Article

  • Djokovic highlights Day 3 action Bangkok

    9/24/08 7:49 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Novak Djokovic and his brother are already out of doubles, and Marko is out in singles, but Novak's singles effort begins on Thursday night against Simon Stadler. Jarkko Nieminen and Jurgen Melzer are also in action.

    Nicolas Mahut vs. (5) Jarkko Nieminen

    Mahut and Nieminen have squared off on three previous occasions and all three went to three sets. Nieminen leads the series 2-1, including a win in their most recent encounter on the hard courts of Marseille early last season. Mahut took their other indoor meeting on the carpet of Paris way back in 2003. Nieminen is the favorite in this clash, but fast hard courts will give Mahut a decent chance of pulling off an upset. The Frenchman can use his serve-and-volley tactics to dictate play. While Mahut has been far from stellar this season, he is coming off a Challenger title two weeks ago in Orleans, France. Nieminen has also struggled mightily--ever since the Australian Open--but he too appears to be turning things around, having won two matches at the U.S. Open. On Wednesday he destroyed Mark Djokovic 6-2, 6-0. Mahut survived Thai favorite Danai Udomchoke in three sets on Tuesday. Count on another three-set battle taking place between these two men.

    (8) Jurgen Melzer vs. Viktor Troicki

    This showdown should feature high-quality tennis, as both men are in fine form at the moment. Melzer reached the quarterfinals at the Beijing Olympics and he won two matches in New York before falling to eventual runner-up Andy Murray in five sets. Troicki has made a name for himself over the past nine months with a breakout 2008 campaign. The Serb is currently at career-high ranking of 65th in the world, primarily thanks to a surprising runner-up performance in Washington, D.C., where he upset Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, and two wins at the U.S. Open, where he gave Rafael Nadal a tough battle in the third round. At 6'4'', Troicki wields a big serve and punishing groundstrokes, and he also moves extremely well for a big man. He knocked out Fabrice Santoro in the first round this week while Melzer eased past Donald Young. Troicki in three tough sets is the pick.

    (1) Novak Djokovic vs. Simon Stadler

    Nieminen vs. Marko Djokovic was an immense mismatch and so is this. Simon is ranked 141st in the world, although that is his career-high so by his standards he is playing well at the moment. Ther German certainly looked good in the first round, when he upset Julien Benneteau. Still, this Djokovic is simply in a different league. Ranked No. 3 in the world, Djokovic won the Australian Open and reached the semifinals of the French and U.S. Opens and the Olympics, where he won the bronze medal. Playing against an opponent who has won just four career matches at the ATP level, this will just be a warm-up for Djokovic. The Serb will breeze into the Bangkok quarterfinals in straight sets.

Tell a friend »

Comments

>> Tournament of the Thailandopen 2008. 3 days final only!!
September 21-28, 2008

http://www.thailandopen.org

>> Click to see Live webcast now playing

http://www.thailandopen.tv/

thailandopen2008 , 9/25/08 8:05 AM


This is a good tournament for Novak. He will try to win it and gain some more points. Looking for a Djokovic/Monfils final.

arailic , 9/25/08 8:29 PM


Go Novak go, in our hearts you're already won, such a nice match yesterday, you've showed everyone who you are, it was a tennis lesson for everybody, finally, your greetings to audience was marvellous, such a athlete, hardly waiting for today's match...

gordana , 9/26/08 9:50 AM


Just to say hi to all of you, Novak is gonna play his Thailand open finale, so that's it, for all of you telling the ugly stories about our Nolence, my dearest Nole, go and win, Tsonga is good guy but weak for you, one more medal for our national icon.

gordana , 9/27/08 11:35 AM



Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.
Username:

Password: