SATURDAY PREVIEW –  FORMER US Open CHAMPS, FISH-RAONIC SQUARE OFF IN SEMI-FINALS

The semi-finals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships on Saturday feature former US Open champions, top seed Andy Roddick and wild card Juan Martin del Potro along with No. 4 seed Mardy Fish and Canadian wild card Milos Raonic. Roddick won the US Open title in 2003 and del Potro in 2009. This is the second time in three years here two former Slam winners are meeting in the semi-finals. Two years ago Roddick beat Hewitt.

In the first semi-final, Fish and Raonic meet for the first time. Fish is appearing in the semi-finals here for the third time (2004, ’07) and he’s playing in Memphis for the 11th straight year. The 29-year-old American has a 15-10 career mark in Memphis.  Raonic is making his semi-final debut here and the 20-year-old Canadian has made the biggest jump in the Top 100 South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings from last year, climbing from No. 156 at the end of 2010 to a career-high No. 59 this week. He will break the Top 50 (around No. 45) next week. Raonic, who leads the tournament with 74 aces this week, is off to an 11-2 start this season and he’s trying to reach his second straight ATP World Tour final. Last week in San Jose he captured the title (d. Verdasco) without dropping a set.
 
In the second semi-final, del Potro, who has not lost his serve this week, takes a 3-0 career mark against Roddick. This will be their first indoor meeting and first match-up since August 2009 when the Argentine prevailed in the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 in Montreal. Roddick has a 32-7 career record in Memphis and he’s appearing in his sixth semi-final (4-1). He is 2-2 in finals. Roddick is also aiming to reach his 50th career final (29-20) on the ATP World Tour. The 22-year-old del Potro is appearing in his second straight ATP World Tour semi-final after reaching the semis last week in San Jose (l. to Verdasco). Del Potro is 7-3 in finals, winning his last title at the ’09 US Open.

SATURDAY SEMI-FINAL  FED-EX HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

(4) Mardy Fish (USA) vs (WC) Milos Raonic (CAN)       First Meeting

Fish FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 5-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: December 9, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 17

• Fish, 29, is appearing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final of the season (5-2 mark) and he’s dropped one set this week, in the second round against Lukas Lacko 67(5) 64 76(3)…He also beat Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 61 75 in the first round and No. 5/defending champ Sam Querrey 63 64 in QFs
• He has a 15-10 career mark in Memphis and this is the American’s third semi-final…He was a semi-finalist in ‘04 (l. to J. Johansson) and ’07 (l. to No. 9 Haas)…Also won the doubles title in ‘09 (w/Knowles)
• This week he is No. 2 in return games won (10 of 35, 29%) and No. 3 in second serve pts. won (59%)
• Last year won a personal-best two ATP World Tour titles (Newport, Atlanta) and a runner-up in two others (Queen’s, ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati) while finishing a personal-best No. 16 ranking
• Has a 5-12 career record in finals (1-2 indoors) and won his lone indoor title in Stockholm in ‘03

Raonic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: San Jose (d Verdasco)
YTD W-L: 11-2
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: December 27, 1990
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 59

• Raonic, 20, who is appearing in his ninth career ATP World Tour level tournament, is making his second straight ATP World Tour semi-final (or better)…In his Memphis debut, has won three straight three-set matches, including back-to-back third set tie-break wins over No. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco and ’09 finalist Radek Stepanek…He hit a career-high and tournament record (since 1991) 38 aces on Thursday…On Friday, he beat Robert Kendrick 64 36 63, hitting 20 aces
• He leads the tournament in aces (74) and is No. 4 in service games won (93%, 43 of 46)
• The Thornhill, Ontario resident has made the biggest jump from last year’s year-end South African Airways ATP Rankings, improving from No. 156 to No. 59…He will move to around No. 45 thus far and around No. 37 if he reaches the final (around No. 32 if wins the title)
• Last week in San Jose the top Canadian captured his first career ATP World Tour title over Verdasco in two tie-breaks…He was broken once during the week and led the tournament with 58 aces 
• He became the first Canadian to win an ATP World Tour title since Greg Rusedski captured the title in Seoul in April 1995 (he also won in Newport in July 1993)
• At last month’s Australian Open, he qualified and posted wins over Bjorn Phau, No. 24 Michael Llodra and No. 10 Mikhail Youzhny before losing to No. 7 David Ferrer in four sets
• At this time one year ago he was ranked No. 361 and lost in the first round of qualifying at the Belgrade Challenger
 
