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  • Some serious surprises in New Haven quarterfinals

    8/21/08 7:26 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Three unseeded players--Mischa Zverev, Jesse Levine, and Luka Gregorc--reached the Pilot Pen quarterfinals. Will their Cinderella runs end on Thursday?

    (1) Fernando Verdasco vs. Mischa Zverev

    Verdasco leads the head-to-head series with Zverev 3-0, including 2-0 in 2008. The Spaniard has won all six sets they have played, although all three of the matches came on clay, his favorite surface. The way Verdasco has been going this season, surface should not be an issue. Among his highlights are a runner-up finish in Nottingham and a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon, where he fell to Mario Ancic 13-11 in the fifth. Zverev, who turns 21 on Friday, is in his third quarterfinal of the season. Ranked 110th in the world, the German brought a less than stellar 9-16 ATP match record with him into New Haven. This week Zverev has taken out both Florent Serra and Juan Monaco in straight sets and Robby Ginepri in three. His good fortune should run out against the top seed.

    Jesse Levine vs. (8) Mardy Fish

    If there has ever been a lucky loser, Jesse Levine is just that this week. The 5'9'' American lost in Pilot Pen qualifying, but he got into the main draw when Juan Martin Del Potro, winner of four straight tournaments, withdrew. Since Del Potro had a bye as a seed, Levine went straight into the second round. He took advantage of the opportunity by crushing Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, then got lucky again when Steve Darcis retired two games into their third-round match with a back injury. Levine's luck might not run out against Fish, because the No. 8 seed has been struggling recently. The American endured a dismal summer slump, but he righted the ship with a semifinal showing in Los Angeles. He lost in the first round at last week's Legg Mason Classic, but got a bye in New Haven before knocking out countryman Wayne Odesnik in three sets and Marc Gicquel in two. If Fish is getting hot, watch out, because he went all the way to the Indian Wells final earlier in 2008. As long as his serve is on, Fish should be able to move on to the semifinals.

    (7) Andreas Seppi vs. Luka Gregorc

    Seppi emerged from an eighth of the draw that featured all four of the Italians in the New Haven field. After getting a bye, he defeated countrymen Potito Starace (three sets) and Fabio Fognini (two sets) to reach the quarterfinals. Seppi is in the midst of a season in which he is really starting to make a name for himself. The No. 7 seed is 35th in the points race and 32nd in the rankings. Gregorc, on the other hand, is a still a relative unknown. The Slovenian is ranked 434th in the world, but that will change dramatically with his performance this week. Gregorc came through qualifying and so far has dispatched Ramon Delgado, No. 14 seed Jose Acasuso, and second-seeded Ivo Karlovic. Seppi in straights is the pick.

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