Who will earn a chance to end Novak Djokovic's ridiculous run in the Rome quarterfinals? (No, I don't think Lukasz Kubot or the Serb's third-round opponent—either Filippo Volandri or Stanislas Wawrinka—will seize their opportunities.) Whoever does will have certainly earned it.
Fernando Verdasco, who got past a difficult first-rounder against Milos Raonic, was a point away from the third round—three times. He controlled the first set today against Robin Soderling, handily winning it 6-2, and earned triple match point at 5-4 in the second set. And that's when we saw one of the reasons why we don't see a seed next to Verdasco's name any longer.
But first, some credit to Soderling: On the first match point he faced, the Swede took a swat at a serve, hitting a clean winner to erase one of the end-game chances in an instant. He'd get things to 30-40 after some more big swings. Then Verdasco did all the work for him, double-faulting on his third match point. Then, he did it again. When the No. 5 seed broke a few points later, Verdasco was finished. He was broken for the fourth time in the set two games later, evening the match on the scoreboard—but mentally, the Spaniard was lagging behind.
An early break of serve in the third set followed, and in turn racquet abuse—everything you'd expect from a player who touched the finish line but didn't actually cross it. Well, just about everything. A fly (or some type of bug) got lodged in Verdasco's eye, and he couldn't get it out for some time. Call it adding insult to injury or the reverse; it was a day Verdasco would love to forget.
Not so for Soderling, who prevailed 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. He'll face either Sam Querrey or, more likely, clay-court stud Nicolas Almagro for a spot in the final eight (and most likely, a meeting with Djokovic). If Sodering goes through, he'll have beaten two Top 17 players in his first two matches. If Almagro gets to the quarters, he'll have beaten an Italian (always tough in Rome), Simone Bolelli, the able Querrey and the two-time defending French Open finalist. The reward? A match with tennis' most dangerous man.
—Ed McGrogan