MILOS MOVING UP – Here is a look at Raonic’s ranking improvement since finishing No. 156 at the end of last season:

Jan. 17 – No. 152  4th RD at Australian Open
Jan. 31 – No. 94 2nd RD in Johannesburg
Feb. 7  -- No. 84 Winner in San Jose
Feb. 14 – No. 59  SF in Memphis
Feb. 21 – around No. 45 or around No. 37 (if reaches Final), around No. 32 (if wins title)

2011 MATCH WINS LEADERS – The Canadian is among the Top 5 match wins leaders this season:

                                W-L Titles
1) Robin Soderling     15-1    2
2) Tommy Robredo    12-3    1
3) Stanislas Wawrinka 11-1    1
Nicolas Almagro         11-2    1
Milos Raonic               11-2   1
 
Note: All are playing on Saturday – Soderling in Marseille, Robredo, Wawrinka and Almagro in Buenos Aires

(1)Andy Roddick (USA) vs (WC) Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) Del Potro Leads 3-0
08 Los Angeles (USA) Hard F Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1 7-6(2)
09 Washington (USA) Hard F Juan Martin Del Potro 3-6 7-5 7-6(6)
09 ATP Masters 1000 Montreal Hard SF Juan Martin Del Potro 4-6 6-2 7-5

Roddick FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Brisbane (l Soderling)
YTD W-L: 10-2
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 29
Date of Birth: August 30, 1982
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 8

• Roddick, 28, the top American and two-time champion here (2002, ’09), is appearing in his sixth semi-final in Memphis (4-1)…He is trying to reach his fifth final (2-2)…This week, rallied to beat Richard Berankis 46 62 63 in the first round on Tuesday, Janko Tipsarevic 61 76(8) on Thursday and Lleyton Hewitt 46 63 64 in the quarter-finals
• He is playing here for the 11th straight year (33-7 mark) and the two-time winner (2002, ’09) also was runner-up in ’03 (l. to Dent) and ’07 (l. to Haas)…In his previous 10 appearances, only lost once before the quarter-finals, in his 2001 debut (l. to Haas in 2nd Rd.)
• Ranks No. 2 in aces (58) this week and No. 5 in service games won (92%, 36 of 39)
• He is attempting to reach his 50th career final on the ATP World Tour (29-20 mark)…He opened the season by reaching the final in Brisbane (l. to Soderling) and then followed with a 4th Rd. showing at the Australian Open (l. to Wawrinka)
• He and Federer are the only active players to win a title for at least 10 straight years (Federer has 11)
• Last season finished in the Top 10 for a ninth straight year, joining Federer as only active players to accomplish the feat...Posted a 48-18 match record (42-15 on hard)  

Del Potro FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: San Jose (l Verdasco)
YTD W-L: 8-3
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 7
Date of Birth: September 23, 1988
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 298

• Del Potro, 22, is slowly making improving after being sidelined for more than eight months last year with a right wrist injury…He is appearing in his second straight semi-final after reaching that round in San Jose last week (l. to Verdasco)
• En route to the semi-finals here for the first time in three years (6-2 mark), he’s defeated No. 6 seed John Isner 64 63, Croat Ivan Dodig 64 64 and qualifier Michael Russell 64 62…His previous best result was the quarter-finals two years ago (l. to Stepanek)…He has yet to drop a set, holding all 28 games
• He comes in with an 8-3 match record on the season…He opened the year with a second round in Sydney (d. Lopez in three tie-breaks, l. to F. Mayer) and followed with the same result at the Australian Open (d. Sela, l. to Baghdatis in four sets)
• He will climb to around No. 164 thus far, around No. 123 if reaches final and around No. 74 if wins title
• Last year only played in three tournaments -- Aust. Open (4th Rd., l. to Cilic) in January and in October in Bangkok and Tokyo (lost in 1st Rd. in both)
• He has a 7-3 career mark in finals and reached his lone indoor final at ’09 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (l. to Davydenko)…Has a 4-0 mark in finals on U.S. soil

