Top seed Andy Murray, No. 2 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 4 Fernando Verdasco and No. 5 Gilles Simon  headline Friday’s quarter-finals at the Valencia Open 500. Davydenko and Verdasco are trying to secure the final two positions in the year-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, which begins Nov. 22. In the first match on Pista Agora, Simon looks for his first win (0-4) against unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny. In the second match, Murray takes a 2-0 advantage against Spaniard Albert Montanes, then in the third match, another Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez looks for his first win (0-1) against Davydenko. In the final match, Verdasco and countryman Tommy Robredo, the No. 7 seed, meet for the eighth time. Robredo leads 4-3 but Verdasco has won two of the previous three meetings.
  
FRIDAY QUARTER-FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS – In Order of Play

Pista Agora

(5) Gilles Simon (FRA) vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) Youzhny Leads 4-0
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 4-6 3-6   7-5 6-4
08 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard R64 Mikhail Youzhny 7-5 6-4
09 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain)Grass R16 Mikhail Youzhny 6-1 2-6  6-2
09 Tokyo (Japan) Hard R16 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(5)6-7(5)6-4

Simon FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Bangkok (d Troicki); SF: Marseille (l Llodra); Dubai (l Djokovic); Lyon (l Llodra); QF: Australian Open (l Nadal); Estoril (l Montanes); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai (l Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 44-27
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: December 27, 1984
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 12

• Simon, 24, the No. 2 Frenchman (behind No. 9 Tsonga) is making his second quarter-final or better showing in Valencia (6-2 record)…His best result was a runner-up in 2006 (l. to Almagro)…This week he defeated Igor Kunitsyn 63 62 in the first round and Tomas Berdych 64 46 63
• He captured his sixth career ATP World Tour title in Bangkok (d. Troicki, first title in Asia) last month
• He has a 44-27 record this year, including 33-13 on hard, and appearing in his ninth QF or better
• Has also reached three SF, at Marseille (l. to Llodra), Dubai (l. to Djokovic) and Lyon (l. to Llodra)
• Has also reached four QF, incl. Australian Open (l. to Nadal) and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events at Cincinnati and Shanghai (l. to Djokovic both times)
• In March, made his Davis Cup debut against the Czech Republic and lost to Berdych in the opening rubber and to Stepanek in the fourth rubber, which clinched tie...Of seven sets played, lost four TBs

Youzhny FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Moscow (d Tipsarevic); F: Munich (l Berdych); Tokyo (l Tsonga); SF: Kitzbühel (l Garcia-Lopez); QF: Rotterdam (l Ancic); Marseille (l Llodra); London / Queen's Club (l Blake); Kuala Lumpur (l Gonzalez)
YTD W-L: 40-27
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: June 25, 1982
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 23

• Youzhny, 27, made his first tournament appearance in eight years Wednesday and defeated No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who retired trailing at 67(3) 63 3-0 with a left wrist injury…He then followed with a 62 26 61 win over Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay
• The No. 2 Russian (behind No. 7 Davydenko) owns a 40-27 record on the season, including 25-16 on hard courts…He is appearing in his ninth ATP World Tour quarter-final or better this year (4-4 in QFs)
• Two weeks ago he rallied to defeat Janko Tipsarevic in three sets in the Kremlin Cup final in his 11th Moscow appearance… He extended the Russian title streak in Moscow to six straight years with his fifth career ATP World Tour crown …It was his third ATP World Tour final of the season after runner-up efforts in Munich (l. to Berdych) and Tokyo (l. to Tsonga)…He is 5-6 in his career in ATP World Tour finals

(1) Andy Murray (GBR) vs Albert Montanes (ESP) Murray Leads 2-0
09 Doha (Qatar) Hard R32 Andy Murray 6-2 6-4
09 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells  Hard R64 Andy Murray 7-5 6-3

Murray FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Doha (d Roddick); Rotterdam (d Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (d Djokovic); London / Queen's Club (d Blake); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada (d Del Potro); F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Nadal); SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Nadal); Wimbledon (l Roddick); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Federer); QF: Dubai (W/O vs Gasquet); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Del Potro); Roland Garros (l Gonzalez)
YTD W-L: 60-9
YTD Titles: 5
Career Titles: 13
Date of Birth: May 15, 1987
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 4

