McIntyre Tennis

French Open Tuesday Recap

By Mike McIntyre

The French Open is now three days underway and so far no major upsets to report. Here's a quick review of the action that transpired on Tuesday at Roland Garros.

39-year old veteran Kimiko Date Krumm knocked off former world number one Dinara Safina 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, proving she's still got it as she nears 40 or perhaps that Safina has a long way to go towards re-establishing her career after serious back issues. This now makes four consecutive first-round losses for Safina who recently parted ways with her longtime coach Zeljko Krajan.

“I’m really happy. I tried my best,” Date Krumm said after the French crowd gave her a standing ovation. “I don’t like so much the red clay, but today I beat Safina, so it will be great memories again.”

Date Krumm had not beaten a top-ten player in 14 years and the rusty Safina was the perfect opponent to end that streak against.

In other worthy WTA results,  Justine Henin playing at the French Open for the first time since 2007 defeated Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-3. Despite being seeded 22nd in the tournament, Henin must be considered one of the true favorites. A potential quarter-final match against number-one Serena Williams should be a real treat for tennis fans to look forward to.

On the men's side, four-time champion Rafael Nadal defeated Gianni Mina 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in his first round match. You gotta feel for any opponent the Spaniard faces in the first few rounds as they are likely to get clobbered by similar scores.

American Andy Roddick's return to clay was almost a short one as he struggled through a five-set victory against tricky veteran Jarkko Nieminen of Finland by a score of 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3. Never one to be comfortable on clay, the lack of recent match-play hindered Roddick who is lucky to survive to fight another day.

Roddick's fortunes for the next few rounds may have improved with the upset loss of clay-court specialist Juan Monaco. The two were on course to collide in the third round until the Argentine's first round loss to unknown Grega Zemlja who won 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Roddick should hopefully be able to correct-course until a likely fourth round match against David Ferrer. 

Finally, American veteran Robby Ginepri stunned compatriot and 18th seed Sam Querrey 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-2. A tough loss for Querrey who had some momentum coming into the tournament and has been having a pretty solid year thus far.

Sony Ericsson Round Two Update

By Mike McIntyre

The second round of play came to a conclusion at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Saturday and while the women's draw seems to be unfolding according to plan, the upsets continued on the men's side.

A day after second seeded Novak Djokovic went down in defeat, the third seed, Andy Murray followed suit. Murray was dropped in straight sets by American veteran Mardy Fish, 6-4, 6-4. Since reaching the Aussie Open finals in January, Murray has looked listless on court failing to advance past the quarter-finals of any event he has played. While I'm sure that this is just a blip on the screen for Murray, it has to be concerning for his camp as the hard court swing is coming to an end - a time where Murray usually shines. As we progress to the red clay of Europe it will only become harder for the Scot to find his rhythm.

The men's draw now opens up considerably and gives the Roger and Rafa show a great chance to re-assert itself on the stage in Miami. The greatest tennis rivalry of the 21st Century has yet to hit the court in 2010 and is due for another riveting installment. Federer won their last encounter, in May 2009, at the Masters event in Madrid while Nadal had won the five battles prior to that.

Federer's draw looks like smooth sailing for the world number one player, with little opposition expected from Florent Serra in the third round. Tomas Berdych and a potential rematch with Marcos Baghdatis (who defeated Roger in Indian Wells last week) are on the horizon. Federer should have shaken off all of the post-Aussie Open rust by that point.

For Rafa, a tough third round tussle with David Nalbandian is on deck which should be a real treat to watch. Nalbandian has historically done well against Nadal - a feat that few players on tour can boast. The Argentine owns a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over Rafa, all on hard courts. I give the edge to Nadal in this one due to the fact Nalbandian has only recently returned from a lengthy injury layoff. It should still make for great tennis, so catch it if you can.

American Andy Roddick has a favorable draw with the 18th seeded Tommy Robredo his highest ranked potential opponent between here and the semi-finals. Sweden's Robin Soderling also has a nice path now that Andy Murray has been taken out of the equation in his section.

