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  • Brasil Open Round 2 Preview

    2/13/08 5:28 PM | Cheryl Murray
    - The action heats up in round two of the Costa do Sauipe. Carlos Moya is the only seed remaining in the top half of the draw, but there are still some strong clay courters who can trouble him. The bottom half remains highly competitive.

    Carlos Moya (1) vs. Olivier Patience

    Number one seed Carlos Moya will take on the Frenchman Olivier Patience on Wednesday night on Centre Court. Patience is ranked just outside the top 100, but he had an impressive win over Nikolay Davydenko in Estoril in 2007 and also made it to the third round of the French Open where he pushed Novak Djokovic to five sets. Patience can definitely play on clay, the question is whether he can press Moya enough to trouble him. On the whole, the answer is probably no. Moya is stronger and has better mobility. Patience might take a set if Moya plays as poorly as he did on Monday night, but in the end the Spaniard should prevail. Moya in 3.


    Nicolas Almagro (2) vs Boris Pashanski

    Coming off an impressive win over Chile's Nicolas Massu, Almagro should come into this match with a boat load of confidence. Clay is by far his best surface. Boris Pashanski won his first match of the year in the first round of this tournament and is surely still looking for his match footing. 2007 was a good year for Pashanski. He qualified for several clay court tournaments including the French Open. Still, I think Almagro will prove to be too stern a test for the man from Serbia. Almagro in 2.


    Albert Montanes (8) vs Fabio Fognini

    Albert Montanes, the number 51 ranked player, will battle Fabio Fognini for a spot in the quarterfinals. Montanes had a fantastic season in 2007. He reached the final in Casablanca and the third round of the French Open. Fabio Fognini had a quarterfinal appearance two weeks ago in the tournament in Vina del Mar, Chile and will certainly come into this match with confidence. On February 4th of this year, Fognini enjoyed a career high ranking of 92. Despite the fact that he's playing better than ever, Montanes should be able to win. Montanes in 2.

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