• Murray, 22, recorded his 60th win of the season Thursday with a 64 36 63 win over Argentine Leonardo Mayer…On Tuesday he made his tournament debut with a 63 61 victory over Daniel Gimeno-Traver
• He has captured five ATP World Tour titles for the second straight year and reached a career-high No. 2 ranking after winning his fourth career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Montreal in August
• This is his first tournament since the US Open where he lost in the fourth round to Marin Cilic on Sept. 8…He is 60-9 on the season, including 41-4 on hard courts…He is the third player to win 60 or more matches this year, joining Djokovic (68) and Nadal (61)…He’s also appearing in the QFs or better for the 13th time in 16 tournaments this season
• He began season by defending his title in Doha with back-to-back wins over No. 2 Federer (SF) and No. 8 Roddick (F)...Held serve 47 of 50 games throughout tournament...Then followed with a fourth round showing at Australian Open where he lost to Fernando Verdasco in five sets
• In February, he defeated World No. 1 Nadal in three sets in Rotterdam final to capture his 10th career ATP World Tour title
• He returned in March to reach final at BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, falling to Nadal…En route to title match, he beat No. 15 Robredo in fourth round and  No. 2 Federer in SF for fourth consecutive time since losing to Swiss in ’08 US Open final…Followed by capturing his third title of season at Sony Ericsson Open in Miami over No. 3 Novak Djokovic…He became first British player in tournament's 25-year history to win title…
• Turned in career-best QF run at Roland Garros, losing to Fernando Gonzalez in four sets...Then began his grass court campaign at Queen's by capturing his first title on surface with win over James Blake in final...Became first British player since Bunny Austin in 1938 to earn title at Queen's Club...Did not drop a set and only lost serve twice in tournament...Continued strong grass-court form into Wimbledon, where he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets to reach his first semi-final at All England Club before losing in four sets to Andy Roddick
• The Scot returned to action at Rogers Cup in Montreal, where he defeated three Top 10 players (No. 8 Davydenko, No. 7 Tsonga, No. 6 del Potro) to win his fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy…
Afterwards rose to a career-high No. 2 on Aug. 17 and was there for four weeks …He is highest-ranked British player in ATP history (since 1973) and first player to break Federer-Nadal stronghold on top two spots since Lleyton Hewitt ranked No. 2 on July 18, 2005...Followed with SF in Cincinnati, losing to eventual champion Federer
• At US Open, made a fourth round exit to No. 16 seed Marin Cilic...Then played in Davis Cup tie vs. Poland, winning both singles rubbers in 3-2 loss in World Group playoff tie…He re-aggravated a left wrist injury during weekend tie and withdrew from Asian tournaments in Tokyo and Shanghai

Montanes FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Estoril (d Blake); Bucharest (d Monaco); SF: Casablanca (l Serra)
YTD W-L: 23-19
YTD Titles: 2
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: November 26, 1980
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 34

• Montanes, 28, is making his seventh tournament appearance (6-6 record)…His best result came in 2004 when he reached the final (l. to Verdasco)…On Monday he beat qualifier Roberto Bautista-Agut 61 36 64 and Thursday received a walkover when David Ferrer withdrew due to a hamstring injury
• The Barcelona resident comes in with a 23-19 match record on the season (4-8 on hard, 17-10 on clay) and ranked No. 34…He reached a career-high No. 28 on May 11…He is on pace to finish in the Top 50 for the third straight year after No. 46 rankings the past two years
• He is trying to reach his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final of the year, the first on hard courts
• He has a 3-17 career record (0-6 on hard) vs. Top 10 opponents (1-5 this year, d. No. 8 Simon in Estoril QF)
• He has won two ATP World Tour titles this year, Bucharest in September (d. Monaco) and Estoril in May, saving two match points in the final against James Blake...The previous month, he was a semi-finalist in Casablanca (l. to Serra)
• He is 3-4 lifetime in ATP World Tour finals, all on clay...Last year he won his first ATP World Tour title in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, defeating Belgian Steve Darcis
• After reaching the third round at Wimbledon, he advanced to the final at the Scheveningen Challenger, then was sidelined for nearly two months with a left knee injury…Returned at the US Open

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs (2) Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) Davydenko Leads 1-0
08 Moscow (Russia) Hard R16 Nikolay Davydenko 6-1 6-1

Garcia-Lopez FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Kitzbühel (d Benneteau); SF: Eastbourne (l Tursunov); QF: Johannesburg (l Gil); Delray Beach (l Korolev); Houston (l Hewitt); Stockholm (l Soderling)
YTD W-L: 28-26
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: June 4, 1983
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 47

• Garcia-Lopez, 26, has a 6-6 career mark in Valencia and this is his second quarter-final (2006)…This week defeated German Simon Greul 75 62 and No.  6 seed Gael Monfils 62 75 to reach his seventh ATP World Tour quarter-final or better this year, the second in the past three weeks (Stockholm QF)
• He enters with a 28-26 match record on the season, including 12-15 on hard courts…He is 3-17 lifetime against Top 10 opponents (1-3 in ’09) and his last win came over No. 10 Verdasco in Cincinnati in Aug.
• He captured his first ATP World Tour title in May in Kitzbuehel, beating Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the final…He was playing in his 109th career ATP level tournament
• In June, he advanced to the semifinals on grass in Eastbourne (l. to eventual champ Tursunov)…He previously was a quarter-finalist in Johannesburg (l. to Gil) and Delray Beach (l. to Korolev) in February and Houston (l. to Hewitt) in April
• He reached a career-high No. 42 on June 22 and enters No. 47 this week

Davydenko FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Hamburg (d Mathieu); Umag (d Ferrero); Kuala Lumpur (d Verdasco); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai (d Nadal); SF: Barcelona (l Nadal); Estoril (l Blake); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Murray); Roland Garros (l Soderling); Stuttgart (l Fognini); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada (l Murray); New Haven (l Querrey); Beijing (l Cilic)
YTD W-L: 51-14
YTD Titles: 4
Career Titles: 18
Date of Birth: June 2, 1981
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 7

• Davydenko, 28, is appearing in his first quarter-final in Valencia after a 62 61 first round win over qualifier Alejandro Falla and 63 75 victory over Juan Monaco…He previously lost in the first round in 2002, ’05-‘06
• He enters with a 51-14 match record on the season and has won at least 50 matches for the fifth straight year…Has played well on both clay (26-6) and hard courts (23-7) this season; 2-1 on grass
• He has captured four ATP World Tour titles this year, including last month at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, defeating No. 4 Djokovic in the semi-finals and No. 2 Nadal in the final…He also improved his career record to 18-5 in finals with his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title (’06 Paris, ’08 Miami)
• He is trying to secure one of two remaining positions in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, which begins Nov. 22
• His other three ATP World Tour titles came in the summer on clay in Hamburg (d. Mathieu) and Umag (d. Ferrero), and his first title in Asia on hard courts in Kuala Lumpur (d. Verdasco) on Oct. 4
• Other quality finishes are two SF, at Barcelona (l. to Nadal) and Estoril (l. to Blake) and six QF, at Monte Carlo (l. to Murray), Roland Garros (l. to Soderling), Stuttgart (l. to Fognini), Montreal (l. to Murray), New Haven (l. to Querrey) and earlier this month in Beijing (l. to Cilic)
• Had two lengthy heel injury lay-offs, one at beginning of season (withdrew from 2nd Rd. match in Chennai, his first event of the season, then didn’t play for one month) and one in spring (missed two months before returning at Monte Carlo)
• Turned in QF at Roland Garros (l. to Soderling), his fourth QF showing or better in five years
• On April 27, fell out of Top 10 for first time since May 23, 2005 and was out of Top 10 for three months before returning on July 27 (has been there ever since)

(4) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs (7) Tommy Robredo (ESP) Robredo Leads 4-3
03 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-4 6-2
04 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R16 Tommy Robredo 6-4 5-7 6-4
04 's-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands) Grass QF Tommy Robredo 7-6(5)6-2
04 ATP Masters Series Madrid (Spain) Hard R16 Tommy Robredo 2-6 6-4 6-3
05 Wimbledon (England) Grass R128 Fernando Verdasco 6-1 6-2 7-5
06 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R16 Tommy Robredo 6-3 2-6 6-2
08 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Hard R32 Fernando Verdasco 6-2 6-7(6)6-2

Verdasco FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: New Haven (d Querrey); F: Brisbane (l Stepanek); Kuala Lumpur (l Davydenko); SF: Australian Open (l Nadal); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Djokovic); Barcelona (l Gonzalez); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Nadal); Båstad (l Monaco); US Open (l Djokovic); Beijing (l Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 50-20
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: November 15, 1983
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 8

