Federer vs. Harrison and Other BNP Paribas Matches to Watch on Day Eight

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There's one name that Ryan Harrison needs to keep in his mind when he takes on world No. 2 Roger Federer tonight in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.

That name is Richard Gasquet. 

Gasquet, the last player to defeat Federer while ranked outside the Top 100, is the reason for the No. 152 Harrison to keep hope alive against the man with 16 Grand Slam titles.

What Harrison should not think about is that the last time that happened was in 2005, or that Federer has 45 straight matches against opponents ranked No. 100 or higher since then, or that he's 73-1 overall against said opponents since 2003. 

Harrison is in the fourth round on the court, and that gives him a fighting chance regardless of the opponent. The fact that the current opponent is 17-2 on the year and has reached at least the semifinals of this tournament in five of the past seven years just makes it more fun. 

Here's a look at the rest of our matches to watch on Day Eight of the BNP Paribas Open.

ATP 

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) Vs. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)

What seemed like an inevitable matchup of a former top five player (Del Potro) versus a current one (Robin Soderling) was crashed by Kohlschreiber, the No. 35 player in the world, who scored his first win over a Top 10 player this year. Kohlschreiber gives up eight inches of height to Del Potro and has never beaten him head to head (0-2). Del Potro is after his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal appearance since Paris in 2009. 

Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Somdev Devvarman (IND)

The upsets have been fewer and farther between on the men's side than the women's, but as the top player around, Nadal must be wary every time he's on the court. He barely broke a sweat in his first two matches, but Devvarman's enthusiasm might push him just a bit. The pair have never met on court. 

Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Berdych has quietly marched through the ranks, not dropping a set to date, while Wawrinka won a war against Nikolay Davydenko before overpowering Marin Cilic. Their head-to-head series is dead even at 4-4, with Wawrinka taking their last meeting at the semifinals in Chennai.

WTA 

Ana Ivanovic (SRB) vs. Marion Bartoli (FRA)

Questing to return to the Top 20, Ivanovic made a huge statement yesterday by defeating Jelena Jankovic. Let's face it, Bartoli lucked out in advancing past Kim Clijsters—she was down 3-6, 3-1 when the Belgian had to hang it up Tuesday. But that's the way the ball bounces. Ivanovic leads this series 4-2, but Bartoli's two wins both came last season. 

Shahar Peer (ISR) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)

Fresh off her big win over Francesca Schiavone, the 11-5 Peer is on the cusp of joining the Top 10 and a continued run here is the key to doing it. Wickmayer's mild upset of Kaia Kanepi has got her here, a level she seems to reach a lot without ever moving further. Their head-to-head is split 2-2, with Peer winning this year and last year at Dubai. 

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