Seeds 9-16 placed
(1 West CWLander in the pot)
A packed lot of eight to set the possible fourth round opponents for the top eight seeds. Who is the most dangerous? Take your pick. Murdoch, Varga, Stewart, Daneu and Brdar have all appeared at at least one Grand Slam semi final, while Mustard, Henson and Altman are dangerous on this surface. If forced to make a decision - Murdoch.
First out at line 16 is Illya Altman (I-4R) who might meet the World No. 1 in the fourth round. His form has been awful as he tries to recover from a hamstring injury and he must find wins early. Second out at line 17 is Rick Henson (I-DNP) the dangerous American player who has won Roland Garros before in the pre-Grand Slam era. He's still not hit his straps, but this could be his big chance. Oxenstierna gets the possibility of Miroslav Brdar (I-3R) at line 48. The sixteenth seed has slumped to World No. 18 after going near the top ten, but his form has picked up recently. Rounding up the top half is Wimbledon semifinalist Zoltan Varga (I-3R) who, at line 49, could meet Boros in an all-Hungarian fourth round blockbuster.
Starting off the bottom half is fifteenth seed Oneil Stewart (I-QF). He has good results at this event, and if he can get a generous draw we all know what he's capable of if he builds up a good head of steam. Next is the tenth seed Radivoj Daneu (I-QF). Boy, talk about a guy whose stocks have fallen - down from No. 3 to No. 10. At line 81, he's still a very dangerous player when on song but his forehand is all over the shop at the moment. Luckily for him, he's nabbed World No. 3 Špidlá who is the least dangerous of the top eight on the red clay. Ho, ho, ho - line 96: Jojo Mustard (I-QF). He's been looming large on the clay despite a poor week thus far in Dusseldorf, and his placement on line 116 sets up a possible trans-CWLand clash against Jefferson Drake. Wowee. That leaves another fourth round blockbuster as Dwayne Murdoch (I-SF), a semi-finalist and the only man to beat Blanco on clay on the PTA circuit, is drawn at line 97 to set up a probable fourth round showdown with the defending champ.
Froffin.
FOURTH ROUND ON SEEDING
1-Jason Hall USA vs. 11-Illya Altman UKR
13-Rick Henson USA vs. 5-Darcy Cowan USA
4-Sven Oxenstierna FRC vs. 16-Miroslav Brdar CRO
12-Zoltan Varga HUN vs. 7-Jozsef Boros HUN
6-Rasmus Olesen DEN vs. 15-Oneil Stewart JAM
10-Radivoj Daneu SRB vs. 3-Radek Spidla CZE
8-Jefferson Drake CDR vs. 14-Jojo Mustard FRC
9-Dwayne Murdoch USA vs. 2-Daniel Paez Blanco ESP