Article

  • ABN AMRO First Round Preview: Marcos Baghdatis vs. Robin Söderling

    2/18/08 2:26 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Marcos Baghdatis and Robin Soderling both enjoyed strong showings last week at the Open 13 in Marseille, France. This time, however, one of the two players will be out in the first round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

    Eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis drew a tough opening-round matchup with Robin Soderling at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This is the fourth head-to-head meeting between these two players, and Söderling holds a 2-1 edge, including 2-0 on hard courts. The Swede won the first matchup 7-5 in the third set at New Haven in 2006, then followed that win up with a 6-3, 6-2 rout last year in Doha. Baghdatis got revenge later in 2007 on the grass of Halle, Germany with a 6-7(11), 6-4, 6-3 victory.

    Both Baghdatis and Söderling are coming into this tournament with the momentum of impressive performances last week at the Open 13. Baghdatis, the sixth seed in Marseille, scored emphatic wins over Arnaud Clement, 6’10’’ Ivo Karlovic, and third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny before bowing out to Mario Ancic in the semifinals. Söderling, playing in his first event since August of 2007 because of a wrist injury, made it to the quarterfinals, where he too lost to Ancic. The Swede upset Jarkko Nieminen and second-seeded Richard Gasquet in his first two matches.

    Söderling will have to use his big serve to perfection if he hopes to beat the Cypriot for a third time. He served 39 aces in thee matches last week, including 32 in his two wins. An effective serve also allows Soderling to set things up nicely for his powerful forehand, with which he can finish off points from anywhere on the court.

    Baghdatis’ serve is not as big as the Swede’s, but he used it as a weapon last week in Marseille. He did not lose serve at all the entire tournament until meeting Ancic in the semifinals. Baghdatis’ strength from the baseline is his backhand, so he will be hoping to dictate play through backhand-to-backhand rallies with Söderling, while his opponent will try to force Baghdatis into grueling forehand-to-forehand duels.

    The winner of this showdown will face either Jarkko Nieminen or Fernando Verdasco in the second round.

Tell a friend »

Comments


Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.
Username:

Password: