Progress reports after the first two Masters Series tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami have thrown up a few surprise names in my A and B gradings published on this site over the past couple of days. There's an even bigger shock in my C Grade list of 10 individuals who have been anything but impressive  – “Beware the Ides of March,” anyone?

Needs Improvement

David Nalbandian (C+): The classic under-achiever always seems to make matches harder than they should be. It took a 6-1 first set thumping from Phillip Kohlschreiber to wake up the Argentinian in the second round at Indian Wells (IW), before taking out the German in three tough sets. In the next round, he beat Paul-Henri Mathieu, losing only two games in the final two sets of the match, but he then fell to Ivan Ljubicic in the round of 16. In Miami, he was eliminated by Jarkko Nieminen in the third round.

Roger Federer (C): There he is . . . I’m sure some of you were interested to see where I placed Roger on this list, but I do feel he does deserve the benefit of the doubt for a few reasons. One, he came into IW with all the talk surrounding his possible overtaking of the consecutive match-winning streak record. The second-round loss to Guillermo Canas quickly took care of that, and honestly, I feel a bit of pressure was lifted off Federer.

He rebounded in Miami, advancing to the fourth round, and should have beaten Canas on a number of occasions; obviously, that wasn’t to be. We never got to see the dominant Roger that we’re accustomed to watching for an extended period of time in March, but this brings me to my second reason to cut him some slack – he was the two-time defending champion at both events. He’s proven time and time again that he can dominate these tournaments; it’s just that 2007 wasn’t that time.

All this didn't stop him receiving the prestigious Laureus Sports Award for tennis this week.

Richard Gasquet (C): Oh, I can hear the whistles now! Favouritism, you say? You may think so, but Richard’s play at IW featured solid tennis, during which time he ousted Juan Martin del Potro and Jarkko Nieminen. He played valiantly against Andy Roddick in the fourth round, with a first set that was nearly flawless, aside from the tiebreaker. I don’t think anyone could have beaten Andy on that day. His performance in Miami concerned me much more. He beat Sebastien Grosjean in three sets, but not after mentally locking in the second set, losing 6-0. Against Canas, he similarly shut down in the second set after losing a tight first one. Gasquet’s play has been far too erratic for a No.15 seed to be comfortable with, as the start of his year has been defined by many lost opportunities.

Fernando Gonzalez (C-): Fernando’s heroic run to the finals of Australia has been followed by uninspiring and head-scratching results. On a similarly grand stage, the Chilean only managed to reach the fourth round once, in spite of a No.5 seeding. If these matches had been best-of-five sets, I think that Gonzalez would have performed better, and the story may have had a different ending. But for someone who was thought to have turned the corner, getting smoked by Paul-Henri Mathieu in the third round at Miami is a rather troubling result.

Nikolay Davydenko (C-): The Russian suffered from the same affliction that Gonzalez did this month – an extremely high seeding (No.4) with results that didn’t match. I wouldn’t get too down on him, because his 2007 season has been pretty impressive, but not making the quarters of either event has to be a disappointment to Nikolay and his legions of fans.

APRIL FOOLS!

Parent/Teacher Conference Required

Mikhail Youzhny (D-): After making inroads on the top 20 with stellar performances at Zagreb (semi-finalist), Rotterdam (champion), and Dubai (finalist), a lot more was expected from the Russian at these two larger events. His only victory in March was against Teimuraz Gabashvilli. Youzhny, deadliest on the hard courts, didn’t use his favoured surface to his advantage, instead losing to Jose Acasuso and Juan martin Del Potro, who are much more potent on clay.

Tomas Berdych (D-): Berdych made an appearance in the round of 16 at the Australian Open, but judging by his other results this year, you could make the case that it was a fluke performance. Amazingly, Berdych’s powerful ground strokes and imposing figure only got him by Arnaud Clement in Miami. Michael Russell (IW) and Juan Ignacio Chela (Miami) weren’t as impressed. Berdych might be the biggest disappointment of anyone on this list.

James Blake (D-): Blake’s recent troubles have been well documented, but losses to Julien Benneteau in the third round of IW and Florent Serra in the second round of Miami warrant further discussion. On second thoughts . . . I’m tired of talking about the negatives. The upcoming Davis Cup tie against Spain, with Blake possibly at No.1 for the US, might be the best solution to get James out of his funk.

Failing

Marat Safin (F): The only reason he’s not last on this list is because we’ve just come to expect this from Safin:

Fan No 1: “Safin just reached the Australian Open for the fourth time in his career!”
Fan No 2: “Cool, let’s get ice cream.”

A few weeks later:

Fan No 1: “Safin just lost to Nicolas Mahut in the opening round!”
Fan No 2: “Cool, let’s get hummus.”

Marcos Baghdatis (F): See Marcos’ last five tournaments:

- Zagreb: Won the title, defeating hometown hero Ivan Ljubicic in the final. (Great follow-up to a poor Australian Open.)
- Marseille: Reached the final, losing to a game Gilles Simon. (Encouraging longevity.)
- Dubai: Lost in the first round to Rafael Nadal. (That was an unlucky draw.)
- Indian Wells: Lost in the first round to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. (That should have been an easy draw.)
- Miami: Lost in the first round to Juan Martin del Potro. (I think he’s been practising with James Blake.)

Incomplete

Mardy Fish: Lleyton Hewitt also succumbed to injury in March, but Fish’s ailment was the most unfortunate injury in my opinion. Shoulder tendonitis derailed a great chance for Fish to show that he is not only back on the tour, but is a presence to be dealt with. I expected some impressive results from Mardy at both IW and Miami, but I’ll reserve judgment on him until he returns at full strength.

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