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  • ATP Dubai - day 2 previews - top half

    3/4/08 1:37 AM | David Cox
    - It’s fair to say that most people’s attention will have been on that Federer-Murray match yesterday but there’s some more intriguing tussles in the top half of the Dubai draw on day 2



    Tomas Berdych (8) vs Gael Monfils

    With some big points coming off in the clay season, Berdych could do with some deep runs over the next month to maintain his top 10 status. He won’t be entirely unhappy with his rd1 draw here against the enigmatic Monfils, playing his first match since September after a hamstring injury. The Frenchman is renowned for blowing hot and cold and with nearly 6 months of rust to shake off, Berdych should be too strong. The Czech made the last 16 in Melbourne before losing to Federer but won’t be entirely happy with his showings in the smaller tournaments, losing early in Sydney and Rotterdam


    Jarkko Nieminen vs Olivier Rochus

    Nieminen, a surprise quarter-finalist in Melbourne, hasn’t had things all his way since, losing at the first hurdle in Marseille and Rotterdam. He’ll be determined not to make it a hat-trick this week but faces an opponent who enjoys a winning 7-4 head-to-head record going all the way back to the junior circuit in 1998. Worryingly for the Finn, the Belgian won both their matches last year (Auckland and Bastaad in straight sets). He’s had a bit of a rough start to 2008, narrowly avoiding a double bagel against Murray in Doha and suffering more rd1 reverses to Querrey and Karlovic. He returned to form slightly in Zagreb last week, beating Santoro on the way to the quarters

    Janko Tipsarevic vs Feliciano Lopez

    It’s another tough one to call with both players brimming with natural talent but falling short on the consistency. Tipsarevic is good enough to push Federer to the brink in Melbourne but he’s lacked the poise he showed that day, in the last few weeks, losing very close matches to Simon and then Stakhovsky in Zagreb. Lopez has been dealt a few short straws with the draws this year, getting Gasquet in rd2 down under then Karlovic in Marseille and Simon in Rotterdam, losing all 3 (though the Karlovic match came down to a final set breaker). He’s played Tipsarevic once before, winning 7-6, 7-6 in New Haven last summer

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