US Open 2011 Tennis Men's Action: Matches to watch out for in Round 3

As the first week’s action comes to a close in the 2011 US Open , players will be evenly matched more often than not and the competitive instinct will come to the fore. Fans can rest assured of some thrilling moments. Some such interesting matches among the 16 round 3 matches are as follows.

• Another tireless effort coming up

  Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Nikolay Davydenko: The numero-uno taking on the once super-hot Russian who won the year end Masters title in 2009. But the Russian has gone down the drain sort of, post that breakthrough tournament and against the invincible Serbian World no.1 Nikolay can only hope for respite in the form of a solitary set.

• Tomas Berdych (9) vs. Janko Tipsarevic (20) : The big serving 9^th seeded Czech against the counter puncher from Serbia. Might be interesting and evenly matched.
• Roger Federer (3) vs. Marin Cilic (27): Another match with potential. Roger generally starts to struggle at this stage of the Slams if you look at the past few years. Cilic has definitely dropped his level from early 2010 when he was a serious prospect. But, still with his big serves Cilic can post a threat considering the trouble that Berdych has caused to Roger with his similar big serves.
• Jo Wilfried Tsonga (11) vs. Fernando Verdasco (19): These 2 guys are like chalk and cheese. While the Frenchman is the epitome of extravagance on the men’s tour, the Spaniard embodies all that his countrymen are known for – patience and power. This match will be fascinating for the contrasting play patterns that the 2 guys have.
• Juan Martin Del Potro (18) vs. Giles Simon (12): The 2009 US Open champion is slowly rising through the ranks post his injury and he will be up against the swift Frenchman. This match will be watched with interest solely for the Argentine youngster’s performance
• Feliciano Lopez (25) vs. Andy Murray (4): The erratic left handed Spaniard can baffle with his inconsistent play while the Scot is one of the favorites. They have met before in Slams and the Scot has invariably come out on top. But, a grueling 5 setter in the 2nd round might take its toll on Murray.
• Rafael Nadal (2) vs. David Nalbandian: This match has the potential to be a real humdinger given, Rafa’s struggles on the hard-courts ever since his US Open triumph in 2010 and the Argentine veteran’s reputation as one who can match it up with the big boys. But a comfortable victory in the 2nd round where Mahut retired after losing the first 2 sets will just be the boost that Rafa needed. Rafa should triumph in this one in maximum 4 sets.

So, all the big boys are in action and most of them can be expected to cross Week 1 with a measure of ease before the real effort would be required in Week 2 when these big boys square up against each other.