As for the WTA Tour, number one seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova is defending her lead position in the draw and advanced to the fourth round with a victory over Agnes Szavay. I must admit that seeing Kuznetsova hold the top seed in a tournament of this depth is somewhat surprising. While she did win the French Open a year ago, her play in 2010 has been abysmal. A fourth round loss at the Aussie Open and first or second round losses in each of her other appearances does not bode well for her season. Of course now that I've said that look for Kuznetsova to make a real run in Miami. My Murray vs Djokovic final prediction has already blown up in my face.

One player I've got a great feeling about at this tournament and for her career in general is Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer. Since bursting onto the scene with her U.S. Open semi-final appearance in 2009 this kid has been on a real tear. She won her first tournament of 2010 and then had a strong run at the Aussie Open where she endured three tough qualifying matches and made it to the round of sixteen before bowing out in three tight sets against returning country-woman Justine Henin. She's had a bit of a tough go since then, but has a nice draw here to turn things around. At only twenty years old she represents a very bright future for women's tennis in Belgium - already brimming with talent due to the returns of Henin and Kim Clijsters.

Other notable results of late include Henin knocking off 5th seed Elena Dementieva while Vera Zvonareva schooled American youngster Melanie Oudin 6-1, 6-2. I sure hope that kid is taking this all in stride because in the long haul I think she's going to be a great player.

Hope you're all enjoying the tennis if you have television access or are lucky enough to be in Miami for this great tournament. Keep checking back for more updates.

Sony Ericsson Round One Update

By Mike McIntyre

The first round of women's action at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami was completed on Wednesday without any upsets to speak of. With the top thirty-two players receiving byes through to the second round, there really weren't many opportunities for upsets though I suppose.

Of the notable names in action, veterans Patty Schyder and Kimiko Date Krumm advanced in three sets respectively. In a match between two players on the comeback trail, Australia's Alicia Molik thrashed returning mother Ashley Harkleroad of the United States 6-1, 6-1. Justine Henin got by Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-2 to move on to an exciting second round match against fifth seeded Elena Dementieva. Up and coming American Melanie Oudin defeated Michaella Krajicek 6-2, 6-4.

Qualifiers fared decently as they managed a 5-6 record against higher ranked players who already had a guaranteed spot in the draw. There really are some advantages to having already played two pre-tournament matches as is evidenced by that statistic.

Some interesting second round matches on deck include Oudin against eleventh seeded Vera Zvonareva. Oudin has typically played well against high-ranked Russian's and could really use the confidence boost of defeating a top level player after a so-so start to 2010. Meanwhile, the Daniela Hantuchova versus Patty Schyder match has three sets written all over it.

Noticeably missing from action here in Miami are Serena Williams (knee), Dinara Safina (back) and Maria Sharapova (elbow) which has contributed to a somewhat sparse opening round.

On the men's side, only the bottom half of the draw saw action on Wednesday and as with the women there were no shocking upsets to discuss.

Richard Gasquet losing to diminutive Oliver Rochus was surprising, while Mario Ancic losing to Jeremy Chardy reveals that the tall Croat still has a ways to go after returning from mono. One player who must have been happy to get the win was Argentine David Nalbandian who also recently returned to the tour.

Another nice sight was Taylor Dent defeating veteran qualifier Rainer Schuettler in straight sets. While I know that members of the media are supposed to stay unbiased, I really have a soft spot for the serve and volley style that Dent brings to the game. And how can you not root for a guy who thought his career was over due to a serious back injury?

A close first-round match saw another American, James Blake, narrowly defeat eighteen year old wildcard Filip Krajinovic from Serbia 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4. Something tells me we should be keeping an eye on this kid in the future. 

Keep checking back at Pro Tennis Fan for further updates and analysis as the Sony Ericsson Open continues in Miami.

Hit For Haiti A Huge Success

By Mike McIntyre

Some of the greatest tennis stars in the history of the sport came together Friday night in Indian Wells for the second edition of Hit for Haiti to raise money for those affected by the devastating earthquake that hit the small country in early January.

The night started out with a women's doubles match between Martina Navratilova/Justine Henin and Steffi Graf/Lindsay Davenport that could not disappoint with a collective 50 Grand Slam singles titles between them.

The level of tennis and good-natured banter were both impressive as the Navratilova/Henin tandem won 8-6 on a Henin backhand up the line.

