HOUSTON SATURDAY PREVIEW –  FORMER CHAMP KARLOVIC JOINED BY NISHIKORI, CUEVAS, SWEETING
The semi-finals of the US Men’s Clay Court Championships at the River Oaks Country Club on Saturday are led by 2007 champion and qualifier Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, No. 6 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan, No. 7 Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and American wild card Ryan Sweeting.

In the first semi-final, Karlovic looks for his second victory in as many meetings against Sweeting. In February in San Jose, the Croat won 6-4, 6-4, in the first round. His last semi-final came in February 2010 in Delray Beach where he reached the final. The 32-year-old Croat, who leads the tournament with 44 aces, is trying to become the first qualifier to reach the final in Houston since Mariano Zabaleta in 2007 (l. to Karlovic). The last qualifier to win an ATP World Tour title was Sergiy Stakhovsky in St. Petersburg on Nov. 1, 2009. Sweeting is making his ATP World Tour semi-final debut. His previous best showing was the quarter-finals in Delray Beach in February.
 
In the second semi-final, Nishikori and Cuevas square off for the first time. Cuevas is appearing in his fifth career ATP World Tour semi-final, the first since Moscow in October 2010. This is the 25-year-old Uruguayan’s first semi-final on U.S. soil. The 21-year-old Nishikori, who last year at this time was unranked after returning from a right elbow injury in 2009, is making his fourth career ATP World Tour semi-final appearance. Two of his previous three came in Delray Beach (d. Blake) where he won his first ATP title in 2008 and reached the semis in February. He also was a semi-finalist in Stockholm in October 2008.

In the doubles final, top seeds and three-time US Clay Court champions Bob and Mike Bryan take a 15-match winning streak in Houston against unseeded John Isner and Sam Querrey. The Bryans are 4-0 lifetime against their Davis Cup teammates.

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

(Q) Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs (WC) Ryan Sweeting (USA) Karlovic Leads 1-0
11 San Jose (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Ivo Karlovic 6-4 6-4

Karlovic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Doha (l Davydenko); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 10-9
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: February 28, 1979
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 174

• Karlovic, 32, the big-serving Croat comes in with a 10-9 match record on the season and he is appearing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final since February 2010 when he reached the final in Delray Beach (l. to Gulbis)…He is trying to advance to his eighth career ATP World Tour final (4-3) and his last title came in Nottingham in June 2008 (d. Verdasco)
• He fired 24 aces and saved two match points in his 76(2) 67(2) 76(9) quarter-final win over No. 4 seed John Isner in a 3:16 battle…Has won 10 straight matches in Houston (including three qualifying)
• He leads the tournament with 44 aces and is No. 2 in first serve points won (84%) and break points saved (11 of 13, 85%)…Has held serve 36 of 38 games (95%) in the main draw and did not face a break point in three qualifying wins
• He opened the campaign with a quarter-final in Doha (l. to Davydenko) and last month reached the quarters at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Nadal in third set tie-break)
• Prior to Indian Wells, he did not win back-to-back matches in five straight tournaments, falling in the first round at the Australian Open (l. to countryman Dodig), Zagreb (l. to Brands), second round in San Jose (l. to Verdasco), first round in Memphis (l. to Russell) and Delray Beach (l. to Tipsarevic)
• His runner-up points from '10 Delray Beach came off and he dropped to No. 217 on Feb. 28…Came into Indian Wells No. 239 on Mar. 7, his lowest since Nov. 5, 2001 when he was No. 240…Afterwards, climbed to No. 153…This week is No. 174 and will go to around No. 132 thus far, around No. 117 if he reaches the final and to around No. 89 if he wins the title
• In first round Davis Cup tie vs. Germany, he played in the fifth and decisive rubber against Philipp Petzschner and lost in straight sets
• This is the third tournament (since Indian Wells) he is working with countryman Mirko Pehar

Sweeting FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Delray Beach (l Nishikori)
YTD W-L: 8-6
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 14, 1987
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 93

• Sweeting, 23, is making his ATP World Tour singles semi-final debut...He reached his first ATP World Tour doubles final here two years ago (w/Levine), losing to the Bryan brothers
• The Ft. Lauderdale resident enters with an 8-6 match record on the season and in his last two wins he rallied from a set down to defeat No. 2 seed/last year’s runner-up Sam Querrey 36 76(5) 63 and Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 36 63 61
• He is No. 3 this week in break points converted (15 of 25, 60%) and first serve percentage (70%) and No. 4 in second serve points won (58%)…Has been broken nine times (held 27 of 36), most among SF
• The wild card entry leads the ATP World Tour in qualifying (five times) into the main draw this year with his best result the quarter-finals in Delray Beach in February (d. Querrey, l. to Nishikori)…He also qualified at the Aust. Open (d. Gimeno-Traver, l. to Nadal), Memphis (l. to Tipsarevic) and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tourn. in Indian Wells (d. Granollers, Monaco, l. to Nadal) and Miami (l. to Malisse)
• He does not have a coach here but began working with former ATP pro Chuck Adams in Indian Wells last month…The two will reunite in May in Nice and at Roland Garros
• After this week, plans to play in upcoming Challengers on clay in Sarasota and Savannah
• Will move to around a career-high No. 80 thus far, around No. 74 if reaches final and No. 71 if winner

(6) Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs (7) Pablo Cuevas (URU)  First Meeting

Nishikori FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Delray Beach (l Tipsarevic); QF: Chennai (l Tipsarevic)
YTD W-L: 12-6
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: December 29, 1989
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 61

• Nishikori, 21, is making his fourth career ATP World Tour semi-final showing, the first on clay, with two in Delray Beach where he won his first ATP World Tour title in 2008 (d. No. 12 Blake) and reached the semis in February (l. to Tipsarevic)…He also reached SFs in Stockholm in October ‘08 (l. to Soderling)
•  He enters with a 12-6 match record on the season, opening with a quarter-final in Chennai (l. to Tipsarevic) and following with a third round at the Australian Open (l. to Verdasco)...In February, lost in second round in San Jose (l. to Smyczek), fell in last round of qualifying (l. to Hajek) in Memphis and reached semi-finals in Delray Beach
• Last month, lost in the first round (l. to Andreev) in Indian Wells and second round in Miami (l. to Nadal)
• Leads the tournament in service games won (27 of 27), saving three break points and No. 2 in second serve points won (64%) and points won returning second serve (62%)
• Will move from No. 61 to around a career-high No. 53 thus far (previous best was No. 56 on Feb. 2, 2009) and if he reaches the final, to around No. 49, and if wins the title, around No. 41…The highest-ranked Japanese player was Shuzo Matsuoka at No. 46 on July 6, 1992
• One year ago at this time he was unranked after returning from a right elbow injury in 2009

21-UNDER IN TOP 100 – Nishikori is one of four players ranked in the Top 100 South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings 21 years old or younger:

    Age   Rank
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)  19 years, 10 months No. 70
Milos Raonic (CAN)  20 years, 3 months No. 35
Richard Berankis (LTU)  20 years, 9 months No. 74
Kei Nishikori (JPN)  21 years, 3 months No. 61

Cuevas FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 10-8
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 1, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 66

• Cuevas, 25, the top player from Uruguay, is appearing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final of the season and fifth of his career…His previous semi-finals were in Moscow last October, in Vina del Mar in 2008-09 and Hamburg in July 2009
• He is trying to become the first Uruguayan to reach an ATP World Tour final since Marcelo Filippini captured the title in St. Poelten (d. Rafter) on May 25, 1997
• He enters with an 10-8 match record (7-4 on clay) on the season and went 0-4 to start the year before winning at least one round in his next five tournaments (10-4 mark)
• He reached the second round in Buenos Aires, Acapulco, won two Davis Cup singles matches (vs. Colombia), second round in Indian Wells and third round in Miami (d. No. 8 Roddick, l. to Simon)
• In his previous Houston appearance three years ago, lost in the first round in singles to then 15-year-old Ryan Harrison and reached his first ATP World Tour doubles final (w/Granollers)…Teamed up this week (w/Garcia-Lopez) and reached the semi-finals (l. to Bryans)
• Although he has yet to reach an ATP World Tour singles final, he is 4-2 in doubles finals…His biggest title came at Roland Garros in 2008 (w/Horna)
 
POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS –

Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Ivo Karlovic (CRO)    First Meeting

Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Ryan Sweeting (USA)   Nishikori Leads 1-0
11 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard QF Kei Nishikori 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4
Other Meetings:
07 Carson CH (U.S.A.) Hard QF Kei Nishikori 2-6 7-6(13)  6-4
10 Savannah CH (USA) Clay F Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-0
10 Sarasota CH (USA) Clay SF Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-2

Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Ivo Karlovic (CRO)   Karlovic Leads 1-0
09 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard R64 Ivo Karlovic 7-6(3) 6-4

Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Ryan Sweeting (USA)   First ATP Meeting
Other Meeting:
07 Naples CH (U.S.A.) Clay R32 Ryan Sweeting 6-3 6-2

DOUBLES FINAL PREVIEW – BRYANS LOOK FOR FOURTH HOUSTON TITLE AGAINST COUNTRYMEN
• Top seeds and three-time US Clay Court champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan take on unseeded Davis Cup teammates John Isner and Sam Querrey in Saturday’s doubles championship. The Bryans are 4-0 lifetime against Isner and Querrey.
• The Bryans are attempting to capture their second title of the season after winning a third straight crown at the Australian Open in January, their 10th overall Grand Slam title. They also were finalists in Sydney. This is the Bryans’ fifth career final at the US Clay Courts, having won the title in 2007, ‘09 and last year while finishing runner-up in 1999 when the tournament was held in Orlando. They have won 15 straight matches in Houston.
• Last year they became the first team to repeat as US Men's Clay Court champions since Americans Ken Flach and Robert Seguso in 1984-85.
• The Bryans have a 68-39 career record in doubles finals and last year they finished as the No. 1 team for a record sixth time in the past eight years.
• Isner and Querrey have not dropped a set this week en route to their third final together (1-1). Last year they won the title in Memphis (d. Hutchins-Kerr) and were finalists at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l. to Bryans).
• They have a 29-20 career match record together. They first teamed up in Poertschach, Austria in May 2008. They both are 2-1 lifetime in doubles finals.

 

CASABLANCA SATURDAY PREVIEW - TOP SEED MONTANES LEADS SEMI-FINAL ACTION 
It’s down to four ATP World Tour stars at the Grand Prix Hassan II, and they’ll all battle it out for the two spots in Sunday’s final. First up is No. 1 seed Albert Montanes against Pablo Andujar. Both players own an 8-7 record this year and are both playing their first semi-finals of the season too, but two things weigh heavily in Montanes’ favor in this match-up - his ranking (No. 24 to No. 69 for Andujar) and his 2-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head (he won both of their previous meetings in straight sets and both on this very surface, too). The second semi-final pits No. 5 seed Potito Starace against No. 8 seed Victor Hanescu. Both players have had a lot of success here before, both making it this far last year (Stanislas Wawrinka beat them both, Starace in the semi-finals and Hanescu in the final). The pair’s head-to-head on the ATP World Tour is tied, 2-2, but Starace has had a better year, this being his fourth time in the quarter-finals or better (this is Hanescu’s first time going that deep).

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

Court Central

(1) Albert Montanes (ESP) vs Pablo Andujar (ESP) Montanes Leads 2-0
07 Costa Do Sauipe (Brasil) Clay R32 Albert Montanes 6-2 7-6(6)
10 Buenos Aires (Argentina) Clay R16 Albert Montanes 6-3 6-2

Montanes FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Buenos Aires (l Chela)
YTD W-L: 8-7
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: November 26, 1980
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 24

• Playing eighth ATP World Tour event of year (8-7 record); best previous results are QF at Buenos Aires (l. to Chela) and 4th Rd. at Indian Wells (l. to Karlovic); fell 2nd Rd. at other five events (incl. Australian Open)
• Fifth attempt here (9-4 record); runner-up in 2007 (l. to Mathieu in final); SF in 2009 (l. to Serra); fell 1st Rd. in 2003 and 2008; 2-0 this year (as top seed w/1st Rd. bye, d. Volandri in 2nd Rd. and No. 7 seed Fognini in QFs)

Andujar FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Costa Do Sauipe (l Mello)
YTD W-L: 8-7
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 23, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 69

• Playing eighth ATP World Tour event of year (8-7 record); best previous results are QF at Costa do Sauipe (l. to Mello) and 3rd Rd. at Miami (l. to Anderson); 2nd Rd. once; fell 1st Rd. four times (incl. Australian Open)
• First appearance here; 3-0 so far (d. Serra in 1st Rd., No. 6 seed Chardy in 2nd Rd. and Riba in QFs)

(5) Potito Starace (ITA) vs (8) Victor Hanescu (ROU) Tied 2-2
04 Gstaad (Switzerland) Clay R16 Potito Starace 3-6 7-6(3) 7-6(1)
05 Bucharest (Romania) Clay R32 Victor Hanescu 6-3 6-2
07 Bucharest (Romania) Clay QF Victor Hanescu 7-6(5) 7-5
10 Valencia (Spain) Hard R32 Potito Starace 4-6 6-4 6-2
Other Meeting:
07 Lugano CH (Switzerland) Clay R16 Potito Starace 6-2 6-3

Starace FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Santiago (l Giraldo); QF: Sydney (l Mayer); Costa Do Sauipe (l Dolgopolov)
YTD W-L: 10-8
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 14, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 47
• Playing ninth ATP World Tour event of year (10-8 record); best previous results are one SF at Santiago (l. to Giraldo) and two QFs, at Sydney (l. to Mayer) and Costa do Sauipe (l. to Dolgopolov); fell 1st Rd. at other seven events (incl. Australian Open and last four events coming into Casablanca)
• Third appearance here (7-2 record); 2nd Rd. in 2009 (l. to Ferrero); SF in 2010 (l. to Wawrinka); 3-0 so far this year (as No. 5 seed, d. Brands in 1st Rd., Ramirez Hidalgo in 2nd Rd. and No. 3 seed Simon in QFs)

Hanescu FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 8-9
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: July 21, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 58

• Playing ninth ATP World Tour event of year (8-9 record); did not win back-to-back matches before this event
• Sixth appearance here (8-5 record); fell 1st Rd. in first three attempts (2005, 2007, 2008) but reached QF in 2009 (l. to Ferrero) and final in 2010 (l. to Wawrinka); 3-0 so far this year (as No. 8 seed, d. Gimeno-Traver in 1st Rd., Berrer in 2nd Rd. and qualifier Kuznetsov in QFs)

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS

Albert Montanes (ESP) vs Potito Starace (ITA)   Montanes Leads 3-0
06 Palermo (Italy) Clay R16 Albert Montanes 6-2 6-2
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Clay R64 Albert Montanes 7-6(8) 6-4
09 Bucharest (Romania) Clay R32 Albert Montanes 6-4 6-2
Other Meetings:
02 Aschaffenburg CH (Germany) Clay SF Potito Starace 7-6(3) 7-6(4)
02 Cairo CH (Egypt) Clay R32 Albert Montanes 6-2 6-3
07 San Marino CH (San Marino) Clay F Potito Starace 6-4 7-6(5)

Albert Montanes (ESP) vs Victor Hanescu (ROU)  Hanescu Leads 5-2
05 Sopot (Poland) Clay R32 Victor Hanescu 7-6(3) 5-7 6-3
05 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Albert Montanes 6-4 3-6 6-3 2-1 ret.
07 Amersfoort (The Netherlands) Clay R32 Victor Hanescu 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(4)
07 Bucharest (Romania) Clay R16 Victor Hanescu 6-3 6-2
08 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard R128 Victor Hanescu 1-6 6-4 6-4
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Victor Hanescu 7-6(5) 6-3 2-6 6-3
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris  Hard R64 Albert Montanes 3-6 6-3 7-6(3)
Other Meetings:
01 Freudenstadt CH (Germany) Clay F Albert Montanes 6-0 6-3
07 ATP Masters Series Rome Q (Italy) Clay -- Albert Montanes 6-4 6-4
 
Pablo Andujar (ESP) vs Potito Starace (ITA)   Starace Leads 2-0
07 Valencia (Spain) Clay R16 Potito Starace 6-4 1-6 6-3
11 Santiago (Chile) Clay R16 Potito Starace 6-4 6-1
Other Meetings:
08 Napoli CH (Italy) Clay SF Potito Starace 6-4 6-1
09 San Marino CH (San Marino) Clay R32 Potito Starace 6-3 6-2
10 Genova CH (Italy) Clay QF Potito Starace 6-7(6) 6-3 6-2

Pablo Andujar (ESP) vs Victor Hanescu (ROU)   Hanescu Leads 1-0
08 Kitzbuehel (Austria) Clay R32 Victor Hanescu 6-3 1-6 7-6(2)

DOUBLES FINAL -- (1) Lindstedt/Tecau (SWE/ROU) vs. Fleming/Zelenay (GBR/SVK)
• Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau, seeded No. 1, haven’t faced a seeded team this tournament
• Lindstedt and Tecau are playing their seventh ATP World Tour doubles final together (4-2 together)
• Colin Fleming and Igor Zelenay, unseeded, beat No. 2 seeds Hanley/Soares en route to the final
• Fleming and Zelenay are playing their first ATP World Tour doubles final together
• ATP World Tour doubles final records: Lindstedt (10-9), Tecau (7-4), Fleming (2-1), Zelenay (0-1)