HOUSTON FRIDAY PREVIEW –  FIVE OF TOP EIGHT SEEDS, FORMER CHAMP KARLOVIC LEAD QF LINE-UP

The quarter-finals of the US Men’s Clay Court Championships at the River Oaks Country Club on Friday feature all four seeds in the top half of the draw. Overall, there are three Americans leading the way and two former champions.

In the opening match on Stadium, Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili and American wild card Ryan Sweeting
square off the first time. Both players are attempting to reach their first career ATP World Tour semi-final. Gabashvili is appearing in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season while Sweeting is making his second career quarter-final showing.  In February, he advanced to the quarters in Delray Beach.
 
In the second match, qualifier and 2007 champion Ivo Karlovic meets No. 4 seed John Isner for the third time (tied 1-1), the first on clay, in the tallest match-up on the ATP World Tour. The 6’10” Karlovic has only been broken once in five matches thus far and the 32-year-old Croat is appearing in his third ATP World Tour quarter-final on the season. His last semi-final came in February 2010 in Delray Beach where he reached the final. The 6’9” Isner is making his second showing in a quarter-final this year (Auckland in January). His last semi-final came in Beijing in October 2010 (l. to Djokovic).

In the third match, doubles partners No. 3 seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain and Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay face off for the first time. Garcia-Lopez is appearing in his third ATP World Tour quarter-final or better on the season while Cuevas is making his first quarter-final showing. Garcia-Lopez was a semi-finalist in Zagreb in February. Cuevas last reached a semi-final in Moscow in October 2010.

In the evening session, top seed/American Mardy Fish takes on the top player from Japan,No. 6 seed Kei Nishikori for the first time. Fish, who won his lone ATP World Tour clay court title in Houston in 2006, is a career-high No. 11 in this week’s South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings. If he wins the title, he will break the Top 10 for the first time next week. Fish is trying to reach his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final in the past five tournaments while Nishikori is appearing in his first career ATP World Tour quarter-final on clay.

In the final match, top seeds and three-time US Clay Court champions Bob and Mike Bryan look to extend their 14-match winning streak in Houston as they take on Cuevas and Garcia-Lopez in the semi-finals.

FRIDAY QUARTER-FINAL FED-EX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS –  In Order of Play

Stadium

Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) vs (WC) Ryan Sweeting (USA)   First Meeting

Gabashvili FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 5-8
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 23, 1985
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 77

Sweeting FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Delray Beach (l Nishikori)
YTD W-L: 7-6
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 14, 1987
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 93

(Q) Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs (4) John Isner (USA)     Tied 1-1
08 New Haven (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Ivo Karlovic 6-7(4) 6-3 6-4
10 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard QF John Isner 6-1  7-6(7)

Karlovic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Doha (l Davydenko); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 9-9
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: February 28, 1979
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 174

Isner FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Auckland (l Nalbandian)
YTD W-L: 8-7
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: April 26, 1985
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 29

(3) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs (7) Pablo Cuevas (URU)   First Meeting

Garcia-Lopez FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Zagreb (l Dodig); QF: Doha (l Tsonga)
YTD W-L: 8-8
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: June 4, 1983
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 27

Cuevas FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 9-8
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 1, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 66

(1) Mardy Fish (USA) vs (6) Kei Nishikori (JPN)    First Meeting

Fish FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Memphis (l Raonic); Delray Beach (l Del Potro); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 13-6
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: December 9, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 11

Nishikori FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Delray Beach (l Tipsarevic); QF: Chennai (l Tipsarevic)
YTD W-L: 11-6
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: December 29, 1989
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 61

CASABLANCA FRIDAY PREVIEW - MONTANES & SIMON IN ACTION ON QUARTER-FINAL FRIDAY

Eight ATP World Tour stars will battle it out for spots in the final four as Quarter-final Friday takes place at the Grand Prix Hassan II.

First up is an all-Spanish, all-unseeded battle between Pablo Andujar and Pere Riba. This is Andujar’s third time this year winning back-to-back matches, having done so in reaching the quarters of Costa do Sauipe and the third round of Miami (beating Top 10 player Fernando Verdasco along the way); Riba has done it here for the first time this year (in fact, the first time since last July). This is their first meeting on the ATP World Tour (Andujar has won three of their four Challenger meetings).

The second match on Court Central is No. 1 seed Albert Montanes against No. 7 seed Fabio Fognini. Neither player has had the best year so far, Montanes now 7-7 and Fognini now 7-9, but Montanes has done far better on these courts in the past, making deep runs in two of his four previous appearances here (reaching the final in 2007 and the semi-finals in 2009) while Fognini fell first round in his only previous appearance here. Fognini has also gone to three sets in both of his first two matches this week, and Montanes has won their last two meetings.

The third quarter-final of the day pits No. 3 seed Gilles Simon against No. 5 seed Potito Starace. Simon, a former Top 10 player, started this year outside the Top 40 but is now No. 23 after a very strong last few months, highlighted by a title in Sydney and the quarters last week in Miami. In that Miami quarter-final he had to retire due to a neck injury, but he had a strong return to the courts here with a routine win in his opening match. Starace is a former semi-finalist here, doing so last year, but Simon has won both of their previous meetings (one on the ATP World Tour, one last year in the Challengers).

Last up is No. 8 seed Victor Hanescu against qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov. After first round losses in his first three appearances here in 2005, 2007 and 2008, Hanescu has stepped it up over the last few years here, reaching the quarter-finals in 2009, the final in 2010 (losing to Stanislas Wawrinka) and now the quarters again. Kuznetsov has won back-to-back matches for the first time in his career and is now in his very first ATP World Tour quarter-final - and he has already taken out one seed this week, No. 2 seed Marcos Baghdatis. In this pair’s only prior meeting, Kuznetsov pushed Hanescu to 7-5 in the fifth set before falling.

FRIDAY QUARTER-FINAL FED-EX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS - In Order of Play

Court Central

Pere Riba (ESP) vs Pablo Andujar (ESP)  First ATP Meeting
Other Meetings:
08 Telde CH (Spain) Clay R16 Pablo Andujar 3-6 7-6(3) 6-0
09 Marrakech CH (Morocco) Clay R16 Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-4
09 Medellin CH (Colombia) Clay QF Pere Riba 6-2 4-6 6-4
10 Monza CH (Italy) Clay SF Pablo Andujar 6-4 3-6 6-2

Riba FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 3-5
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 7, 1988
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 84

Andujar FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Costa Do Sauipe (l Mello)
YTD W-L: 7-7
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 23, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 69

(1) Albert Montanes (ESP) vs (7) Fabio Fognini (ITA) Montanes Leads 2-1
08 Costa Do Sauipe (Brazil) Clay R16 Fabio Fognini 7-5 6-3
09 Bucharest (Romania) Clay QF Albert Montanes 6-1 6-1
11 Buenos Aires (Argentina) Clay R16 Albert Montanes 6-2 4-6 6-4

Montanes FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Buenos Aires (l Chela)
YTD W-L: 7-7
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: November 26, 1980
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 24

Fognini FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Santiago (l Robredo)
YTD W-L: 7-9
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 24, 1987
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 52

(5) Potito Starace (ITA) vs (3) Gilles Simon (FRA) Simon Leads 1-0
07 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Hard R64 Gilles Simon 6-3 3-6 6-3
Other Meeting:
10 Sunrise CH (USA) Hard R16 Gilles Simon 4-6 6-2 7-5

Starace FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Santiago (l Giraldo); QF: Sydney (l Mayer); Costa Do Sauipe (l Dolgopolov)
YTD W-L: 9-8
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 14, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 47

Simon FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Sydney (d Troicki); QF: Dubai (l Gasquet); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 15-8
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: December 27, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 23

(8) Victor Hanescu (ROU) vs (Q) Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) Hanescu Leads 1-0
10 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R128 Victor Hanescu      6-7(4) 7-6(3) 6-3 1-6 7-5

Hanescu FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 7-9
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: July 21, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 58

Kuznetsov FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 2-0
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: February 22, 1991
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 244