2007 ROLAND GARROS
DAY
FOUR MEN’S NOTES
Wednesday 30 May
2006
Second Round Top
Half
Show
court matches
PHILIPPE CHATRIER:
No.
11 Richard Gasquet (FRA)
v Kristof Vliegen
(BEL
No.
18 Juan Ignacio
Chela (ARG) v Gael
Monfils (FRA)
SUZANNE LENGLEN:
No.
22 Marat Safin (RUS)
v Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
No. 1 Roger
Federer (SUI) v (WC)
Thierry Ascione (FRA)
COURT
1:
No.
32 Nicolas Almagro
(ESP) v Michael
Llodra (FRA)
No. 7 Ivan Ljubicic
(CRO) v Stanislas
Wawrinka (SUI)
COURT
2:
No. 4
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
v Werner Eschauer (AUT)
Radek
Stepanek (CZE) v
(WC) Eduoard Roger-Vasselin
(FRA)
COURT
3:
No. 19 Guillermo
Canas (ARG) v Simone
Bolelli (ITA)
COURT
6:
No. 17 Juan Carlos
Ferrero (ESP) v
Stefan Koubek (AUT)
COURT
7:
No. 9 Tommy
Robredo (ESP) v (Q)
Konstantinos
Economodis (GRE)
No. 15 David
Nalbandian (ARG) v
(Q) Ivan Navarro
Pastor (ESP)
OTHER FEATURED
MATCH:
No. 13 Mikhail
Youzhny (RUS) v
Nicolas Lapentti
(ECU)
On court today…
·
2006 runner-up Roger
Federer looks to
keep his 2007
campaign on track
against wild card
Thierry Ascione. The
ten-time Grand Slam
champion has never
lost at the second
round stage of
Roland Garros; his
French opponent
hasn’t won
back-to-back
tour-level matches
since January 2006.
·
2006 semifinalist
Ivan Ljubicic meets
2003 boys champion
Stanislas Wawrinka,
having beaten the
Swiss in both their
previous encounters.
Wawrinka, on the
comeback trail after
three months out
with a right knee
injury, was 0-3 on
clay this year
before coming here.
·
Another 2006
semifinalist, David
Nalbandian, has a
first-time meeting
with qualifier Ivan
Navarro Pastor. The
Spaniard is making
his debut at Roland
Garros this year.
·
No. 11 seed and 2002
boys champion
Richard Gasquet bids
to equal his best
Roland Garros result
when he takes on
Kristof Vliegen for
a place in the third
round. A win for
Vliegen would see
the Belgian equal
his best result in
any Grand Slam
event.
·
2003 champion Juan
Carlos Ferrero bids
to extend a 4-3
winning head-to-head
against Stefan
Koubek. Until his
win over Christophe
Rochus by retirement
in the first round
here, Koubek had
lost in the first
round of his last
five Grand Slam
events, his last win
in a major coming
over Ferrero at the
2004 US Open.
·
Juan Ignacio Chela
takes on his second
Frenchman in the
tournament. After
defeating Fabrice
Santoro in the first
round, the
Argentine, already a
champion on clay
this year at
Acapulco faces Gael
Monfils, whose four
career victories at
Roland Garros have
been in five sets.
·
Spaniard Tommy
Robredo bids to
preserve his record
of always reaching
at least the third
round here against
Greek qualifier
Konstantinos
Economidis,
appearing in the
second round of a
Grand Slam for the
first time today.
·
A
match-up between two
men who advanced to
the second round by
retirement: Mikhail
Youzhny, who didn’t
complete a game in
his first round win
over Jan Hernych,
and Nicolas Lapentti,
whose opponent
Alexander Peya
retired in the third
set of their match.
Today marks the
pair’s fourth
meeting, all of
which have been on
clay, and Youzhny
leads the series
2-1.
·
Two of Youzhny’s
Russian Davis Cup
teammates: Marat
Safin and Nikolay
Davydenko. Marat
Safin takes on Janko
Tipsarevic in a
match between two of
the three men who
managed to complete
their matches on
Sunday while
Davydenko faces
Werner Eschauer, who
is appearing at
Roland Garros for
the second time,
seven years after
his first
appearance, when he
also reached the
second round.
·
Guillermo Canas,
playing his first
Grand Slam for two
years takes on
Simone Bolelli, who
is making his Grand
Slam debut.
COURT
PHILIPPE CHATRIER
NO.
11 RICHARD GASQUET (FRA)
v KRISTOF VLIEGEN (BEL)
Head-to-head:
Vliegen leads 1-0
2006 AMS
Hamburg
Clay (O)
R64 Vliegen
64 62
GASQUET
v
VLIEGEN
20
Age
24
13
ATP Ranking
74
4
Titles
0
16-14
Career Grand Slam
Record
5-10
4-5
Roland Garros Record
2-3
106-71
Career Record
64-69
40-28
Career Record - Clay
26-28
25-11
2007 Record
9-14
10-5
2007 Record - Clay
6-6
3-6
Career Five-Set
Record
1-3
0
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
37-41
Career Tiebreak
Record
27-16
5-8
2007 Tiebreak Record
5-2
·
Gasquet
defeated countryman
and wild card
Nicolas Mahut 63 62
62 in the opening
round.
·
Gasquet is playing
in his sixth
successive Roland
Garros and is making
his third successive
appearance in the
second round, having
lost in the first
round the first
three years he
played here.
·
Last year, Gasquet
lost in the second
round to eventual
semifinalist David
Nalbandian 62 36 75
60.
