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  • Bastad Second Round Preview

    7/10/08 7:35 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - The top half of the Bastad draw is in action on Thursday. No. 1 seed David Ferrer and Swedish hope Robin Söderling will be among those seeking for quarterfinal spots.

    Olivier Rochus vs. (8) Robin Söderling

    Rochus and Söderling have faced each other four times already and all four meetings have come since 2005. Söderling leads the head-to-head series 3-1, including 1-0 on clay. It's really all up to the Swede if he wants to improve that to a 4-1 clip. Söderling has far more power than Rochus and he has been in much better form this season. The No. 46 player in the world is 19th in the points race and has two runner-up finishes already. Rochus, meanwhile, is 9-17 at the ATP level this year and just 3-6 on clay. You never know what you are going to get from Söderling, but if he serves well and is clicking with his forehand, he should be able to dispatch the Belgian in straight sets.

    (1) David Ferrer vs. Boris Pashanski

    In their only previous meeting Ferrer beat Pashanski 6-2, 7-5 on the clay of Barcelona last year. There's no reason to think it will be any closer this time around. Ferrer is No. 4 in the world rankings, No. 5 in the 2008 points race, and already has two clay-court titles this season. He also made it to the quarterfinals of the French Open. Pashanski, by contrast, has been alternating between toiling on the Challenger circuit and struggling at the ATP level. The Serb routed Nicolas Massu in round one, but Ferrer is a whole different story. The Spaniard in straight sets is the easy pick.

    Steve Darcis vs. (7) Jarkko Nieminen

    Darcis probably got a break when initial first-round opponent Ernests Gulbis pulled out with an ankle injury. Instead the Belgian got to play Daniel Koellerer and he scored a 7-6(4), 6-0 victory. Nieminen destroyed Sergio Roitman 6-4, 6-2 in his opening match. The Finn, however, has struggled mightily in 2008 and he brought a 14-17 ATP match record with him into Bastad. Darcis, on the other hand, is enjoying a breakout season. The Belgian won a title in Memphis back in February and has been solid, if unspectacular, ever since. Nieminen cannot be playing with a lot of confidence right now and that is especially not a good thing against an opponent like Darcis, who can run all day and put ball after ball in the court. Don't be surprised if Darcis pulls off this upset in three sets.

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