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6/18/09 11:48 PM | Ricky Dimon
Fabrice Santoro and Frank Dancevic will sqaure off in the semifinals of the AEGON International on Friday afternoon. The winner will face either Dmitry Tursunov or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Fabrice Santoro and Frank Dancevic will do battle for the third time in their careers when they meet with a spot in the Eastbourne final on the line. Santoro is a perfect 2-0 in the head-to-head series, including 1-0 on grass. He most recently prevailed over Dancevic on the grass courts of Newport two years ago.
Santoro is in the midst of one of his best weeks in 2009, his last year on tour during which he has produced solid but unspectacular tennis. At 36 years old, he is still a respectable 41st in the world, good enough for the No. 4 seed in Eastbourne. Now 8-8 at the ATP level this season, Santoro had not won a match since the first round of the Masters Series Miami heading into this week. So far in Eastbourne, however, Santoro has dispatched Robert Kendrick, Robby Ginepri, and Ivan Ljubicic (via second-set retirement).
Dancevic had also not won a match since a first-round victory in Miami prior to his arrival in Eastbourne. In fact that had been the only win of the season, but he has already advanced three rounds this week. The Canadian has to be playing with a ton of confidence, too, because he also came through qualifying last weekend to get into the main draw. Dancevic reached the semifinals by dismissing No. 1 seed Igor Andreev before ousting James Ward and Leonardo Mayer.
Santoro has to be considered the favorite in this one, especially due to his experience. Dancevic, however, has a game that is well-suited for grass and he can definitely pull off the upset if his serve is clicking. Expect a tight one, with Santoro advancing in three entertaining sets.
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Frank Dancevic 
AEGON International
I wasn't quite sure who to cheer for in this match, but very happy that Dancevic won.
There was some very snappy play at the net.
smr , 6/19/09 6:56 PM