·
A win today would
equal Gasquet’s best
result at his home
Grand Slam
tournament. He
reached the third
round in 2005,
losing to eventual
champion Rafael
Nadal 64 63 62.
·
Gasquet has made
round of 16
appearances at each
of the other three
Grand Slam
tournaments, this
being his best
finish to date at a
major. He reached
the last 16 at 2005
Wimbledon, the 2005
and 2006 US Open,
and the 2007
Australian Open.
·
In his clay court
preparation for
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
Gasquet’s best
result of 2007 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.
·
Gasquet was the 2002
Roland Garros boys’
champion, defeating
compatriot Laurent
Recouderc 60 61 in
the final.
·
Vliegen
defeated Danai
Udomchoke 62 64 63
in the first round,
winning his first
match at Roland
Garros for two
years.
·
Vliegen lost in five
sets in the opening
round here last year
to Lukas Dlouhy 46
64 36 76 62.
·
This is Vliegen’s
fourth successive
appearance at Roland
Garros and by
advancing to the
second round he has
equalled his best
result at this
event. He reached
the second round as
a qualifier here in
2005, defeating
Antony Dupuis 64 61
62 in the first
round before losing
to Mariano Puerta 63
75 62.
·
Vliegen is bidding
to equal his best
Grand Slam result.
He has made one
previous appearance
in the third round
of a major in ten
Grand Slam
tournaments played
ahead of this one,
reaching the third
round at the 2006
Australian Open
before losing to
Juan Ignacio Chela
61 64 64.
·
Vliegen’s win
against Udomchoke in
the first round here
broke a four-match
losing streak in
main draw tour-level
matches. Having lost
to eventual champion
Rafael Nadal in the
second round at
Barcelona 61 62,
Vliegen lost all
three of his singles
matches representing
Belgium in the World
Team Cup last week,
to Florian Mayer 63
64, Jan Hajek 76 64
and Nicolas Almagro
62 61.
·
Between his
appearances at
Barcelona and the
World Team Cup,
Vliegen attempted to
qualify for AMS Rome
and AMS Hamburg,
losing in the first
qualifying round at
both. Adding these
to his four main
draw losses as
detailed above,
Vliegen in fact
broke a six-match
losing streak by
winning in the first
round here (although
only main draw
tour-level matches
are counted in a
players’ win-loss
record).
·
Vliegen’s best
result of the
European clay court
season was reaching
the quarterfinals at
AMS Monte Carlo,
defeating Paul-Henri
Mathieu and Marat
Safin before losing
to eventual champion
Rafael Nadal 61 61.
The quarterfinals is
Vliegen’s best
result on any
surface this season
– he also reached
the last eight on
hard court at
Auckland in January
(l. David Ferrer 36
63 62).
·
Vliegen had another
clay court highlight
in the Davis Cup
first round in
February. With
Belgium back
competing in the
World Group for the
first time since
2003 and playing
Australia, he won
both his singles
rubbers, defeating
Lleyton Hewitt 46 64
36 63 64 in the
first rubber and
Chris Guccione 64 64
64 in the decisive
fifth rubber to help
Belgium to a 3-2
victory, the
nation’s first in
the World Group
since 1999.
NO.
18 JUAN IGNACIO
CHELA (ARG) v GAEL
MONFILS (FRA)
Head-to-head:
Monfils leads 1-0
2005
Metz
Hard
(I)
R32
Monfils
26 61 76
CHELA
v
MONFILS
27
Age
20
21
ATP Ranking
52
4
Titles
1
28-24
Career Grand Slam
Record
10-9
9-6
Roland Garros Record
4-2
226-178
Career Record
56-54
122-79
Career Record - Clay
20-17
28-12
2007 Record
8-11
18-8
2007 Record - Clay
5-4
0-8
Career Five-Set
Record
4-1
0
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
74-76
Career Tiebreak
Record
26-20
4-8
2007 Tiebreak Record
5-4
·
Chela
advanced to the
second round at
Roland Garros for
the fifth time in
seven appearances
here by defeating
Fabrice Santoro 67
60 63 63 in the
first round.
·
Chela has lost in
the second round
here twice. On his
Roland Garros debut
in 2000 he lost to
Younes El Aynaoui 63
64 60, while he also
lost at this stage
in 2005, falling to
Fernando Verdasco 75
61 36 75.
·
Chela has won his
two other second
round matches here,
in 2003, defeating
Giorgio Galimberti
62 57 62 61 before
losing to Carlos
Moya 62 63 36 26 63
in the third round
and in 2004 on his
way to his best
Grand Slam result
(see below)
·
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.
·
Chela lost in the
first round last
year to Fernando
Verdasco 61 63 67
64.
·
At No. 18 here,
Chela has 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.
·
Monfils,
playing his third
Roland Garros,
advanced to the
second round by
defeating Olivier
Rochus 46 64 62 36
61.
·
Monfils has now won
four matches at
Roland Garros and
all of his victories
have been in five
sets.
·
Last year, as No. 25
seed, Monfils
recorded his best
Grand Slam result to
date when reaching
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.
·
Monfils’s best
results at the other
majors are
third-round finishes
at 2005 Wimbledon
and the 2007
Australian Open and
a second-round
finish at the 2006
US Open.
·
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
SUZANNE LENGLEN
NO.
22 MARAT SAFIN (RUS)
v JANKO TIPSAREVIC (SRB)
Head-to-head: Safin
leads 1-0
2006
Moscow
Carpet (I)
QF
Safin
76 36 64
Safin and Tipsarevic
were two of just
three players to
complete their
matches on the
opening day of this
year’s Roland Garros
on Sunday.
