This week the Masters Series Madrid event kicks off and Taylor is slated to take on Tim Henman in the first round later today. He is in seventh seed Gaston Gaudio's section of the draw and will contend first for a right to play tenth seed Radek Stepanek. Taylor has 75 points to defend from last year's quarterfinal showing, where he lost to David Nalbandian in straight sets.
Last week Taylor lost in the first round of the if... Stockholm Open to Davide Sanguinetti, 6-2 4-6 4-6. The week before lost in the quarterfinal of the AIG Tokyo Outdoor to Jarkko Niemenin, 4-6 7-5 6-7(3), after winning his third round match the same day against Wayne Arthurs, 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3. Hopefully Taylor can defend his points this week and press for a top 25 finish (he's currently 28th on this week's entry rankings).