2007 ROLAND GARROS
DAY
TWO MEN’S NOTES
Monday 28 May 2006
First Round Top Half
Show
court matches
PHILIPPE CHATRIER:
No. 1
Roger Federer (SUI)
v Michael Russell
(USA)
No.
11 Richard Gasquet (FRA)
v (WC) Nicolas Mahut
(FRA)
SUZANNE LENGLEN:
No. 7
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
v Arnaud Clement (FRA)
Olivier Rochus
(BEL) v Gael Monfils
(FRA)
COURT
1:
No. 4
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
v Stefano Galvani (ITA)
No. 5
Fernando Gonzalez
(CHI) v Radek
Stepanek (CZE)
COURT
2:
No. 9
Tommy Robredo (ESP)
v Sergio Roitman (ARG)
No. 18 Juan Ignacio
Chela (ARG) v
Fabrice Santoro (FRA)
COURT
3:
No. 17
Juan Carlos Ferrero
(ESP) v Amer Delic
(USA)
COURT
7:
No.
30 Julien Benneteau
(FRA) v Carlos
Berlocq (ARG)
No. 15 David
Nalbandian (ARG) v
Hyung-Taik Lee (KOR)
OTHER
MATCHES:
No.
13 Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
v Jan Hernych (CZE)
No.
19 Guillermo Canas (FRA)
v Victor Hanescu
(ROU)
No. 27
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
v Jose Acasuso (ARG)
Martin
Verkerk (NED) v
Simone Bolelli (ITA)
On court today…
·
For
the third time at
Roland Garros, Roger
Federer begins his
quest to claim the
trophy that would
complete his Grand
Slam collection. He
has a first-time
meeting with Michael
Russell, who is best
known as the
qualifier who had a
match point against
eventual champion
Gustavo Kuerten in
the round of 16 here
in 2001. Federer is
bidding to become
the first No. 1 seed
to win the Roland
Garros title since
Kuerten six years
ago.
·
Fabrice Santoro, 34,
clocks up his 59th
Grand Slam
tournament
appearance, and 35th
consecutive major
when he plays
Acapulco champion
Juan Ignacio Chela.
The veteran
Frenchman is now
within two majors of
equalling Andre
Agassi’s Open Era
record of 61 Grand
Slam appearances.
·
Two-time
semifinalist David
Nalbandian plays
just his ninth event
of 2007, and in a
first-time meeting
with Hyung-Taik Lee
looks to get his
season back on track
after absences
caused by a
lingering back
injury. It was
Nalbandian’s
retirement with an
abdominal injury in
the semis here last
year that handed
Roger Federer his
first Roland Garros
final.
·
2005
semifinalist Nikolay
Davydenko meets
Stefano Galvani for
the first time. Both
men celebrate their
birthdays during the
tournament,
Davydenko turning 26
on 2 June, and
Galvani turning 30 a
day later.
·
2003
champion Juan Carlos
Ferrero, whose clay
court highlights
this season include
a runner-up finish
at Costa do Sauipe,
has a first-time
meeting with Amer
Delic. The American
is making his Roland
Garros debut today.
·
2003
runner-up Martin
Verkerk returns
after a long-term
shoulder injury,
which put him out of
the game for two
years, and opens his
first Grand Slam
campaign since
Wimbledon 2004
against Simone
Bolelli, who is
making his Grand
Slam debut today.
·
French No. 1 Richard
Gasquet meets
countryman Nicolas
Mahut in one of
three all-French
first round
match-ups. Gasquet,
who won the 2002
boys’ singles here,
faces another junior
Grand Slam champ in
Mahut, who won the
2000 Wimbledon boys’
singles.
·
Another former
Roland Garros boys’
champion, Gael
Monfils, who won his
first matches since
the Australian Open
when reaching the
final at Portschach
last week, takes on
Olivier Rochus, who
is bidding to snap a
five-match losing
streak.
·
AMS
Rome runner-up
Fernando Gonzalez
bids to recreate the
Grand Slam form that
took him all the way
to the 2007
Australian Open
final. He plays
Radek Stepanek,
still on the
comeback trail
following a
four-month lay-off
due to a back injury
at the end of last
year.
·
Ivan Ljubicic, who
broke through to
reach his first
Grand Slam semifinal
at last year’s
Roland Garros, takes
on one of the 21
Frenchmen in the
men’s draw when he
plays Arnaud
Clement. Clement is
returning for his
tenth Roland Garros
after missing last
year’s tournament
with a torn left
adductor.
·
Another Frenchman,
2006 quarterfinalist
Julien Benneteau who
receives his first
Grand Slam seeding
here, faces Carlos
Berlocq. The
Argentine is looking
for his first
victory in a major
at his fourth
attempt.
·
Tommy
Robredo, who has
never lost in the
first round here,
bids to maintain
that record against
Sergio Roitman, who
is bidding for his
first victory at a
Grand Slam event.
·
Costa
do Sauipe winner
Guillermo Canas
makes his first
Grand Slam
appearance since
2005 Roland Garros
when he plays Victor
Hanescu. The
Romanian is also
playing the
tournament for the
first time in two
years following six
months out with a
back injury.
·
Munich finalist
Mikhail Youzhny
hopes to continue
the good form which
has already seen him
reach three finals
this year. He gets
underway against Jan
Hernych, who has won
one match in two
previous Roland
Garros appearances.
·
Jose
Acasuso bids to
extend a three-match
winning streak when
he takes on Jurgen
Melzer. The Austrian
has the highest
Grand Slam seeding
of his career.
COURT
PHILIPPE CHATRIER
NO. 1
ROGER FEDERER (SUI)
v MICHAEL RUSSELL
(USA)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
FEDERER
v
RUSSELL
25
Age
29
1
ATP Ranking
68
48
Titles
0
119-21
Career Grand Slam Record
3-11
20-8
Roland Garros Record
3-2
511-132
Career Record
21-50
96-35
Career Record - Clay
8-20
24-4
2007 Record
6-7
10-2
2007 Record - Clay
3-4
9-10
Career Five-Set Record
1-2
3
Comebacks from 0-2 Down
1
190-108
Career Tiebreak Record
10-18
6-3
2007 Tiebreak Record
2-2
·
Federer
is making his ninth
appearance at Roland
Garros, having
played every year
since making his
Grand Slam debut as
a wild card in 1999.
·
Federer has lost in
the first round here
three times: in 1999
(falling to Patrick
Rafter 57 63 60 62),
2002 (as No. 8 seed
losing to Hicham
Arazi 63 62 64) and
2003 (as No. 5 seed
losing to Luis Horna
76 62 76).
·
Federer reached the
Roland Garros final
for the first time
last year,
becoming the seventh
man in the Open Era
to reach the final
at all four Grand
Slam events (the
others are Andre
Agassi, Rod Laver,
Ken Rosewall, Ivan
Lendl, Stefan Edberg
and Jim Courier).
Federer’s loss in
the final
to defending
champion Rafael
Nadal 16 61 64 76
was one of just five
losses for Federer
in 2006, four of
which were to Nadal
(the fifth was to
Andy Murray).
·
For the third
successive year,
Federer is bidding
at Roland Garros to
become only the
sixth man in history
to win all four
Grand Slam titles.