All four players had their moments that rekindled moments past, from Graf's forehand to Davenport's serve, from Navratilova's volleys to Henin's backhand - it was all on display for the capacity crowd to enjoy,

Most impressive hands-down, were the quick hands that 53 year old Navratilova showed off to us all. Even with 22 Grand Slam singles titles to her name and another 31 Grand Slam doubles titles it is a wonder that she is still able to work her magic on court at her age. It is a tribute to her incredible fitness and obviously her raw talent as well. If she played doubles today I'm certain she could still be a factor which is just amazing.

Equally as impressive as Navratilova's physical game was her verbal one as she joked with the crowd, the ball kids and her opponents throughout the charity match.

Early on in the match Graf was able to track down a Navratilova shot and launch a perfect lob for the point, which prompted Navratilova to sarcastically dead-pan, "it's a slow court."

She later asked for the service gun to be turned off after her serve was clocked at a mere 80mph.

My favorite Martina quote of the night was after the Graf/Davenport tandem picked on Justine Henin for four or five overhead smashes in a row and she said, "obviously you're playing to the weaker link (Henin) over there."

After the women's match the men took to the court with the serve and volley dream-doubles tandem of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer against the baseline duo of Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal.

As much fun as watching the women was, this was the match I was really looking forward to. The four greatest ATP players of the last twenty years all on the same court. The greatest rivalry of the 1990s as well as the greatest rivalry thus far of the 21st Century.

Agassi played surprisingly well for someone who has not really played much tennis since retiring in 2006. He twice placed a serve within 1mph of his pre-announced target. For his part, Sampras looked a bit shaky but could still deliver some pop on his serve when needed. Federer and Nadal were clearly not at their usual level of brilliance - nor did they have to be. They were - for a change - more of a supporting act to the two great American players. 

Aside from the tennis, It was no surprise that Andre did about 95% of the chatting throughout the set and some of his quotes were just hysterical. Here are a few of my favorites from the evening:

"I know you’re not taking me seriously Fed, but I’m coming."  

"Stop hitting the ball to Federer alright?...Not Sampras either, just keep it in between them."

"I got that partner." (shot goes into the net) "I used to have that partner."  

"You’re not very intimidating there (Roger). You’re very disarming. You’re very Swiss."

"Red’s not your colour Rog."  

"You know what 10,000 kids are saying right now? Who are those two bald guys playing with Federer and Nadal?"  

"They just don’t make athletes like they used to." (after a Nadal shank into the net)

"You move a lot faster on tv." (to Nadal) 

"Sorry partner, I only go to net to shake hands."

Things did get somewhat awkward about halfway through the match when Pete finally got into the comedy act by mimicking Agassi's pigeon-toed walk. Andre stayed quiet in response for a change until Pete asked him if he had a comeback. Agassi then said he had an imitation of Pete and followed that up by pulling the pockets out of his track pants and pretending he had no money for a tip - a reference to a less than kind passage from Agassi's recent autobiography about Sampras. It was a poorly timed reference and I don't think anyone deserves to be called cheap during a charity exhibition match such as this one.

Federer picked up on the tension and turned to Nadal and said, "Rafa, do something!" Fortunately Justin Gimelstob stepped in at the changeover and tried to lighten the mood. A good Federer-Nadal exaggerated grunt-fest in the next game also helped to restore the festive mood and get the evening back on track.

Federer and Sampras would prevail 8-6 in what I would say was the expected outcome given the winning duo's talent at net. Another nice outcome was the $1 million dollars raised for the people of Haiti. A great cause got the support it rightly deserves and if you are able to help out some more please visit the Red Cross website to donate.

Hit For Haiti - Live Streaming

By Mike McIntyre

The second Hit for Haiti charity event is happening tonight in Indian Wells. The tennis kicks off at 7:30pm PST or 10:30pm ET.

You can catch live streaming of the event here for free.

The first match will feature Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport against Martina Navratilova and Justine Henin.

The second match has a scary combo of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer against Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal. Something tells me that Pete and Rog could make a very competitive doubles team on the tour today. Something also tells me that the husband/wife duo of Graf and Agassi is going to come up empty in the win column.

Enjoy the tennis and please remember those affected in Haiti as you do so.

