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  • Troicki, Kunitsyn in surprise Legg Mason semifinal

    8/16/08 3:03 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Nobody could have predicted when the Legg Mason Classic began that Viktor Troicki and Igor Kunitsyn would play for a spot in the title match. But that's exactly what will happen on Saturday night.

    This was supposed to be Andy Roddick vs. either Marat Safin or Feliciano Lopez. Instead, little-known foreigners Viktor Troicki and Igor Kunitsyn will square off in the Washington, D.C. semifinals. It will be the first meeting at the ATP level between the two players, although Troicki routed Kunitsyn 6-3, 6-1 at a lower level event on hard courts back in 2006.

    A lot more is at stake this time around. Troicki, ranked 93rd in the world, is contesting his first ATP semifinal. He should be able to handle the moment just fine considering the way he stormed back from a 6-0 first-set loss to stun No. 1 seed Andy Roddick in front of a packed house on Friday night. That huge win was preceded by victories over Denis Gremelmayr in the first round and Bobby Reynolds in the second. It's a breakout tournament for the 6'4'' Serb, who had an 8-12 ATP match record in 2008 prior to this week and had not won a match of any kind on hard courts since March.

    It is a similarly big occasion for Kunitsyn, who is playing for a spot in his first ATP final. The Russian, ranked No. 84 world, had been mired in a dismal slump ever since the clay-court season leading up to the French Open. None of that matters now for Kunitsyn. He took out Mischa Zverev in three sets in round one, saved a match point against Fabio Fognini in the second, then had an easier time with qualifier Somdev Dev Varman in the quarterfinals.

    Troicki should provide an extremely tough test for Kunitsyn, since the Serb's confidence has to be sky high at the moment. Kunitsyn will return the favor in what should mostly be a battle from the baseline. That's where Troicki likes to do most of his damage despite his size, and Kunitsyn will gladly spend all day back there keeping balls in play and using a variety of shots. Troicki has a little bit more firepower and he should be able to control the outcome of this contest; if he plays anywhere close to the way he did against Roddick over the last two sets, this is his match to win.

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