The five men to have
achieved the ‘career
Grand Slam’ are
Andre Agassi, Don
Budge, Roy Emerson,
Rod Laver and Fred
Perry. Budge and
Laver, of course,
won the much-coveted
Grand Slam, Budge
winning all four
major tournaments in
a single calendar
year in 1938, before
Laver did so in 1962
and 1969.
·
With his chances of
achieving both a
career Grand Slam
and a true (calendar
year) Grand Slam
still alive, Federer
is also bidding, for
the second
successive year, to
become just the
third man in history
to win four majors
in a row. Of the
five men to win all
four majors in their
careers, only Budge
and Laver held all
four titles at the
same time. Perry,
Emerson and Agassi
were never able to
win four consecutive
Grand Slam
tournaments.
·
In the 38 years
since Laver
completed his second
Grand Slam in 1969,
Agassi is the only
man to have been
able to capture the
elusive fourth
different major. In
that time, 11 other
men have collected
three of the four
major titles. In
every case, the
players failed to
win either Roland
Garros or Wimbledon
to complete their
set. [For more
detail see Preview
page 3.]
·
Federer has
collected his ten
Grand Slam titles in
his last 15 Grand
Slam tournaments. En
route to the 2007
Australian Open
crown, he advanced
to his 11th
successive Grand
Slam semifinal,
setting a new Open
Era record for
consecutive Grand
Slam semifinal
appearances. He
became the first man
to win a Grand Slam
title without
dropping a set since
Bjorn Borg at 1980
Roland Garros.
·
Although Federer has
won three titles so
far in 2007, by his
standards this
season has been
disappointing. His
victory at AMS
Hamburg last week
broke a run of four
straight tournament
losses, his longest
streak without
winning a title
since taking over
the No. 1 ranking in
February 2004. After
winning the
Australian Open and
Dubai, Federer lost
in the second round
at AMS Indian Wells
to Guillermo Canas
75 62 (after a first
round bye), and
again to Canas, 76
26 76, in the round
of 16 at AMS Miami.
Federer reached the
final at AMS Monte
Carlo before losing
to Rafael Nadal, and
was then upset by
wild card Filippo
Volandri 62 64 in
the round of 16 at
AMS Rome.
·
Federer’s recent
victory at Hamburg
was his fourth win
at the tournament
and marked his first
defeat of Rafael
Nadal in six clay
court meetings. He
defeated the
Spaniard 26 62 60 in
the final to improve
his career
head-to-head against
Nadal to 4-7.
·
Gustavo Kuerten was
the last No. 1 seed
to win Roland
Garros, in 2001. It
is however 17 years
since the No. 1 seed
lost in the first
round here.
·
Russell
is making his third
Roland Garros main
draw appearance, but
first for five
years.
·
Russell has played
here twice before.
As a qualifier in
2001 he made a
sensational debut,
advancing to the
round of 16 with
wins over Nicolas
Mahut, Sergi
Bruguera and Xavier
Malisse in the first
three rounds. He
then had a match
point against
Gustavo Kuerten
before losing 36 46
76 63 61 to the
Brazilian, who went
on to defend his
title.
·
2001 Roland Garros
marks the only time
in 11 previous
appearances in Grand
Slam events that
Russell has won any
matches. He played
Roland Garros the
following year, in
2002, that time
losing in the first
round to Arnaud di
Pasquale 64 60 46
61.
·
Russell’s 11 Grand
Slam singles
appearances have
been spread over a
ten-year
professional career.
Until qualifying at
the 2006 US Open, he
had not reached the
main draw of a major
for 17 tournaments
(since 2002
Wimbledon). During
that time he made
four attempts to
qualify for a Grand
Slam tournament,
including once for
Roland Garros,
falling in the first
round of qualifying
here last year to
Teimuraz Gabashvili
16 63 64.
·
Russell reached a
career-high ranking
of No. 66 on 30
April this year, not
long after his best
performance in 2007,
which was reaching
the last 16 at AMS
Indian Wells as a
wild card. He upset
Tomas Berdych in the
second round and
Guillermo
Garcia-Lopez in the
third round before
losing to Juan
Ignacio Chela 64 64.
It was the first
time he’d won an ATP
match since January
2003, and the first
time he’d won three
matches in a
tour-level
tournament since
reaching the round
of 16 here in 2001.
·
On clay, Russell has
played four events
ahead of coming
here, but failed to
pass the second
round anywhere.
·
The 2007 challenger
circuit, Russell has
a 15-0 record,
winning three hard
court titles: New
Caledonia (CAL),
Waikoloa (USA) and
Joplin (USA) in the
first two months of
the season.
·
Russell has been
hindered by three
knee operations and
a torn hamstring in
the past four
seasons, but began
his climb back up
the rankings last
year, finishing 2006
with his highest
year-end ranking
(No. 145) for five
years.
NO. 11 RICHARD GASQUET (FRA)
v NICOLAS MAHUT (FRA)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
Gasquet is
undefeated against
countrymen in Grand
Slam events, having
defeated Gilles
Simon in the second
round at the 2006 US
Open and Gael
Monfils in the third
round at the 2007
Australian Open.
This is one of three
all-French match-ups
in the first round
of the men’s singles
draw here this year.
GASQUET
v
MAHUT
20
Age
25
13
ATP Ranking
108
4
Titles
0
15-14
Career Grand Slam
Record
4-12
3-5
Roland Garros Record
0-5
105-71
Career Record
25-57
39-28
Career Record - Clay
4-12
24-11
2007 Record
6-10
9-5
2007 Record - Clay
1-1
3-6
Career Five-Set
Record
0-1
0
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
37-41
Career Tiebreak
Record
8-27
5-8
2007 Tiebreak Record
1-5
·
Gasquet
is playing in his
sixth successive
Roland Garros. He
lost in the first
round on his first
three appearances
but has reached at
least the second
round since then.
·
Last year, Gasquet
reaced the second
round, defeating
Yeu-Tzuoo Wang 64 61
75 in the first
round, falling to
David Nalbandian 62
36 75 60.
·
Gasquet posted his
best Roland Garros
performance in 2005,
advancing to the
third round before
falling to eventual
champion Rafael
Nadal 64 63 62.
·
In the lead-up to
Roland Garros,
Gasquet reached the
final at Estoril,
losing to Novak
Djokovic 76 06 61
and also advanced to
the quarterfinals at
AMS Monte Carlo (l.
Juan Carlos Ferrero
57 75 62). He lost
in the second round
at both AMS Rome (to
Filippo Volandri)
and AMS Hamburg (to
Jurgen Melzer).
·
Reaching the final
at Estoril is the
best result of 2007
for Gasquet so far,
though in the early
part of the season
he won three matches
in a row to reach
the semifinals at
Sydney and the round
of 16 at the
Australian Open,
both on hard court.
He has not lost in
the first round at
any of the ten
tournaments he has
played this year to
date.
·
Mahut
is playing at Roland
Garros for the sixth
time and has yet to
advance beyond the
first round.
·
Last year he lost to
Jiri Vanek 63 76 67
76 in the first
round here, which at
the time was his
ninth successive
first round defeat
in a major. Since
losing to Vanek here
last year, Mahut has
advanced to at least
the second round at
the other three
majors so Roland
Garros remains the
only major at which
he is yet to win a
match.
·
Mahut has played
just one tournament
on clay at tour
level prior to
coming here,
advancing to the
second round at
Casablanca as a
qualifier before
losing to countryman
Marc Gicquel 62 64.
·
Mahut’s best result
in 2007 came at AMS
Indian Wells, where
he advanced to the
third round,
defeating Juan
Monaco and Marat
Safin in the first
two rounds before
losing 61 63 to Tim
Henman. This is the
only occasion that
Mahut has won
back-to-back matches
this year at tour
level.
·
Mahut has also
failed to win
back-to-back matches
at challenger level
this year. He has
played three
challengers on clay
in the lead-up to
Roland Garros,
advancing to the
second round at
Rijeka and Zagreb
(both CRO) and
losing in the first
round at Marrakech.
COURT
SUZANNE LENGLEN
NO. 7
IVAN LJUBICIC (CRO)
v ARNAUD CLEMENT (FRA)
Head-to-head:
Ljubicic leads 5-2
2003
Halle
Grass (O)
R16
Clement
64 62
2004 Davis Cup
WG1R Clay
(I)
R4
Clement
62 36 76 64
2004 AMS
Miami
Hard (O)
R64
Ljubicic
36 63 62
2004 AMS
Rome
Clay (O)
R64
Ljubicic
63 26 76
2004
Lyon
Carpet (I)
R32
Ljubicic
64 76
2004 AMS
Paris
Carpet (I)
R64
Ljubicic
63 76
2006 AMS
Toronto
Hard (O)
R32
Ljubicic
76 64
LJUBICIC
v
CLEMENT
28
Age
29
7
Titles
4
26-30
Career Grand Slam Record
49-37
8-7
Roland Garros Record
8-9
304-199
Career Record
254-241
71-59
Career Record - Clay
41-57
24-11
2007 Record
10-12
3-4
2007 Record - Clay
3-4
7-13
Career Five-Set Record
8-14
3
Comebacks from 0-2 Down
3
148-151
Career Tiebreak Record
106-85
15-10
2007 Tiebreak Record
5-8
·
Ljubicic
is making his eighth
successive
appearance at Roland
Garros and has lost
in the first round
on four occasions.
·
In 30 previous Grand
Slam appearances,
Ljubicic has lost in
the first round on
15 occasions.
·
At last year’s
Roland Garros,
Ljubicic broke
through to reach his
first Grand Slam
semifinal, before
losing to Rafael
Nadal 64 62 76,
which is still his
best performance in
a major to date.
·
Ljubicic has failed
to win back-to-back
matches in his four
clay court
tournaments before
coming here,
advancing to the
third round, after a
first round bye, at
both AMS Monte Carlo
(l. Richard Gasquet
63 67 75) and AMS
Hamburg (l. David
Ferrer 63 63) and
the second round at
Portschach last week
(l. Luis Horna 76
64).
·
Ljubicic won the
seventh title of his
career in the first
week of the 2007
season at Doha, on
hard court,
defeating Andy
Murray 64 64 in the
final. He also
reached finals at
Rotterdam on hard
court (l. Mikhail
Youzhny 62 64) and
at Zagreb, on
carpet, (l. Marcos
Baghdatis 76 46 64),
as well as reaching
the semifinals at
AMS Miami, on hard
court, losing to
Guillermo Canas 75
62.
·
Clement
is making his tenth
Roland Garros
appearance and has
lost in the first
round here on four
previous occasions.
·
Clement is making
his first appearance
here for two years,
having missed last
year’s tournament
with a torn left
adductor. On his
last appearance here
in 2005, Clement
advanced to the
second round, losing
to Nicolas Kiefer 46
62 62 46 64.
·
Clement’s best
performance at
Roland Garros came
in 2003 when he
advanced to the
round of 16 before
losing to Albert
Costa 62 75 75.
·
Clement has reached
the second round at
three of his four
warm-up events on
clay, at AMS Monte
Carlo (l. Tommy
Robredo), Casablanca
(l. Sebastien
Grosjean) and AMS
Hamburg (l. James
Blake). He also lost
in the first round
at Munich to
eventual champion
Philipp
Kohlschreiber.
·
Clement has won
back-to-back matches
just once in 2007.
At Zagreb on indoor
carpet, he advanced
to the
quarterfinals,
defeating Marin
Cilic and Lukas
Dlouhy before
falling to eventual
champion Marcos
Baghdatis 62 67 76.
OLIVIER ROCHUS (BEL) v
GAEL MONFILS (FRA)
Head-to-head: Rochus
leads 3-0
2005 Australian
Open
Hard (O)
R64 Rochus
61 63 63
2006 AMS Monte
Carlo Clay
(O)
R64 Rochus
46 64 61
2006 New
Haven
Hard (O)
R16 Rochus
64 63
ROCHUS
v
MONFILS
26
Age
20
47
ATP Ranking
52
2
Titles
1
30-27
Career Grand Slam
Record
9-9
6-6
Roland Garros Record
3-2
163-167
Career Record
55-54
47-62
Career Record - Clay
19-17
11-15
2007 Record
7-11
2-9
2007 Record - Clay
4-4
10-16
Career Five-Set
Record
3-1
1
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
60-89
Career Tiebreak
Record
26-20
3-6
2007 Tiebreak Record
5-4
·
Rochus
is playing at Roland
Garros for the
seventh successive
year and has lost in
the first round on
two of his previous
six appearances.
·
Last year, Rochus
advanced to the
third round here
before losing to
Alberto Martin 75 46
67 61 64.
·
Rochus’s performance
here last year
equalled his best at
Roland Garros,
achieved on his
debut in 2001, when
he lost to Yevgeny
Kafelnikov 76 64 63
at that stage.
·
Rochus comes into
Roland Garros on a
five-match losing
streak and has won
just two matches on
clay in 2007. He
defeated Chris
Guccione 36 75 62 63
in the first rubber
of the 2007 Davis
Cup World Group
first round tie
between Belgium and
Australia, which
Belgium won 3-2 and
also advanced to the
second round at AMS
Rome, defeating
Michael Llodra 57 63
63 before losing to
Mikhail Youzhny 76
63.
·
Rochus has reached
two quarterfinals on
hard court in 2007,
at Doha (l. Nikolay
Davydenko 64 63) and
at Dubai (l. Tommy
Haas 60 62).
·
Monfils
is making his third
successive
appearance at Roland
Garros.
·
Last year, Monfils
reached the round of
16 here, winning
three five-set
matches in the first
three rounds before
losing to Novak
Djokovic 76 76 63 at
that stage. This is
the furthest that
Monfils has ever
progressed at a
major.
·
Monfils reached the
fifth final of his
career at Portschach
last week, defeating
Andy Roddick 75 63
in the quarterfinals
and Lleyton Hewitt
64 75 in the
semifinals before
losing to Juan
Monaco 76 63.
·
Monfils arrived at
Portschach on an
eight-match losing
streak. The last
time that he had won
back-to-back matches
in 2007 was at the
Australian Open,
where he advanced to
the third round
before losing to
countryman Richard
Gasquet 60 46 75 63.
·
Monfils was the
Roland Garros junior
boys’ singles
champion in 2004 (d.
Alex Kuznetsov 62
62). He also won the
boys’ singles titles
at that year’s
Australian Open and
Wimbledon and
finished the year as
the No.1-ranked
junior and was named
ITF Junior World
Champion.
