South American duel - 3/21/2011

Date: 3/21/2011
Result: Miami Qualifying R1, Paul Capdeville def. Alejandro Falla, 7-5 7-6
Why it matters:
- Capdeville's coming off an inspiring tie against the US in Davis Cup, where he took out John Isner, and played well against Andy Roddick.  These performances may revitalize the career of a player who had potential, growing up in the wake of the incredible results of countryman Marcelo Rios, and then having Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez as contemporaries.  His behavior on court has also been questioned as possible evidence that he is too mentally fragile to compete at the highest level.  However, maybe after the positive experience at Davis Cup, he can put together a run.
- Remember when Falla was going to pull off the unthinkable by taking down Federer in the first round of Wimbledon? He had decent results immediately after that inspiring performance, but overall he is 10-18 since blowing his lead to Federer, and an even more depressing 3-10 since a subsequent loss to Mardy Fish in Davis Cup at home in Colombia.  Falla has the talent, and enough of a non-traditional game to make life difficult for any number of players.  If he can let the disappointments of the 2010 summer go, there's no reason he can't get into the top 50.
- Miami is traditionally a haven for Latin American players.  In this battle between two South Americans, Capdeville came out on top, but keep an eye out during the event for a strong and maybe surprising performance by a Latin American during the event.

Honorable Mentions:
- Miami Qualifying R1, Michelle Larcher de Brito def. Magdalena Rybarikova - 26 75 60 - Is the young Portuguese phenom ready to get back to the upper echelons?  After grunt-gate 2009, the sky was the limit for Larcher de Brito, but numerous setbacks have her requiring wildcards into qualifying of events like Miami.  This is a good win over another fallen starlet, Rybarikova, who needs to regroup after being a top 50 fixture just a year ago (and a Memphis finalist in February!)

- Miami Qualifying R1, Lauren Davis def. Jill Craybas - 63 57 61 - The new generation American taking out the old generation.  Good win for Davis, who is still developing and could be a bright spot for the US in the future.  But Craybas is clinging to relevance at this point.  If she had even been the caliber player of another player who hung around for a LONG time, Amy Frazier, then maybe she would be unsatisfied with her current results.  But given that Craybas is not so far below where she's been most of her career, I don't see the end of her career coming for a fairly long while.