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2/2/09 6:06 AM | Ricky Dimon
Mikhail Youzhny and Ivan Ljubicic will be featured on Day 1 at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors. Both men will be looking to overcome recent slumps.
Teimuraz Gabashvili vs. Mikhail Youzhny
Few could have predicted a year ago that Gabashvili would be ranked ahead of Youzhny entering the 2009 PBZ Zagreb Indoors. But that's the case after Youzhny's free-fall continued at the Australian Open. The Russian fell to Stefan Koubek in the first round and lost quarterfinal points from last year, dropping him 22 spots to No. 62 in the rankings. After winning two rounds at the Olympics last summer, Youzhny won just two of his last seven matches of the season. He scored a solid win over Zagreb's top seed Igor Andreev earlier this year in Doha, but he followed that up by getting blown out by Victor Hanescu. Gabashvili is three places ahead of his countryman at 59th, his career-high ranking. Unfortunately for the lesser-known Russian, he already has a dismal 0-3 ATP match record so far in 2009. Youzhny and Gabashvili have played twice previously and the series is split one apiece. Both went three sets, with Youzhny emerging victorious two years ago in Miami and Gabashvili getting revenge last season in Moscow. Gabashvili in another three-setter is the pick this time.
Marc Gicquel vs. Florent Serra
Another battle between compatriots is on the menu when fellow Frenchman Gicquel and Serra meet on Monday evening. They have also squared off on two previous occasions, and Gicquel has won both encounters, both of which came in Metz, France. Gicquel won 6-4, 7-5 back in 2006 and followed that up with a 6-4, 7-6(0) victory in 2007. The 50th-ranked Gicquel probably has the edge in current form as well. He is just 1-3 in matches so far this season, but all three losses were tough; to Richard Gasquet in three sets in Brisbane, to David Ferrer in three sets in Auckland, and to David Nalbandian in four sets at the Australian Open. Serra, the No. 57 player in the world, is 2-3 in 2009. He most recently lost to Roko Karanusic in the first round of the Australian Open, sparing him the task of going up against eventual champion Rafael Nadal in round two. Nadal blasted Serra off the court 6-0, 6-1 just six months earlier at the Masters Series Cincinnati. Gicquel is no Nadal, but his scrambling ability is similarly impressive and he will make Serra work for everything he gets. That should prove to be the difference in a tight two-setter that favors Gicquel.
Ivan Ljubicic vs. Christophe Rochus
Speaking of going up against Rafael Nadal, Rochus had to do it in the first round of the Australian Open and he got blasted 6-0, 6-2, 6-2. The 5'7'' Belgian also lost in his Doha opener to Sergiy Stakhovsky in a third-set tiebreaker, so he is sitting at 0-2 so far this season. Rochus is still well inside the Top 100 of the world rankings (75th) mainly thanks to Challenger circuit success in 2008. Ljubicic is now on the downside of his career at 29 years old, and he is ranked 48th after once being as high as No. 3. Nonetheless, he seems to be finding some form after an abysmal second half of last year. The 6'4'' Croat, who was seeded No. 1 in Zagreb last season, defeated Igor Kunitsyn in Melbourne before battling Jo-Wilfried Tsonga over four sets, three of which went to tiebreakers. Rochus and Ljubicic have also met twice before and the series is tied 1-1. Not surprisingly, Rochus took their clay-court encounter while Ljubicic prevailed on hard courts. Count on Ljubicic advancing easily into round two in front of the home crowd.
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