COURT
1
NO. 4
NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO (RUS)
v STEFANO GALVANI (ITA)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
DAVYDENKO
v
GALVANI
25*
Age
29**
4
ATP Ranking
117
10
Titles
0
37-24
Career Grand Slam Record
3-7
12-6
Roland Garros Record
1-3
232-175
Career Record
17-32
109-70
Career Record - Clay
9-17
23-14
2007 Record
3-6
8-6
2007 Record - Clay
2-5
7-5
Career Five-Set Record
3-1
3
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
61-64
Career Tiebreak Record
8-14
9-8
2007 Tiebreak Record
1-4
*
Turns 26 on 2 June
**
Turns 30 on 3 June
·
Davydenko
is appearing at
Roland Garros for
the seventh time. He
reached the
quarterfinals here
last year, losing to
David Nalbandian 63
63 26 64.
·
Davydenko reached
his first Grand Slam
semifinal at 2005
Roland Garros before
losing to eventual
runner-up Mariano
Puerta 63 57 26 64
64. He matched that
by reaching the
semifinals at the
2006 US Open (l.
eventual champion
Roger Federer 61 75
64).
·
Davydenko played at
Portschach last
week, having won the
title in Austria for
the past two years.
This time however,
as No. 1 seed, he
lost in the
quarterfinals to
eventual champion
Juan Monaco 62 67
64.
·
Davydenko’s best
result on clay so
far this year was
reaching the
semifinals at AMS
Rome, where he
defeated Tommy
Robredo 16 63 63 in
the quarterfinals
before losing to
eventual champion
Rafael Nadal 76 67
64 in a match
lasting three hours,
38 minutes.
·
Davydenko’s best
results on all
surfaces this season
have been semifinal
finishes, reaching
the last four at
Doha and indoors at
Rotterdam, both on
hard court, before
doing so at AMS
Rome. He was also a
quarterfinalist for
the third successive
year at the
Australian Open (l.
Tommy Haas 63 26 16
61 75).
·
Galvani
is making his fourth
appearance at Roland
Garros. He reached
the second round
here for the first
time last year as a
qualifier, defeating
Florian Mayer 46 60
76 36 75 in the
opening round then
losing in five sets
to Albert Montanes
75 61 36 26 64.
·
Galvani has never
advanced beyond the
second round at any
major, having played
seven majors in his
career ahead of this
one.
·
Galvani entered the
main draw for 2007
Roland Garros when
Mario Ancic withdrew
due to mononucleosis
(glandular fever).
·
Galvani reached a
career-best ranking
of No. 99 on 2 April
this year. Roland
Garros is his sixth
tour-level event of
the year, and five
of his six
tour-level
appearances have
been on clay. His
tour highlights to
date in 2007 are
winning one match at
Chennai (d. Yen-Hsun
Lu 62 63), Buenos
Aires (d. Diego
Juqueira 64 46 75)
and Acapulo (d. Jan
Hajek 63 62).
·
Playing on the 2007
challenger circuit,
Galvani won the
title at Rabat (MAR)
on clay in March,
defeating Olivier
Patience 61 61 in
the final. He
reached his
career-high ranking
(see above) shortly
after.
NO. 5
FERNANDO GONZALEZ
(CHI) v RADEK
STEPANEK (CZE)
Head-to-head:
Gonzalez leads 1-0
2004 World Team
Cup Clay
(O)
R2
Gonzalez 63
64
Having beaten
Stepanek at the
World Team Cup three
years ago, Gonzalez
went on to help
Chile successfully
defend the team
title.
GONZALEZ
v
STEPANEK
26
Age
28
7
Titles
1
42-24
Career Grand Slam Record
26-18
10-6
Roland Garros Record
5-4
254-139
Career Record
158-124
119-56
Career Record - Clay
58-40
20-10
2007 Record
8-11
11-7
2007 Record - Clay
2-5
11-9
Career Five-Set Record
8-10
3
Comebacks from 0-2 Down
3
103-69
Career Tiebreak Record
67-71
6-5
2007 Tiebreak Record
2-8
·
Gonzalez
is making his
seventh consecutive
appearance at Roland
Garros. He has only
once lost in the
first round, falling
to Florian Mayer 67
61 60 76 in the
opening round in
2004.
·
Gonzalez reached the
second round here
last year, defeating
Marat Safin 63 16 63
61 in the first
round before losing
to Novak Djokovic 64
61 36 46 61.
·
Gonzalez’s best
result at Roland
Garros was reaching
the quarterfinals in
2003, losing to
eventual champion
Juan Carlos Ferrero
61 36 61 57 64.
·
Gonzalez started
2007 by reaching his
first Grand Slam
final at the
Australian Open,
having never
previously advanced
beyond the
quarterfinals of a
major. He defeated
Rafael Nadal in the
quarterfinals and
Tommy Haas in the
semis before losing
to Roger Federer 76
64 64.
·
After the Australian
Open, Gonzalez’s
other standout
result this year was
on clay, at AMS
Rome, where he was
runner-up to Rafael
Nadal (l. 62 62 in
the final).
·
Gonzalez represented
Chile in the World
Team Cup last week.
Chile won the title
in 2003-04, but this
year was defeated in
the round robin
stages. Gonzalez won
his first two
matches, defeating
James Blake 64 75
and Robin Soderling
46 75 64, before
losing to Juan
Ignacio Chela 63 75.
·
Stepanek
is playing Roland
Garros for the fifth
straight year. He
reached the third
round here last
year, as No. 11 seed
losing to Julien
Benneteau 57 75 76
63.
·
The third round is
the furthest
Stepanek has
advanced at Roland
Garros. As well as
last year, he
reached the third
round in 2005, as
No. 16 seed losing
to Sebastien
Grosjean 61 46 36 63
64.
·
Stepanek has played
a full season so far
in 2007 after
returning from four
months out with a
back injury. He did
not play last year
after reaching his
first Grand Slam
quarterfinals at
Wimbledon, suffering
the injury while
practising for AMS
Toronto.
·
Stepanek’s results
since his comeback
at 2007 Adelaide
have been mixed and
he was ranked No. 57
the week of 21 May,
having reached a
career-high ranking
of No. 8 on 10 July
2006. His highlight
this year is
reaching the last 16
at AMS Miami before
losing to Tommy
Robredo, and he also
reached the third
round at the
Australian Open.
·
On clay in 2007,
Stepanek’s best
results are reaching
the second round at
AMS Monte Carlo and
AMS Rome. He fell in
the opening round at
Barcelona, Munich
and AMS Hamburg.
COURT 2
NO. 9
TOMMY ROBREDO (ESP)
v SERGIO ROITMAN (ARG)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
ROBREDO
v
ROITMAN
25
Age
28
9
ATP Ranking
83
4
Titles
0
48-25
Career Grand Slam
Record
0-3
19-6
Roland Garros Record
0-2
273-169
Career Record
11-24
125-57
Career Record - Clay
10-18
23-14
2007 Record
5-12
7-5
2007 Record - Clay
5-9
6-3
Career Five-Set
Record
0-2
1
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
89-73
Career Tiebreak
Record
5-4
4-6
2007 Tiebreak Record
2-3
·
Robredo
is playing his
seventh successive
Roland Garros and
has reached at least
the third round on
all of his six
previous
appearances.
·
Last year, as No. 7
seed, Robredo
reached the round of
16 before losing to
Mario Ancic 64 46 26
64 75.
·
Robredo has reached
the Roland Garros
quarterfinals on two
occasions, in 2003
and 2005. In 2003,
he let slip a
two-set lead and
lost to countryman
Albert Costa at that
stage and also lost
in five sets in the
last eight in 2005,
falling to Nikolay
Davydenko.
