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2/5/09 12:25 AM | Ricky Dimon
Little-known Ivan Dodig hopes he can pull off another upset, this time over Ernests Gulbis. In other second-round play, Ivo Karlovic takes on defending Zagreb champion Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Ivan Dodig vs. Ernests Gulbis
This was supposed to be a rematch of second-round Australian Open encounter between Gulbis and Igor Andreev, which Andreev won 6-4 in the fifth set. Instead, Dodig--ranked 425th in the world--stunned the top-seeded Russian 6-1, 6-4 in a first-round shocker. Dodig, a 23-year-old Croatian who obviously needed a wild card to get into the main draw of the PBZ Zagreb Indoors, had never won an ATP level match and had only contested one. He will, of course, be an overwhelming underdog again versus Gulbis. The 20-year-old Latvian has already reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam (2008 French Open) and the quarters of a Masters Series event (2008 Cincinnati), and he also made it to the fourth round of the 2007 U.S. Open. However, Gulbis could not build on his Roland Garros performance throughout the rest of last season, and so far this year he has lost in the second round of all three tournaments in which he has played. The No. 45 player in the world beat Novak Djokovic in Brisbane but then lost to Paul-Henri Mathieu. Gulbis then lost to Juan Martin Del Potro in Auckland and to Andreev at the Australian Open after leading 4-2 in the fifth set. Unless Gulbis suffers an Andreev-esque meltdown, he should be able to end his second-round slump and dispatch Dodig in straight sets.
Victor Hanescu vs. Mischa Zverev
This is the first career meeting between Hanescu and Zverev at the ATP level, but Hanescu won a head-to-head encounter two years ago at a hard-court Challenger event. At 21, however, Zverev is now a much different and better player, ranked inside the top 100 at No. 79 in the world. The German, who resides in Moscow, enjoyed a stellar 2008 campaign that culminated with two impressive indoor results last fall; he reached the semifinals in Moscow and--after qualifying--reached the quarterfinals in St. Petersburg. Zverev, however, had not won an ATP level match this season until he upset No. 6 seed Andreas Seppi in the Zagreb first round. Hanescu also had some success late last season, waking up from a mediocre first half of the year to win a clay-court title in Gstaad one week before making a semifinal appearance in Kitzbuhel. The 6'6'' Romanian ended the year by qualifying and winning a round at the Masters Series Madrid, reaching the semifinals in St. Petersburg, and finishing runner-up in a Challenger event. Hanescu reached the quaterfinals in Doha in early January and he's one match away from another quarterfinal after dispatching Croatian wildcard Lovro Zovko in the first round on Wednesday. This is one is tough to call, but the pick is Hanescu taking out Zverev in a tight three-setter.
Sergiy Stakhovsky vs. (3) Ivo Karlovic
Stakhovsky will have the respect of the Zagreb fans as the defending champion, but he won't have their support going up against Croatia's own Karlovic. This a rematch of a first-round encounter last year, which Stakhovsky won in three sets en route to the title. However, the 23-year-old Ukrainian didn't do much the rest of the season and he is down at No. 82 in the world rankings. Stakhovsky already has one ATP quarterfinal appearance in 2009--in Doha--but he lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Arnaud Clement. Karlovic is also enduring a tough stretch; one that started following a semifinal appearance at last summer's Masters Series Cincinnati, The 6'10'' 29-year-old, still a solid 25th in the world, ended 2008 in a slump and it hasn't been much better for him so far this season. Karlovic lost to Somdev Devvarman in the Chennai quarterfinals and lost to countryman Mario Ancic in the second round of the Australian Open. He opened this week's campaign with a straight-set victory over Philipp Petzschner, and look for him to get some three-set revenge on Stakhovsky on his way to the quarterfinals.
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ernie lost 2 juan in auckland, not adelaide.
kaitepai , 2/5/09 2:43 AM