It’s quarterfinal day and for fans of tennis, probably the single day that gives you the most bang for your proverbial buck.  If you have tickets, you can usually watch two quarterfinals that have top players.

The elite players have mostly headed to NYC to start training for the US Open, many having arrived on Monday.   However, many players who haven’t had enough hard court practice or who are looking for some match wins have elected to play New Haven which is an hour or two from NYC and the home of Yale University.

Top seeded Nikolay Davydenko spent the early part of the hard court season in Europe playing Hamburg and Umag, which he won.  He hasn’t had a great hard court season since coming to the US, but he is the top seed at New Haven.

Today’s most intriguing match is Davydenko against Sam Querrey.  Querrey is already tied with Murray on the US Open Series.

The US Open Series consists of men’s and women’s tournaments.  On the men’s side, the tournaments include Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Montreal, Cincinnati, and New Haven.  Querrey has played all of these tournaments.  With a win today, he’ll be number 1 in the point standings.  Even though he is tied with Murray, Querrey would be considered the “top” point-getter based on a tiebreak which rewards the player that has more match wins.  Querrey has played a lot more so he has more match wins.

The series was meant to encourage TV coverage of the smaller events leading up to the US Open, especially tournaments like Indianapolis, LA, and New Haven.  The point system is different from the normal ATP system and rewards playing the smaller events more than the ATP rankings would.

The top three point getters, in this case, Querrey, Murray, and del Potro then get a bonus based on how far they get in the US Open.  If you are the top point getter and win the US Open, you earn a million dollars bonus.

The Querrey-Davydenko match is an important one for Querrey’s career development.  Davydenko is still the higher ranked player.  Although he’s far removed from the days when he was number 4 in the world, he’s got his ranking back in the top 10.  On paper, Davydenko is favored, and in reality, he’s probably favored.  Still, it will bode well for Querrey to have a good win now.

The one advantage Querrey might have is an odd one.  There’s certainly incentive for Davydenko to win, as there usually is.  However some players sometimes tank a match prior to a big major.  They want to play a few matches, get some solid hitting, then head over a few days early to prep for the big event.  Arguably, Querrey shouldn’t be so worried about that right now, and should look to winning smaller titles.  It depends pretty much on his health.

Other matches today.  Verdasco and Melzer.  Despite his high ranking, Verdasco hasn’t had that inspiring a year outside his great run at Melbourne.  You would think the hard courts would favor his big banging style.  Still, it bodes well for Fernando that he’s still in the tournament.  Melzer is a tough lefty veteran who has been on the tour for a while.  The two play similarly.  Given his ranking, Verdasco needs this win more than Melzer.

Next up is Igor Andreev and Leonardo Mayer.  Andreev is a steady player who likes playing way behind the baseline.  He’s generally more than a handful for anyone he plays.  Mayer is an up-and-coming player from Argentina.  His results seem to indicate that faster surfaces are better for him, perhaps much like del Potro.

Finally, Jose Acasuso and Florent Serra.  Serra won a close match against Rajeev Ram.  Ram was two points from victory, but lost a tiebreak and a third set.

The crowds should be cheering for Querrey, and amongst the tennis watchers, for Fernando Verdasco.  The other two quarters should only appeal to those who are really heavy into their tennis and like watching more obscure players.