SATURDAY BELGRADE PREVIEW - DJOKOVIC & TIPSAREVIC MEET IN ALL-SERB SEMI-FINAL
The hottest player on the ATP World Tour will face one of his most talented countrymen as he tries to keep his perfect season record intact on Semi-Final Saturday at the Serbia Open.

The first semi-final is an all-unseeded match-up between Feliciano Lopez of Spain and Filippo Volandri of Italy. Lopez has been a giant-killer here, taking out No. 8 seed Juan Monaco and No. 4 Albert Montanes en route to his first ATP World Tour semi-final since Los Angeles last July. Italian right-hander Volandri hasn’t beaten any seeds but has dropped just 18 games in three matches to reach his first ATP World Tour semi-final since Buenos Aires in February 2008. The two 29-year-olds are hoping this helps them jump back up the rankings - No. 37 Lopez is a former No. 20, No. 80 Volandri is a former No. 25. The bad news for Volandri is he has lost their last four meetings - including their last three in straight sets.

Lopez is trying to reach his seventh ATP World Tour final (2-4 mark) while Volandri is trying to reach his ninth ATP World Tour final (2-6 in career), and first since 2006.

The second semi-final pits World No. 2 and top seed Novak Djokovic against No. 7 seed Janko Tipsarevic. Djokovic comes in with a 26-0 mark after a pair of routine wins in his first two matches, losing a total of 10 games in two matches. Tipsarevic has gone to three sets in two of his three matches so far but has been a tough opponent for Djokovic in the past, taking sets off his countryman in both of their prior meetings (Djokovic won at Queen’s Club in 2008, 26 61 64, and here in Belgrade in 2009, 62 46 60). He has never beaten a Top 3 player but has had nine Top 10 wins before (including three last year, over Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Tomas Berdych).

Djokovic is 19-2 in his career against players from Serbia, and one of those losses was by retirement at this tournament last year to Filip Krajinovic (the completed loss came to Viktor Troicki at Umag in 2007). Djokovic will be trying to reach his 36th ATP World Tour final (he is 22-13 in his career) while Tipsarevic is trying to reach his fourth ATP World Tour final (he is 0-3).

NOVAK STREAK – Djokovic’s 26-0 start is the best to begin a season since Ivan Lendl in 1986 when he went 29-0. Djokovic has won 28 straight matches going back to last year’s Davis Cup final and his last loss came to Roger Federer in the semi-finals at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London on Nov. 27, 2010. Here are the best starts on the ATP World Tour since 1980:
                              
                                        No.         Year
John McEnroe                  42           1984 *
Bjorn Borg                       33           1980 *
Ivan Lendl                       29           1986 *
Novak Djokovic               26            2011
*All won Masters titles in January of that year but title was credited from preceding year

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

Centre Court

Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs Filippo Volandri (ITA) Lopez Leads 5-1
05 Doha (Qatar) Hard R32 Feliciano Lopez 7-5 6-3
05 ATP Masters Series Hamburg Clay R32 Filippo Volandri 6-4 2-6 6-2
05 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Feliciano Lopez 6-2 4-6 7-6(5)  6-1
06 Gstaad (Switzerland) Clay R32 Feliciano Lopez 6-4 6-4
06 New Haven (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-4
07 ATP Masters Series Madrid (Spain) Hard R64 Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-2
Other Meeting:
00 Sassuolo CH (Italy) Clay R32 Feliciano Lopez 6-2 6-4

Lopez FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Barcelona (l Dodig)
YTD W-L: 13-11 (7-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: September 20, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 37
 
• Lopez, 29, is appearing in Belgrade for the first time this week and has yet to drop a set in posting wins over No. 8 seed Juan Monaco 64 75, former World No. 5 Fernando Gonzalez 64 76(4) and No. 4 seed Albert Montanes 64 64
• He leads the tournament in aces (20), first serve points won (79%), service games won (94%, 30 of 32) and break points saved (83%, 10 of 12)
• This is the Madrid native’s second straight ATP World Tour quarter-final or better this season and last week he advanced to the quarters in Barcelona (l. to Dodig)…This is his first semi-final on clay since Stuttgart in July 2007
• He has a 2-4 career mark in ATP World Tour finals and his last title came in Johannesburg in February 2010 (d. Robert)…His lone clay final came in Gstaad on July 16, 2006 (l. to Gasquet)
                                        