SAFIN
v
TIPSAREVIC
27
Age
22
25
ATP Ranking
80
15
Titles
0
81-27
Career Grand Slam
Record
6-12
24-8
Roland Garros Record
2-3
373-216
Career Record
43-57
110-67
Career Record - Clay
19-13
13-10
2007 Record
7-9
6-5
2007 Record - Clay
4-1
26-11
Career Five-Set
Record
7-3
0
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
2
184-149
Career Tiebreak
Record
22-23
6-7
2007 Tiebreak Record
4-2
·
Safin was the first man to advance to the second round at this
year’s Roland
Garros, defeating
lucky loser Fernando
Vicente 61 63 61 in
the opening match on
Philippe Chatrier on
Sunday.
·
Safin is making his ninth appearance at Roland Garros. Apart
from last year, when
he lost in the first
round to Fernando
Gonzalez, he has
always reached at
least the third
round here.
·
Safin’s best Roland Garros result is reaching the semifinals
in 2002 as No. 2
seed, defeating
Sebastien Grosjean
63 62 62 in the
quarterfinals before
losing to Juan
Carlos Ferrero 63 62
64.
·
Safin has won two Grand Slam singles titles to date. He
defeated Pete
Sampras 64 63 63 to
win the 2000 US Open
and five years
later, defeated
Lleyton Hewitt 16 63
64 64 to win the
2005 Australian Open
title.
·
Safin is bidding to win consecutive matches for just the
second time this
season, having done
so to advance to the
semifinals at Las
Vegas, losing to
Lleyton Hewitt 75
61. Since then he
has lost his first
match at three
events, and his
second match at
three more.
·
Safin played four clay court tournaments ahead of 2007 Roland
Garros, losing in
the second round at
all three Masters
Series events on the
surface: at AMS
Monte Carlo to
Kristof Vliegen 06
76 64, at AMS Rome
to countryman
Nikolay Davydenko 76
75, and at AMS
Hamburg to Juan
Carlos Ferrero 63
76(15).
·
Safin has also played two Davis Cup ties on clay in 2007. He
defeated Nicolas
Massu 63 62 62 in
the opening rubber
of Russia’s first
round tie away to
Chile, before losing
the fourth rubber to
Fernando Gonzalez 63
75 64. In Russia’s
home quarterfinal
tie versus France in
April, Safin
defeated Paul-Henri
Mathieu 76 63 62 in
the decisive fifth
rubber, handing
defending champion
Russia a place in
the semifinals in
September, where it
will be at home to
Germany.
·
Tipsarevic advanced to the second round at Roland Garros for just
the second time in
four appearances,
defeating countryman
and qualifier Dusan
Vemic 76 64 46 63 in
the first round.
·
Last year, Tipsarevic lost to Julien Benneteau 62 64 67 63 in
the first round.
·
Tipsarevic is today bidding to reach the third round at
Roland Garros for
the first time. He
also advanced to the
second round in
2005, defeating
Dominik Hrbaty 67 63
36 63 86 in the
first round before
losing to Fernando
Vicente 63 16 76 63.
·
If he wins today, Tipsarevic would also equal his best
performance in any
Grand Slam. He
advanced to the
third round at 2005
Wimbledon, losing to
Thomas Johansson 62
63 61.
·
Tipsarevic is bidding to win back-to-back matches for the
third time this
year. He advanced to
the third round at
AMS Indian Wells (l.
David Ferrer 61 63)
and also won both
singles rubbers when
Serbia defeated
Georgia 5-0 in a
Davis Cup
Europe/Africa Group
I tie.
·
This is Tipsarevic’s third tour-level event, including Davis
Cup, on clay this
year. At Casablanca,
he defeated Michael
Llodra 62 76 in the
first round before
losing to Jose
Acasuso 64 64.
·
Tipsarevic won the Zagreb Challenger (d. Julio Silva 36 63
63) in his last
tournament before
Roland Garros so is
on a six-match
winning streak at
all levels.
NO. 1
ROGER FEDERER (SUI)
v (WC) THIERRY
ASCIONE (FRA)
Head-to-head:
Federer leads 1-0
2003 AMS
Paris Carpet
(I)
R32
Federer
76 61
FEDERER
v
ASCIONE
25
Age
26
1
ATP Ranking
168
48
Titles
0
120-21
Career Grand Slam
Record
2-8
21-8
Roland Garros Record
1-4
512-132
Career Record
19-36
97-35
Career Record - Clay
8-14
25-4
2007 Record
2-1
11-2
2007 Record - Clay
2-1
9-10
Career Five-Set
Record
0-2
3
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
190-108
Career Tiebreak
Record
9-13
6-3
2007 Tiebreak Record
0-1
·
Federer
defeated Michael
Russell 64 62 64
in the first
round, to advance to
the Roland Garros
second round for the
sixth time.
·
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.
·
Although Federer has
lost in the first
round here three
times (1999, 2002
and 2003), he has
never lost at the
second round stage
of Roland Garros.
·
Federer has entered
his 174th
week at No. 1 in the
rankings, having
been at the top
every week since 2
February 2004. This
is a record for
consecutive weeks at
No. 1 – he overtook
Jimmy Connors’ mark
of 160 straight
weeks on 26th
February. Federer is
in fourth place for
the most total weeks
at No. 1, behind
Pete Sampras (286
weeks), Ivan Lendl
(270 weeks) and
Connors (268).
·
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.