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS

Mardy Fish (USA) vs Andy Roddick (USA)   Roddick Leads 9-3
03 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Mardy Fish 7-6(4) 4-3 ret
03 Washington (U.S.A.) Hard QF Andy Roddick 6-1 6-4
03 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati (USA) Hard F Andy Roddick 4-6 7-6(3)  7-6(4)
04 San Jose (U.S.A.) Hard F Andy Roddick 7-6(13) 6-4
06 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Andy Roddick 6-3 6-7(5) 7-6(2)
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF Andy Roddick 6-2 6-2 6-2
08 San Jose (U.S.A.) Hard QF Andy Roddick 7-6(6) 1-6 7-5
08 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Andy Roddick 6-4 6-2
08 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay R32 Andy Roddick 6-1 6-4
08 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain)Grass R16 Andy Roddick 7-6(5) ret
10 Atlanta (USA) Hard SF Mardy Fish 7-6(5) 6-3
10 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati  Hard SF Mardy Fish 4-6 7-6(3) 6-1

Mardy Fish (USA) vs Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)  Fish Leads 2-1
07 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Mardy Fish 6-1 7-6(9)
08 Los Angeles (USA) Hard SF Juan Martin Del Potro 6-2 6-1
09 San Jose (U.S.A.) Hard QF Mardy Fish 6-3 6-4

Milos Raonic (CAN) vs Andy Roddick (USA)    First Meeting

Milos Raonic (CAN) vs Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)   First Meeting

SATURDAY PREVIEW - SODERLING ON A ROLL, GOES FOR THIRD ATP WORLD TOUR FINAL IN 2011

One Top 5 player, two former Top 10 players and a former Top 20 player on the comeback trail make up the final four of the Open 13, and on Saturday those four stars will do battle for two final berths.

The first semi-final pits No. 1 seed Robin Soderling against Dmitry Tursunov. No one has compiled the kind of numbers Soderling has so far this year: he has the most match wins (15 - no one else has more than 12) and is the only multiple ATP World Tour champion (winning at Brisbane and Rotterdam). The Swede has also done very well at this tournament before, never falling before the quarter-finals here (he is 12-4 at this tournament). Tursunov’s ranking of No. 129 is deceptive, given he started the year No. 197 and has been as high as No. 20 before; but he has always had trouble with the very top players, going 1-14 in his career against Top 5 players (his only Top 5 win came at Wimbledon five years ago, a five set win against a No. 4-ranked Ivan Ljubicic).

The second semi-final pits No. 3 seed Mikhail Youzhny against Marin Cilic. Youzhny and Cilic are both former Top 10 players, Youzhny spending 25 career weeks in there (now No. 11) and Cilic spending 11 career weeks in there (now No. 28). Both are in the semi-finals here for the first time, and there’s one thing that swings this match in Youzhny’s favor, his 4-0 head-to-head lead over Cilic, which includes a straight set win for the Russian right here last year. Cilic has won his last two rounds in straight sets though - Youzhny went to three in both.

