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  • Fourth quarter preview day one

    5/5/08 4:12 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - The first round in Rome kicks off on Monday. Key players include Andy Murray, Marat Safin and Juan Martin del Potro

    Andreas Seppi vs. Fabrice Santoro

    Frenchman Fabrice Santoro will take on Italy's own Andreas Seppi for the third time in 2008. They have split wins; Santoro won their encounter in Doha in three sets, Seppi came out on top at the Challenger even in Bergamo in straights. Both men have won eight matches in 2008, Santoro is ranked 49 in the world, Seppi is ranked 46. They are evenly matched in most every way, but Seppi will be playing in front of the home crowd. Seppi in three.

    Marat Safin vs. Stanislas Wawrinka

    Russian Marat Safin has been fortunate enough to receive a wild card into Rome; he was also granted a wild card into Monte Carlo, where he advanced to the second round before going down to David Ferrer in straight sets. He faces Stanislas Wawrinka, the up-and-coming Swiss star who just last week made the semi-finals in Barcelona. Safin's ranking has fallen all the way to 84 in the world, and he has not shown any real signs of improvement in 2008. Wawrinka's ranking is now a career-high 24. Safin and Wawrinka have met just once, last year at the US Open. Wawrinka won comfortably in straight sets. Unless Safin has an unexpected renaissance, the Swiss should win easily. Wawrinka in two.

    Andy Murray vs. Juan Martin Del Potro

    Neither Andy Murray nor Juan Martin Del Potro come into the Rome tournament in particularly good form. Del Potro's best result of the year was in Munich last week, where he made the quarter-finals. He was beaten in straight sets by the veteran Younes El Aynaoui. Otherwise, his 2008 has been marked by first and second round defeats. His ranking has slipped all the way to 75 from a career high of 44 just last November. Scotland's Andy Murray had a great start to the year, winning titles in Marseille and Doha. Since then, however, Murray has had disappointing results. He lost soundly in the second round to Mario Ancic in Barcelona, and suffered a crushing defeat to Novak Djokovic (whom he has never beaten) in Monte Carlo 6-4, 6-0 in the third round. Though Murray's form on clay has been questionable, he should be able to defeat Del Potro. Murray in two.

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