Before the start of
Roland Garros, his
win-loss record for
the season was only
seventh-best, at
24-4. Federer’s
victory at AMS
Hamburg 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. The
last No. 1 seed to
lose in the second
round was Andre
Agassi in 2000, the
American falling to
Karol Kucera 26 75
61 60.
·
Wild card Ascione
defeated 2005 Roland
Garros boys champion
Marin Cilic 62 62 61
in the first round
to win his first
match in five
appearances at
Roland Garros.
·
Ascione made his
Grand Slam debut at
2003 Roland Garros
as a wild card, and
has played every
year since, losing
in the first round
each time. He has
received a wild card
every year except
2004, when he was a
direct entrant.
·
Ascione lost in the
first round at last
year’s Roland Garros
to Ruben
Ramirez-Hidalgo 76
64 67 63.
·
Ascione’s defeat of
Cilic in the first
round here not only
broke his four-match
losing streak at
Roland Garros, it
also broke a streak
of six first round
losses in all Grand
Slam events.
·
This is Ascione’s
ninth Grand Slam
event and he has
only once previously
advanced beyond the
first round. As a
direct entrant at
the 2004 Australian
Open, he defeated
Felix Mantilla 75 61
76 in the first
round before losing
in the second round
to Rafael Nadal 64
36 75 61.
·
Ascione’s first
round match here was
just his third
tour-level match of
the year. He
qualified on clay at
Casablanca in April
and reached the
second round,
defeating Younes El
Aynaoui 64 63 in the
first round before
losing to Ruben
Ramirez-Hidalgo 64
76.
·
Ascione has played
mainly on the
challenger circuit
in 2007, and won the
clay court title at
Rome in May,
defeating Victor-Valentin
Crivoi 63 63 in the
final.
·
Ascione has not won
back-to-back matches
at tour level since
January 2006, when
he won two in a row
to reach the
quarterfinals at
Chennai. Ascione has
never won more than
two consecutive
matches at tour
level.
COURT
1
NO.
32 NICOLAS ALMAGRO
(ESP) v MICHAEL
LLODRA (FRA)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
ALMAGRO
v
LLODRA
21
Age
27
38
ATP Ranking
87
2
Titles
1
4-10
Career Grand Slam Record
11-22
3-3
Roland Garros Record
4-7
65-62
Career Record
65-98
58-42
Career Record - Clay
7-19
22-12
2007 Record
6-9
20-7
2007 Record - Clay
1-2
0-2
Career Five-Set Record
0-6
0
Comebacks from 0-2 Down
0
20-35
Career Tiebreak Record
29-47
4-6
2007 Tiebreak Record
2-2
NO. 7 IVAN LJUBICIC (CRO)
v STANISLAS WAWRINKA
(SUI)
Head-to-head:
Ljubicic leads 2-0
2005
Doha
Hard (O)
R32
Ljubicic
63 64
2006
Vienna
Hard
(I) QF
Ljubicic
63 62
This is the pair’s
third career
meeting, but first
on clay.
LJUBICIC
v
WAWRINKA
28
Age
22
7
ATP Ranking
44
7
Titles
1
27-30
Career Grand Slam
Record
12-8
9-7
Roland Garros Record
3-2
305-199
Career Record
54-57
72-59
Career Record - Clay
28-22
25-11
2007 Record
3-6
4-4
2007 Record - Clay
1-3
7-13
Career Five-Set
Record
6-2
3
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
3
149-151
Career Tiebreak
Record
23-39
16-10
2007 Tiebreak Record
0-2
·
Ljubicic
defeated Arnaud
Clement 61 75 76 in
the first round,
advancing to the
Roland Garros second
round for the fourth
time.
·
Ljubicic is making
his eighth
successive
appearance at Roland
Garros and turned
things around at
last year’s
tournament. Having
never previously
advanced beyond the
third round, and
having lost in the
first round on four
occasions, he broke
through to reach his
first Grand Slam
semifinal. Ljubicic
defeated Julien
Benneteau 62 62 63
in the quarterfinals
before losing to
eventual champion
Rafael Nadal 64 62
76. This is his best
performance in a
major to date.
·
Ljubicic failed to
win back-to-back
matches in the four
clay court
tournaments he
contested this
season before coming
here. He advanced 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
to the second round
at Portschach last
week (l. Luis Horna
76 64).
·
Ljubicic is
attempting to win
back-to-back clay
court matches for
the first time since
July 2006, when he
won two in a row to
advance to the
quarterfinals at
Gstaad (l. Feliciano
Lopez 76 63).
·
Before moving to
clay, Ljubicic was
having a good 2007
season, if not quite
as impressive as
last year, when he
had won two titles
(Chennai and Zagreb)
ahead of Roland
Garros. Ljubicic won
his seventh career
title in the first
week of the season
on hard court at
Doha, defeating Andy
Murray 64 64 in the
final. He also
reached finals on
hard court at
Rotterdam (l.
Mikhail Youzhny 62
64) and on carpet at
Zagreb (l. Marcos
Baghdatis 76 46 64),
as well as reaching
the semifinals at
AMS Miami, on hard
court, losing to
Guillermo Canas 75
62.
·
Wawrinka
came back from
two-sets-to-love
down to defeat Ruben
Ramirez Hidalgo 06
57 62 75 64 in the
first round. It was
his first win at
Roland Garros for
two years.
·
Wawrinka’s first
round win was his
third comeback from
two-sets-to-love
down, and second at
Roland Garros,
having defeated
James Blake 67 57 61
63 64 in the second
round here in 2005.
It improved
Wawrinka’s five-set
record to 6-2.
