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  • Verdasco, Moya lead Spanish armada in Vienna QFs

    10/10/08 6:46 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Fernando Verdasco, Carlos Moya, and Feliciano Lopez are all in search of semifinal spots at the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy on Friday.

    (5) Fernando Verdasco vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber

    Kohlschreiber got a free pass into the quarterfinals when Juan Martin Del Potro pulled out with a foot injury. The German, whose 2008 campaign has been extremely inconsistent, would have been a huge underdog in that match. That said, he looked to be in great form in a 6-2, 6-2 first-round thrashing of Marc Gicquel. Verdasco won't be as tough as Del Potro would have been, but he will be tougher than Gicquel. This season the Spaniard, ranked 13th in the world, reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and more recently the semifinals in New Haven. Verdasco is 1-2 lifetime against his Friday opponent, but his lone win came a few months ago at the All-England Club, where he had no problem erasing Kohlschreiber in three sets. It will be more competitive this time, although Verdasco should advance.

    Jurgen Melzer vs. Feliciano Lopez

    Melzer will enjoy the strong support of the Austrian fans, and now more than ever since he is the last hometown hopeful alive in the draw. After ousting Ivan Ljubicic 7-6(3), 6-3 in round one, Melzer sent Juan Carlos Ferrero with an almost identical 7-6(4), 6-3 victory. Melzer appears poised for his first truly impressive tournament result since finishing runner-up in Kitzbuhel in July and reaching the quarterfinals of the Olympics in August. Lopez was an atrocious 1-6 in ATP matches since Wimbledon coming into this tournament, but he took out Agustin Calleri in two tiebreakers and then ended the run of lucky loser Santiago Giraldo in straight sets. Melzer, who has a 2-0 head-to-head series lead over Lopez, is far more formidable foe. The pick is Melzer to advance in two serve-dominated sets, possibly even two 'breakers.

    Philipp Petzschner vs. Carlos Moya

    Petzschner, who is ranked 125th in the world, is a surprise quarterfinalist this week in Vienna. He overcame an unfortunate draw by shocking No. 1 seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round before easing past Jan Hernych. Now the issue for Petzschner is consistency. Can he string together three straight wins in the midst of an inconsistent season? 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. Moya is looking to continue his fine form, as he reached the Metz quarterfinals last week after finishing runner-up on the clay courts of Bucharest in his previous tournament. So far in Vienna the Spaniard has dispatched Michael Berrer and Eduardo Schwank, both in straight sets. Look for Moya to take the first career meeting between these two players in two tight sets.

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