There are a couple of new faces in the top half quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday with No. 5 seed Robin Soderling of Sweden and No. 13 seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.

In the day session match, No. 10 seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain, appearing in the quarter-finals for the second straight year, takes on No. 16 seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

Berdych, who defeated World No. 1 Roger Federer in the fourth round Tuesday, is attempting to reach the semi-finals for the second time in three years. Berdych leads the all-time series 5-3, having won the last meeting 60 63 in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Mar. 15.

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In the evening session, Soderling has won three of the previous four meetings against Youzhny. Here are Thursday’s match-ups:

No. 5 Robin Soderling vs. No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny Soderling leads 3-1
No. 10 Fernando Verdasco vs. No. 16 Tomas Berdych Berdych leads 5-3

THURSDAY QUARTER-FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS – In Order of Play

(16) Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs (10) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Berdych Leads 5-3
05 Sydney (Australia) Hard R32 Fernando Verdasco 3-6 6-4 7-5
07 ATP Masters Series Hamburg Clay R64 Tomas Berdych 7-6(6) 6-4
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 7-6(2) 6-1 7-6(3)
07 Tokyo (Japan) Hard QF Tomas Berdych 7-6(7)4-6 7-5
08 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R32 Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-4 6-0
08 Båstad (Sweden) Clay SF Tomas Berdych 2-6 6-3 6-2
09 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R16 Fernando Verdasco 7-5 5-7 6-4
10 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 6-0 6-3

Berdych
Age (Birthdate): 24 (September 17, 1985)
Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 20 (No. 9  – August 20, 2007)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 15-6 (14-6)
2010 Finals W-L: 0-0
Career Finals W-L: 5-4
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’09 Munich/’09 Munich
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 3-6
Miami W-L (Best Result): 11-5 (SF – 2008)
Coach: Tomas Krupa

Verdasco
Age (Birthdate): 26 (November 15, 1983)
Residence: Madrid, Spain
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 12 (No. 7 – April 20, 2009)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 14-4 (14-4)
2010 Finals W-L: 1-0
Career Finals W-L: 4-6
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’10 San Jose/’10 San Jose
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 5-3
Miami W-L (Best Result): 11-7 (QF – 2009-10)
Coach: Father, Jose/Darren Cahill (part-time)

BERDYCH FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The 24-year-old Czech Republic native is attempting to reach the semi-finals for the second time in three years…Has an 11-5 career mark…Two years ago he advanced to the semi-finals, losing to No. 2 Nadal 76(6) 62
* Ivan Lendl is the last Czech-born winner here in 1989 (also in ’86)
* Since retiring in the 1st Rd. in his debut in 2005, has reached the 3rd Rd. or better five times…Lost to No. 3 Nalbandian in 3rd Rd. in ’06, Chela in 3rd Rd. in ’07 and 4th and last year fell to No. 3 Djokovic in 4th Rd.
* Thus far has beaten Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 63 64, Argentine Horacio Zeballos 64 75 and World No. 1 Roger Federer 64 67(3) 76(6), saving one match point

2010 Highlights:
SF: Brisbane (l Roddick); QF: San Jose (l Roddick); Memphis (l Gulbis); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Nadal)

2010 In Review:
* The No. 2 player from the Czech Republic (behind No. 18 Stepanek) is appearing in his fifth ATP World Tour quarter-final or better in seven tournaments and owns a 15-6 record on the season, with all but one match coming on hard courts…He helped his country to a 4-1 first round Davis Cup win over Belgium (on clay), defeating O. Rochus in straight sets in the opening rubber and winning the doubles (w/Stepanek) in similar fashion
* In his last tournament in Indian Wells, he reached the quarter-finals (d. No. 12 Verdasco in 3rd Rd., l. to Nadal)
* He opened the season by reaching the semi-finals in Brisbane (l. to eventual champ Roddick) and followed with opening round loss in Sydney (l. to Luczak after bye) and 2nd Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Korolev)
* Last month reached back-to-back quarter-finals in San Jose (l. to Roddick) and Memphis (l. to Gulbis)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* Has a 62-45 career match record and his best result the title in Paris in 2005 (d. No. 10 Ljubicic in five sets)…Also a semi-finalist three other times – ’06 Madrid, ’07 Monte-Carlo and ’08 Miami and quarter-finalist on six other occasions (including here)
 
