Bagdatis beats James Blake

Straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. First ever encounter with Blake, 1-0 to us.

Davydenko up next... tough test, early on. If anything though, history is on our side. Lost to him in 2006, but beaten him twice since. Davydenko, seeded 2nd in this tournament, is of course the bookies' favourite.

Baghdatis in Malaysia

Marcos has squeezed a  wild card to take part in the Malaysian Open next week.This ATP tournament is worth a million bucks and offers the winner 250 ATP points. Nikolay Davydenko tops the seeds.

Paris Masters 2007

Yes, last week Marcos lost to Nieminen. But he has more than made up for it this week. Dispatching Ferrero, Ljubicic and Davydenko without dropping a set. I wander what the press will be saying tomorrow in view of Davydenko’s match fixing allegations.

I haven’t done my maths, but a quick glance at the ATP race rankings means that only if he wins this tournament does he stand a chance of reaching Shanghai. Too little too late perhaps?

Next up is Tommy Robredo, who is also fighting to make it to Shanghai. Marcos has won their only encounter to date in 2005.

Baghdatis skips Pilot Pen 2007

Marcos has opted out of the only major tournament held this week, the Pilot Pen open. He had participated there in 2006 where he had reached the last 16 only to lose to Soderling. This tournament looks like the playground of Davydenko, who is the only top 4 player to enter. Plus he won it last year.

Strawberries and Cream

The bookies got it right. Marcos squashed Nikolay Davydenko like a strawberry. Straight sets in 2h10m. Novak Djokovic next, tomorrow hopefully. This will be Marcos’ first match where the bookies have him as the underdog. Let’s hope they’ve got it wrong.

Wimbledon seeding vs the bookies

Marcos plays on court 13 tomorrow, starts noon GMT. If the BBC weather girls have it right, the game might even start AND finish tomorrow.

One thing I can’t get my head round however is the odds the bookies are offering for this game. Davydenko is seeded 6^th, so in theory he is the favourite as Marcos is seeded 10^th. However if you take a look at any bookie website, you stand to earn twice as much if you back Davydenko. Don’t get me wrong, it makes me happy as the bookies do tend to get these right, but why is Marcos the bookies’ favourite?

Oh, and Nadal is through, by the skin of his teeth...

Yes, Davydenko next

Nikolay Davydenko is through and Marcos will face him next. Heaven knows when, with the weather forecast as is, Wimbledon might be heading into a 3rd week. On another note, Rafael Nadal might well be running into a brick wall. He is struggling against Robin Söderling (remember him from two weeks ago in Halle?... if not read blog archive!). Which is positive news for Marcos as Nadal is in the same half of the draw.

Marcos on Fire

David Nalbandian was supposed to be the first real challenge to face Marcos at Wimbledon. However, he made it look like a walk in Wimbledon common. Wrapped the game up in just under 2 hours. Probably Davydenko next. The truth now is that there are no easy players left en-route to the final…

Halle vs Queen's

I was wrong. Blake ain't the biggest hurdle. It's Davydenko. With the withdrawal of Federer, Marcos is left in the difficult side of the draw. He will have to beat both Blake and Davydenko to progress to the final. However, the only other option this week, Queen's in London, is certainly more challenging with Nadal and Roddick both present. Both tournaments are worth the same points but there is marginally more prize money in Germany.