·
This is Wawrinka’s
third appearance at
Roland Garros. He
made his Grand Slam
debut here as a
qualifier in 2005
and reached the
third round with
wins over Nicolas
Massu and James
Blake (see above),
before losing to
Mariano Puerta 16 63
61 64. Wawrinka lost
in the first round
here last year to
eventual
semifinalist David
Nalbandian 62 76 64.
·
The third round is
Wawrinka’s best
finish at a Grand
Slam event. As well
as reaching that
stage here in 2005,
he also reached the
third round at the
2005 and 2006 US
Open, 2006
Wimbledon, and the
2007 Australian
Open.
·
2007 Roland Garros
is just the seventh
tournament of the
year for Wawrinka.
He tore a tendon in
his right knee
during practice for
Switzerland’s Davis
Cup World Group
first round tie
against Spain in
February, the tie
being held in
Geneva, and had to
have surgery the
following day,
subsequently missing
almost three months
of the season.
·
Until his victory in
the first round
here, Wawrinka had
won just two matches
all season, both at
the Australian Open,
where he defeated
Kevin Kim and Paul
Capdeville to reach
the third round
before losing to
Rafael Nadal 62 62
62. He had
previously lost in
the first round at
Doha and Auckland,
and since making his
comeback from his
knee injury at AMS
Rome, has had three
further first round
losses: at AMS Rome,
AMS Hamburg, and
Portschach last
week.
·
Wawrinka was the
2003 Roland Garros
boys champion,
defeating Brian
Baker 75 46 63 in
the final.
COURT
2
NO. 4
NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO (RUS)
v WERNER ESCHAUER (AUT)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
Although the two
players have never
met in the main draw
at tour level, they
have met twice in
qualifying events,
here in 2001 and at
Vienna in 2002, with
Davydenko winning on
both occasions
DAVYDENKO
v
ESCHAUER
25*
Age
33
4
ATP Ranking
93
10
Titles
0
38-24
Career Grand Slam
Record
2-3
13-6
Roland Garros Record
2-1
233-175
Career Record
8-17
110-70
Career Record - Clay
7-12
24-14
2007 Record
1-1
9-6
2007 Record - Clay
1-1
7-5
Career Five-Set
Record
0-0
3
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
61-64
Career Tiebreak
Record
4-6
9-8
2007 Tiebreak Record
0-0
*
Turns 26 on 2 June
·
Playing his seventh
Roland Garros,
Davydenko was
the only man to
complete a match on
Monday, defeating
Stefano Galvani 63
61 61 in their first
round match.
·
Davydenko 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).
·
Prior to reaching
the semifinals here
in 2005 (see above),
Davydenko had never
previously advanced
beyond the second
round here, losing
at this stage on his
first three
appearances.
·
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).
·
Eschauer
advanced to the
second round of
Roland Garros for
the second time,
defeating Alexandre
Sidorenko 63 36 63
54 ret. (Sidorenko
sprained his right
ankle when match
point down.)
·
This is Eschauer’s
second appearance
here but comes seven
years after his
first. In 2000, as a
qualifier, he also
advanced to the
second round, losing
at this stage to
Richard Krajicek 75
63 75.
·
Eschauer has
attempted
unsuccessfully to
qualify for Roland
Garros every year
since qualifying in
2000, coming closest
in 2002, when he
reached the final
qualifying round.
Last year he
advanced to the
second round of
qualifying (d.
Irakli Labadze, l.
Evgeny Korolev).
·
This is just the
second time that
Eschauer has
competed in a Grand
Slam as a direct
entrant after
reaching a
career-high ranking
of No. 85 on 16
April 2007.
·
Overall, this is
Eschauer’s fourth
Grand Slam
appearance. He lost
in the first round
at both 2000
Wimbledon as a lucky
loser and the 2003
US Open.
·
Since appearing at
2000 Wimbledon,
Eschauer has made 14
unsuccessful
attempts to qualify
for Grand Slam
events.
·
This is Eschauer’s
second tour-level
appearance of the
year. At Barcelona,
he lost in the first
round to Yuri
Schukin 64 64.
·
Eschauer has played
mainly on the
challenger circuit
in 2007, winning
three titles to
date, at Wroclaw on
indoor hard in
February and at
Monza (ITA) and
Chiasso (SUI) on
clay in April. He
also reached the
final at Barletta
(ITA), also on clay
but retired due to
illness trailing 36
76 20.
(WC) EDOUARD ROGER-VASSELIN v
RADEK STEPANEK (CZE)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
ROGER-VASSELIN
v
STEPANEK
23
Age
28
144
ATP Ranking
58
0
Titles
1
1-0
Career Grand Slam Record
27-18
1-0
Roland Garros Record
6-4
3-3
Career Record
159-124
2-2
Career Record - Clay
59-40
2-1
2007 Record
9-11
2-1
2007 Record - Clay
3-5
0-0
Career Five-Set Record
8-10
0
Comebacks from 0-2 Down
3
1-0
Career Tiebreak Record
67-71
0-0
2007 Tiebreak Record
2-8
COURT
3
NO.
19 GUILLERMO CANAS
(ARG) v SIMONE
BOLELLI (ITA)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
CANAS
v
BOLELLI
29
Age
21
22
ATP Ranking
75
7
Titles
0
33-23
Career Grand Slam
Record
1-0
12-6
Roland Garros Record
1-0
210-146
Career Record
5-11
103-67
Career Record - Clay
2-5
23-8
2007 Record
5-7
13-5
2007 Record - Clay
2-3
11-11
Career Five-Set
Record
0-0
1
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
68-60
Career Tiebreak
Record
3-7
11-3
2007 Tiebreak Record
2-4
·
Canas
advanced to the
second round by
defeating Victor
Hanescu 63 61 64 in
his first Grand Slam
match for two years,
having returned from
a 15-month
anti-doping
suspension in
September 2006.
