Federer managed to hold off the challenge of Soderling in the first set and win it 6-4. After that, a feverish Soderling gave up when loses 0-3 in the second set. Davydenko also won against Bolleli, but it was a tight 3-setter. In other news, Andy Roddick announced that he is engaged to Brooklyn Decker. Andy might not win another slam, but who he has definitely won something with this announcement!

Andy Murray joined his friend Novak Djokovic in the losers lounge when he lost to Mario Ancic in three tight sets 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7). Murray had multiple match points in the tie-break, but blew it all with some dubious shot selection. So who will be the next seed to fall? Roddick was close, but maybe Federer? We shall see!

Kevin Anderson shocked the world today by beating Novak Djokovic in the 2nd round of Miami Masters to dethrone the defending champion 7-6, 3-6, 6-4. It’s awfully bad for Djokovic as he is going to lose many points this week, but he must’ve been tired from last week and Anderson is the type of player that doesn’t beat himself. Back to drawing board for Djoko!

Today is truly one of the saddest day for any true Marat Safin fan. Safin lost to Bobby Reynolds in the first round of Miami masters and fell to 1-5 for the year. I can’t imagine Safin continuing his career if he goes to 1-10 or anything like that. He is too proud for that and as a former world No. 1 and 2-times Grand Slam champion, he deserves better than being only a 1 time winner in the first 3 months of the year. Unfortunately, Safin seems too unstable to mount challenge for big titles, so expect him to retire by the end of 2008.

They are in the same quarter again. The draw is almost identical to that of Pacific Life Open. But, Roddick faces an easier draw this time, and he should cruise till his meeting with Federer. I think he will beat Tsonga in round 4, but I am not sure if Federer will continue to be dismal. He has gotten some matches and it seems he is improving little by little but mono has hampered him this year. The other side of the draw will be all Djokovic again as I doubt Nadal can make it to the semis and if he does, he can’t upset Novak. This is all pointing to another Masters series title for the Djoker. Here is the draw.

Djokovic beat Mardy Fish, as predicted, to close gap on Rafael Nadal for the No. 2 spot in the world. Nadal is on shaky grounds right now as his lead over Djokovic is 415 points. Federer increased his lead but with the way he is playing there is no question the No. 1 spot is up for grabs. If Federer is suffering from mono, you can expect him to struggle for at least a few months, which means he could head into the U.S. Open with no titles! That would not be good enough for him to hold his top spot, especially if Nadal and Djokovic win the big tournaments. All of a sudden, it seems the curse of Pete Sampras is slowing Federer down.

Fish and Djokovic were both dominant against Federer and Nadal. Fish has been in really good form this tournament and has beaten Hewitt, Nalbandian, and Federer (very easily!). Djokovic has played true to form and he is truly the No. 1 hard court player in the world at this point. I know I predicted that Federer would beat Fish in straight sets, but no one could’ve predicted the way Federer played throughout the match with no interest and desire to move on. Still, I’ve got to take Novak to win it in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Novak has simply too much game for Mardy at this point. He is more steady than Federer in all departments and seems to have gained the edge that Federer is missing in his matches. If you looked at how he destroyed a Nadal who had just beaten his nemesis in Blake the other night, you could see that no matter what Fish comes up with tomorrow, the title is Djokovic’s. Fish can keep it close and may even take a tie-break set off of Djokovic, but I can’t see him do what he did to Roger to Novak. That No. 1 spot is so ever closer for Novak now.

So much for Federer being over his mono. He lost in straight sets to Mardy Fish, and to be honest never looked like he had any idea how to deal with Fish’s game. The final score: 6-3, 6-2!! Federer played passive throughout the match, and Mardy Fish beat him in every department. With only 34% first serve in, who would’ve thought that Fish could beat Federer in only under an hour. Every day that goes by is an indication that Federer’s era is truly over.

We are all set for the Roger Federer - Mardy Fish semi final later today. Mardy was extremely impressive against a lackluster Nalbandian, and he may fancy his chances of taking a set off of Federer. I think Mardy needs to win the first set to have any chance whatsoever to pull  a huge upset today. The fact is that Federer is a better returner than Nalbandian and is harder to ace (ask Andy Roddick). I would think the first set will be close (7-6 or 7-5), but if Federer wins the first, the second set will be a lot more easier. Prediction: 7-6, 6-3 for Roger. Catch it on FSN, CSN or StarSports

Roger Federer has qualified for his second semi final of the year after Tommy Haas withdrew with a sinus problem. Federer will be meeting the winner of Fish - Nalbandian match, ongoing right now with Nalbandian leading.