The man to beat?

Wow. A day later and I'm still shocked.

I can't believe Nikolay Davydenko blasted Fernando Verdasco off the court like that! I guess it's safe to say that Davydenko's heel is, well, healed. Going into the tournament, I just didn't know where his fitness was, which is bad because that's such a key part of his game. He always sneaks up on you at a tournament, but to do that to Verdasco is a good sign for him. I'm officially marking him down to make the finals (he's not going to surprise me again!), especially since...

RAFAEL NADAL LOST TO ROBIN SODERLING!!!!

Holy Moley! I thought the only player that would've been able to beat Rafa here this tournament was Novak Djokovic. And if anything, I really thought Nadal had gotten over that losing-to-flat-hitters thing he had going on. I don't think that was the case; I guess he just had an off day.

I've watched a lot of tennis in my time, and I was trying to think of a loss that was this surprising. The only one that I could think of that involved a player being so dominant at a Major was Pete Sampras losing to Richard Krajicek in the quarters at Wimbledon in '96. I didn't think I'd see him drop a match there for years more to come. It's safe to say he bounced back from that, winning the next four Wimbledons in a row. So, I think Nadal's going to be OK. But you don't need me to tell you that!