·
Robredo has played
five clay court
events this year in
the lead-up to
Roland Garros. His
best result was at
Estoril, where he
advanced to the
semifinals, losing
to Novak Djokovic 75
61. He also reached
the quarterfinals at
AMS Rome, falling to
Nikolay Davydenko 16
63 63.
·
Robredo enjoyed a
good start to the
2007 season,
reaching the final
at Auckland on hard
(l. David Ferrer 64
62) and then
advancing to the
Australian Open
quarterfinals (l.
Roger Federer 63 76
75) and equalling
his best performance
in a major (he also
reached the
quarterfinals here
in 2003 and 2005,
see above).
·
Roitman
is making his third
appearance at Roland
Garros, his first as
a direct entrant.
·
Roitman is bidding
for his first Grand
Slam victory here
today, having lost
on both of his
previous appearances
here and in his only
other appearance in
a major, at this
year’s Australian
Open.
·
Last year, as a
qualifier, Roitman
lost to Domink
Hrbaty 64 62 36 26
63 in the first
round. He also lost
in five sets on his
debut here in 2003,
when as a lucky
loser he fell to
defending champion
Albert Costa 67 26
75 62 62.
·
Roitman arrives here
on a four-match
losing streak and
won just two matches
in his five
clay-court events
leading in to Roland
Garros. He reached
the second round at
Valencia (l. Evgeny
Korolev 16 75 60)
and AMS Monte Carlo
(l. Max Mirnyi 75
64).
·
Roitman’s best
result of 2007, and
his career to date,
came at Vina Del
Mar. He won both his
round-robin matches
to advance to his
first career
quarterfinal, where
he retired with an
adductor injury,
when level with
Nicolas Massu 06 76.
NO.
18 JUAN IGNACIO
CHELA (ARG) v
FABRICE SANTORO (FRA)
Head-to-head: tied
1-1
2002
Stockholm
Hard
(I)
R32
Santoro
61 63
2005 New
Haven Hard
(O)
R16 Chela
64 61
CHELA
v
SANTORO
27
Age
34
21
ATP Ranking
55
4
Titles
4
27-24
Career Grand Slam
Record
56-58
8-6
Roland Garros Record
16-17
225-178
Career Record
422-398
121-79
Career Record - Clay
132-136
27-12
2007 Record
10-7
17-8
2007 Record - Clay
0-0
0-8
Career Five-Set
Record
18-14
0
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
1
74-75
Career Tiebreak
Record
139-119
4-7
2007 Tiebreak Record
5-1
·
Chela
is playing Roland
Garros for the
seventh time. He
lost in the first
round last year to
Fernando Verdasco 61
63 67 64.
·
Chela has lost in
the first round here
twice. As well as
last year, he fell
in the Roland Garros
opening round in
2002, to Adrian
Voinea 76 75 46 76.
·
Chela recorded his
career-best Grand
Slam result at 2004
Roland Garros when
he reached the
quarterfinals. As
No. 22 seed, he
defeated Olivier
Mutis 46 62 76 62 in
the round of 16
before losing to Tim
Henman 62 64 64.
·
At No. 18 here,
Chela has his
received the
second-highest Grand
Slam seeding of his
career. His highest
Grand Slam seeding
was at the 2004 US
Open, where he was
seeded No. 17.
·
Chela is having a
good year. He plays
here ranked No. 21,
having finished 2006
at No. 33, and won
his fourth career
singles title on
clay at Acapulco in
March, defeating
Carlos Moya 63 76 in
the final. He has
played well on all
surfaces, reaching
the semifinals at
Costa do Sauipe
(clay) and the
quarterfinals at
Auckland (hard), AMS
Indian Wells (hard),
AMS Miami (hard) and
AMS Rome (clay).
·
Chela was part of
the Argentine team
that won its third
World Team Cup title
in Dusseldorf last
week, alongside Jose
Acasuso, Agustin
Calleri and
Sebastian Prieto.
Chela went 1-2 in
singles in the
event, his sole
victory being over
Fernando Gonzalez 63
75 in the round
robin. He lost the
opening match of the
final versus Czech
Republic, to Tomas
Berdych 36 63 76,
but Argentina came
back to win 2-1.
·
Santoro
is making his 18th
appearance at Roland
Garros, having
played here more
times than any other
man in the draw.
Since making his
Grand Slam debut as
a wild card here in
1989, he has
competed in his home
Grand Slam event
every year except
1996.
·
Overall, 2007 Roland
Garros is Santoro’s
59th
Grand Slam event. He
is chasing Andre
Agassi’s record
number of Open Era
Grand Slam
appearances, which
stopped at 61 when
he retired at last
year’s US Open.
|
Rank |
Player |
Grand
Slam
Events
Played |
|
1. |
Andre
Agassi
|
61 |
|
2. |
Fabrice
Santoro |
59 |
|
3. |
Michael
Chang |
57 |
|
|
Jimmy
Connors |
57 |
|
|
Wayne
Ferreira |
57 |
|
|
Ivan
Lendl |
57 |
Players at 2007
Roland Garros in
bold (totals include
this event)
·
Santoro is also
playing his 35th
consecutive
Grand Slam event
here, which places
him seventh on the
Open Era list for
most successive
appearances at
majors. [For more
details see page 5
of the Preview.]
·
At 34, Santoro is
the secold oldest
man starting in the
draw behind
35-year-old Jonas
Bjorkman.
·
Santoro is bidding
for his first win at
Roland Garros for
three years. He lost
in the first round
last year to Chela’s
fellow Argentine
Jose Acasuso 63 61
36 16 119, and in
2005 in the first
round to Jan Hernych
76 36 61 46 64.
·
Santoro’s best
Roland Garros
results are reaching
the round of 16 ten
years apart, in 1991
(l. Michael Stich 63
61 62) and 2001 (l.
eventual runner-up
Alex Corretja 62 63
64).
·
Santoro was also
involved in a
notable match here
in 2004, when he and
countryman Arnaud
Clement set a new
record for the
longest known men’s
match in history.
The pair took part
in a six hour,
33-minute marathon
in the first round,
which Santoro won 64
63 67 36 1614 after
saving two match
points. (He went on
to a third round
finish.)
·
Santoro has played a
sparing singles
schedule in 2007,
Roland Garros being
just his eighth
event. His
highlights to date
are quarterfinal
finishes at Chennai
and Dubai, and he
also reached the
third round at the
Australian Open and
AMS Miami. In
doubles, he has won
two titles with
regular partner
Nenad Zimonjic:
Dubai and AMS Rome.
·
Santoro was
runner-up in men’s
doubles at 2004
Roland Garros with
Michael Llodra,
losing to Xavier
Malisse/Olivier
Rochus 75 75 in the
final. He won the
mixed doubles title
here in 2005 with
Daniela Hantuchova.
COURT 3
NO.
17 JUAN CARLOS
FERRERO (ESP) v AMER
DELIC (USA)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
FERRERO
v
DELIC
27
Age
24
11
Titles
0
73-27
Career Grand Slam Record
3-4
28-6
Roland Garros Record
0-0
350-179
Career Record
12-25
184-62
Career Record - Clay
1-3
19-12
2007 Record
7-10
16-8
2007 Record - Clay
1-3
17-13
Career Five-Set Record
1-1
1
Comebacks from 0-2 Down
0
130-100
Career Tiebreak Record
6-11
6-3
2007 Tiebreak Record
2-5
·
2003 champion
Ferrero is
making his eighth
appearance at Roland
Garros, having
played every year
since his run to the
semifinals on his
debut in 2000.