·
Canas is making his
seventh appearance
at Roland Garros and
is bidding to reach
the third round here
for the fourth time.
·
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.
·
Bolelli
made a successful
Grand Slam debut,
defeating 2003
runner-up Martin
Verkerk 61 64 64 in
the first round.
·
Bolelli moved into
the main draw when
Xavier Malisse
withdrew with a
wrist injury, thus
gaining direct
acceptance into the
main draw of a major
for the first time.
·
Bolelli attempted to
qualify at last
year’s Roland
Garros. He reached
the second
qualifying round,
defeating Dusan
Vemic 76 64 in the
first qualifying
round before falling
to Ivan
Navarro-Pastor 76 26
64.
·
Bolelli had, in
fact, tried
unsuccessfully to
qualify for the last
six majors. He came
closest at 2006
Wimbledon where he
fell in the final
qualifying round to
countryman Stefano
Galvani 61 64 75.
·
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 had won just
one match in three
clay court
tournaments before
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.
·
Bolelli has won
three Challenger
titles and reached
another three
challenger finals in
the last twelve
months and plays
here on a ranking of
No. 75, one place
lower than his
career-high of No.
74, achieved on 21
May 2007.
COURT 6
NO.
17 JUAN CARLOS
FERRERO (ESP) v
STEFAN KOUBEK (AUT)
Head-to-head:
Ferrero leads 4-3
2001 Roland
Garros
Clay (O)
R128
Ferrero
62 62 63
2002 AMS
Toronto
Hard (O)
R32
Koubek
75 63
2002 Hong
Kong
Hard (O)
R32
Ferrero
62 64
2004 Wimbledo
n
Grass (O)
R64
Ferrero
46 75 57 76 86
2004
Gstaad
Clay (O)
R32
Koubek
76 64
2004 US
Open
Hard (O)
R64
Koubek
76 46 67 62 63
2005 AMS
Cincinnati
Hard (O)
R64
Ferrero
06 63 62
This is the pair’s
eighth meeting in a
series stretching
back six years. In
Grand Slam
encounters Ferrero
leads 2-1; on clay,
they are tied 1-1.
FERRERO
v
KOUBEK
27
Age
30
20
ATP Ranking
70
11
Titles
3
74-27
Career Grand Slam
Record
23-29
29-6
Roland Garros Record
8-7
351-179
Career Record
187-214
185-62
Career Record - Clay
89-80
20-12
2007 Record
9-13
17-8
2007 Record - Clay
2-3
17-13
Career Five-Set
Record
10-7
1
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
3
130-101
Career Tiebreak
Record
80-55
6-4
2007 Tiebreak Record
7-4
·
2003 champion
Ferrero defeated
Amer Delic 67 63 63
64 in the first
round, maintaining
his perfect record
in first round
matches at Roland
Garros.
·
Ferrero is making
his eighth
appearance at Roland
Garros, having
played every year
since his run to the
semifinals on his
debut in 2000. He is
bidding to reach the
third round for the
seventh time, having
only once failed to
get that far (he
lost in the second
round as defending
champion in 2004, to
Igor Andreev 64 62
63).
·
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 was one of
four former Roland
Garros champions
starting in the
men’s draw, the
others being Carlos
Moya (1998), Gaston
Gaudio (2004) and
Rafael Nadal
(2005-06). He was
also one of five
players starting in
the draw who possess
a lone Grand Slam
title, the other
being fellow Roland
Garros winners Moya
and Gaudio, Thomas
Johansson (2002
Australian Open) and
Andy Roddick (2003
US Open).
·
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.
·
Koubek
defeated qualifier
Christophe Rochus 67
76 64 12 ret. in the
first round, Rochus
retiring with
cramps. It marked
his first win at
Roland Garros for
three years, and
broke a run of five
straight first round
losses at Grand Slam
tournaments.
·
Koubek did not play
last year’s Roland
Garros. He was not
ranked high enough
for direct entry,
and failed to
qualify, losing in
the second round of
the qualifying
competition to Sasa
Tuksar 61 63.
·
On his last
appearance at Roland
Garros, in 2005,
Koubek lost in the
first round to
Dmitry Tursunov 46
61 64 61. Until this
year, his most
recent victory here
had been in 2004,
when he defeated
Ivan Ljubicic 60 16
64 62 in the second
round, losing in the
third round to David
Nalbandian 67 63 76
75.
·
Koubek has yet to
improve on his debut
Roland Garros
performance, in
1999, when he
reached the round
16, defeating
Sebastien Grosjean
63 64 64 in the
third round before
losing to the
previous year’s
runner-up Alex
Corretja 62 63 75.
The following year,
in 2000, Koubek was
disqualified in the
second round after
receiving four
warnings, losing to
qualifier Attila
Savolt 36 75 60 52
def.
·
Koubek’s best result
at any Grand Slam
event was reaching
the quarterfinals at
the 2002 Australian
Open, defeating
Fernando Gonzalez 75
61 67 62 in the
round of 16 before
losing to Jiri Novak
62 63 62.