Volandri FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 6-7 (6-6 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: September 5, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 80

• Volandri, 29, is also making his tournament debut this week and this is the Italian’s first ATP World Tour semi-final since Buenos Aires (l. to Acasuso) in February 2008
• This week has only dropped one set en route to the semi-finals, that coming in the second round vs. Illya Marchenko (63 16 63)
• He is trying to reach his ninth career ATP World Tour final (2-6), the first since Oct. 1, 2006 when he earned his second title in Palermo (d. N. Lapentti)…That was also the last time an Italian won an ATP World Tour title
 
(1)Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs (7) Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) Djokovic Leads 2-0
08 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain) Grass R16 Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-1 6-4
09 Belgrade (Serbia) Clay R16 Novak Djokovic 6-2 4-6 6-0

Djokovic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Australian Open (d Murray); Dubai (d Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (d Nadal)
YTD W-L: 26-0 (2-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 4
Career Titles: 22
Date of Birth: May 22, 1987
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 2

• Djokovic, 23, has a 7-1 career mark in the tournament, winning in his debut two years ago (d. Kubot)
and last year reaching the quarter-finals (retired vs. Krajinovic)
• He enters with a 26-0 match record on the season, winning 57 of 63 sets, and he’s looking to reach his fifth final of the year…Leads in return games won this week (56%, 9 of 16) and No. 2 in break points converted (82%, 9 of 11)
• All four of his titles have come on hard courts and against Top 10 opponents, winning his second Australian Open (d. No. 5 Murray), Dubai (d. No. 2 Federer) and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami (d. No. 1 Nadal in both)…Overall, he is 8-0 vs. Top 10 this year
• He moved to No. 2 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings on Mar. 21 after Indian Wells title
• Has a 22-13 career mark in finals (4-3 on clay)

Tipsarevic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Delray Beach (l Del Potro); SF: Chennai (l Malisse)
YTD W-L: 17-9 (3-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: June 22, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 36

• Tipsarevic, 26, is appearing in the semi-finals for the first time in his hometown tournament and two years ago he lost in the second round to Djokovic in three sets
• The No. 3 Serb (behind No. 2 Djokovic, No. 16 Troicki) is making his third appearance in the semi-finals or better on the ATP World Tour this season and he enters with a 17-9 match record (3-1 on clay)
• He leads the tournament in second serve points won (59%)
• In the first week of the year, he advanced to the semi-finals in Chennai (l. to Malisse) and in February he reached his third career ATP World Tour final in Delray Beach (l. to del Potro)
• Has a 9-24 career mark vs. Top 10 opponents and he's trying to post his first win since last September’s Davis Cup semi-final vs. Czech Republic (d. No. 7 Berdych)...His highest-ranked win came over No. 4 David Ferrer in Beijing Olympics in 2008 and No. 4 Andy Murray in Dubai in 2010

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS
 
Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Feliciano Lopez (ESP)  Djokovic Leads 3-0
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Novak Djokovic 6-2 7-5 6-1
07 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Novak Djokovic 6-0 6-3
11 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R16 Novak Djokovic 6-3 2-6 6-4

Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Filippo Volandri (ITA)   Volandri Leads 1-0
04 Umag (Croatia) Clay R32 Filippo Volandri 7-6(5) 6-1

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs Feliciano Lopez (ESP)  Lopez Leads 4-1
07 New Haven (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Feliciano Lopez 7-6(5) 7-6(2)
08 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R32 Feliciano Lopez 6-3 4-6 6-4
08 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Hard R64 Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-4
09 Roland Garros (France) Clay R64 Janko Tipsarevic 6-7(9) 6-4 7-6(4) 6-3
11 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay R64 Feliciano Lopez 4-6 6-3 7-6(4)

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs Filippo Volandri (ITA)    First Meeting

SATURDAY ESTORIL PREVIEW - PACKED DAY AS PAIR OF QUARTERS & SEMIS ON THE SCHEDULE
One semi-final is all set to go Saturday while two quarter-finals will resume (with the winners playing their semi-final later in the day) - it’s a packed line-up at the Estoril Open, an ATP World Tour 250 event.

