Tournament Update: Third and Fourth Round Play in Miami

The third round finished up on Monday and it took no time for the drama to begin. Simone Bolelli saved all six break points in the first set against Nikolay Davydenko (pictured right, click for larger) and took it in a tiebreaker. In the second set, it was Bolelli's turn to have lots of chances - he had six break points, all of which Davydenko was able to save. Davydenko then got the break at the end of the set and coasted to an easy victory in the third set.

Julien Benneteau (pictured left, click for larger) scored an upset over countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. While the scoreline looked convincing, the result was more due to Tsonga's poor play than Benneteau's strong play. Benneteau saved all of the break points he faced in the contest. Janko Tipsarevic ended Thomas Johansson's run with a straight-set victory.

Roger Federer got an easy passage into the fourth round when his opponent Robin Soderling (both pictured right, click for larger) retired with a problem with his legs. He told the umpire and Federer that he could not move them. Mario Ancic got off to a good start against Juan Monaco; the two exchanged breaks and Ancic took the set in a tiebreaker. Monaco squeaked out the second set, and in the third, Ancic really found his form and took the third set easily.

Without a doubt the craziest match of the day was that between Mikhail Youzhny and Nicolas Almagro. Youzhny got off to a very quick start and built a 4-0 lead before Almagro clawed back and forced a tiebreaker, which Youzhny took. Almagro rebounded nicely and took the second. The drama really heated up in the third set. Almagro was serving for the match at 5-4 facing break point, which he saved. Youzhny pretty much freaked out on himself, smacked himself on the head three times with his racquet, which caused a cut that needed medical attention. Needless to say, Youzhny broke back and won the match in a tiebreak.

In the night match, Andy Roddick (pictured left, click for larger) had a tight first set against Ivo Minar and got out to a good start in the second set before playing a lazy serve game to draw level at 4all. He broke immediately again and made no mistake serving out the fairly routine straight-set victory; however, Roddick still has not shown the form that won him the Dubai title so he will want to raise his level.

Click here for all of Monday's singles results and here for all of the doubles results from Miami.

On Tuesday, the full fourth round was played.

James Blake (pictured right, click for larger) played solid attacking tennis in a straight-set victory over Radek Stepanek. He did have some trouble with his serve in the second set and was broken twice, but he still managed to end the match in fairly routine fashion.

Igor Andreev (pictured left, click for larger) outlasted last year's finalist Guillermo Canas in a greuling straight-set match that lasted over two hours. Andreev was up a break in the second but could not maintain the advantage; he also let slip a match point on Canas's serve before finally closing it out in the tiebreak. Because Canas had made the final last year, he will drop out of the top 20. Tomas Berdych (pictured right, click for larger) handled Dmitry Tursunov with no problem in just over an hour. Always capable of playing top-quality tennis, Berdych has quietly moved through the draw and has won his matches with relative ease. Berdych saved the only break point he faced and broke Tursunov all four of the times he had a chance to.

Roger Federer (pictured left, click for larger) had a difficult time with Jose Acasuso in the first set. Acasuso saved all four of the break points he faced and was able to force a tiebreaker, but Federer won that and then coasted in the second set. Federer did not face a single break point in the match and only lost three points on his first serve.

In a see-saw match, Janko Tipsarevic (pictured right, click for larger) scored the only real upset of the fourth round with a three-set win over Mikhail Youzhny. Tipsarevic got off to a quick start in the first set and built a 2-0 lead but Youzhny came back to win five games in a row and take the set 6-3. The rest of the match, however, was all Tipsarevic, including a bagel in the second set.

The most dramatic match came from Nikolay Davydenko (pictured left, click for larger) and Mario Ancic. Ancic got off to a good start and took the first set 6-4. Davydenko rebounded well and took the second set. The drama mostly came in the third set when there were five breaks in a row. Davydenko served for the match at 5-4 in the third before doublefaulting on the break point to bring Ancic back even. Davydenko was able to break back straight away and finally managed to hold serve to take it 7-5 in the third.

In the late match, Andy Roddick (pictured right, click for larger) fought off an inspired charge from Julien Benneteau, who had beaten Roddick the last time they met. Serving better than he had in the first sets of his two previous matches, Roddick held easily until he was suddenly broken at 4all. Playing defensive, passive, and listless tennis from the baseline, Benneteau was controlling almost all of the baseline rallies and was getting the majority of Roddick's serves in play. After just four games in the second set, Roddick had already amassed ten more unforced errors and for a stretch could barely keep the ball in play. Then, at 3all in the second, Benneteau suddenly became unable to serve. Roddick started going for his shots more and a couple of double faults later and Roddick went on a streak where he won six games in a row. Suddenly the rains came with Roddick up a double break in the third and after a 45 minute or so delay, the players came back out around 11:30pm and finished the last few games of the match in routine fashion. Luckily for Roddick he ended better than he started, but he will have to raise his play several levels if he wants to have a shot at ending his 11-match losing streak against Roger Federer in tomorrow's quarterfinal match.

Click here for all the singles and here for all the doubles results from Tuesday's play in Miami.