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  • Stockholm - Robin Söderling and Thomas Johansson close out round one

    10/8/08 4:36 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - Swedish favorites Robin Söderling and Thomas Johansson are in action on Wednesday.

    Robin Söderling vs. Benjamin Becker

    Sweden’s Robin Söderling is ranked 35 in the world, down from a career high of 23 last January. The Swede has a 1-0 head-to-head over Germany’s Benjamin Becker. Becker has had a dreadful 2008 season; his best results were a pair of quarterfinal appearances in Memphis and Adelaide. Otherwise, the German has suffered quite a series of first and second-round defeats. With his 9-18 record for the season, he should not pose much threat to the considerably more accomplished Söderling. The Swede in straight sets.

    Thomas Johansson vs. Albert Montanes

    The “other” Johansson, Thomas, will contest his first-round match against Spain’s Albert Montanes. Montanes is ranked higher than Johansson (51 to the Swede’s 87), but Montanes is a clay-court specialist who accrues nearly all of his ranking points on the dirt. Johansson is the better hard-court player, but he too has been struggling of late. His summer hard-court season resulted little in terms of results. He has done no better than the second round since Nottingham in June. Still, the surface and crowd support should give Johansson the edge.

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