Seedings generally approximate how the tournament unfolds.  If you have 16 seeds, then those 16 players are expected to make the final 16.  However, seedings are only an approximation.  Different players have strengths or weaknesses that match up well or poorly against others.  So it’s rare when the top seeds all make their destined round.

This is exactly what’s happened to the Rogers Cup where the top 8 seeds are in the quarterfinal.  Let’s take a quick preview of what’s coming up.

First up is Andy Murray vs. Nikolay Davydenko.  On paper, this would seem like an easy win on Murray.  At least, if paper meant Murray’s year against Davydenko’s year.  However, Davydenko generally plays Murray very well.  The two are 4-4.  The most recent win was on clay at Monte Carlo.  Davydenko had been off the tour for a little while and was just coming back which left him vulnerable to Murray.  However, Davydenko beat Murray twice last year on hard courts, once in the year-end Masters.  This will be a test of Murray’s training to see if he can overcome a player that has given him problems in the past.  Still, Murray has looked pretty solid so far.

Next up, Federer vs. Tsonga.  As talented as Tsonga is, these two have only ever met once, which was on clay in Madrid, an event that Federer won.  He easily beat Tsonga.  Tsonga plays better on fast surfaces, and he’s certainly talented enough, but is Federer going to be too good?  Probably.

Perhaps the most intriguing rivalry is Andy Roddick vs. Novak Djokovic.  After Djokovic won the Australian Open in 2008, many thought he was heading to the top.  He had opportunities to become number 2 in the world, but never quite seized it from Nadal.  Since then, Djokovic’s play has been spotty, the one bright spot was last year’s Masters championship in Shanghai.  Although Djokovic and Roddick had a rather infamous meeting at the US Open, won by Djokovic, Roddick now leads the head-to-head 3-2.  Roddick beat Djokovic at the Australian when Djokovic retired due to heat problems, and then beat him again at Indian Wells.

Now, there are two factors to consider.  First, Djokovic switched from Wilson to Head in January, and it took Djokovic until the clay court season to feel comfortable with his racquet.  However, he lost to Kohlschreiber at the French, then to Haas at Halle and at Wimbledon.  Djokovic hasn’t had the year he’s accustomed to, and Murray leapt passed him to number 3.  The other factor is Andy Roddick’s new coach, Larry Stefanki, who has gotten Andy to play more aggressive, like he did when he first started on the tour.  Roddick has also gotten tougher mentally.  Witness his rather fantastic tiebreak record, surely the best on the tour.

This is a critical match for both players.  Roddick just played DC, his first event since Wimbledon.  Had he not injured himself sometime during Wimbledon, he might be on a win streak.  Right now, it’s hard to say where Roddick’s game is.  Does he match up with the very best?  Sure he played Roger as tough as he ever has.  He had a key victory over Murray.  But it was grass, and grass favors Roddick’s game.  Djokovic also likes the hard courts.  He’s not had a good victory in a while.  This could be a very telling match.

But the match people must be relishing is the final one: Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal.  Lately, the Argentina-Spain rivalry favors Spain.  Once upon a time, Guillermo Vilas and Jose Luis Clerc were the kings of clay.  Now, Spain boasts the top players, and many of them: Nadal, Verdasco, Ferrer, Ferrero, Robredo, Almagro. The list goes on and on.  del Potro beat Nadal earlier in the year in hard courts, and is playing great hard court tennis.  With his bludgeon of a forehand and his huge serve, he’ll be a great indicator of Nadal’s game.  Most would say, given del Potro’s form and Nadal’s lack of match practice that del Potro would likely pull this match out.  It might be close, so we’ll see.

We used to talk about the big 3: Federer, Nadal, Djokovic.  This became the big 4 when Murray joined the mix.  Are we at the big 5 or big 6 with del Potro and Roddick?  del Potro seems to have a bigger upside than Roddick, but Roddick is amazingly resilient.  Just when you want to count him out, he still finds ways to win.

A great day and night of tennis ahead.