday.
The good news for Murray, then, is that means Rafael Nadal and Federer, who were both beaten by Djokovic last week, are in the opposite side of the draw, where they are on course to meet in the semis, rather than the final, as they have so long been accustomed to before Djokovic climbed above Federer to No. 2 in the rankings.
Federer's likely opponent in the last eight is another old foe, defending champion Andy Roddick, while Swede Soderling could face a tricky test in round three against former US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro, who is shooting up the rankings after spending most of 2010 on the treatment table.
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THE MAN TO BEAT:
Novak Djokovic
Still to lose in 2011, he is truly awesome right now. His stirring comeback to beat Nadal at Indian Wells on Sunday has certainly given the Spaniard cause for concern that his No. 1 ranking is under threat this year.
THE MAN TO BEAT:
Novak Djokovic
Still to lose in 2011, he is truly awesome right now. His stirring comeback to beat Nadal at Indian Wells on Sunday has certainly given the Spaniard cause for concern that his No. 1 ranking is under threat this year.
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