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  • Ferrero, Robredo on Day 1 menu in Beijing

    10/5/09 5:10 AM | Ricky Dimon
    Ferrero, Robredo on Day 1 menu in Beijing Juan Carlos Ferrero and Tommy Robredo will contest their opening matches in Beijing on Monday. They take on Nicolas Almagro and Benjamin Becker, respectively.

    Nicolas Almagro vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero

    It will be the third career meeting between Nicolas Almagro and Juan Carlos Ferrero when the two Spaniards square off in the first round of the China Open on Monday night. Almagro has won both of their previous encounters, prevailing twice on clay in 2006; 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 in Valencia and then 6-3, 6-3 in Barcelona. Ferrero, however, was mired in a slump at that point in his career after becoming No. 1 in the world in 2003. Now the 29-year-old is in the midst of an amazing resurgence and registers at 20th in the rankings. An impressive spring and summer featured a title on the clay courts of Casablanca, a quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon, and a fourth-round performance at the U.S. Open.

    Almagro has not been playing quite as well, but he still owns a solid 26-19 match record this season. The world No. 29 does by far his best work on clay and he won a title in Acapulco earlier this year. Although Almagro's big serve should work well on fast indoor hard courts, he has been struggling of late so Ferrero has a clear edge in current form. Unless Almagro enjoys a near-flawless day of serving, look for Ferrero to advance in straight sets.

    Tommy Robredo vs. Benjamin Becker

    Robredo and Becker will be going head-to-head for the first time when they do battle in round one on Monday afternoon. Becker is more comfortable on indoor hard courts, but he has been in dismal form recently. Despite a 12-13 match record at the ATP level in 2009, he is--amazingly--ranked 38th in the world. That's because the German was dominant on the Challenger circuit this spring. It's been a different story in the big leagues for Becker, who has lost five straight matches dating back to the second round of the Masters Series Cincinnati.

    Robredo, on the other hand, is in fine form. The 17th-ranked Spaniard is 40-21 for his 2009 campaign, which includes two clay-court titles, a quarterfinal showing at the French Open, and fourth-round finishes at both the Australian and U.S. Opens. Even though Robredo's specialty has always been the slow stuff, he is clearly dangerous on all surfaces. Count on current form being a much bigger factor the surface in this one. Barring an unbelievable serving display by Becker, Robredo will ease through into the second round after two routine sets.

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