·
Before defeating
Rochus by retirement
here, Koubek’s last
Grand Slam win was
at the 2004 US Open,
where he defeated
today’s opponent
Ferrero 76 46 67 62
63 in the second
round, losing in the
third round to
Joachim Johansson 67
76 61 63. Since
then, Koubek has
played five of a
possible nine Grand
Slam events, losing
in the first round
each time: at 2005
Roland Garros, 2005
Wimbledon, the 2005
US Open, the 2006 US
Open, and the 2007
Australian Open.
·
Koubek got back into
the Top 100 last
year, moving up 91
places from 2005
year-end to 2006
year-end. His best
result to date in
2007 came at the
start of the season,
when he reached the
final at Chennai
before losing to
Xavier Malisse 61
63.
·
Koubek did not win
consecutive matches
in three clay court
tournaments played
this year ahead of
Roland Garros,
retiring in the
second round at
Valencia because of
a left ankle injury,
and losing in the
first rounds at
Munich and
Portschach.
COURT 7
NO. 9
TOMMY ROBREDDO (ESP)
v (Q) KONSTANTINOS
ECONOMIDIS (GRE)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
ROBREDO
v
ECONOMIDIS
25
Age
29
9
ATP Ranking
146
4
Titles
0
49-25
Career Grand Slam
Record
1-2
20-6
Roland Garros Record
1-0
274-169
Career Record
20-15
126-57
Career Record - Clay
14-2
24-14
2007 Record
3-3
8-5
2007 Record - Clay
3-0
6-3
Career Five-Set
Record
3-1
1
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
1
89-73
Career Tiebreak
Record
4-12
4-6
2007 Tiebreak Record
0-1
·
Robredo
advanced to the
second round by
defeating Sergio
Roitman 63 64 62 in
the first round.
·
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.
·
Roland Garros is
Robredo’s most
successful major. He
reached the
Australian Open
quarterfinals for
the first time in
2007 (see below),
but has yet to
advance beyond the
round of 16 at the
US Open or the third
round at Wimbledon.
·
Robredo 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).
·
Robredo has a very
good junior record
at Roland Garros,
reaching the
semifinals in 1999
(l. David Nalbandian
63 62) and finishing
as runner-up in 2000
(l. Paul-Henri
Mathieu 36 76 62)
·
Economidis
recorded his first
ever victory in a
Grand Slam
tournament,
defeating Chris
Guccione 67 64 64 61
in the first round.
·
This is Economidis’s
first appearance at
Roland Garros,
having coming
through qualifying.
As No. 30 seed in
qualifying, he
defeated German
Bastian Knittel 61
62 in the first
round, Italian
Simone Vagnozzi 46
62 63 in the second
round, and Spaniard
Marc Lopez 64 46 63
in the final round.
·
Economidis also
tried unsuccessfully
to qualify at Roland
Garros in 2004 and
2006.
·
Economidis has also
successfully
qualified twice at
Wimbledon, but
failed to advance
beyond the first
round on both
occasions. In 2002,
he lost to Feliciano
Lopez 63 36 46 76
119 and in 2003, he
lost to Nicolas
Escude 76 64 76.
·
Excluding Davis Cup,
Economidis’s victory
over Guccione was
his first-ever at
tour level, in his
ninth tournament. He
had lost in the
first round at his
three other
tournaments at
tour-level in 2007.
·
Economidis has fared
better on the
challenger circuit
in 2007, reaching
the semifinals at
Wroclaw on hard and
three quarterfinals,
at Durban on hard
court, and
Casablanca and
Prague, both on
clay.
·
Economidis is
Greece’s leading
Davis Cup player in
terms of total wins.
He has a 31-15
win-loss record in
matches to date
(19-7 in singles).
NO.
15 DAVID NALBANDIAN
(ARG) v (Q) IVAN
NAVARRO PASTOR (ESP)
Head-to-head: first
meeting
NALBANDIAN
v
NAVARRO PASTOR
25
Age
25
18
ATP Ranking
102
5
Titles
0
66-21
Career Grand Slam
Record
1-1
17-5
Roland Garros Record
1-0
227-116
Career Record
10-11
89-44
Career Record - Clay
10-6
10-9
2007 Record
5-2
4-4
2007 Record - Clay
5-2
14-8
Career Five-Set
Record
0-0
6
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
0
74-61
Career Tiebreak
Record
5-4
4-6
2007 Tiebreak Record
4-1
·
Nalbandian
defeated Hyung-Taik
Lee 62 61 36 63 in
the opening round,
maintaining his
record of never
having lost in the
first round at this
event.
·
Nalbandian is
appearing at Roland
Garros for the sixth
time in his career.
He reached the
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’s best
Grand Slam results
remains his
runner-up finish at
2002 Wimbledon,
where, in just his
fourth major and
playing his first
senior grass court
event, he became the
first man to reach
the Wimbledon final
on his debut. He
defeated Xavier
Malisse 76 64 16 26
62 in the semifinals
before losing to
Lleyton Hewitt 61 63
62.
·
Nalbandian was one
of five men starting
in the draw who have
been Grand Slam
runners-up without
claiming a major
title. The other two
were 2001 Australian
Open finalist Arnaud
Clement, 2003 Roland
Garros runner-up
Martin Verkerk, 2006
Australian Open
finalist Marcos
Baghdatis, and 2007
Australian Open
runner-up Fernando
Gonzalez. Only
Nalbandian and
Baghdatis have
advanced to the
second round here.
·
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.
·
Making his Roland
Garros debut,
Navarro Pastor
defeated fellow
qualifier Boris
Pashanski 76 64 64
in the first round.
·
This is just Navarro
Pastor’s second
Grand Slam
tournament. He
qualified at 2004
Wimbledon, losing in
the first round to
Mardy Fish 63 62 63.