·
Ferrero advanced to
the third round here
last year, losing to
Gaston Gaudio 75 75
76.
·
Ferrero won his lone
Grand Slam title
here four years ago,
defeating Martin
Verkerk 61 63 62 in
the final. In the
semifinals Ferrero
had beaten Albert
Costa, avenging his
defeat by Costa in
the 2002 final.
·
Ferrero has
recovered from his
fall to as low as
No. 98 in the
rankings in February
2005, but hasn’t
recaptured the form
that took him to the
title here in 2003
and is still
searching for his
first title since
2003 AMS Madrid.
·
Ferrero’s best
results in 2007 have
been on clay. He
reached the final at
Costa do Sauipe,
losing to Guillermo
Canas 76 62, and was
a semifinalist at
Acapulco (l. Carlos
Moya 26 62 63) and
AMS Monte Carlo (l.
Roger Federer 63
64).
·
Ferrero was
runner-up in the
Roland Garros boys’
tournament in 1998,
losing to Fernando
Gonzalez 46 64 63 in
the final.
·
Delic
is making his Roland
Garros main draw
debut today.
·
Delic played Roland
Garros qualifying
last year, losing in
the second
qualifying round to
Edgardo Massa 76 63.
He also competed in
qualifying here in
2005, losing in the
first round.
·
This is Delic’s
fifth Grand Slam
tournament overall.
So far the second
round represents his
best result, having
got that far three
times, at the US
Open in 2004, and
the Australian Open
2006-07. Roland
Garros marks Delic’s
second Grand Slam
appearance as a
direct acceptance
rather than a
qualifier, having
also been a direct
acceptance in
Australia this year.
·
Delic reached a
career-high ranking
of No. 65 on 14 May,
and at 21 May was
ranked not far off
this at No. 67. His
standout result of
the 2007 season was
reaching the round
of 16 at AMS Miami
as a qualifier,
where he won
back-to-back
tour-level matches
for the first time
in his career with
wins over Julien
Benneteau 64 64 in
the first round and
Jose Acasuso 60 63
in the second round.
Delic then upset No.
4 seed Nikolay
Davydenko 76 63 in
the third round,
before losing to
Juan Ignacio Chela
63 62.
·
Roland Garros is
Delic’s fourth
tour-level clay
court tournament of
the year. He has one
win to date,
defeating Robert
Kendrick 63 16 75 to
reach the second
round at Houston.
·
Delic has played two
challenger events in
2007, one of which
was on clay. He won
two matches to reach
the quarterfinals at
Zagreb in mid May
(l. Ramon Delgado 61
62).
COURT
7
Head-to-head: first
meeting
BENNETEAU
v
BERLOCQ
25
Age
24
0
Titles
0
10-15
Career Grand Slam
Record
0-3
6-5
Roland Garros Record
0-1
59-79
Career Record
8-22
15-20
Career Record - Clay
7-18
12-14
2007 Record
3-4
4-4
2007 Record - Clay
3-4
1-3
Career Five-Set
Record
0-0
0
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
22-24
Career Tiebreak
Record
4-4
6-3
2007 Tiebreak Record
1-0
·
Benneteau
is making his sixth
successive Roland
Garros appearance.
He has lost in the
first round on three
of his previous five
apperances.
·
Benneteau is seeded
for the first time
in a Grand Slam,
having achieved a
career-high ranking
of No. 35 on 21 May.
·
Last year, Benneteau
posted a career-best
Grand Slam
performance in
advancing to the
quarterfinals where
he lost to No. 4
seed Ivan Ljubicic
62 62 63.
·
Benneteau played
four clay court
tournaments in the
lead-up to this
year’s Roland
Garros, with his
best result coming
at Casablanca, where
he advanced to the
quarterfinals (l.
Marc Gicquel 36 61
61). He also
advanced to the
second round at both
AMS Monte Carlo and
AMS Hamburg but lost
in the first round
at AMS Rome.
·
Benneteau’s best
result of 2007 came
at AMS Indian Wells,
where he reached the
round of 16 before
losing to Novak
Djokovic 63 61.
·
Berlocq
is making his second
successive
appearance at Roland
Garros, having made
his debut here last
year.
·
This is Berlocq’s
fourth Grand Slam
appearance overall
and he has lost in
the first round on
his previous three
appearances.
·
Berlocq has played
exclusively on clay
this year. His best
performance came at
Vina del Mar where
he reached the
quarterfinals before
losing 36 63 75 to
Martin Vassallo
Arguello.
·
He lost in the first
round of both his
warm-up tournaments
prior to coming to
Roland Garros,
retiring with a back
injury whilst
trailing Boris
Pashanski 4-0 at
Barcelona and
falling to Kristian
Pless 63 63 at
Portschach as a
qualifier.
·
In addition to
appearing in four
tour-level events,
Berlocq has also
competed on the
challenger circuit
in 2007, winning the
title at Barletta (ITA)
and reaching the
semifinals at Monza
(ITA).
NO.
15 DAVID NALBANDIAN
(ARG) v HYUNG-TAIK
LEE (KOR)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
NALBANDIAN
v
LEE
25
Age
31
18
ATP Ranking
42
5
Titles
1
65-21
Career Grand Slam
Record
15-22
16-5
Roland Garros Record
4-4
226-116
Career Record
129-133
88-44
Career Record - Clay
22-23
9-9
2007 Record
7-12
3-4
2007 Record - Clay
3-4
14-8
Career Five-Set
Record
6-6
6
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
2
74-61
Career Tiebreak
Record
53-53
4-6
2007 Tiebreak Record
4-4
·
Nalbandian
is appearing at
Roland Garros for
the sixth time in
his career.
·
Nalbandian has never
lost in the first
round here, and in
fact has only one
first round loss in
a major in his
career, at the 2002
US Open (l. Sargis
Sargsian 61 64 64).
·
Nalbandian reached
the Roland Garros
semifinals for the
second time last
year, as No. 3 seed
defeating Nikolay
Davydenko 63 63 26
64 in the
quarterfinals before
retiring with a left
abdominal strain
against Roger
Federer, losing 36
64 52 ret. to hand
the world No. 1 his
first Roland Garros
final. Nalbandian
also reached the
semis here in 2004,
falling to eventual
champion and
compatriot Gaston
Gaudio 63 76 60. He
is one of only two
active players – the
other being Federer
– to have reached
the semifinals or
better at all four
Grand Slam events.
·
Nalbandian has
played an
abbreviated season
so far, Roland
Garros being just
his ninth event
(including the Davis
Cup quarterfinals).
Having led Argentina
to the Davis Cup
final at the end of
2006 (they lost to
Russia), he sat out
the first round of
this year’s
competition in
February to rest. He
retired with a back
injury in the second
round at AMS Monte
Carlo (l. Philipp
Kohlschreiber 75 41
ret.), then reached
the quarterfinals at
Barcelona in his
last tournament
appearance before
coming here.
Nalbandian withdrew
from the Masters
Series events in
Rome and Hamburg
with the back
injury.
