Originally Published: March 27, 2004

At the Nasdaq-100 Open today

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By Cynthia Faulkner
ESPN.com

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- As a result of bad weather, Roger Federer, who said he'd been too sick to hit a ball this week until Friday, will have to play two days in a row.

He faces Rafael Nadal, a 6-foot, 165-pound 17-year-old from Manacor, Spain, on Sunday. Despite his youth, Nadal, ranked 34th, is seeded 32nd at the Nasdaq-100 Open.

Roger Federer
Federer

Federer, who is seeking his fourth title of the year, says left-handed Nadal definitely has a future in tennis.

"He has already proven himself at his age, you know, to be ranked as good as he is," Federer said.

Nadal hasn't won a ATP title yet, but he came quite close in Auckland in January when he lost in the final to Dominik Hrbaty, 6-4, 2-6, 5-7.

Andre Agassi assessed Nadal's game.

"Seems like he's a very talented player," Agassi said. "Very fast. He has a very big forehand. Seems very confident."

And although Nadal did not speak highly of his chances against Federer, the No. 1 player disagreed after his hard-fought 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 victory Saturday against Nikolay Davydenko.

"He's definitely got a chance," Federer said. "Today wasn't my best, and I got to improve."

Potential show stoppers

  • Serena Williams leads off the day by playing her first seeded opponent, Russian Elena Likhovtseva, seeded 31st. Serena is 2-1 against Likhovtseva, but they haven't played each other since the 2000 Australian Open.

  • No. 17 Lleyton Hewitt, who has won two titles already this year, plays Andrei Pavel, who spent about half of last year out with right wrist and back injuries. A Tennis Masters Series winner in 2001 on the hard courts of Montreal, he's a dangerous floater. As recently as last fall, he reached the final of the Tennis Masters Series in Paris.

    Venus Williams
    Williams

  • Venus Williams kicks off the night match against No. 27 seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. In five matches, Hantuchova has never won.

  • Despite a 3-1 record against Greece's Eleni Danillidou, Jennifer Capriati might have the most difficult match among the top American women. Danillidou defeated Capriati earlier this year in Dubai.

  • American Robby Ginepri, who reached the quarterfinals here last year, will play Nicolas Kiefer for the second time this year. At Davis Cup in February, Ginepri gained confidence when he won his first five-set match after being two sets down. However, Kiefer won their recent meeting in Scottsdale, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

  • In a battle between Argentines, No. 3 Guillermo Coria plays Juan Ignacio Chela. Coria has won the last three of their four meetings.

  • There's a young American woman through to the third round. Shenay Perry, 19, of Coral Gables, Fla., will have to play three consecutive days because rain washed out her match on Thursday. She faces No. 21 seeded Nathalie Dechy of France, who won their only previous meeting 6-3, 6-4 in Indian Wells.

    Cynthia Faulkner is the tennis editor for ESPN.com.

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