Nikolay Davydenko Upset and Wednesday Tennis Wrap-Up

Today was the beginning of what certainly has the potential to be an interesting tournament for Miami.

Today was the first official day of play at the Sony Ericsson Open. 

The big news of the day is South African Kevin Anderson’s huge upset over the 2008 Open champion, Nikolay Davydenko. Anderson took him out, 6-4, 6-3, winning 80 percent of his first-point serves. 

Anderson said, “I just felt I had to play my game. In the rallies and how the match was progressing, I felt pretty controlled.”

Juan Martin Del Potro took out Brazilian competitor Richard Mello, 6-4, 6-4. Del Potro played a great game, winning 70 percent of his first serves. 

Del Potro said, “I served really well today, especially in the important moments […] I [hit] great serves and I’m still working on that.” 

He goes on to play against the 28th-seeded Philip Kohlschreiber.  Ivan Ljubicic fell against the Italian competitor, Pablo Lorenzi, 7-6(7), 6-1. After playing a great first set, the 38th-ranked Croatian fell hard, winning only 14 points in the second set. Lorenzi goes on to play against the No. 17 seed, Richard Gasquet. 

American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, beat her Swedish challenger, Sofia Arvidsson, 6-1, 6-4. After the great win, she goes on to take the world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki. 

Of the oncoming occasion, Mattek-Sands said, “I haven’t played her for a couple years. She’s only gotten better since then [and] has a lot of confidence now. I do, too, so I’m looking forward to it.”

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