Henin and Williams Ready to Renew Rivalry

By Mike McIntyre

Diminutive Justine Henin has just one more step to take to match fellow-Belgian Kim Clijsters' remarkable comeback from last summer. Clijsters won a Grand Slam in just her third tournament back on tour at the U.S. Open in August. Henin is trying to one-up Clijsters, by accomplishing the same feat in only her second tournament back at the Australian Open on Saturday.

Clijsters was able to impressively win at Flushing Meadows by defeating not just one, but two Williams sisters. Henin only has to defeat one here in Melbourne, but that sister just happens to be the current world number one, Serena Williams.

While Williams appears to be bothered by injuries to her right quad and left knee, (that are both heavily taped during matches) she can never be underestimated, especially not in a Grand Slam final. That being said, Williams has been seeing twice as much time on court while entered in the doubles competition as well with sister Venus. The sibling duo won the doubles title on Friday.

Surprisingly enough, this will be the first Grand Slam final in which Henin and Williams have ever met each other. Despite that fact, the two have had numerous high-intensity clashes between them and it's fair to see these two are not exactly the best of friends. 

During a match at the 2003 French Open, with Williams leading 4-2, 30-love in the third set, Henin held up a hand to indicate she was not ready to receive serve. Distracted by the motion, Williams would drop the serve into the net. She would then proceed to lose the remaining four points in that particular game and eventually the match. Henin never indicated to the chair umpire that she made the gesture which would have allowed Serena to have another attempt at a first serve.

Afterwards, Williams said, "I was a little disappointed with her. It wasn't the turning point of the match, I should have still won the game. But to start lying and fabricating is not fair."

Fast forward now to 2010 and what exactly will it come down to between these two? Serena's big serve, Justin's elegant backhand, or will the winner be whoever is more mentally prepared on Saturday?

"Absolutely", Serena admitted in her most recent press conference. "I think that's a really good point. It definitely will be mental and who wants it more and wants the title more and who's willing to go the extra step."  

Henin echoed that sentiment, saying, "I think it's gonna be really mental. I mean, the one who will want it more will win probably. She served great, of course, in the last few matches, always on the important points. I know I'll have to be aggressive generally and use my qualities. I have the determination and the ambition, of course."

Any way you look at this match, I think it is almost a guarantee that it will go three sets. Williams leads their head-to-head meetings by a mere 7-6 margin. Emotional and physical fatigue could be a real issue for Serena while Henin on the other hand, cruised into the final with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Jie Zheng. The potential for a great match looms large here - let's hope it can live up to the much anticipated hype. 

Australian Open Day Seven Preview

By Mike McIntyre

Time for fourth-round matches to get underway in Melbourne and there are some fantastic battles on deck for Sunday from the bottom-half of the men's and women's draws.

John Isner, Ivo Karlovic and Andy Roddick are proving that a big serve still goes a long way on the men's side. Karlovic leads the tournament with 93 aces through three matches, while Isner is second with 81 and Roddick in sixth position with 47. Karlovic and Isner have both played several more sets than Roddick which explains their elevated numbers. Sunday could be the day of the tie-break as it is going to be a challenge to break these serves for their opponents.

Karlovic and Isner face tough matches against Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray respectively. While Karlovic is in over his 6'10'' head in this one against Nadal, Isner has a chance to make his encounter with Murray a meaningful one. The American is playing the best tennis of his professional career and is fresh off an impressive victory over 12th seeded Gael Monfils. While I expect Murray will advance, Isner will provide him with his toughest test of the tournament thus far.

Roddick should be able to knock-off Fernando Gonzalez as the erratic Chilean just barely made it past Igor Korolev in five tight sets in the previous round. Roddick has been playing terrific tennis so far this season and is still undefeated in 2010.

The fourth round match to watch is between youngsters Juan Martin Del Potro and Marin Cilic and has the best odds for a five set match on Sunday.The two have only met twice before and both times were at Grand Slams in 2009. Each time, Del Potro dropped the opening set before prevailing in four. Cilic has yet to come into his own but expect him to remain a fixture in the top-twenty for years to come. Both are twenty one (in fact Del Potro is only five days older) and they each tower over most of their opponents at 6'6''. While Del Potro already has a Grand Slam title to his credit, nobody would have expected that from him a year ago. My point is that much can change within the frame of one year. With one title already in 2010, maybe this is Cilic's year to make a name for himself. 

