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  • Bastad Quarterfinals Preview

    7/11/08 6:56 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - The match of the day pits Robin Söderling against David Ferrer and the Swedish fans will be all over that one. They have another hope, however, in Bjorn Rehnquist.

    Potito Starace vs. (4) Tomas Berdych

    Starace has been a marathon man so far in Bastad, outlasting No. 5 seed Carlos Moya 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-4 in two hours and 57 minutes before surviving Marat Safin 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 10 minutes. Overall, however, 2008 has been a struggle for the Italian. He enjoyed quarterfinal performances early in the season on the dirt of Buenos Aires and Acapulco, but he has done nothing of the sort ever since. Berdych has not exactly lit up the tennis courts, either, and he is just 1-2 on clay in ATP tournaments this season. The Czech's power game works better on faster surfaces, so with Starace being a clay-court specialist of sorts, the smart money is on Starace in a tight one.

    Bjorn Rehnquist vs. (2) Fernando Verdasco

    This is Rehnquist's first ATP level event of 2008 and he had to come through qualifying just to make it. The Swede, however, has made the most of his opportunity by defeating Michal Przysiezny and Michael Ryderstedt in succession. But Verdasco is in a whole different league, especially at the moment. Since May the Spaniard has reached the third round in Rome, the quarterfinals in Hamburg, the fourth round of both the French Open and Wimbledon, and the final in Nottingham. Verdasco should win this in straight sets and it should not be close.

    (3) Tommy Robredo vs. (7) Jarkko Nieminen

    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. On Thursday he rolled over Jonas Björkman 6-2, 6-3. Nieminen destroyed Sergio Roitman 6-4, 6-2 in his opening match and then crushed Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-1 in round two. The Finn, however, has struggled mightily in 2008 and he brought a 14-17 ATP match record with him into Bastad. Robredo is 4-1 in five career meetings against Nieminen and that should improve to 5-1.

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