Five Seeds, Led By 1-2 Nadal-Murray, Eye QFs

[dream girl]

February 12, 2009
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Rotterdam, Netherlands

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 2 seed Andy Murray, and the French trio of No. 4 Gilles Simon (pictured), No. 5 Gael Monfils and No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are all in second round action Thursday at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, the first ATP World Tour 500 tournament of the season. Overall, there are six French players (of 12) on the singles schedule, including all-French match-ups between defending champion Michael Llodra-Monfils and Marc Gicquel-Paul-Henri Mathieu on Court 1. In the evening session, Nadal takes on 17-year-old Bulgarian wild card Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Tsonga plays Russian Dmitry Tursunov.

 

[dream girl]

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

February 12, 2009-THURSDAY HEAD-TO-HEADS – In Order of Play


Mario Ancic (CRO) vs (4) Gilles Simon (FRA) Series Tied 1-1
08 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.)Hard R128 Mario Ancic 6-2 6-7(2) 6-3
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R32 Gilles Simon 7-6(2) 6-4 6-2
Ancic FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
F: Zagreb (l Cilic); QF: Sydney (l Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 10-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: March 30, 1984
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 28
· Ancic, 24, is trying to reach the quarterfinals (or better) for the third time in five tournaments this season…Last Sunday he advanced to his 11th ATP World Tour final (3-8) in Zagreb (l. to countryman Cilic)…Comes into the second round with a 10-4 record on the season
· Last month reached the quarterfinals in Sydney (l. to Djokovic) and third round at Australian Open (l. to Simon)
· Has a 4-3 career mark in Rotterdam with his best result the semifinals in 2005…Opened tournament with a 75 62 victory over German Rainer Schuettler
· Has a 12-39 career record against Top 10 opponents (0-2 in ’09, 1-8 in ’08)
Simon FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
QF: Australian Open (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 5-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: December 27, 1984
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 8
· Simon, 24, is appearing in Rotterdam for the third consecutive year (5-3) and last season advanced to the semifinals (l. to Soderling)…Opened the tournament with a 75 76(1) win over Kohlschreiber
· The top Frenchman at No. 8 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings began the season with an opening round loss (bye) to countryman Richard Gasquet in Sydney
· Then advanced to a Grand Slam-best quarterfinal showing at the Australian Open where he lost to World No. 1 and eventual champion Rafael Nadal 62 75 75...It was the first time in 14 Grand Slam tournaments he advanced past the third round

 

[dream girl]

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

Michael Llodra (FRA) vs (5) Gael Monfils (FRA) Monfils Leads 1-0
05 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.)Hard R128 Gael Monfils 3-6 6-4 6-3
Other Meetings:
04 Andrezieux CH (France) Hard R32 Michael Llodra 6-4 6-1
Llodra FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 3-3
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: May 18, 1980
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 51
· Llodra, 28, is trying to reach his first ATP World Tour quarterfinal of the season…Comes into round two with a 3-3 record in ’09, reaching the second round in Brisbane (l. to Stepanek) and Sydney (l. to Nalbandian), falling to eventual champions both times…Then lost in first round at Australian Open (l. to Malisse)
· The defending champion has a 7-1 career record in Rotterdam and won his opening round 46 63 64 over big-serving Ivo Karlovic on Wednesday
Monfils FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
SF: Doha (l Roddick)
YTD W-L: 7-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: September 1, 1986
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 12
· Monfils, 22, is appearing in his first tournament since retiring with a right wrist injury (vs. Simon) in the fourth round at the Australian Open last month...Trailed 46 62 16 when he retired against his countryman
· On Tuesday, opened the tournament with a 64 1-0 retired victory over Swiss qualifier Stephane Bohli, who injured his left knee
· The No. 2 Frenchman (behind No. 8 Simon) in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings is at a career-high No. 12 this week
· He opened the season with a semifinal showing in Doha where he beat No. 1 Rafael Nadal 64 64 in the quarterfinals before losing in three sets to No. 8-ranked Andy

 

[dream girl]