On the women's side, Sunday has the all-Belgian battle between Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer. While it might not be the all-Belgian match-up that we looked forward to when the draw was announced, it is still going to provide some fireworks. Wickmayer is undefeated so far this year after winning the title in Auckland and going through three rounds of qualifying action in Melbourne as well. She has more match-play under her belt in 2010 than anyone else on tour and is capable of giving Henin a real push. When Henin lost the first set of her match against Alisa Kleybanova, it showed that she is still shaking off some post-retirement rust. I think Wickmayer has a great shot at taking her out.

Aside from the Belgians, we have a couple of all-Russian matches on Sunday to look forward to. Nadia Petrova meets reigning French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova while second-seeded Dinara Safina faces Maria Kirilenko.

Kuznetsova leads Petrova 5-1 in career meetings, but Petrova seems to be on a nice role in this tournament and her lopsided victory over Kim Clijsters has certainly given her a confidence booster. 

Don't expect another upset out of Maria Kirilenko. While she played terrific against Maria Sharapova in the first round, I think she is in tough against a very fit Dinara Safina who seems to be keeping the mental aspect of her game in check lately. Kirilenko has matched her career-best result in a Grand Slam, as she also made the fourth round here in Australia in 2008. I don't see her going any further at the moment.

The remaining women's match on Sunday has Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko against Jie Zheng from China. Both are ranked in the top thirty and have played each other three times before. Zheng won the first two times back in 2003, while Bondarenko came out on top 7-5, 7-5 two weeks ago in Hobart en route to her second career title. 

I have always thought that Alona's younger sister Kateryna was the one to watch between these two, however it is Alona who is on fire so far this year as evidenced by her title in Hobart and her straight-sets victory of Jelena Jankovic in the previous round. She doesn't have much power to her game, but it won't be needed against Zheng and I think she'll take her in two sets to advance to the quarter-finals.

Henin Drops Dementieva at Aussie Open

By Mike McIntyre

Justine Henin scored the first win of her comeback against a top-ten player on Wednesday by defeating 5th seeded Elena Dementieva 7-5, 7-6(6) in the second round of the Australian Open. 

"Well, it was a great match", Henin said after the match. "It was very emotional for me on the court at the end because there was so much intensity. To play this kind of match in the second round, for me, after two years off in a Grand Slam, it's just the kind of situation that I needed."

Henin's comeback is resembling the early success that fellow-Belgian Kim Clijsters experienced last summer when she returned to the WTA Tour. The two players are on a collision course that could see them play each other in the quarter-finals in Melbourne. 

Henin will next face big-hitting Russian, Alisa Kleybanova in the third round.

Henin Interview Transcript

Dementieva Interview Transcript

Australian Open Day Three Preview

By Mike McIntyre

Featured Match: Elena Dementieva vs Justine Henin

Without the luxury of a seeding here in Australia, Justine Henin knew full-well that she may get a difficult draw in her first Grand Slam since emerging from retirement. She probably didn't expect it would be this difficult however, as she must now face the 5th seeded Dementieva.

Dementieva is one of the most talented players to never have won a Grand Slam tournament and is fresh off a victory in her first tournament of the year in Sydney a week ago where she defeated Serena Williams in the final.

Henin has also looked sharp since returning this year and fell to Kim Clijsters in her first tournament back in Brisbane two weeks ago. Along the way she defeated top players like Nadia Petrova and Ana Ivanovic, although neither of them have the consistency of Dementieva.

Henin has a 9-2 career head-to-head record again Dementieva which might help her mentally in approaching this match. Both players know they are in for a struggle that will likely last three sets.

Result: Henin is a special type of player and despite her year-and-a-half layoff I'm picking her to prevail in this one in three sets.

Upset of the Day: Andrey Golubev vs Ivan Ljubicic

I don't think we can call Henin over Dementieva an upset, so instead look to Andrey Golubev to defeat veteran and 24th seed, Ivan Ljubicic.

Golubev knocked off American Mardy Fish in the first round, while Ljubicic was fortunate to draw an Australian wildcard named Jason Kubler. Golubev has therefore already faced a tough opponent while Ljubicic has not.