The semi-final is an all-South American duel, No. 8 seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina against unseeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay. Del Potro was pushed to three sets by a qualifier in the first round, which was his first match on clay since the Roland Garros semi-finals in June 2009; he hasn’t lost a set since then, including a quarter-final win over No. 1 seed Robin Soderling (his fourth straight win over the Swedish No. 1). Cuevas has already taken out two seeds this week, No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 6 seed Thomaz Bellucci, but he has never been to an ATP World Tour final (in fact he is 0-5 in semi-finals). Del Potro is going for his 12th career ATP World Tour final (he is 8-3 in his career, 6-3 on hard and 2-0 on clay).

Suspended quarter-finals saw No. 7 seed Kevin Anderson leading No. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco, 7-6(2), and No. 4 seed Gilles Simon leading No. 5 seed Milos Raonic, 6-5 (on serve). Verdasco, who has dipped from No. 9 to No. 15 in the last few weeks (his lowest since 2009 Australian Open fortnight), will try to rebound against the South African rising star after losing the first set. And in a match between two players who have shot up the rankings since the start of the season, Simon (who has gone from No. 41 to No. 22) and Raonic (who has gone from No. 156 to No. 27) hadn’t even finished the first set when rain stopped play with the proceedings on serve. Both matches will resume at noon, local time.

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

Central

SEMI-FINAL #1

(8) Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) vs Pablo Cuevas (URU)  First Meeting

Del Potro FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Delray Beach (d Tipsarevic); SF: San Jose (l Verdasco); Memphis (l Roddick); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 23-6 (3-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: September 23, 1988
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 46

• Del Potro, 22, is rapidly improving after being sidelined for more than eight months last year with a right wrist injury…He is appearing in his fifth ATP World Tour semi-final (or better) this year and he is making his season clay court debut…This is his first showing in Estoril since ’07 (l. in 2nd Rd.)
• He has a 23-6 match record (20-6 on hard courts)…Since opening the season with second round results in Sydney and the Australian Open, has a 17-3 mark
• In February, he reached back-to-back semi-finals in San Jose (l. to No. 9 Verdasco) and Memphis (l. to No. 8 Roddick) before winning his eighth career title in Delray Beach (d. Tipsarevic)
• It was his first final since the ’09 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London (l. to Davydenko) and first title since the ’09 US Open (d. Federer in five sets)… He has an 8-3 career finals record (2-0 on clay)
• He began his ranking climb on Feb. 14 from No. 484 to 298 (after San Jose)…Then after his second straight semi-final in Memphis went to No. 166 on Feb. 21…After his title went to No. 89 on Feb. 28… Went from No. 90 to No. 51 after Indian Wells and to No. 45 after 4th Rd. in Miami (l. to Fish)
• 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)
• After going 0-3 vs. Top 10 opponents, has posted two wins over No. 4 Soderling in Miami and on Friday over the No. 5-ranked Swede

Cuevas FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Houston (l Nishikori)
YTD W-L: 13-10 (10-6 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 1, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 61

• Cuevas, 25, the top player from Uruguay, is appearing in his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the season and sixth of his career…His previous semi-finals were in Moscow last October, in Vina del Mar in 2008-09, Hamburg in July 2009 and Houston three weeks ago
• He is 5-2 lifetime in Estoril and last year he reached the quarter-finals (l. to eventual champ Montanes)
• 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 a 13-10 match record (10-6 on clay) on the season and went 0-4 to start the year before winning at least one round in six of his next seven tournaments (13-6 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)
• 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)

SEMI-FINAL #2 (TBA)

Milos Raonic (CAN) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA)   First Meeting

Milos Raonic (CAN) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP)  Raonic Leads 2-0
11 San Jose (U.S.A.) Hard F Milos Raonic 7-6(6) 7-6(5)
11 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Milos Raonic 6-4 3-6 7-6(5)

