Off and Running

With two days of play in the books, everyone's had a chance to get their feet wet in London, and while we haven't had any major surprises yet, there sure has been some excitement.

Andy Murray was the first out the gate for Group B and, looking dapper in argyle, he downed higher-seeded Robin Soderling in straight sets. Admittedly, I'd expected a bigger fight from the recent Masters winner, but the Brit was quick to show he would not be easily pushed aside. A semifinalist at the World Tour Championships in 2008, he's looking to do even better this year, and if his fairly one-sided, hour-long win is any indication, his chances are good.

Of course, he's in the same group as four-time winner Roger Federer, who was equally impressive in his opening round robin -- he only dropped five games against David Ferrer to extend his record against the Spaniard to 11-0. And though Fed is probably the favorite to win the whole thing, when he meets Murray on Tuesday, you know there will be sparks flying.

In the other half of the draw, Novak Djokovic kicked of Group A action by displaying some of the magic that got him to the finals of this year's U.S. Open. He withstood seven aces from first-time finalist Tomas Berdych and didn't allow a single break opportunity in their ninety minutes of play. He capitalized on weak second serving and pushed the Wimbledon finalist to 3-10 since New York. Djokovic is clearly taking advantage of his comfort on the hardcourts of London.

The only man -- well, the only favorite -- who's had any trouble in his opener was top seeded Rafael Nadal. After losing all three of his round robins last year in London, he was certainly out for revenge this year. Against Andy Roddick, a man who has a decent record against the world #1 on the surface, he found himself down a set early before evening the score with a second set breaker. He spent more than two and a half hours on the court before getting the win, and though he's not technically in a hole yet, he might have a tougher time than we originally anticipated.

Sure, we've only really just begun to see these men fight for the championship, so anything still can happen. But if these early matches have shown us anything, it's that the favorites are out and fighting, and that maybe a couple underdogs might be able to squeak through.