Miscellaneous:
* In 2009, finished in Top 20 for fourth consecutive year at No. 20 and helped his country to its first Davis Cup final since 1980 (l. to Spain 5-0)…Went 3-2 in singles matches
* Has a 15-44 career mark vs. Top 10 opponents and broke an eight-match losing streak vs. Federer
* Has a 5-4 career mark in ATP World Tour finals and has never reached a final on U.S. soil

VERDASCO FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The 26-year-old Spaniard is appearing in the quarter-finals for the second straight year and has dropped one set in his three wins, defeating Israeli Dudi Sela 61 62, No. 23 seed Jurgen Melzer of Austria 36 76(4) 61 and No. 7 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 64 76(3)…Last year lost to Murray in QF
* He owns an 11-7 career record…Three of his losses have come to Top 5 opponents

2010 Highlights:
W: San Jose (d Roddick); QF: Acapulco (l Monaco)

2010 in Review:
* The Madrid native enters his third ATP World Tour quarter-final or better with a 14-4 match record on the season…He captured his fourth career ATP World Tour title, the first indoors, in San Jose on Feb. 14 (d. No. 7 Roddick)…He is 4-6 lifetime in ATP World Tour finals
* In his last tournament in Indian Wells he lost in the third round to Berdych 60 63
* He opened the season with a 4th Rd. showing at the Australian Open (l. to Davydenko in five sets)
* In February, after his title in San Jose, lost in the 1st Rd. in Memphis (l. to Chardy) and then took a wild card into Acapulco where he reached the quarter-finals (l. to Monaco)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* He has a 56-54 career record and he is appearing in his ninth quarter-final, five coming last year -- Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome and Madrid…He’s looking to reach his first semi-final

Miscellaneous:
* In 2009, he finished a year-end best No. 9, his first Top 10 season-ending ranking…He won his third ATP World Tour title in New Haven and was runner-up in Brisbane and Kuala Lumpur
* He qualified for his year-end championship at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, where he went 0-3 in round robin play
* He helped his native Spain to a second straight Davis Cup title by clinching tie with doubles win (w/Lopez) over Czech Republic

SPANIARDS IN TOP 25 – Verdasco is one of of five Spaniards in the Top 25 South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings:
No. 4 Rafael Nadal
No. 12 Fernando Verdasco
No. 14 Juan Carlos Ferrero
No. 17 David Ferrer
No. 22 Tommy Robredo

(13) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs (5) Robin Soderling (SWE) Soderling Leads 3-1
07 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard SF Mikhail Youzhny 7-5 6-2
08 ATP World Team Chp. (Germany) Clay F Robin Soderling 6-3 6-1
09 Washington (USA) Hard R32 Robin Soderling 6-3 6-1
10 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard F Robin Soderling 6-4 2-0 ret (rt. hamstring)

Youzhny
Age (Birthdate): 27 (June 25, 1982)
Residence: Moscow, Russia
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 15 (No. 8 – Jan. 28, 2008)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 15-3 (15-3)
2010 Finals W-L: 0-2
Career Finals W-L: 5-9
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’10 Dubai/’09 Moscow
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 10-3
Miami W-L (Best Result): 7-7 (QF – 2010)
Coach: Boris Sobkin

Soderling
Age (Birthdate): 25 (August 14, 1984)
Residence: Monte-Carlo, Monaco
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 7 (No. 7 – February 22, 2010)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 15-4 (15-4)
2010 Finals W-L: 1-0
Career Finals W-L: 5-7
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’10 Rotterdam/’10 Rotterdam
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 7-3
Miami W-L (Best Result): 6-3 (QF – 2010)
Coach: Magnus Norman

YOUZHNY FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The 27-year-old Russian is making his first quarter-final appearance in eighth visit (7-7 career record)… His previous best showing was the 4th Rd. in 2008 (l. to Tipsarevic)…Also reached 3rd Rd. in 2007 (l. to del Potro) and 2nd Rd. in 2009 (l. to Berdych)…Went 0-4 in first four tries (falling 1st Rd. twice and 2nd Rd. twice after byes)
* The last Russian to reach the semi-finals or better here was Nikolay Davydenko who captured the title two years ago (d. Nadal)
* En route to the quarter-finals, has defeated Santiago Giraldo 60 61, No. 19 seed Stanislas Wawrinka 16 76(5) 75 in 3rd Rd. and Mardy Fish 61 1-0 Ret. (back) in 4th Rd.

