{"id":301,"date":"2011-05-03T03:10:20","date_gmt":"2011-05-03T03:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heavytopspin.com\/?p=301"},"modified":"2011-05-03T03:10:20","modified_gmt":"2011-05-03T03:10:20","slug":"tuesday-topspin-catching-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/03\/tuesday-topspin-catching-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday Topspin: Catching Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rankings report: <\/em>It’s a fascinating time of the year in the rankings, as the French Open approaches and the value of a ranking in the top 32 (or 34 or 35, depending on injuries) rises. \u00a0As I wrote<\/a> in February, a seed increases a player’s chances of advancing further in the tournament. \u00a0The benefit is most marked in the 30-35 range, where #32 won’t have to face another seed until the third round, while #35 could draw Rafael Nadal<\/strong> in the first round.<\/p>\n

By winning in Estoril and Munich, respectively, both Juan Martin del Potro<\/strong> and Nikolay Davydenko<\/strong> bounced back into the top 32–Davydenko up 12 places to #28, and Delpo up 14 to #32. \u00a0Florian Mayer<\/strong>, the other finalist in Munich, also moved up from #35 to #30 on last week’s result.<\/p>\n

Another big gainer was James Blake<\/strong>, up 40 spots to #109 on the strength of his title in Sarasota. \u00a0The losing finalist at that tournament, Alex Bogomolov<\/strong>, rose to #91, his career high. \u00a0Also marking a career best is\u00a0Benoit Paire<\/strong>, who reached the semifinal in Ostrava, good enough to get him to #99, his first time in the top 100.<\/p>\n

Big losers include Fernando Verdasco<\/strong>, down yet another two spots to #17, and Ernests Gulbis<\/strong>, who fell a whopping 31 places down to #64. \u00a0At the rate he’s going, he’ll have to qualify for Masters 1000 events this summer.<\/p>\n

Pobrecitos: <\/em>Every year, I go into the clay court season knowing it will be bad for Americans, yet every year, the top Americans manage to disappoint. \u00a0Andy Roddick<\/strong> may have reached a new low, losing to qualifer Flavio Cipolla<\/strong>. \u00a0I love Cipolla, but I root for him with full knowledge of his limitations, and those limitations should include an inability to beat Roddick. \u00a0Yet the Italian came through a very tight match, breaking four times to Andy’s two.<\/p>\n

In the second round, Cipolla will face Michael Llodra<\/strong>, who had a much easier time dispatching his American opponent, allowing Sam Querrey<\/strong> only five games. \u00a0Querrey won only 51% of his service points, a disappointing number regardless of surface. \u00a0The only American in the second round is John Isner<\/strong>, who served his way past Mardy Fish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Matches to watch: <\/em>The first round isn’t quite over,\u00a0\u00a0and the remaining matches include many blockbusters. \u00a0On the card for tomorrow:<\/p>\n