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  • Poertschach Second Round Preview

    5/22/08 1:10 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - There's a full slate of second round and quarterfinal action in Poertschach on Thursday. Headlining the first half of the day's play will be Andreas Seppi, Robby Ginepri, and hometown hero Jurgen Melzer.

    Dudi Sela vs. (6) Andreas Seppi

    Seppi is coming off one of the best weeks of his career, a semifinal finish at the Masters Series Hamburg. That propelled him to a current rank of No. 32 in the world, his career high. Seppi has always been fond of clay and he already has eight wins on the dirt this season, including a tough first-round victory in Poertschach over Ernests Gulbis. Sela, who is a less-impressive 3-3 on the slow stuff in 2008, defeated Mischa Zverev in his first-round match. The Israeli leads the head-to-head series with Seppi 1-0, having taken out the Italian in a five-set thriller during a Davis Cup tie last season. Seppi, however, has the edge on clay and should take this in either two close sets or three.

    Robby Ginepri vs. Olivier Rochus

    It's been a tough road for Ginepri ever since a blistering start to the season that included semifinal finishes in Delray Beach, San Jose, and Las Vegas. An elbow injury he sustained during a three-set loss to Carlos Moya in the second round of Indian Wells derailed his progress. Nevertheless, Ginepri is the essence of a player who feeds off confidence and momentum and he should have both after his massive win over Mario Ancic on Wednesday. Rochus has struggled in 2008, so he can't be feeling great on clay--or any other surface--even though he beat Michal Przysiezny in the first round. Ginepri controls the destiny of this match and if he plays like did against Ancic, he wins.

    Jurgen Melzer vs. (8) Robin Haase

    Melzer thrilled the Austrian fans with a fairly routine victory over American Donald Young in round one, but he'll have tougher task on his hands with Haase. The 21-year-old Dutchman, ranked 58th in the world, has winning record on clay (7-5 at the ATP level) and brings a power game that can frustrate opponents even on a slow surface. Melzer was 0-4 on the dirt this season coming into Poertschach, but perhaps the win over Young and the hometown crowd is just what he needs to get him going. Haase is the more talented player and normally would have the advantage over Melzer, but for some reason it just feels like it's Melzer's week to shine in his native land. Melzer in a thrilling three-set battle is the pick.

    In other matches, No. 2 seed Juan Monaco should be able to take care of Jiri Vanek and Igor Kunitsyn, who destroyed Mardy Fish in the opening round, has the edge over qualifier Blaz Kavcic.

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