Help
5/23/09 3:36 AM | Ricky Dimon
An all-unseeded affair in the final of the Austrian Open will feature Julien Benneteau and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. They will square off for the title on Saturday afternoon.
It will be the second career meeting between Julien Benneteau and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez when the two surprise finalists square off for the Austrian Open title on Saturday afternoon. Benneteau won their only previous encounter 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-1 in the second round of the 2006 Australian Open.
At the beginning of this week, neither man could have dreamed of a place in the title match; Benneteau because he lost in qualifying and Garcia-Lopez because he had been in dismal form.
Benneteau won two rounds in qualifying last weekend (the first in three sets and the second by retirement) before losing to Robin Vik at the final stage. The veteran Frenchman, however, got into the main draw when countryman Nicolas Devilder withdrew due to injury. Benneteau also had to be suffering from a lack of confidence as a result of a recent slump. He lost in the first round of all three clay-court Masters Series events and only managed to reach the second round in Munich. But Benneteau has turned it around this week with victories over Dudi Sela, Nicolas Massu, Daniel Koellerer, and Oscar Hernandez.
Ranked 29 spots below his opponent at 74th in the world, Garcia-Lopez lost in the first round of four consecutive tournaments prior to his arrival in Kitzbuhel. The Spaniard did, however, qualify for the Madrid main draw before falling to Thomas Berdych in the first round, and his losing streak was preceded by a quarterfinal finish in Houston. Garcia-Lopez was 7-10 at the ATP level heading into the Austrian Open, but he suddenly finds himself above .500 (11-10 record) after wins over Bjorn Phau, Martin Vassallo Arguello, Victor Hanescu, and Mikhail Youzhny.
Both men are looking for their first ATP title. Benneteau has appeared in two finals (both last year), while Garcia-Lopez is a stranger to this stage of an ATP event. That could be enough to give Benneteau the victory. The Frenchman in three sets is the pick.
Tell a friend »
Julien Benneteau
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
Interwetten Austrian Open
tennis2010, Mar 22, 2010 1:50 AM
chr18, Mar 22, 2010 1:23 AM
tj600, Mar 22, 2010 1:19 AM
fan4tennis, Mar 21, 2010 10:59 PM
maxi, Mar 21, 2010 8:37 AM
RickyDimon, Mar 21, 2010 11:14 PM
vamosrafa, Mar 20, 2010 7:28 PM
vamosrafa, Mar 20, 2010 7:18 PM
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2010, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