·
Nalbandian’s best
result in 2007 was
winning three
matches to reach the
last 16 at the
Australian Open,
before losing to
Tommy Haas 46 63 62
63. He won two in a
row to advance to
the last 16 at AMS
Indian Wells, and
the quarterfinals at
Barcelona.
·
Lee
is making his fifth
appearance at Roland
Garros, but his
first for two years,
having not competed
here last year.
·
Lee’s best Roland
Garros results are
two third round
appearances, in 2004
(l. Feliciano Lopez
76 46 60 63) and
2005 (l. David
Ferrer 63 61 75).
·
Lee has never
bettered his
performance on his
Grand Slam debut as
a qualifier at the
2000 US Open, where
he reached the round
of 16, defeating
Rainer Schuettler 62
36 64 64 in the
third round before
losing to Pete
Sampras 76 62 64.
·
Lee reached a
career-high ranking
of No. 41 on 21 May.
His best result this
season is reaching
the quarterfinals at
San Jose, losing to
eventual champion
Andy Murray 46 63
76. He has won three
matches on clay in
four tournaments on
the surface ahead of
this one, his best
result being winning
two in a row to
reach the round of
16 at AMS Monte
Carlo (l. Roger
Federer 64 63).
MATCHES ON OTHER
COURTS
NO.
13 MIKHAIL YOUZHNY (RUS)
v JAN HERNYCH (CZE)
Head-to-head:
Youzhny leads 1-0
2007 Australian
Open
Hard (O)
R128 Youzhny
76 62 60
Youzhny and Hernych
meet in the first
round for a second
successive major.
YOUZHNY
v
HERNYCH
24
Age
27
3
Titles
0
38-24
Career Grand Slam Record
5-10
5-6
Roland Garros Record
1-2
203-162
Career Record
49-68
57-49
Career Record - Clay
7-15
27-11
2007 Record
5-10
8-4
2007 Record - Clay
0-1
8-7
Career Five-Set Record
1-2
2
Comebacks from 0-2 Down
0
86-71
Career Tiebreak Record
19-19
10-10
2007 Tiebreak Record
1-3
·
Youzhny
is playing at Roland
Garros for the
seventh consecutive
year. He has
advanced to at least
the second round on
his last four
appearances.
·
Last year, Youzhny
reached the second
round here,
defeating Sasa
Tuksar 63 63 36 60
in the first round
before losing to
1998 champion Carlos
Moya 63 64 62.
·
Youzhny’s best
result at Roland
Garros came in 2004,
when he reached the
third round, falling
to Nicolas Escude 62
75 67 62.
·
In the lead-up to
Roland Garros,
Youzhny reached the
seventh final of his
career, his second
on clay, at Munich,
losing to Philipp
Kohlschreiber 26 63
64.
·
Munich (see above)
was Youzhny’s third
final of the year.
He won his third
career title at
Rotterdam on indoor
hard court in
February, defeating
Ivan Ljubicic 62 64
in the final and a
week later also
reached the final at
Dubai, also on hard
court, losing to
Roger Federer 64 63.
This is the first
time in his career
that Youzhny has
reached more than
two finals in the
same year and is
reflected in the
fact that he
equalled his
career-high ranking
of No. 15 on 21 May.
·
Hernych
is making his third
consecutive Roland
Garros appearance.
·
Last year, Hernych
lost in the opening
round here, falling
to Lleyton Hewitt 76
36 62 60.
·
Hernych’s best
performance at
Roland Garros was on
his debut in 2005.
He defeated Fabrice
Santoro 76 36 61 46
64 in the first
round before losing
to 2003 champion
Juan Carlos Ferrero
64 64 62 in the
second.
·
Hernych has never
gone beyond the
second round at any
of the ten majors
that he has
contested prior to
this one.
·
Hernych has played
just one event at
tour level on clay
this year, losing to
Sergio Roitman 75 76
in the opening round
at Valencia. He also
failed to qualify at
AMS Monte Carlo and
AMS Hamburg.
·
Hernych has won
back-to-back matches
on two occasions
this year, reaching
the quarterfinals at
Las Vegas (l. Jurgen
Melzer) and the
round of 16 at AMS
Indian Wells (l.
Nikolay Davydenko).
NO.
19 GUILLERMO CANAS
(ARG) v VICTOR
HANESCU (ROU)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
CANAS
v
HANESCU
29
Age
25
22
ATP Ranking
425
7
Titles
0
32-23
Career Grand Slam
Record
11-13
11-6
Roland Garros Record
7-3
209-146
Career Record
66-77
102-67
Career Record - Clay
42-37
22-8
2007 Record
1-4
12-5
2007 Record - Clay
1-2
11-11
Career Five-Set
Record
4-4
1
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
68-60
Career Tiebreak
Record
29-50
11-3
2007 Tiebreak Record
0-2
·
Canas
is making his
seventh appearance
at Roland Garros,
and first since
2005. This is his
first Grand Slam
tournament since
here two years ago,
having returned from
a 15-month
anti-doping
suspension in
September 2006.
·
Roland Garros is the
scene of Canas’s
best Grand Slam
performances. He has
twice reached the
quarterfinals here,
going no further
than the round of 16
at any other major.
Canas first reached
the quarters here in
2002, defeating
Lleyton Hewitt 67 76
64 63 in the round
of 16 before losing
to eventual champion
Albert Costa 75 36
67 64 60. He
returned to the last
eight here in 2005
in his last Grand
Slam appearance,
again losing in five
sets, this time to
eventual runner-up
Mariano Puerta 62 36
16 63 64.
·
Canas tested
positive for
hydrochlorothiazide
steroid at 2005
Acapulco and began
his 15-month
suspension after
2005 Halle the week
of 13 June. He
returned at the
Belem Challenger
(BRA) the week of 11
September 2006 and
won the title, and
has performed
strongly since,
working his way back
up the rankings from
a low of No. 514 in
September 2006 to
No. 20 on 14 May
2007, his highest
mark since 8 August
2005. He plays here
at No. 22.
·
Canas compiled a
28-3 record on the
challenger circuit
from September
onwards through the
remainder of the
2006 season, winning
a total of four
tournaments (Belem,
Montevideo, Buenos
Aires and Asuncion).
After collecting
another challenger
title at Sao Paulo
this January, he
stepped up to the
ATP tour, and
quickly won the
title at Costa do
Sauipe, his first
tour title for two
and a half years,
defeating Juan
Carlos Ferrero 76 62
in the final.
·
In addition to
winning the Costa do
Sauipe title, Canas
has other good
results this year on
both clay and hard
court. He qualified
at AMS Miami and
advanced to the
final, losing to
Novak Djokovic 63 62
64, and was
runner-up at
Barcelona, to Rafael
Nadal 63 64.
·
His performance at
Barcelona was
Canas’s standout
result on European
clay – he did not
advance beyond the
second round at his
three other events
in the run-up to
here. He withdrew
from AMS Monte Carlo
with leg pains, and
retired in the first
round at Munich with
a stomach injury.
·
Hanescu
is making his fourth
appearance at Roland
Garros and first for
two years, having
missed last year due
to a recurring back
injury.
·
Hanescu has never
lost in the first
round here. He had
his best Grand Slam
result here in 2005,
reaching the
quarterfinals. He
defeated David
Nalbandian 63 46 57
61 62 in the round
of 16 before losing
to Roger Federer 62
76 63.