Ljubicic is eight years older and has never performed well in the Slams. He started 2010 by appearing in the Kooyong Classic exhibition where he lost two of his three matches, only defeating Robin Soderling who had to retire from that match with injury. 

Result: Golubev in four.

Canadian Content: Aleksandra Wozniak vs Caroline Wozniacki

Aleksandraw Wozniak is the only real Canadian threat in singles play on either the ATP or WTA tour's at the moment and at the age of 22 she has still yet to reach her potential. She has a losing record (1-5) against Wozniacki but has played well against her in their recent encounters.

Wozniacki has been mediocre since her run to the finals of the U.S. Open, so Wozniak has a shot here. 

Result: Wozniacki in three.

One ticket to Ireland please: Louk Sorensen

Sorensen is the first tennis player from Ireland to win a main-draw match in the Open era on the ATP tour. The 25 year-old came through the qualifying draw before defeating Yen-Hsun Lu in the first round. It's a nice story, but Sorensen is going to get hammered by the power of John Isner tomorrow.

"I don't know what's going on right now," said Sorensen after his match against Lu, "I've suddenly got so many friend requests on Facebook." 

Result: Isner in three.

Other Matches of Interest:

Unseeded James Blake takes on 4th seed Juan Martin Del Potro in a great second round match. Blake has won their only previous encounter but that was over two years ago and he'll find Del Potro a much better player than he was back then. Should be a fun one to watch.

Result: Del Potro in four.

Australian Open Day One

By Mike McIntyre

Day one at the Australian Open is set to begin and here is a look at a few of the matches that I've got my eye on.

Featured Match: Justine Henin vs Kirsten Flipkens

This all-Belgian match features Justine Henin back in Grand Slam competition for the first time since the 2008 Aussie Open where she lost to Maria Sharapova in the quarter-finals. Flipkens will be a mere foot-note in the history of Henin's return as she does not pose a true threat to the returning former champion. Still, there will be plenty of hype around this match which should lead up to an expected second round clash between Henin and Elena Dementieva. 

Result: Henin in two sets.

Canadian Content: Valerie Tetreault vs Kim Clijsters

Being Canadian myself means that I get to throw this obscure category into my daily preview - for the first couple of rounds at least. There is not much to chose from in this first Grand Slam of the year as most Canadians fell during qualifying.

On the men's side there is only Daniel Nestor in the doubles draw as Frank Dancevic is missing from singles play while recovering from back surgery and on the women's we have Aleks Wozniak, Stephanie Dubois and Valerie Tetreault.

Tetreault's stay will be short as she has the misfortune of facing Kim Clijsters on day one. This is her first time playing in Australia and only her second ever appearance at a Grand Slam. At 22 years old Tetreault is flirting with a top one hundred ranking and can hopefully enjoy the moment on Rod Laver Arena while it lasts. 

Result: Clijsters in two sets.

Upset of the Day: Rainer Schuettler vs Sam Querrey

Querrey had a break-out year in 2009 but had to end his season prematurely after a freak accident where he fell through a glass table in September. Querrey has lost two first-round matches in a row to start 2010 and just does not seem ready to roll at this point. Schuettler is a veteran nearing the end of his career and is savvy enough to take advantage of a struggling opponent.

Result: Schuettler in four.

Grizzled Veteran Special: Fabrice Santoro vs Marin Cilic

After "retiring" at the end of last season we all thought we had seen the last of the Magician - Fabrice Santoro. The allure of playing in his 70th Grand Slam tournament proved to be too much for the 37 year old Frenchman and he is back to face the 14th seeded Cilic. 

While his prospect of winning is slim, Santoro becomes the only professional tennis player in ATP history to have played in four decades on tour. Not too shabby for a trickster like Santoro.

Result: Cilic in three.

Coin Toss: Radek Stepanek vs Ivo Karlovic

Despite leading their head-to-head encounters 3-0, Radek Stepanek will have his hands full with the monster-serving of "Dr." Ivo. Their last meeting in Davis Cup competition went five sets with Stepanek prevailing 16-14 in the fifth and this will be their first career meeting on hard courts. Your guess is as good as mine.

Result: Stepanek in five.