2010 Highlights:
F: Rotterdam (l Soderling); Dubai (l Djokovic)

2010 In Review:
* The No. 2 Russian (behind No. 6 Davydenko) is off to a career-best 15-3 start, all on hard courts, reaching ATP World Tour finals in Rotterdam on Feb. 14 (ret. vs. Soderling w/right hamstring injury) and Dubai on Mar. 1 (l. to No. 2 Djokovic in three sets)…Last year left Miami with a 7-8 record and didn’t win his 15th match until mid-May in Kitzbuhel
* Won his 300th career match in 2nd Rd. in Rotterdam (has career mark of 311-228)
* In his other two tournaments, fell in 1st Rd. in Doha (l. to Stakhovsky) and reached 3rd Rd. at Australian Open (withdrew vs. Kubot w/right wrist injury)…Also withdrew from Indian Wells (w/wrist injury)
* Last month went 2-0 in Russia’s first round Davis Cup win over India (d. Bopanna and Devvarman in straight sets)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* Has a 48-56 career record and appearing in his fifth quarter-final – 2004 Hamburg & Paris, ’05 Cincinnati and ’07 Paris

Miscellaneous:
* In 2009, finished in Top 20 for second time in three years at No. 19 with 42-28 match record…Won 16 of 20 matches after US Open, including his fifth career ATP World Tour title in Moscow (d. Tipsarevic)
* Gives military style salute to fans after big wins, holding racquet above his head with left hand and saluting with right
* Has a 24-53 career mark vs. Top 10 opponents (4-3 in ’09 and 1-2 this year)…His highest ranked win came over No. 2 Nadal (three times) and over No. 2 Djokovic in ’10 Rotterdam SF
* Reached a career-high is No. 8 (achieved January 28, 2008); spent five non-consecutive weeks in Top 10 (first came from August 13 to 19, 2007 at No.10; had four in a row at No. 8 from January 28 to February 24, 2008)
* Has a 5-9 career mark in ATP World Tour finals and has never reached a final in the United States…His lone semi-final on U.S. soil came at the US Open in 2006 (l. to Roddick)
* Here with coach Boris Sobkin (since age 10)

SODERLING FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The top Swede has a 6-3 career record, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in four appearances…He is the first Swede to reach the quarters here since Thomas Johansson in 2005 (l. to Nadal)…Thomas Enqvist is the last Swedish semi-finalist in 1999 (l. to Krajicek)
* En route to the quarter-finals, has beaten Aussie Peter Luczak 76(5) 60, German Philipp Petzschner 61 62 and No. 9 seed Robin Soderling 60 67(3) 62
* Prior to this year, his best result was the third round (ret. vs. No. 1 Federer) in 2008…Made his debut here in ’04 and lost in the second round to Lleyton Hewitt

2010 Highlights:
W: Rotterdam (d Youzhny); SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Roddick); QF: Marseille (l Llodra)

2010 In Review:
* The 25-year-old Swede enters his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final or better with a 15-4 mark on the season (all on hard courts), with his best result coming indoors…He captured his fifth career ATP World Tour title in Rotterdam on Feb. 14 when Russian Mikhail Youzhny retired in the second set with a right hamstring injury
* In his last tournament in Indian Wells, defeated No. 4 Murray in the QF before losing in the SF to No. 8 Roddick
* Also a quarter-finalist in Marseille (l. to eventual champ Llodra)…Afterwards, went to career-high No. 7
* In opening Davis Cup tie Mar. 5-7 at home against Argentina, he defeated Eduardo Schwank in the opening rubber and Leonardo Mayer in the fourth rubber, both in straight sets, but his country lost 3-2
* Began season 0-2 with losses in Chennai (l. to Ginepri) and Australian Open (l. to Granollers)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* Has a career record of 55-44 and he’s trying to reach the semi-finals for the second straight time…In his last tournament he lost to Roddick in Indian Wells…His previous best results were the quarter-finals four times – 2004 Paris, 2007 Monte-Carlo and 2009 Shanghai and Paris

