Federer’s play in anything but the Slams can be an up-and-down affair.  More often than not, he plays down to lesser opponents.  If you merely looked at the score, 7-6, 7-6, you’d think Federer had a tough time, but he was up a break in the first and up two breaks in the second, and still let Serra back into the match.  Federer honestly looked like he was running away with the match, and yet, played sloppy points to let Serra back in.

At times, the biggest difference between Federer and his opponents is his ability to win the big points.  He often takes as many risky shots as players like Serra.  Federer’s shot tolerance tends to be much lower than, say, Roddick or Nadal or Djokovic, and so he can look just as frail against a player like Serra who might struggle to beat a steadier top ranked player.

Even so, Federer is likely to say a victory is a victory, and not fret too much that he let Serra back into the match.

Marin Cilic is beginning to right the ship that looked strangely awry when he lost very early in Indian Wells.  Cilic handled Baghdatis routinely, 6-3, 6-4.  Up to Indian Wells, Cilic had been one of the hotter players on tour.  The question is whether he’s ready to reclaim that mantle as he moves on through the draw.

Tomas Berdych won his match in straight sets over Zeballos in two close sets, 6-4, 7-5.

Mardy Fish continues to surprise as he beats Feliciano Lopez, 7-5, 6-3.  Much like Andy Roddick, Fish recently lost some weight.  The reason for doing so may mirror Nadal’s reason: to reduce the amount of pressure on his knees.

Stanislas Wawrinka and Mikhail Youzhny seem to play a similar game.  Both are aggressive with great one-handed backhands.  Wawrinka lead their head-to-head 2-1.  The two have met a bit more often on clay than on faster surfaces.  Wawrinka started off hot, with a 6-1 first set, but Youzhny clawed his way back taking the second set in a tiebreak, and the third set, 7-5.

Fernando Gonzalez plays Juan Monaco tonight.  Soderling is currently playing Petzschner leading 2-0 in the first set, and Verdasco is playing Melzer.  Melzer is up an early break, 1-0, and trying to consolidate the break.