·
In last week’s
qualifying
competition, seeded
No. 5, Navarro
Pastor defeated
Joshua Goodall 36 62
62 in the first
round, Harel Levy 63
64 in the second
round, and
countryman Pablo
Andujar 57 64 86 in
the final round to
reach the main draw.
·
Navarro Pastor had
tried to qualify for
Roland Garros three
times previously
without success. He
lost in the first
round of the 2002
and 2005 qualifying
events, and reached
the final round of
last year’s
qualifying event
before losing to
Sasa Tuksar 76 63.
These were three of
a total of eight
failed attempts to
qualify for Grand
Slam tournaments.
·
Navarro Pastor’s
first round match
marked his fifth
tour-level win this
year. After
compiling a 1-1
record in the round
robin as a direct
entrant at Vina Del
Mar, he entered the
Valencia main draw
as a lucky loser and
won three successive
tour-level matches
to reach his second
career ATP
semifinal, having
reached his first at
the same tournament
in 2005. This year,
Navarro Pastor
defeated Evgeny
Korolev 63 61 in the
quarterfinals before
losing to Potito
Starace 67 60 75.
·
Navarro Pastor has
played mainly on the
challenger circuit
in 2007, reaching
the semifinals at
Barletta (l. Carlos
Berlocq 64 60) and
Prague (l. Jiri
Vanek 76 62).
OTHER MATCH
NO.
13 MIKHAIL YOUZHNY
(RUS) v NICOLAS
LAPENTTI (ECU)
Head-to-head:
Youzhny leads 2-1
2002 Stuttgart
Outdoor
Clay (O)
R16
Youzhny 62
64
2003 Stuttgart
Outdoor
Clay (O)
R32
Youzhny 63
26 63
2003
Kitzbuhel
Clay (O)
R32
Lapentti
63 63
This is the pair’s
fourth career
meeting, and they
have always played
each other on clay.
Both men advanced to
the second round as
a result of
retirements.
YOUZHNY
v
LAPENTTI
24
Age
30
15
ATP Ranking
65
3
Titles
5
39-24
Career Grand Slam
Record
38-35
6-6
Roland Garros Record
10-10
204-162
Career Record
287-248
58-49
Career Record - Clay
163-116
28-11
2007 Record
4-3
9-4
2007 Record - Clay
3-1
8-7
Career Five-Set
Record
25-12
2
Comebacks from 0-2
Down
4
86-71
Career Tiebreak
Record
104-101
10-10
2007 Tiebreak Record
1-0
·
Youzhny
advanced to the
second round without
completing a game
when his first round
opponent, Jan
Hernych, retired
with lower back pain
eight minutes into
the first game of
their match. With
Hernych serving,
nine points had been
played and the score
was advantage
Youzhny.
·
Youzhny was one of
three Russian men to
be among the first
five players to
reach the men’s
second round. Davis
Cup teammate Marat
Safin was the first
man to win his
opening round match
before rain
interrupted play on
Sunday. (Two more
men later progressed
on Sunday, Janko
Tipsarevic and
Potito Starace).
Nikolay Davydenko
was the only man to
win a match on a
rain-hit Monday,
before Youzhny
became the first man
through to the
second round on
Tuesday.
·
Youzhny is playing
at Roland Garros for
the seventh
consecutive year and
this is the fifth
straight time he has
advanced to the
second round. Last
year, Youzhny lost
in the second round
here to 1998
champion Carlos Moya
63 64 62.
·
A win today would
equal Youzhny’s best
result at Roland
Garros, which is his
least successful
Grand Slam
tournament. He has
gone on to the third
round here just once
previously, in 2004,
losing at that stage
to Nicolas Escude 62
75 67 62. Youzhny
has reached the
round of 16 or
better at each of
the other three
majors.
·
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 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
it is reflected in
the fact that he
equalled his
career-high ranking
of No. 15 on 21 May
and plays here at
the same ranking.
·
Lapentti
advanced to the
second round when
his first round
opponent, Alexander
Peya, retired with
digestive problems,
Lapentti winning 61
64 21 ret.
·
This is Lapentti’s
11th time
playing Roland
Garros. He lost in
the second round
last year to Raemon
Sluiter 61 64 61.
·
Lapentti’s best
result at Roland
Garros was reaching
the round of 16 in
2000, as No. 11 seed
defeating Wayne
Ferreira 57 63 75 63
in the third round
before losing to
eventual champion
Gustavo Kuerten 63
64 76.
·
Lapentti’s best
Grand Slam result
was reaching the
semifinals at the
1999 Australian
Open, where he won
four five-set
matches before
losing to Thomas
Enqvist 63 75 61.
·
This is just
Lapentti’s fifth
tournament of the
season. He missed
three months of 2007
after Buenos Aires
the week of 20
February due to a
groin injury. He won
his first round
robin match there
before withdrawing
with the injury. He
returned for the AMS
Hamburg qualifying
event, but lost in
the first qualifying
round, so made his
main draw comeback
at Portschach (see
below).
·
Lapentti’s bests
results in four
previous tournaments
this season were
reaching the second
round at the 2007
Australian Open (l.
David Nalbandian 64
64 64) and at
Portschach last week
(l. Nikolay
Davydenko 64 62). He
lost in the first
round at Auckland
and retired after
one win at Buenos
Aires as detailed
above.
·
Lapentti has not won
back-to-back
tour-level matches
since September last
year, when he won
four in a row to
advance to the final
at Palermo on clay
(l. Filippo Volandri
57 61 63).
