CAMELOT FANTASIES

Interesting draw.  Thanks for posting it.

I have mixed feelings about it for Rafa.  On one hand, all of other 3 of the "Big 4" are in the Djokovic half.

On the other hand, almost all of the big hitters or servers are in Nadal's half or even quarter.

Historically,  it has been the big hitters that have given Rafa most of the problems in the past.

But Rafa will likely start out in the second round (1st round bye) against one of the game's best fighters, one of the 7 active major winners, 2 time slam winner, Lleyton Hewitt.

Rafa is 5-0 in their clay court matches (4 at RG, 1 Hamburg), Hewitt is 3-1 in their hard court matches (2 at AO, 1 Toronto, loss in Beijing) and 1-0 on grass (Queens Club), albeit years ago.

It's amazing that Hewitt has finally been able to come back to a decent level and seeding after all of the years debilitated by injury.
He is around #44 in the world after being as high as #233 in the summer of 2012.
But he has failed to show renewed consistency as of yet. 

Because of his class (inc. 2 majors), he always is a threat when he is able to put it all together, but those days are not so often anymore, which is expected.  He is also a victim of the generally slower and higher bouncing conditions over the last few years and the stylistic change to mostly a power baseline game that gives him fewer targets, with which to use his counter punching skills.

All that said, Hewitt has never won the Miami title, his best showings are 3 consecutive semifinals long ago, lately not going past the second round, losing to Gilles Simon.  I think the court is just too slow for him and his best days behind him.  Rafa has to be the favorite here and now at Miami.

If Nadal beats Hewitt, he'll likely contend with Tursunov, then who knows, maybe Janowicz or Fognini, though Janowicz has not been in the hunt lately, then finally meet whomever comes out of the Del Potro 1/8th,  where Raonic and Pospisil also reside. Of course the big unknown, and I mean big, is Del Potro.  Obviously, if healthy, he can give Rafa trouble.  The problem is that he hasn't been healthy, retiring in Dubai due to his left wrist injury and withdrawing from Indian Wells for the same reason. If it is still bothering him, I expect him to exit early.

In the other quarter in Rafa's half, the main contenders are Wawrinka, Berdych, Isner, Haas, Cilic, Dolgopolov.  Who knows who will come out of that quarter to possibly face Nadal.

Though I'm pretty sure a majority of Rafa fans would disagree, I think it might be a blessing in disguise for Rafa to go out earlier here rather than later, so he can get off the hard courts and start his clay court preparation earlier for the clay season's ultimate prize, Roland Garros.  But Rafa is one of the biggest fighters, so who knows?

In the other half, it's hard not to see a Murray-Djokovic quarter final, but perhaps Tsonga and Gulbis might have some say in that.  Tsonga has been pretty woeful lately, and it would be sad for me to see him slip further away from the top players.  Gulbis seems on verge of a break-through if he can control his emotions.

In the other quarter in the Djokovic half lurk Federer and Gasquet, Ferrer and Dimitrov with Anderson and Nishikori as spoilers.  Ferrer is coming off an injury, so it's hard to know what his form will be.  But he is the finalist from last year, so he can't be dismissed. It would certainly help him for Federer to lose as he has never beaten him, but he would have to get past the in form Dimitrov first.  I think it is a good opportunity for Dimitrov to go far here, though I think he would prefer faster courts. I'm still not sure of his stamina against the best players, and Miami is not generally a court that favors attacking players.

Anyway, that's how I see it as of now.  But as we all know, things can suddenly change in a draw, surely evidenced by most of the top 10 seeds ouster at Indian Wells prior to the quarter finals, excluding Djokovic and Federer.

Best of luck and health to all the players!

Respectfully,
masterclass

Juan Martin del Potro has withdrawn from Miami.  From his Facebook page:

Hi everybody. During these days I was training at the Crandon Park and followed the treatment to try to play in Miami, but I still feel pain in my left wrist and I don't feel competitive to go on court. It's a pity because this is a special tournament for me since there are many Latin fans and Argentines in particular. In the next few days I will visit my doctor again to determine the following steps. Sincerely, thanks everybody for the messages in this special moment.


A Lucky Loser will replace him in the draw - too bad for Gasquet .
I wish Juan  to be healthy as soon as possible.  The tour is not the same without him.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Lleyton Hewitt notches 600th ATP tour singles victory!


Congratulations to Rusty - Lleyton Hewitt, his team and supporters!

A fighter by any definition of the word, he has overcome many injuries, surgeries, time away from the game, has a beautiful wife (Bec) and 3 children (Mia 8, Cruz 5, and Ava 3), and still loves the game.  Less than two years ago he was #233 in the world, trying to recover from another surgery, and has recently risen to be back in the top 40 players in the world.  The two time major winner, including a prestigious Wimbledon triumph, defeated Robin Haase to capture his 600th tour singles win, joining Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the only active players to have reached the mark. 

Not blessed with great height at a generous 5' 11" (180cm), his speed and agility around the court, along with one of the best return of serve in the game, not to mention his passing shots and perhaps one of the best lobbers of all time, and his fiery, never-say-die temperament propelled him to the position of the youngest male #1 player in the world ever, a position he held for 80 weeks, 4th on the active list, behind Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.  Many criticized Hewitt for lacking the big weapons, serves, ground-strokes, but with his tenacious spirit, all he did was win.  A controversial figure at times, especially as a hot-headed youngster, he has been the spirited leader of his Davis Cup team,  contributions including two Cup wins and two finals.  Unfortunately, starting in 2005, he started to endure a series of injuries, almost yearly, which eventually knocked him out of the top 10 in the game.

He is next scheduled to play Rafael Nadal on Saturday.  Best of luck to both.

Respectfully,
masterclass