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3/4/08 3:05 PM | Ricky Dimon
John Isner vs. Alejandro Falla
The 6’9’’ Isner, who made a name for himself last summer in Washington, D.C. with a run to the final that featured five consecutive third-set-tiebreaker wins, is playing relatively well again after a slow start to the season. He lost in the first round of the Australian Open and then missed a month with a foot injury. But Isner bounced back to reach the quarterfinals in San Jose and his recent results could be even better had he not squandered match points in each of his last two losses (both in third-set tiebreakers). He should have the edge in this one—especially on hard courts—over Alejandro Falla, a Colombian ranked 79th in the world. Falla, coming off a first-round loss to Donald Young last week in Memphis, would much prefer to play the towering American on clay. Don’t count him completely, however, as Isner’s matches always seem to come down to one or two points here and there and if Isner ‘s serve is not on fire, Falla will have a shot.
Amer Delic vs. Jurgen Melzer
Melzer reached the final in Las Vegas last year, falling to Lleyton Hewitt in the title match. The Austrian has not shown recent signs of form that will get him back to that stage of the tournament this time around, with just a 4-6 match record to his credit in 2008. Delic, meanwhile, endured a dreadful second half of last season, but he is beginning to turn things around now. He reached the second round of the Australian Open where he lost to Juan Monaco 8-6 in the fifth, won a Challenger event in Dallas, and beat Donald Young in Delray Beach only to fall at the hands over eventual champion Kei Nishikori in the second round. Melzer holds a 1-0 head-to-head record over Delic, but that came all the way back at the start of 2005. This meeting will simply come down to serving. It is a weapon for both players, who look to play short points by following their serves and short balls into the net. Whoever puts in more of their first offerings should have the advantage in this one.
Vince Spadea vs. (3) Marcos Baghdatis
Of the three Americans taking the court on Day 2, Spadea faces the toughest test in third-seeded Marcos Baghdatis. That’s not to say he doesn’t have a chance. He certainly does, as Baghdatis is a streaky player and you can never be quite certain what you’re going to get from him on a given day. The Cypriot has two first-round exits so far in 2008, but he also posted two nice wins at the Aussie Open and reached the semifinals in Marseille. Spadea is a solid 6-4 this season and that’s not including a runner-up performance at a Challenger event. Baghdatis and Spadea have never squared off on hard courts, but overall the head-to-head matchup is tied 1-1. They play with a similar game, both using hard, flat strokes from the ground while remaining content to slug it out from the baseline. Baghdatis, however, has a slight edge in the groundstroke department and also returns better than his opponent. Spadea will have to serve extremely well if he wants to pull off the upset.
In addition to the Americans, there is plenty more on Day 2 of the Tennis Channel Open to satisfy any tennis fan. Top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez is back in action after a minor abdominal injury and he will take on Dudi Sela, who holds a 1-0 head-to-head over the Chilean. Also taking the court will be Michael Llodra, already a two-time titlist in 2008 (against Kevin Anderson), Memphis semifinalist Jonas Bjorkman (against Julien Benneteau), and the talented but struggling 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis (against Nicolas Massu).
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Did you know that... Michael Chang is the youngest Grand Slam champion in tennis history. He was 17 years and 3 months old when he won the French Open in 1989.
sstay, Sep 8, 2008 9:32 AM
mara2, Sep 8, 2008 7:00 AM
RafaNadalGirl20, Sep 8, 2008 6:50 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:47 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:42 AM
kaitepai, Sep 8, 2008 6:04 AM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:43 PM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:36 PM
Did you know that... Rainer Schuettler defeated Andreas Seppi in Kitzbühel 2004 after having saved 10 match points.
sstay, Sep 8, 2008 9:32 AM
mara2, Sep 8, 2008 7:00 AM
RafaNadalGirl20, Sep 8, 2008 6:50 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:47 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:42 AM
kaitepai, Sep 8, 2008 6:04 AM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:43 PM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:36 PM
