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4/21/08 12:38 AM | David Cox
Robin Söderling vs Radek Stepanek
For both players this is their first tournament back after dramatic rubbers on Davis Cup duty. Neither player has particularly relished competing on clay in the past, with Stepanek struggling to adapt his natural game plan of getting forward as much as possible and Söderling lacking particularly good movement or patience in the rallies. However, much will be expected of the Swede over the next month after his exploits in Argentina, hammering Acasuso on home turf and then pushing Nalbandian to the brink, losing 9-7 in the 5th. He did reach the quarters in this tournament last year before losing to Berdych, the conditions are generally faster than in the other two masters series. Söderling holds a 3-1 record against Stepanek beating him 7-6, 6-3 in Memphis this year though the Czech won their only previous match on clay two years ago
Prediction: Soderling in 2
Tommy Haas vs Olivier Rochus
Haas was on fire in Indian Wells back in March, he’d upset Andy Roddick and then Andy Murray and was looking forward to a shot at Roger Federer in the quarters before a severe cold forced him to withdraw and then pull out of Miami. Now the German is back on tour for the clay-court season, a time of the year which hasn’t been particularly productive for him in the past and hoping that his dodgy shoulder holds up over the next 6 weeks. It didn’t begin well for Haas in Houston last week, a combination of damp clay and Igor Kunitsyn sent him on an early plane to Europe in round 1 and the German complained of sluggish shoulder muscles. The bad news for Haas is that in Olivier Rochus he’s facing a guy who loves the stuff and a full day’s rain in Monte Carlo yesterday will leave the conditions very slow for when they face each other on Monday morning. Haas has beaten Rochus 3 times before and always very easily but those matches have all been on fast hard. Tomorrow will be a different ball game
Prediction: Rochus in 2
Gael Monfils vs Fernando Verdasco
After watching David Ferrer win the Valencia title today, Verdasco will undoubtedly be kicking himself having let Ferrer right off the hook in the quarter-finals. It was a great chance to make the final but still a good week for the Spaniard, the first time he’s made a quarter-final this year. Monfils managed a win before getting outplayed by Starace. It’s the first encounter between two of the most streaky players on tour and Verdasco is big favourite
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Did you know that... Roger Federer didn’t lose a single set during the Australian Open in 2005.
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... Pete Sampras has been ranked number 1 during the longest period of time, 286 weeks.
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
