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  • Bastad Second Round: Tommy Robredo vs. Jonas Björkman

    7/10/08 6:07 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Fans should be out in force for Jonas Björkman when he meets Tommy Robredo in the second round of the Catella Swedish Open on Thursday. Will their man be able to make it through to the quarterfinals?

    A spot in the Bastad quarterfinals is on the line when veterans Tommy Robredo and Jonas Björkman square off for the fifth time in their careers. Robredo has won all four of their previous encounters, but none have come since 2005 and only one was contested on clay.

    Although Björkman is far more advanced in years (he is 36, Robredo is 26), both men seem to be on the downside of their tennis lives. Robredo no longer enjoys much success of any kind on anything other than clay, but he definitely remains a force to be reckoned with on the dirt. Already this season he has reached the quarterfinals in Valencia, Barcelona, and Rome, the final in Warsaw, and the third round in Rome after impressive victories over Stanislas Wawrinka and Robin Söderling.

    Björkman, on the other hand, normally wants nothing to do with clay. In a difficult year that sees the Swede with a 7-9 match record, Björkman played just one match on the slow stuff (lost at the French Open) prior to Bastad. This is a perfect time, however, for Björkman to turn his season around and it looks like that just might happen. He scored an impressive straight-set win over clay-court specialist Marcel Granollers in round one.

    If Björkman wants to upset the No. 3 seed in the second round, he must play aggressive tennis and get into the net because it is unlikely he can hang from the baseline with Robredo. Serving well is a must for Björkman, and he should also try to frustrate his opponent by chip-and-charging off his second serves. Robredo is a decided favorite on this surface, but with the home-court advantage and a huge win already under his belt, Björkman cannot be counted out.

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