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US Open Day 8 Round of 16 Predictions

Watch out, predicted quarterfinalist Yanina Wickmayer! That ball's about to hit you in the face! Photo via d.yimg.com

Watch out, predicted quarterfinalist Yanina Wickmayer! That ball's about to hit you in the face! Photo via d.yimg.com

Eight matches to predict is the most I'll have to do any day of this tournament, so forgive me for keeping today's prognostications fairly short.  Let me hear it if any of these sounds way off...

Men's Top Half Round of 16:

Roger Federer SUI (1) vs. Tommy Robredo ESP (14) -- Federer has owned Robredo as he has most everyone else on the ATP, so this one shouldn't be too much of a test.  Robredo could take a set in theory, but Federer should be a lot more alert after the wake-up call Lleyton Hewitt gave him on Saturday.  Prediction: Federer in 3.

Novak Djokovic SRB (4) vs. Radek Stepanek CZE (15) -- A rematch of a classic from two years ago in this tournament, Djokovic gets his first night match in New York since being booed off the court after beating Andy Roddick last year.  Djokovic was nowhere near impressive against Jesse Witten in the third round, so he could be in trouble against the always dangerous Stepanek, who plays with more variety than most anyone in the top twenty.  Prediction: Djokovic in 5.

Robin Soderling SWE (12) vs. Nikolay Davydenko RUS (8) -- Soderling should be the one to dictate the play through most of this match, which should be the difference between winning and losing in this match.  If Davydenko can find a way to get the first strike or keep rallies longer he could make things interesting, but the fast court should help Soderling win this one, even though Soderling already won a fairly easy recent match vs. Davydenko on the clay of Roland Garros on his way to the finals there.  Prediction: Soderling in 4.

John Isner USA vs. Fernando Verdasco ESP (10) -- Coming off the biggest win of his career vs. Andy Roddick, Isner's road gets no easier vs. big hitting Fernando Verdasco.  Both players played tough five setters two days ago, so this match could come down to conditioning as much as anything, a category which the Gil Reyes-tuned Verdasco should have the edge.  But Verdasco has lots of trouble against big servers historically, notably getting knocked out of Wimbledon by Ivo Karlovic earlier this year.  If Isner can get some decent looks on Verdasco's serve, I like his chances.  That's a fairly sizeable if, though.  Prediction: Isner in 4.

Women's Top Half Round of 16:  Get ready for some star power, folks...

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (6) -- The two highest ranked players remaining in the top half of the draw meet in the round of 16 in this first night match.  Kuznetsova is the only player of the eight remaining in the top half who has previously made it to a grand slam final, so it should be considered hers to lose.  Wozniacki is dangerous and has been playing better than Kuznetsova on hard courts this summer, but her track record in the middle rounds of grand slams is less than stellar.  I have no idea who is going to win this one, but I'm guessing it's going to be fairly ugly stuff.  Prediction: Kuznetsova in 3.

Melanie Oudin USA vs. Nadia Petrova RUS (13) -- After knocking out Dementieva and Sharapova, Oudin almost certainly goes into this match-up with yet another big hitting Russian as the favorite.  How she will respond to the growing hype and expectations can't be said for sure, but she's been unflappable thus far and no reason to think it will change.  I expect her to take the first before dropping the second with some nerves before Petrova disappears in the third.  Prediction: Oudin in 3.

Kateryna Bondarenko UKR vs. Gisela Dulko ARG -- Quite possibly the most low-profile match ever on Arthur Ashe.  Bondarenko is probably the better player when both are at their best, but Dulko has more experience playing in big stadiums on big occasions like this.  Bondarenko has relied on a lot of errors from her opponents thus far, and she won't get as many from the steadier Dulko.  Prediction: Dulko in 2.

Petra Kvitova CZE vs. Yanina Wickmayer BEL -- I believe I've seen these players a combined three times, so I don't have a whole lot to go on with this one.  What I do know is that Kvitova barely beat Dinara Safina despite Safina only hitting 12 winners, so I like Wickmayer's chances.  Prediction: Wickmayer in 3.

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