Favorites into 2010 Australian Open Fourth Round

Unlike the women's draw where pre-tournament favorites Sharapova and Clijsters lost in the early rounds, the men's draw have all top seven men's tennis players moving into the fourth round of the 2010 Australian Open. Of the favorites, #5 Andy Murray and #6 Nikolay Davydenko have advanced without dropping a set in their first three matches. Davydenko has proven to be the most efficient so far, losing just 17 games in all nine sets he has played - including one bagel set in each of his three matches. That's a staggering average of less than two games lost per set.

The top three seeds have lost one set apiece - #1 Roger Federer lost his first ever set of the tournament but has won nine straight since. #2 Rafael Nadal lost the third set in his third round match, while #3 Novak Djokovic lost a set in his second round match. #7 Andy Roddick also marches on by winning his eighth straight match for a perfect 8-0 record for the year. Like the top three seeds, he has lost just one set and that was during his third round match.

#4 Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion has not been as efficient as the other favorites. He has lost at least a set in each of his matches including a marathon five set victory over former top ten player, James Blake. That second round match is the best match in the tournament so far with del Potro winning 10-8 in the final set.

Amongst those not seeded to reach the fourth round, two big serving giants stand out. #33 seed John Isner is on an 8-match winning streak by upending #12 Gael Monfils. Unseeded Ivo Karlovic has already knocked out two seeds - #13 Radek Stepanek and #24 Ivan Ljubicic. They'll both be facing Nadal and Murray in the fourth round. If both advance, they'll be serving for a career-best spot in the semifinals of a major.

Of the top eight seeds, only world #8 Robin Soderling failed to advance to the fourth round. He was a first round loser to Marcel Granollers of Spain. If the rest of the seeds hold, the following potential quarterfinal pairings may occur:

#1 Federer vs #6 Davydenko
#2 Nadal vs #5 Murray
#3 Djokovic vs #10 Tsonga
#4 Del Potro vs #7 Roddick