Article

  • ATP Vienna - Shanghai hopefuls highlight Day 2

    10/6/08 11:14 PM | Ricky Dimon
    -
    No. 1 seed Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 2 Fernando Gonzalez, and No. 7 Gilles Simon are all in action on Tuesday at the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy. Valuable points in the 2008 race are at stake.

    (1) Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Philipp Petzschner

    Wawrinka dropped to No. 10 in the race to Shanghai last week, getting displaced at No. 9 by Juan Martin Del Potro, so he needs a strong end to the season in order to qualify. That effort begins on Monday against Petzschner, who is ranked 125th in the world. The German reached the semifinals in Bangkok two weeks ago, but last week he suffered a dismal first-round loss to Simon Stadler in Tokyo. Wawrinka made it to the fourth round of the U.S. Open after taking home doubles gold at the Olympics with Swiss partner Roger Federer. As long as Wawrinka does not think about the pressure of breaking into his first Masters Cup, the No. 1 seed should come through this match in straight sets.

    Simone Bolelli vs. (2) Fernando Gonzalez

    Two things will be on Gonzalez's mind during this showdown: one is Shanghai, the other is revenge. Bolelli upset the Chilean in the second round of Wimbledon, winning the first, second, and fourth sets all in tiebreakers. Gonzalez, however, took their previous two encounters; one earlier this season on the clay of Munich and the first back in 2006. The No. 2 has not been on fire recently like he sometimes is, but he did win gold at the Olympics and reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open. Bolelli has been in uninspiring form ever since the end of the spring clay-court swing. Gonzalez imploded late last year while trying to qualify for the 2007 Master Cup, and it will take another implosion for an upset to occur here. Gonzo in two sets is the pick.

    Eduardo Schwank vs. (7) Gilles Simon

    Outside of Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro, Simon was the hottest player throughout much of the U.S. Open Series. He has not been able to keep up that streak recently, but the Frenchman still has himself at No. 12 in the race and squarely in contention for what would be a shocking Masters Cup berth. Schwank, however has the talent to present a serious roadblock to Simon's hopes. The Argentine is in the midst of a breakout 2008 campaign that has him up to a career-high ranking of 54th in the world. He has done most of his damage on clay, but reaching the quarterfinals in Metz last week is an encouraging sign. This is Simon's match to win, but he needs to play his normal error-free tennis in order to take care of business.

Tell a friend »

Comments


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: