It just goes to show you how dominant the top 8 players are in the world.  Basically, it’s Djokovic and Nadal at the top (despite rankings) and Federer and Murray behind them (despite Murray’s breakthrough).  Tsonga, Berdych, and del Potro show they are tough to beat by anyone not ranked in the top 5.  The only upset was a resurgent Kevin Anderson who beat David Ferrer, then beat the players Ferrer was supposed to beat to reach the quarterfinals.  It’s always a good sign when you follow up an upset with additional wins, especially since it’s so easy to lose in the next round (see Lukas Rosol, Wimbledon).

Of the top 8, you still have to say that Novak Djokovic, unbeaten in 2013, is the class of the field.  Until he starts signs of playing poorly–and he hasn’t played his best yet, he’s the man to beat.  I don’t say this just to say this, but his form is still quite good, and he’s confident.

It’s hard to say this is true of either Federer or Nadal.  Federer had to skip practice on Tuesday because of concerns with his back.  He played solid in the first set over Wawrinka, and probably should have won in straight sets as he had a break and was holding well.  However, he was forced into a third set, and he noticeably slowed down, perhaps as a reaction of pain in his back, which he always hides well (no grimacing).

Nadal, by contrast, looked a bit antsy playing Gulbis.  Nadal made some uncharacteristic errors, perhaps a combination of lack of hard court play and practicing less to preserve his knees.  Still, he pulled out the match, and while he’s not 100%, he’s maybe 70%.  I favor Nadal unless Federer can win easily over Nadal, something Nadal has always been able to counter well (the sets where Federer rushes to a lead often, invariably, lead to a Nadal win of same said set).

I haven’t seen much of del Potro, Berdych, or Tsonga play.  Berdych has been having a great start to his year despite going without a title.  He lost to Berdych and Tsonga, and played Tsonga very closer.

Quick predictions.

Djokovic-Tsonga Still gotta favor the number 1.  Tsonga can make life tough, but Djokovic is used to playing big hitters.  Tsonga moves better than Berdych, but still has had troubles, lately, beating Djokovic.

Murray-del Potro Probably the most competitive of the matches.  Murray generally looks not great in the early rounds of a tournament.  He has a nice record against del Potro.  I could see it going either way, but will favor the Scot to rise up to the challenge.  These two don’t face each other a lot in the year, for some reason.

Berdych-Anderson  Anderson has been playing really well as of late, but he’ll play a guy much like him, but who hits harder and more efficiently.  Anderson will hope to get into tiebreaks or move Berdych around.  Still with Berdych’s good form, I have to favor the Czech.

Nadal-Federer  If Federer were healthier, I’d favor him over a shaky Nadal, but with Federer potentially limited, I’m going with Nadal.  He may have looked shaky against Gulbis, but he hit the big shots when he had to.