Gilles Simon (FRA) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA)    First Meeting

Gilles Simon (FRA) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP)  Tied 2-2
06 Valencia (Spain) Clay SF Gilles Simon 6-2 7-6(5)
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Fernando Verdasco 6-0 6-4 6-3
08 Nottingham (Great Britain) Grass QF Fernando Verdasco 6-3 2-6 6-3
10 Valencia (Spain) Hard R16 Gilles Simon 6-1 6-3

Centralito

QUARTER-FINAL – To Finish (Anderson leads 7-6(2) )

(7) Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs (2) Fernando Verdasco (ESP)   First Meeting

Anderson FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Johannesburg (d Devvarman); SF: Brisbane (l Roddick); QF: Delray Beach (l Del Potro); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 17-9 (3-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: May 18, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 34

• Anderson, 24, the top player from South Africa, is making his Estoril debut this week and he’s appearing in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final on clay (was 4-9 in career on clay prior to this week)
• In February, he captured his first career ATP World Tour title on home soil in Johannesburg (d. Devvarman) and he also advanced to the semi-finals in Brisbane in January (l. to Roddick)
• He has a 17-9 match record on the season, already surpassing his previous best (14-18) last year

Verdasco FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: San Jose (l Raonic)
YTD W-L: 10-8 (1-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: November 15, 1983
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 15

• Verdasco, 27, is looking to reach his first ATP World Tour semi-final since February when he was runner-up in San Jose (l. to Raonic)
• The Madrid native is appearing in Estoril for the third time after first round losses in 2002-03…He opened with a 61 76(5) win over local favorite and last year’s runner-up Frederico Gil
• He has a 10-8 match record on the season (1-2 on clay) and last year finished No. 9 for the second straight campaign

Court 1

QUARTER-FINAL – To Finish (Simon leads 6-5, Raonic to serve)

(5) Milos Raonic (CAN) vs (4) Gilles Simon (FRA)   First Meeting

Raonic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: San Jose (d Verdasco); F: Memphis (l Roddick)
YTD W-L: 22-7 (8-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: December 27, 1990
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 27

• Raonic, 20, is the youngest player in the Top 50 at a career-high No. 27 this week and owns a 22-7 match record on the season (8-2 on clay, 14-5 on hard), including seven Top 25 wins (3-3 vs. Top 10)
• In February, he captured his first ATP World Tour title in San Jose, defeating No. 9 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)…He is also the highest-ranked Canadian ever
• The following week in Memphis, he won four straight three-set matches, including back-to-back third set tie-break wins over No. 9 Verdasco and former Top 10 Radek Stepanek…He hit a career-high and tournament record (since 1991) 38 aces vs. Stepanek
• 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. 27
• At the Australian Open, he qualified and posted wins over Phau, No. 24 Llodra and No. 10 Youzhny before losing to No. 7 Ferrer in four sets
• At this time one year ago he was ranked No. 348 and playing in a Korea Futures, which he won

Simon FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Sydney (d Troicki); QF: Dubai (l Gasquet); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Federer); Casablanca (l Starace)
YTD W-L: 18-10 (5-3 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: December 27, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 22

• Simon, 26, is trying to reach his second ATP World Tour semi-final or better this season and he enters with an 18-10 match record (5-3 on clay, 13-7 on hard)…Two years ago he lost in the quarters here
• In his past three tournaments, he lost in the quarter-finals in Miami (ret. at 0-3 vs. Federer due to neck injury), Casablanca three weeks ago (l. to Starace) and in 3rd Rd in Monte-Carlo (l. to Murray) Apr. 14
• His best result came in January when he captured his eighth career ATP World Tour title in Sydney (d. Troicki) and following month reached quarter-finals in Dubai (l. to Gasquet)
• After his title in Sydney, followed with five-set second round loss at Australian Open to Federer (lost first two sets then rallied to force a fifth before falling 6-3 in fifth)
• He then lost in first round in Rotterdam (l. to Paire) and second round in Marseille (l. to Youzhny), both in three sets, before QF in D
• In first round Davis Cup tie in Vienna, defeated Stefan Koubek in second rubber before falling in five sets in fourth rubber to No. 10 Jurgen Melzer

