Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray through to third round in Indian Wells

Monday, 15 March 2010 00:00

The “Big Four” won their opening round at the BNP Paribas Open, and World No.1 Roger Federer was honoured on court Sunday evening, receiving three ATP Awards following a 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 victory over Victor Hanescu.

Federer was presented trophies for 2009 Player of the Year, ATPWorldTour.com Fan’s Favourite Player, and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.

“I’d like to thanks the fans for voting for me,” Federer said to the crowd after receiving the Fan Favourite Award for a seventh straight year. “You guys are amazing. Thank you. As you know, you guys make this even more worthwhile traveling around the globe from January to November. I love coming back here, so it’s very nice to get presented the awards here.”

American John Isner also received his trophy Sunday as the Most Improved Player of the Year, following a 2009 season in which he climbed from No.145 to a year-end best No.34 in the ATP Rankings.

Isner will face fellow American Sam Querrey in the third round on Monday. Querrey, who is Isner teammate in doubles, leads the series 1-0 after he beat his good friend in the Menphis final last month.

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World No.2 Novak Djokovic has a tough third-round match against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. The series is tied at 1-1, and the German beat the Serb in their last meeting last year in Roland Garros. However, Djokovic is playing great tennis and should go through the test with flying colors.

World No.3 Rafael Nadal is also in action Monday, against Mario Ancic from Croatia. The Spaniard is looking to defend his title in Indian Wells, and this should be a good match to get back in competitive form. Nadal hasn’t played since he was forced to retire from the Australian Open because of knee problem. He leads 3-1 all-time against Ancic.

No. 10 seed Fernando Verdasco meets 9-seed Tomas Berdych who leads 4-3 in their personal series, and No.11 Juan Carlos Ferrero faces No.21 Juan Monaco. Former world No. 1 Ferrero leads 2-0.

Federer has a difficult match Wednesday as he faces Marcos Baghdatis in the third round, while World No.4 Andy Murray shouldn’t have any trouble against the American Michael Russell.

No.7 seed Andy Roddick and No.8 Robin Soderling, as well as No.9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will also battle on Wednesday for a spot in the round of 16.

World No.6 and 5-seed Russian Nikolay Davydenko was forced to withdraw at the third round stage, where he was to meet Serbian Viktor Troicki. An MRI scan revealed for the first time on Sunday that the Russian’s left wrist is fractured. Davydenko had initially injured his wrist in the Rotterdam semi-finals in a loss to Robin Soderling. He will be in a splint for the next four weeks.

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Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray through to third round in Indian Wells

Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray through to third round in Indian Wells

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