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5/4/09 5:28 AM | Ricky Dimon
Novak Djokovic can't headline the opening night session in Serbia because he has a first-round bye. But arguably the best first-round match of all will be the headliner. It's Viktor Troicki vs. Sam Querrey.
Serbian hopes will rest not on Novak Djokovic on Day 1 of the first-ever Serbia Open, but instead on Viktor Troicki.
Troicki will be featured during Monday's night session against Sam Querrey in what will be the first career encounter at any level between the two up-and-coming players.
While both men are clearly on the rise, neither one is in especially good form at the moment. Troicki owns a solid but unspectacular 11-10 match record at the ATP level this season heading into Belgrade. His notable results include the quarterfinals in Auckland, the semifinals in Zagreb, the third round of the Masters Series Indian Wells, and the fourth round of the Masters Series Miami. Troicki, however, has been struggling so far on clay. The world No. 38 dropped his openers in both Monte-Carlo and Barcelona and lost in the Rome second round last week.
Querrey had a 12-9 record at the ATP level in 2009, but he has cooled off considerably following a hot start to the year. The 21-year-old American finished runner-up to Juan Martin Del Potro in Auckland and enjoyed quarterfinal performances in San Jose and Memphis. But Querrey suffered a dismal straight-set loss to Christophe Rochus in Delray Beach and after reaching the Indian Wells third round, he fell to Feliciano Lopez in the Miami second round and last week came up short against Andreas Seppi in his Rome opener. With 2008 ranking points from a title in Las Vegas and a quarterfinal finish in Monte-Carlo now off the board, Querrey is down to 61st in the world after peaking at a career-high 33rd in January.
Neither Troicki nor Querrey are clay-court specialists, although both move well for big men (Querrey is 6'6'' and Troicki is 6'4''), so that helps their efforts on the slow stuff. Querrey's serve, however, will be less of a factor on clay. Overall, the setting heavily favors Troicki, as the 23-year-old will obviously benefit from a distinct home-court advantage. It is also worth noting that Troicki won a title last time he visited Belgrade; at a Challenger event back in February.
Look for the crowd to urge its man on to similar success on Monday. Troicki in three sets is the pick.
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Sam Querrey is awesome on clay! Glad Nole got some quality players for this tournament.
-Arvis
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I'm so happy for Novak, his family and the Serbian people! I hope this tournament gets stronger and stronger each year. And ,Novak, you are the one I want to be No. 1.
Tootie , 5/4/09 2:17 PM