Paris Masters 2011: Federer, Murray, Djokovic Face Threats in the Third Round

Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic Wednesday with straight set, routine wins over Adrian Mannarino, Jeremy Chardy and Ivan Dodig, respectively.

As it is with these Masters Series tournaments, however, it only gets harder, and much more quickly. Their wins yesterday mean third round matches Thursday, which, in fact, is getting down to the business end of things already.

The top three seeds face familiar and well-known foes. Federer plays hometown favourite Richard Gasquet, Djokovic his countryman Victor Troicki, and Murray the hard-serving American Andy Roddick.

One is inclined to think that Murray's may well be the easiest lot of the three—the last Andy-Andy encounter, after all, ended in a drubbing on the grass at Queens, a surface and tournament Roddick himself wouldn't/shouldn't have felt too threatened on.

This time they face off on an indoor hard court, which may even things out slightly. The speediness of the court may play into Roddick's hands just enough to dent the crisp returning of Murray.

Victor Troicki might pose a slightly tougher challenge for the world No. 1. Djokovic, of course, would still be reeling from his shoulder injury, and his self-admittance that he still needs matches to find his top form ought to boost Trociki's confidence.

True, the Serb played the punching bag at Indian Wells and Miami to just this same opponent, but a new day is a new day—who would forget, after all, that epic encounter these two played at the US Open some years back? Its hard, nonetheless, however bad Djokovic may be now physically, to avoid thinking of this as another master-apprentice storyline, a la Federer-Wawrinka.

Going by the trend of this short survey, it would be easy to guess that Richard Gasquet probably poses the greatest threat to the top three tomorrow.

For one thing, he's French, and playing in Paris. Secondly, Gasquet enjoys this sort of court. And thirdly, he, among Roddick and Troicki, has beaten his upcoming opponent in 2011. To say that his win over Federer in Rome—a classic 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 thriller—only serves to remind us of the innate greatness of Gasquet, as much as of the Federer fall from grace, would be irrelevant.

The fact is, Gasquet comes closest on the scales, and probably to pulling an upset off, Thursday. Federer said that he will be prepared as if "he had the best Richard Gasquet ever." He'd better be.