Australian Open Day 3: Match of the Day

John Isner vs. David Nalbandian

This should be quite a fight on Margaret Court Arena Wednesday afternoon.

Isner is seeded 16th and is looking to keep moving up near the top-10.  Nalbandian has seen his ranking slide all the way down to No. 87.

The positives for Nalbandain include he is 2-0 in his career against the big American and it is early in the year, so The Argentine is relatively fresh.  One of his wins against Inser was back in 2010 when Isner was forced to retire in the first set during the Cincinnati event.

Isner will need to serve big and try and keep the points short.  If he does he should win in 4 sets.

Mardy Fish Withdraws from Winston-Salem Open

It's a minor blow for the first year ATP 250 event in Winston-Salem.

Mardy Fish has withdrawn from competition in the Winston-Salem Open.

"It’s really unfortunate that I won’t be playing Winston-Salem next week. Winston-Salem is one of my favorite cities, and I was truly excited to be part of the tournament’s first year,” Mardy Fish said.  “However, given the amount of matches I already have played this summer, I feel it is in my best interest physically to take the week off in preparation for the US Open.”

“I would like to wish the staff, volunteers and sponsors the best of luck with the event, and I sincerely plan to be in Winston-Salem in 2012,” Fish added.

Roddick Takes Wildcard into Winston-Salem Open

More reason to go to Winston-Salem this summer.

Andy Roddick has joined the list of commitments to play in the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University Aug. 20-27, tournament director Bill Oakes announced today.

Roddick, a former World No. 1 who is currently No. 12 in the South African Airways ATP rankings, will receive one of the tournament’s four wildcard entries.

"We are extremely pleased that Andy has decided to come back to Winston-Salem, where he has had so much success in the past playing for the United States in the Davis Cup," Oakes said. "His addition gives the tournament all the top American players and makes an already-strong field even stronger."

"It’s very important to note that Andy has never competed in a tournament the week prior to the U.S. Open throughout his entire professional career," Oakes added. "So, it’s very significant that he made the commitment to play in the Winston-Salem Open, given the timing of our tournament just before the U.S. Open."

As of now, 10 of the top 40 players in the latest South African Airways ATP rankings have committed. Other entrants include Jurgen Melzer, Bernard Tomic, Kevin Anderson, Marcos Baghdatis, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Nikolay Davydenko, Tommy Robredo and Ernests Gulbis, the winner last week in Los Angeles.

Roddick, 28, has won at least one ATP World Tour singles titles in each of the last 11 years. He won earlier this year in Memphis.

He has won 30 career ATP World Tour singles titles, including the 2003 US Open title. He won six tournaments in 2003, five in 2005.

Atlanta Tennis Championships Entry List Released

A solid, but not spectacular entry list was just released for the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships to be held this July.

1 Fish, Mardy USA 9
2 Querrey, Sam USA 26
3 Raonic, Milos CAN 28
4 Anderson, Kevin RSA 39
5 Malisse, Xavier BEL 40
6 Isner, John USA 45
7 Lu, Yen-Hsun TPE 53
8 Nishikori, Kei JPN 60
9 Dimitrov, Grigor BUL 64
10 Sweeting, Ryan USA 66
11 Devvarman, Somdev IND 67
12 Tursunov, Dmitry RUS 70
13 Kunitsyn, Igor RUS 72
14 Hewitt, Lleyton AUS 73
15 Gulbis, Ernests LAT 78
16 Berrer, Michael GER 79
17 Bogomolov Jr., Alex USA 81
18 Russell, Michael USA 91
19 Bachinger, Matthias GER 92

A good crop of Americans, no Roddick.  Atlanta tennis fans will want to see Canadian newcomer Milos Raonic.  No Donald Young getting direct entry.  With challenger points coming off his ranking, he is now #124 on the computer.  Ryan Harrison is now ahead of Young at #122.

Qualifying spots and wildcards to be determined.

Sony Ericsson Open Match of the Day: Federer vs. Nadal Tonight!

The two biggest names in tennis on court tonight.

A heavyweight fight to the finish tonight in Miami.

Nadal and Federer have not played this year in an ATP match.

Federer won the last meeting, a three-setter in London back in November.  Both are playing well, and even though the courts are playing slowly, I like Federer and him maybe being a little fresher than Rafa.

Look for another three-setter with Fed winning a tiebreaker in the 3rd.

Should be must see TV!