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  • Del Potro, Monfils seek QFs in Vienna

    10/9/08 12:31 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Juan Martin Del Potro and Gael Monfils have tough matchups on their hands in the second round of the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy. Juan Carlos Ferrero and Jurgen Melzer also have quarterfinal hopes.

    Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. (3) Juan Martin Del Potro

    Del Potro leads the head-to-head series against Kohlschreiber 2-0, having won a three-set battle at last year's Masters Series Cincinnati and secured a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory on the clay courts of Stuttgart this summer. Another close contest along the lines of their Cincinnati clash should be expected. Del Potro won four consecutive tournaments earlier this season and finished runner-up in Tokyo last week, but he he looked under the weather in his final loss to Tomas Berdych and he struggled against Martin Fischer in the Vienna first round on Wednesday. Kolschreiber's 2008 campaign has been inconsistent, but the German looked to be in great form in a 6-2, 6-2 first-round thrashing of Marc Gicquel. Del Potro has the talent to take this match whether he raises his level or not, but unless he improves dramatically from Wednesday's performance, the Argentine will allow Kohlschreiber to steal a set.

    (8) Gael Monfils vs. Radek Stepanek

    Monfils dropped his opening set of the tournament to Alexander Peya before crushing the Austrian 6-1, 6-3, while Stepanek easily took care of Pavel Snobel 6-4, 6-2 in his first match. Both players only kept up already-stellar form with their respective victories. Monfils reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics, the fourth round of the U.S. Open, and the semifinals in Bangkok in his past three tournaments; Stepanek made it to the semifinals in Metz last week. The third meeting between these two men will settle their 1-1 series score. Monfils triumphed in Cincinnati back in 2005 before Stepanek got revenge on the dirt of Monte-Carlo two years later. Expect a three-setter, but Monfils' counter-punching style and ability to track down all kinds of shots should wear down Stepanek in the end.

    Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Jurgen Melzer

    Melzer will have the Austrian fans behind him, and they will be hoping for a similar outcome to his 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Ivan Ljubicic in round one. Melzer is looking for his first truly impressive tournament result since finishing runner-up in Kitzbuhel in July and reaching the quarterfinals of the Olympics in August. He will have his hands full against Ferrero, who sent No. 4 seed Ivo Karlovic packing with a straight-set triumph on Monday. After a strong start to the year and an upset of Rafael Nadal in Rome, the Spaniard retired in the first round of the French Open and since then he has played just two tournaments. Nonetheless, the win over Karlovic was an encouraging sign and Ferrero's awesome return game should also work perfectly against a net-charging Melzer. It certainly has in the past, as Ferrero holds a 4-1 head-to-head advantage over his opponent. On a neutral site Ferrero is the favorite, but the crowd might be able to pull Melzer through in three sets.

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