BNP Paribas Masters preview

BNP Paribas Masters
Location: Paris, France
Dates: October 26-November 2, 2008
Draw Size: 48
Surface: Indoor Carpet
Prize Money: $2,270,000 (Euros); men’s singles champion: $363,600
2007 Singles Final: David Nalbandian, ARG, def. Rafael Nadal, ESP, 6-4, 6-0
Official Web site: http://www.bnpparibasmasters.org/

Top story lines:
1. Can Andy Murray win his third straight Masters Series shield?
2. Does Roger Federer have what it takes to get back into the winners circle at a Masters Series event?
3. Can defending champion David Nalbandian repeat his incredible 2007 Paris results and win the title this year?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. Tomas Berdych vs. Robby Ginepri (Berdych leads 1-0; winning most recently 6-3, 6-3 at this event in 2006; Berdych won the Masters Series Paris in 2005; Berdych was the champion this year in Tokyo, finalist in Bastad and semifinalist in Bangkok and at the Masters Series Miami; Berdych has defeated Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro and James Blake this year; Berdych is currently ranked No. 22; Ginepri was a semifinalist in Delray Beach, San Jose and Las Vegas; Ginepri is currently ranked No. 53)
2. Ivo Karlovic vs. Nicolas Kiefer (Kiefer leads 3-1; winning most recently 7-6(5), 7-6(3) on hard courts in Madrid in 2007; Karlovic was the champion in Nottingham and a semifinalist in Rotterdam and at the Masters Series Cincinnati; Karlovic defeated Roger Federer in Cincinnati and Novak Djokovic in Madrid; Karlovic reached a career best ranking of No. 14 in August but is currently ranked No. 20; Kiefer was a finalist at the Masters Series Canada and semifinalist in Halle; Kiefer has twice defeated Nikolay Davydenko and also has wins this season over Gilles Simon and James Blake; Kiefer is currently ranked No. 37)

Potential notable late round match:
No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 16 Gael Monfils, Third Round
· Nadal leads 2-0; winning both times on clay
· Nadal took over the No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer on August 18, 2008, which was helped by winning his fourth straight French Open title, as well as winning an epic five set thriller over Roger Federer the finals at Wimbledon
· Monfils reached the semifinals at the French Open this year
· Monfils is currently ranked at a career best No. 16

No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Third Round
· Series tied 1-1; Tsonga won most recently on hard courts 7-6(4), 6-4 in the finals of the Thailand Open in Bangkok
· Djokovic has won three titles this year including the Australian Open, while also reaching three finals and five semifinals
· Tsonga was a surprise singles finalist at the Australian Open this year

No. 8 David Nalbandian vs. No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro, Third Round
· Nalbandian leads 2-1; winning most recently 6-4, 6-4 last week in the semifinals at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel
· Nalbandian has won two titles this year at events in Buenos Aires and Stockholm, while finishing as runner-up in Acapulco and Basel
· Del Potro has won four titles this year at events in Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel, Los Angeles and Washington
· Nalbandian is currently ranked No. 8, while Del Potro is currently ranked at a career best No. 9

Watch out for…
1. No. 4 Andy Murray (Winner at Masters Series events in Cincinnati and Madrid and smaller tournaments in Doha, Marseille and St. Petersburg; Finalist at the US Open; has victories this year over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Martin Del Potro and Gilles Simon; currently ranked at a career best No. 4)
2. No. 10 Gilles Simon (Winner in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis; finalist at the Masters Series Madrid; semifinalist in Rotterdam, Lyon and at the Masters Series Canada; has victories this year over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, James Blake and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; currently ranked at a career best No. 10)

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 2 Roger Federer