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  • Amersfoot day 1: Thiemo De Bakker vs Adrian Cruciat

    7/14/08 12:03 AM | David Cox
    - Thiemo De Bakker is one of the next big hopes for Dutch tennis. De Bakker and Robin Haase are the duo Dutch fans hope will emulate the likes of Krajicek, Schalken and Verkerk in reaching the high echelons of men's tennis.

    In 2006 De Bakker was world junior champion, reaching no 1 in the rankings and winning junior Wimbledon. It was an impressive achievement and when I watched De Bakker and Haase at ATP Rotterdam the following February it was actually De Bakker who impressed me most. Good serve, solid groundstrokes and a cool temperament, he really tested Ivan Ljubicic and looked destined for big things. However in the succeeding 18 months while Haase has established himself in the top 100, De Bakker has struggled to break through the lower ranks.

    However this year, De Bakker has made his move, 3 futures finals including 2 recent titles on Dutch clay have seen him move to the edge of the world's top 300. In last week's Siemens Open challenger, he beat Christophe Rochus on the way to the semis.

    He's been rewarded with a wildcard into Amersfoort and will be hoping to emulate last year's achievements when he upset Nicholas Massu in the first round.

    Monday's opponent Adrian Cruciat of Romania is very beatable, he's one of the lower ranked players in the draw at 148. However De Bakker will need to step up his game and Cruciat has been consistent on the clay in challengers, making a final in Athens.

    Prediction: De Bakker in 2

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