#5 Ranking Up For Grabs in Miami

At the conclusion of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, a new World No. 5 will be known, replacing idle Nikolay Davydenko, who was not able to defend his Miami Masters title due to a foot infection.

It could be anyone of the the four players currently ranked sixth through ninth: Andy Roddick, Jaun Martin Del Potro, Gilles Simon or Fernando Verdasco. All four made it to the round-of-sixteen in Miami.

Here are the ranking projections:

Men's "Sweet 16" All Set at Miami Masters

The Men's Draw at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami has not seen a major upset so far.

All top ten seeds have advanced to the 4th round, and there are only two unseeded players left in the draw.

Here are the match-ups:

Top half:
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [16] S Wawrinka (SUI)
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs V Troicki (SRB)
[6] J Del Potro (ARG) vs [11] D Ferrer (ESP)
[8] F Verdasco (ESP) vs [18] R Stepanek (CZE)

Bottom half:
[2] R Federer (SUI) vs T Dent (USA)
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) vs [21] T Berdych (CZE)
[5] A Roddick (USA) vs [9] G Monfils (FRA)
[7] G Simon (FRA) vs [10] J Tsonga (FRA)

Murray Closing In On #3 Ranking

With Andy Murray's strong showing at Indian Wells, he has moved to within 570 points of World No. 3 Novak Djokovic. At the Sony Ericcson Open in Miami (an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Event), Murray will surpass Djokovic if Murray wins it all, and Djokovic doesn't reach the final. Both players lost in the second round last year.

Here is the breakdown of the "Battle for Number 3":
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p7B6JwEslHXqw-7Pry_PnOA

Nadal Wins Indian Wells Title

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal dominated Andy Murray on Sunday to win his 2nd Indian Wells trophy and 13th overall shield. Nadal will attempt to win his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Miami later this month. He was a finalist there twice, losing to Federer in 2005 and to defending champion Nikolay Davydenko last year.

Nadal extends his lead to 4,080 ranking points over second-ranked Roger Federer:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p7B6JwEslHXoFoyY_IAIbIQ

Men's Quarterfinal Match-ups All Set At Indian Wells

Seven seeds have advanced to the last eight, including the "Big 4".

Here are the quarterfinal match-ups:

Top half:
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [6] J Del Potro (ARG)
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) vs [7] A Roddick (USA)

Bottom half:
[2] R Federer (SUI) vs [10] F Verdasco (ESP)
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs I Ljubicic (CRO)

The "Best of the Rest": Indian Wells Edition

With the "Big 4" of Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray firmly secured on top of men's tennis, it remains to be seen if another player on the ATP World Tour can consistently compete at a high level, especially in the Slams, and be a fifth member of the tennis elite.

Nikolay Davydenko has occupied the #5 ranking since November, but he is about to lose that spot sooner or later with his recent withdrawal at Indian Wells due to injury. He is the defending champion at the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Event which begins later this month in Miami, so he is bound to lose more ranking points if he continues to struggle because of his lingering left heel injury.

By winning the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, sixth-ranked Juan Martin Del Potro or No. 7 Andy Roddick can displace Davydenko as World No. 5. If either of them wants to be a contender, they need to improve on their 2008 big tournament results, as both of them didn't reach a Grand Slam final or a Masters Series final last year.

And then, there are the promising French trio of No. 8 Gilles Simon, No. 9 Gael Monfils and 2008 Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who already has two titles this year. However, all of them have been eliminated at Indian Wells.

Indian Wells Ranking Projections

The top seeds who got a first round bye at Indian Wells will see action beginning on Saturday. Here's a look at the "Big 4" ranking projections for this year's first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event:



Whatever happens, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will keep their respective places in the rankings, while defending champ Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will be tied at third with identical 8,250 ranking points only if Djokovic suffers an unlikely shock exit in the second round AND Murray wins it all.

Men's Big 4 Reunited At Indian Wells

For the first time since the Australian Open, the "Big 4" are playing on the same tournament - at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. With the exception of World No. 4 Andy Murray whose best showing here is a semifinal appearance two years ago, the men's top players have won in the desert. No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic is the defending champion, top-ranked Nadal won in 2007, while World No. 2 Roger Federer achieved a three-peat from 2004-2006.

Nadal and Djokovic could meet in the semis, while Federer and Murray are in the same half of the draw.

Federer, who just announced in his official website that he and girlfriend Mirka are expecting their first baby this summer, is playing his first tournament after losing the Australian Open final to his rival Nadal. As of March 9th, Rafa leads Roger by 3,360 ranking points:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p7B6JwEslHXoUeC5eW8euYA

Tennis-fun predicts that Federer is going to win at Indian Wells. He is the lone member of the "Big 4" without a title this year. Murray already has two titles, adding Rotterdam to his collection where he beat an injured Nadal in the final last month. Djokovic won his first title this season at Dubai earlier this month.