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs (2) Andy Murray (GBR) Seppi Leads 1-0
06 Nottingham (England) Grass QF Andreas Seppi 7-6(4) 4-6 6-1
Seppi FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 2-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: February 21, 1984
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 36
· Seppi, 24, enters with a 2-4 match record on the season and opened the tournament Monday with a 67(5) 62 76(1) victory over Dutch wild card Thiemo De Bakker
· Last year the top Italian upset World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the second round before falling in the quarterfinals to Robin Soderling
· Prior to Rotterdam, his lone match win came over Denis Gremelmayr in Doha (l. to Federer in 2nd Rd.)
· Then lost in first round in Sydney (l. to Mathieu), Australian Open (l. to Federer again) and last week in Zagreb (l. to Zverev)
· Has a 5-21 career record against Top 10 opponents (0-2 in ’09, 2-8 in ‘09)
Murray FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Doha (d Roddick)
YTD W-L: 9-1
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 9
Date of Birth: May 15, 1987
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 4
· Murray, 21, is off to a 9 -1 start, repeating his title in Doha (d. No. 2 Federer in SF, No. 8 Roddick in F) and reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open (l. to Verdasco in five sets)
· Opened the tournament with a 63 62 win over two-time finalist Ivan Ljubicic
· Did not lose serve in final two rounds in Doha and for the tournament held 47 of 50 service games
· Made his Rotterdam debut last year and lost to Dutchman Robin Haase in the first round

 

[dream girl]

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (WC) Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) First Meeting
Nadal FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Australian Open (d Federer); QF: Doha (l Monfils)
YTD W-L: 10-1
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 32
Date of Birth: June 3, 1986
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 1
· Nadal, 22, rallied to beat Italian Simone Bolelli 46 62 75 on Wednesday to improve his match record to 10-1 on the season
· The Mallorca native is making his first tournament appearance since capturing his sixth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Feb. 1, his first on hard courts, with a five-set victory over rival Roger Federer...In SF victory over countryman Fernando Verdasco, won a tournament record 5:14 battle in five sets
· He became the first Spaniard to win the Australian title and third player at age 22-under to win three of four Grand Slam titles, joining Connors and Sampras...Also first player to win Aussie Open title winning five-set semifinal and final matches since Mats Wilander in 1988
· Opened the '09 season with a quarterfinal in Doha (l. to Monfils) and won the doubles title(w/M. Lopez)
· Has ranked No. 1 for 26 consecutive weeks since first taking over on Aug. 18, 2008
Dimitrov FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 1-0
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 16, 1991
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 478
· Dimitrov, 17, is the youngest player in this year's field and on Tuesday came back to defeat No. 23 ranked Tomas Berdych 46 63 64 for his first ATP World Tour match win…Saved nine of 10 break points in the match
· Last year the Bulgarian teenager finished as the No. 3 junior in the world...He won Wimbledon and US Open junior titles while reaching the quarterfinals at Roland Garros...In 2007, he reached the Orange Bowl final in Miami
· At 17 years, 9 months, he is the youngest player in the Top 500 South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings at No. 478…Will jump to around No. 400 by winning his first round match
· He is making his second ATP World Tour main draw appearance after losing in the first round in June 2008 to Igor Andreev in 's-Hertogenbosch
· Last month he played in three Futures tournaments on clay in Florida, losing in the first round, second round and semifinals in consecutive weeks
· Last year after winning the US Open junior title, he won back-to-back Futures titles on hard courts in Spain, dropping only two sets in 10 matches...At the time he was ranked

 

[dream girl]

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs (7) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) First Meeting
Tursunov FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 1-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: December 12, 1982
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 30
· Tursunov, 26, broke a four-match losing streak on Monday with his 60 63 win over French qualifier Arnaud Clement
· Has a 1-4 match record on the season and lost in the opening round in Doha (l. to Peya), Sydney (l. to Gasquet), Australian Open (l. to Cipolla) and Zagreb last week as a qualifier (l. to Gulbis)
· Has an 8-22 career record against Top 10 opponents (3-9 in ’08)
Tsonga FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Johannesburg (d Chardy); QF: Brisbane (l Gasquet); Sydney (W/O vs Nieminen); Australian Open (l Verdasco)
YTD W-L: 13-2
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: April 17, 1985
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 13
· Tsonga, 23, is attempting to reach the quarterfinals (or better) for the fifth time in as many tournaments this season
· Last month he began the year by reaching the quarterfinals in Brisbane (l. to Gasquet), Sydney (W/O due to back vs. Nieminen) and the Australian Open (l. to Verdasco)
· He enters Rotterdam off to a career-best 13-2 start...His match wins total is tied for the best on the ATP World Tour this season along with Croat Marin Cilic (13-1)
· Last Sunday he captured his third ATP World Tour title in Johannesburg (d. countryman Chardy) without dropping a set

 

[dream girl]

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

February 12, 2009- HEAD-TO-HEAD-In Order of Play

Court 1

(LL) Marc Gicquel (FRA) vs Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) Mathieu Leads 2-0
07 Casablanca (Morocco) Clay SF Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3 7-5
08 Marseille (France) Hard R32 Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6(7) 7-6(4)
Gicquel FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 2-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: March 30, 1977
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 55
Mathieu FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
SF: Brisbane (l Verdasco)
YTD W-L: 7-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: January 12, 1982
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 33

 

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