Who pays attention to seedings, anyway?
At this point, it seems like no one playing in this week’s
Mercedes-Benz Cup seems too concerned – especially those who were
fortunate enough not to be seeded.
When play began early this week at the Los Angeles Tennis
Center, eight players were seeded. Of those eight, only two remain.
And it’s just the quarterfinals.
Second-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan was the latest player to be
bitten by the upset bug, as he suffered a second-round loss
Thursday to qualifier Jeff Morrison, 7-5, 6-4. Morrison felt that
his win said a lot about the state of the game.
"It’s a testament to the depth in men’s tennis these days,"
Morrison said. "Anything can happen out here on any given day."
On this given day, Morrison’s serve was booming, to the tune of
18 aces, and Srichaphan only mustered one break opportunity all
match.
"My serve is the strength of my game, and it always has been,"
Morrison said. "I definitely think my serve was a weapon
today."
The 25-year-old Morrison broke Srichaphan to go up 6-5 in the
first set, and he served it out from there. In the second set,
Morrison got an early break and kept the pressure on, giving the
heavily favored Srichaphan little room to maneuver.
"He was playing great today ““ especially his service
game," Srichaphan said. "I give credit to him because he played
really well today."
Top-seed Andre Agassi and third-seed Mardy Fish are the two
seeded players remaining in the draw. Seeded players Dominik
Hrbaty, Sjeng Schalken, Vince Spadea, Taylor Dent and Robby Ginepri
have already been shown the door.
But that might not be such a bad thing.
"There’s no freebies out here," Morrison said.
That same sentiment was echoed later in the day by Agassi.
"No question about it," the three-time Mercedes-Benz Cup
champion said. "I think everybody goes out on the court and expects
difficulties. You can’t take anything for granted."
Srichaphan found that out firsthand, but that’s not to say that
he wasn’t trying. Morrison was just too much to handle Thursday,
and for that reason, he’ll be facing Wesley Moodie in one of
Friday’s quarterfinals.
At this point, neither player has a seed. But in Morrison’s
mind, nothing changes.
"I’m going to approach it the same way I do every match," he
said. "I can control attitude, decision-making, and how hard I
compete."