SATURDAY SEMI-FINAL FED-EX HEAD 2 HEADS - In Order of Play

(1) Robin Soderling (SWE) vs Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)    First Meeting

Soderling FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Brisbane (d Roddick); Rotterdam (d Tsonga)
YTD W-L: 15-1
YTD Titles: 2
Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: August 14, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 4

• Playing fourth tournament of year (15-1 record); won two of first three events played, at Brisbane (d. Roddick in final) and Rotterdam (d. Tsonga in final); reached 4th Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Dolgopolov in five sets)
• Fifth appearance at Marseille (12-4 record); runner-up in 2004 (l. to Hrbaty in final); SF in 2007 (l. to Simon); QF twice, in 2008 (l. to Ancic) and 2010 (l. to Llodra); is 2-0 so far this year (as No. 1 seed w/1st Rd. bye, d. WC Mahut in 2nd Rd. and No. 8 seed Llodra in QFs)
• Has an 8-10 career record in finals, including 7-6 indoors (but has won last four)

Tursunov FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 4-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: December 12, 1982
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 129

• Playing third ATP World Tour event of year (4-2 record); fell 1st Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Troicki); reached 2nd Rd. at Rotterdam (l. to Berdych); fell in Brisbane qualifying; won Singapore Challenger title
• Second appearance at Marseille (4-1 record); reached 2nd Rd. in 2009 (l. to Lopez); is 3-0 so far this year (d. WC Dimitrov in 1st Rd., No. 5 seed Ljubicic in 2nd Rd. and No. 4 seed Melzer in QFs)
• Has an 6-2 career mark in ATP World Tour finals and his last title came in ’09 Eastbourne
 
(3) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs Marin Cilic (CRO) Youzhny Leads 4-0
08 Chennai (India) Hard SF Mikhail Youzhny 6-2 6-3
08 Marseille (France) Hard R32 Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 7-6(3)
09 ATP Masters 1000 Montreal(Canada)Hard R64 Mikhail Youzhny 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1
10 Munich (Germany) Clay F Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 4-6 6-4

Youzhny FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Rotterdam (l Soderling)
YTD W-L: 6-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 7
Date of Birth: June 25, 1982
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 11

• Playing third tournament of year (6-2 record); in first two tournaments, reached 3rd Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Raonic) and QF at Rotterdam (l. to Soderling)
• Fifth appearance at Marseille (9-4 record); reached 2nd Rd. at 2006 (l. to Grosjean) and three straight QF finishes in 2007, 2008 (l. to Baghdatis both times) and 2009 (l. to Llodra); is 2-0 so far (as No. 3 seed w/1st Rd. bye, d. Simon in 2nd Rd. and No. 6 seed Ljubicic in QFs)
• Has a 7-10 career record in ATP World Tour finals (2-3 last year)

Cilic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Zagreb (l Mayer); Rotterdam (l Troicki)
YTD W-L: 9-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: September 28, 1988
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 28

• Playing fifth tournament of year (9-4 record); reached QF twice, at Zagreb (l. to Mayer) and Rotterdam (l. to Troicki); reached 4th Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Nadal); fell 1st Rd. at Chennai (l. to Nishikori)
• Second appearance at Marseille (3-1 record); fell 1st Rd. in 2008 (l. to Youzhny); is 3-0 so far this year (d. qualifier Bohli in 1st Rd., Petzschner in 2nd Rd. and No. 2 seed Berdych in QFs)
• Has a 5-3 career mark in ATP World Tour finals (2-1 last season)

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS

(1) Robin Soderling (SWE) vs (3) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) Soderling Leads 5-1
07 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard SF Mikhail Youzhny 7-5 6-2
08 ATP World Team Championship  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
10 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami Hard QF Robin Soderling 6-1 6-4
11 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard QF Robin Soderling 6-4 7-6(5)

(1) Robin Soderling (SWE) vs Marin Cilic (CRO)   Soderling Leads 1-0
10 Roland Garros (France) Clay R16 Robin Soderling 6-4 6-4 6-2

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs (3) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)  Youzhny Leads 2-1
05 Moscow (Russia) Carpet QF Dmitry Tursunov 6-2 4-6 6-2
08 Halle (Germany) Grass R32 Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-1
10 St. Petersburg (Russia) Hard SF Mikhail Youzhny 7-5 4-6 7-6(8)

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs Marin Cilic (CRO)    First Meeting