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  • Copa Telmex: Day 3 Preview

    2/20/08 9:11 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - Second round action gets under way on Wednesday in Buenos Aires with the top half of the draw. Brasil Open champion Nicolas Almagro will be looking to add to his title collection as he takes on his next opponent, Oscar Hernandez. Also taking the court will be Potito Starace and Juan Ignacio Chela.

    Nicolas Almagro (5) vs. Oscar Hernandez

    Nicolas Almagro is playing outstanding clay court tennis right now. His win in Costa Do Sauipe last week has given him as good a start to the clay season as he could have hoped. However, he did not have an easy win over his first round opponent, Martin Vassallo-Arguello. Vassallo-Arguello pressed Almagro to two tiebreaks and kept him out on court over two hours. This is not good news for the Almagro camp, who must have been hoping for an easy first round, after having played tennis all last week. But the question is whether Oscar Hernandez can capitalize on the fatigued Almagro. Hernandez had an easy 6-3,6-4 first round victory over lucky loser Eric Prodon. He'll be the decidedly fresher of the two players. They've never met in an ATP tournament, but Hernandez has beaten Almagro on the Challengers circuit, once in 2002 and again in 2005. Hernandez in 3.

    Potito Starace (7) vs. Juan Pablo Brzezicki

    Juan Pablo Brzezicki, the number 103 ranked player is having the best season of his career. He reached the quarterfinals of Vina del Mar, and the semifinals of the Challengers event in Sao Paulo. Brzezicki had a great win over veteran Nicolas Lapentti in the first round in straight sets. His opponent, Potito Starace, won his very first match of 2008 in the previous round against Serbia's Boris Pashanski. Starace is ranked number 35 in the world but he does not appear to be anywhere near his best form. He is capable of playing quite beautifully on clay, but we have yet to see that form this year. Brzezicki for the upset in 3.

    Juan Ignacio Chela (4) vs Thomaz Bellucci

    Brazilian qualifier Thomas Bellucci is looking for his second win of the year over Juan Ignacio Chela. He is currently ranked 181 in the world and has spent most of his playing time up until this point on the Challengers tour. He beat Austria's Werner Eschauer in an impressive straight set victory in the first round. Juan Ignacio Chela has not had a fantastic start to 2008. He lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and also in the first round of Vina del Mar. The Buenos Aires native will be looking for vindication in front of his home town crowd. Experience will win out in this one; Chela in 2.

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