• Verdasco, 25, the No. 2 Spaniard (behind No. 2 Nadal), is 14-5 lifetime in Valencia, winning the title in 2004 (d. Montanes) and reaching the semi-finals in 2006 and quarter-finals in 2005 and ’08…On Wednesday he beat countryman Oscar Hernandez 61 0-1 ret. (due to a back injury) and followed with a 63 63 win over Janko Tipsarevic
• One month ago he reached his third ATP World Tour final of the season in Kuala Lumpur (l. to Davydenko)
• He has compiled a personal-best 50-20 match record (most win) this year, including 33-10 on hard
• In August, he captured his third career ATP World Tour title in New Haven (d. Querrey) and didn’t drop a set during the week…He is 3-6 in his career in ATP World Tour finals
• In the first five months of the year, advanced to the quarter-finals or better in his first eight tournaments before the streak ended with a fourth round result at Roland Garros (l. to Davydenko)…He compiled a 26-9 record through May and since June is 24-11
• In July he helped his native country to a 3-2 Davis Cup quarter-final home victory over Germany on clay…He defeated Andreas Beck in the first rubber in five sets before losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber    8-6 in the fifth set…Then followed with a quarter-final in Bastad where he retired with a right calf injury
• He opened the first month winning nine of 11 matches, reaching his first ATP World Tour hard court final in Brisbane (l. to Stepanek) and following with a Grand Slam-best semi-final at the Australian Open
• Posted back-to-back wins over No. 4 Murray in five sets in 4th Rd. and No. 6 Tsonga in the quarter-finals before falling in an epic five-set marathon to countryman and World No. 1 Nadal...Played longest singles match in tournament history (5:14) and afterwards broke into Top 10 for first time at No. 9 (from No. 15) on Feb. 2…Since then has ranked in Top 10 every week except once (Aug. 10, No. 11), reaching a career-high No. 7 on Apr. 20 and May 4

Robredo FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Costa Do Sauipe (d Bellucci); Buenos Aires (d Monaco); SF: Viña del Mar (l Acasuso); Båstad (l Monaco); QF: Acapulco (l Acasuso); Barcelona (l Ferrer); Roland Garros (l Del Potro)
YTD W-L: 45-23
YTD Titles: 2
Career Titles: 9
Date of Birth: May 1, 1982
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 15

• Robredo, 27, is making his fourth appearance in Valencia (6-3 record) and his best result was the  semi-finals last year (l. to Ferrer)…On Tuesday he defeated qualifier Christophe Rochus 60 57 63 and followed with a 46 63 64 win over countryman Feliciano Lopez
• He is appearing in his first quarter-final on hard courts this year…His seven other ATP World Tour quarter-finals or better this year have come on clay…In February, he captured his eighth and ninth ATP World Tour titles in back-to-back weeks in South America in February (Costa do Sauipe, Buenos Aires)
• He enters with a 45-23 record on the season, including a 16-11 mark on hard (had 27 clay match wins during the year, second to Juan Monaco’s 29)
• He has a 15-61 career record against Top 10 opponents (0-7 in ’09) and his last win came over No. 4 Ferrer in semi-finals of Bastad in July 2008
• Also reached SF at Vina del Mar (l. to Acasuso) and Bastad (l. to Monaco) and QF at Barcelona (l. to Ferrer) and Roland Garros (l. to del Potro; fourth QF there, following 2003, 2005 and 2007; four of his five Grand Slam QF appearances have come at Roland Garros, only exception 2007 Aust. Open)
• Has had 16 pre-QF exits in 24 ATP World Tour events of year, incl. Australian Open (l. to Roddick in 4th Rd.), Wimbledon (l. to Sela in 3rd Rd.) and US Open (l. to Federer in 4th Rd.)

SPANIARDS IN TOP 50 SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS 2009 ATP RANKINGS (bold in QFs)

No. 2 Rafael Nadal
No. 8 Fernando Verdasco
No. 15 Tommy Robredo
No. 18 David Ferrer
No. 22 Juan Carlos Ferrero
No. 27 Nicolas Almagro
No. 34 Albert Montanes
No. 46 Feliciano Lopez
No. 47 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez