Blake, Berdych upset in Germany
American James Blake, seeded seventh, was beaten in the second round today at the Masters Series event in Hamburg. He lost to Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Blake had reached the quarters last week in Rome, but after this loss he will turn his attention to the French Open where he will try to avoid suffering a first round loss two straight years. Tipsarevic will face Albert Montanes in the third round.
Also getting upset was ninth seeded Tomas Berdych. He lost to qualifier?? Marat Safin 7-5, 6-4. Safin is a former two-time finalist in Hamburg, but had to qualify to get in this year. He came into the tournament ranked #89 in the world, and sporting a 6-10 record on the year. He will face either Olivier Rochus or Carlos Moya in the third round.
Also falling today was 13th seeded Tommy Robredo. He was beaten by Ivo Karlovic 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the second round. Karlovic, ranked #24 in the world, hasn’t been past the third round of a tournament since he reached the semis at Rotterdam in February. He will get a chance to reach the quarterfinals if he beats either Juan Ignacio Chela or Novak Djokovic in the third round.
Top-seeded Roger Federer, the defending champions, has taken the court today for his second round match against Jarkko Nieminen and second-seed Rafael Nadal will play later today. Despite losing last week, Nadal is still the favorite to win this tournament. His clay-court record speaks for itself, and you know he is going to want to show everyone that he is doing fine before play at Roland Garros begins.
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