Marcel Granollers vs. (2) Roger Federer: Federer will be part of the day session, so Darth Federer may be out and the Michael Jordan shoes may be in. We’ll see. In fact, Federer’s choice of attire may be more interesting than the match itself, because this will be one-way traffic from start to finish. Federer in 3.
(26) Gilles Simon vs. (4) David Ferrer: Some tennis fans would rather gouge their eyes out than watch this matchup unfold on a tennis court. Others relish this type of stuff. It’s going to an absolute war of attrition with 20-ball rallies the norm and perhaps 40-ball exchanges on more than a few occasions. That’s a kind of match Simon can win. Simon in 5.
(20) Gael Monfils vs. (12) Richard Gasquet: The Grandstand was filled to capacity 30 minutes before Monfils’ last match against Alejandro Gonzalez and the crowd was already doing the wave. Monfils gets bumped up to Louis Armstrong for a bigger match against Gasquet, and you can be sure the atmosphere will be similarly electric. Expect French fireworks. Monfils in 4.
(14) Marin Cilic vs. (18) Kevin Anderson: These two are about a similar as it can get in terms of playing style: good but not unreturnable serves, impressive movement for big men, strong two-handed backhands, and powerful but unreliable forehands. The difference is that Cilic has been putting all those ingredients together throughout this season. Anderson has not–at least not on a consistent basis. Cilic in 4.
(19) Feliciano Lopez vs. Dominic Thiem: For most of Friday afternoon it looked like Lopez would be facing Ernests Gulbis in the third round. Instead, the Spaniard will be facing Gulbis’ best friend on tour. It may be a better matchup for Lopez than Gulbis would have been. Lopez in 4.
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