·
Hanescu is bidding
to win his first
Grand Slam match
since 2005
Wimbledon, when he
defeated Kenneth
Carlsen 67 76 63 57
64 in the first
round. His second
round loss to
Sebastien Grosjean,
63 64 62, began a
four-match losing
streak at majors,
through first round
defeats at the 2005
US Open (where he
retired from his
match with heat
exhaustion), the
2006 Australian Open
and the 2007
Australian Open.
·
Hanescu did not play
in 2006 after AMS
Rome for six months
due to a back
injury, and plays
here with a
protected ranking of
No. 99. He returned
in November to try
and qualify for two
challenger events
(he failed at both),
but made his main
draw comeback in
January this year.
·
2007 Roland Garros
is just his fifth
tour-level event of
the year (including
the Davis Cup first
round in February),
and so far he has
won just one match,
defeating Martin
Verkerk 64 64 in the
first round at
Houston (then losing
to Jurgen Melzer 64
62 in the second
round). Hanescu
would play Verkerk
in the second round
here, if both
advance.
·
Hanescu has played
four more main draw
events at challenger
level in 2007. His
highlight is a
semifinal finish on
clay at Rome in
early May (l.
Thierry Ascione 63
62).
NO.
27 JURGEN MELZER (AUT)
v JOSE ACASUSO (ARG)
Head-to-head:
Acasuso leads 1-0
2005 AMS
Miami Hard
(O)
R128
Acasuso 64
63
MELZER
v
ACASUSO
26
Age
24
30
ATP Ranking
46
1
Titles
3
15-20
Career Grand Slam
Record
8-22
3-4
Roland Garros Record
5-5
127-131
Career Record
134-123
57-48
Career Record - Clay
107-69
15-14
2007 Record
14-10
6-6
2007 Record - Clay
11-7
3-5
Career Five-Set
Record
4-3
0
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
2
49-56
Career Tiebreak
Record
48-47
4-6
2007 Tiebreak Record
5-4
·
Melzer
is playing Roland
Garros for the fifth
successive year. He
lost in the first
round last year to
Nicolas Kiefer 76 63
61.
·
Melzer has lost in
the Roland Garros
first round twice.
As well as last
year, he fell in the
opening round here
on his debut in
2003, to David
Ferrer 62 62 76.
Melzer has had ten
first round losses
in his 20 previous
Grand Slam events.
·
Melzer’s best finish
at Roland Garros,
and indeed at any
Grand Slam event, is
the third round. He
reached the third
round here in 2005,
losing to Guillermo
Coria 61 61 76.
Melzer also reached
the third round at
the 2004 and 2005
Australian Open, the
2004 US Open and
2005 Wimbledon.
·
Melzer has received
just his second
Grand Slam seeding
at 2007 Roland
Garros, and it is
his highest to date,
having been seeded
No. 32 at the 2005
Australian Open (l.
third round to Andy
Roddick 62 62 75).
·
Melzer reached a
career-high ranking
of No. 28 on 5 March
this year, and plays
here at No. 30. He
was runner-up at Las
Vegas (l. Lleyton
Hewitt 64 76 in the
final) and a
semifinalist at
Sydney.
·
Melzer’s best
results this year on
clay are
quarterfinal
finishes at Houston
and Munich. He also
won two matches to
reach the round of
16 at AMS Hamburg.
·
This is Acasuso’s
sixth time playing
Roland Garros. He
reached the second
round last year,
losing to Lukas
Dlouhy 46 76 63 61.
·
Acasuso had the best
result of his Grand
Slam career when he
reached the round of
16 here in 2005,
defeating Max
Mirnyi, Andy Roddick
and Filippo Volandri
(by retirement)
through the first
three rounds before
losing to eventual
runner-up Mariano
Puerta 64 61 61.
That marks the only
time in 22 majors
(ahead of this one)
that Acasuso has won
back-to-back matches
at a Grand Slam
event.
·
Acasuso is currently
on a three-match
winning streak,
having won all three
of his matches in
helping Argentina to
win its third World
Team Cup title in
Dusseldorf last
week. He had wins
over Jonas Bjorkman
67 76 63, Mardy Fish
75 64 and Nicolas
Massu 63 64 in the
round robin.
Although he didn’t
play singles in the
final against Czech
Republic, he won the
decisive doubles
with Agustin
Calleri, defeating
Tomas Berdych and
Martin Damm 26 64
[10-4].
·
Most of Acasuso’s
best results in 2007
have been on clay.
He was a
quarterfinalist at
Acapulco and
Casablanca on the
surface, and reached
the last 16 at AMS
Rome and Hamburg. He
has played just
three hard court
tournaments this
season, his
highlight being
reaching the third
round at AMS Indian
Wells.
MARTIN VERKERK (NED) v
SIMONE BOLELLI (ITA)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
VERKERK
v
BOLELLI
28
Age
21
717
ATP Ranking
75
2
Titles
0
10-8
Career Grand Slam
Record
0-0
8-2
Roland Garros Record
0-0
58-67
Career Record
4-11
31-29
Career Record - Clay
1-5
0-8
2007 Record
4-7
0-6
2007 Record - Clay
1-3
5-2
Career Five-Set
Record
0-0
0
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
35-30
Career Tiebreak
Record
3-7
0-3
2007 Tiebreak Record
2-4
·
Verkerk
is making his third
Roland Garros
appearance but his
first for three
years.
·
Verkerk suffered a
right shoulder
injury in July 2004,
which required
surgery and led to
him playing just one
match (which he
retired from) until
returning in
September 2006 at
the Tarragona
Challenger.
·
As a result of his
long-term absence,
Verkerk is playing
here on a protected
ranking of 44.
·
On his last
appearance here in
2004, Verkerk
advanced to the
third round, losing
to Lleyton Hewitt 62
36 46 62 61.
·
Verkerk posted his
best career
performance at 2003
Roland Garros, where
on his debut here,
he became the first
Dutchman in history
to reach the final,
losing to Juan
Carlos Ferrero 61 63
62.
·
Verkerk has lost all
eight of his matches
in 2007. In fact, he
has only scored
three victories at
any level since
returning to the
circuit in September
2006: two in
reaching the third
round of qualifying
at the Mons
Challenger in
October 2006, and
one in reaching the
second round of
qualifying at 2006
Basle.
·
Bolelli
is making his Grand
Slam debut today.
·
Bolelli was ranked
high enough for
direct acceptance
into the main draw
of a major for the
first time, after
winning three
Challenger titles
and reaching another
three challenger
finals in the last
twelve months.
·
Bolelli failed to
qualify for the last
six majors, coming
closest at 2006
Wimbledon where he
fell in the final
qualifying round to
countryman Stefano
Galvani 61 64 75.
·
Bolelli has won just
one match in three
clay court
tournaments leading
up to this year’s
Roland Garros,
defeating Marat
Safin 64 76 in the
first round at
Barcelona before
losing to Potito
Starace 64 63 in the
second round.
·
Bolelli’s best
result in 2007 came
at AMS Miami, where
he won back-to-back
matches at tour
level for the first
time in his career,
defeating Gael
Monfils 64 62 and
Dmitry Tursunov 67
63 64 in the first
two rounds before
falling to David
Ferrer 76 62 in the
final.
·
Bolelli plays here
on a ranking of No.
75, one place lower
than his career-high
of No. 74, achieved
on 21 May 2007.