Miscellaneous:
* In 2009, finished in Top 10 for first time at No. 8 with a 49-21 match record…He reached his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, defeating four-time champion and World No. 1 Nadal in 4th Rd. before falling to Federer in straight sets...Also advanced to the quarters at Wimbledon (l. to Federer)
* Has a 20-41 career record against Top 10 opponents and last season won a personal-best seven matches (7-11)…His best career win came over No. 1 Nadal in the 4th Rd. at Roland Garros last year
* Won his first non-indoor ATP World Tour title in his native country in Bastad (d. Monaco) on clay in July
* Coached by former World No. 2 and 2000 Roland Garros finalist Magnus Norman

POTENTIAL SEMI-FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS – Top Half

Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) Youzhny Leads 6-4
04 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 2-6 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-1
05 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati (USA) Hard R32 Mikhail Youzhny 4-6 7-6(4) 7-6(3)
06 ATP Masters Series Toronto (Canada)Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 7-6(3)6-4
07 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard R32 Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1
07 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R16 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(6)6-3
07 Munich (Germany) Clay SF Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 6-3
09 Marseille (France) Hard R32 Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 6-7(2) 6-1
09 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Tomas Berdych 6-3 3-6 6-4
09 Munich (Germany) Clay F Tomas Berdych 6-4 4-6 7-6(5)
09 Tokyo (Japan) Hard QF Mikhail Youzhny 6-2 7-6(6)

Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs Robin Soderling (SWE) Soderling Leads 5-2
05 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 7-5 6-2
06 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati Hard R64 Robin Soderling 6-4 6-3
06 Stockholm (Sweden) Hard QF Robin Soderling 6-2 6-3
07 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Clay QF Tomas Berdych 5-7 6-3 6-0
08 ATP World Team Chp. (Germany) Clay RR Robin Soderling 6-4 1-6 6-3
08 Halle (Germany) Grass R16 Robin Soderling 6-2 7-5
09 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Hard QF Robin Soderling 6-2 6-2
Other Meetings:
03 Bratislava CH (Slovak Republic) Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 7-6(3) 7-5
09 Sunrise CH (U.S.A.) Hard F Robin Soderling 6-1 6-1

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) Verdasco Leads 2-0
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg Clay R64 Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-2
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Fernando Verdasco 7-6(5) 5-7 7-5 6-1

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs Robin Soderling (SWE) Soderling Leads 4-1
05 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 Robin Soderling 1-6 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3
05 New Haven (USA) Hard R32 Fernando Verdasco 7-6(3) 7-6(4)
07 Bastad (Sweden) Clay R16 Robin Soderling 6-3 5-7 7-6(4)
08 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard R16 Robin Soderling 6-4 6-1
08 ATP Masters Series Toronto (Canada)Hard R32 Robin Soderling 6-4 6-7(4) 6-4

Bottom Half
Andy Roddick (USA) vs Rafael Nadal (ESP) Nadal Leads 5-2
04 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Andy Roddick 6-0 6-3 6-4
04 ESP v. USA DC Final (Spain) Clay RR Rafael Nadal 6-7(6) 6-2 7-6(6) 6-2
07 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells Hard SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-3
08 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard QF Andy Roddick 7-6(5) 6-2
08 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain)Grass SF Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-4
08 ESP vs. USA WG SF (Spain) Clay RR Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-0 6-4
09 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 7-6(4)

Andy Roddick (USA) vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) Roddick Leads 2-1
05 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 Andy Roddick 6-3 6-2 6-4
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Andy Roddick 6-7(18) 7-6(2) 6-2 6-3
08 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Hard QF Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 5-7 6-4 7-6(5)