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS
 
Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs Milos Raonic (CAN)   First Meeting

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs Gilles Simon (FRA)  Tied 1-1
07 New Haven (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Gilles Simon 7-6(3) 6-7(5) 7-5
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 6-7(4) 6-1 3-6 6-3

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA)  Del Potro Leads 1-0
11 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard QF Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 6-4

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Tied 1-1
09 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Hard RR Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 3-6 7-6(1)
11 San Jose (U.S.A.) Hard SF Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-4
Other Meeting:
 06 Segovia CH (Spain) Hard QF Juan Martin Del Potro 6-7(3) 6-2 7-6(8)

Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Milos Raonic (CAN)   First ATP Meeting
Other Meeting:
10 Valencia Q (Spain) Hard -- Pablo Cuevas 1-6 6-4 7-5

Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Gilles Simon (FRA)   Simon Leads 1-0
11 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami Hard R32 Gilles Simon 4-6 6-1 6-2

Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA)   Anderson Leads 1-0
11 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R64 Kevin Anderson 7-5 3-6 6-4

Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP)  Cuevas Leads 1-0
08 Vina del Mar (Chile) Clay R16 Pablo Cuevas 7-5 6-3

SATURDAY MUNICH PREVIEW – GERMAN DUO JOINED BY DAVYDENKO, STEPANEK IN SEMI-FINALS
The semi-finals at the BMW Open by FWU Takaful on Saturday are led by a pair of Germans and two former Top 10 ranked players on the ATP World Tour.

In the opening match on Centre Court, unseeded Philipp Petzschner makes his second straight semi-final appearance in Munich against top countryman Florian Mayer, who won the previous two meetings on hard courts in 2009-10. Petzschner is trying to reach his second career ATP World Tour final (won ’08 Vienna) while Mayer is looking to advance to his fourth ATP World Tour final (0-3). The 27-year-old Mayer, who was 0-3 in Munich prior to this week, is playing in his third ATP World Tour semi-final this year.

In the second semi-final, both players are appearing in their first ATP World Tour semi-final since the opening week of the campaign. Former World No. 3 and 2004 Munich champion Nikolay Davydenko of Russia brings a 5-4 career mark (2-1 on clay) against former World No. 8 and unseeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. In the first week of play, Davydenko was runner-up in Doha and Stepanek a semi-finalist in Brisbane.
The 32-year-old Stepanek made his Munich debut in 2002 and reached the semi-finals. Both players have 10 career match wins in Munich.

GERMANS IN SEMI-FINALS – This is the sixth all-German match-up on the ATP World Tour in a semi-final or final going back to 2000:

Philipp Petzschner vs. Florian Mayer  2011 Munich SF
Michael Berrer d. Florian Mayer   2011 Zagreb SF     
Michael Berrer d. Philipp Petzschner  2010 Zagreb SF     
Benjamin Becker d. Rainer Schuettler   2009 s-Hertogenbosch SF
Tommy Haas d. Philipp Kohlschreiber   2009 Halle SF 
Tommy Haas d. Nicolas Kiefer   2004 Los Angeles Final    

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

Centre Court

Philipp Petzschner (GER) vs (5) Florian Mayer (GER) Mayer Leads 2-0
09 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai Hard R64 Florian Mayer 6-3 6-2
10 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Florian Mayer 0-6 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-2

Petzschner FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Dubai (l Berdych)
YTD W-L: 12-9 (3-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: March 24, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 76

• Petzschner, 27, is making his second straight semi-final showing in Munich and last year lost to eventual champion Mikhail Youzhny…This week has dropped only one set, in second round over top seed Youzhny…Has 3-0 mark in tie-breaks this week…Has a 7-3 career mark here
• He leads the tournament in first serve points won (82%) and No. 2 in service games won (91%, 32 of 35) and break points converted (70%, 7 of 10)
• This is the German’s best ATP World Tour result of the season and his previous best was the quarter-finals in Dubai in late February (l. to Berdych)
• He is trying to reach his second career ATP World Tour final after winning his lone title in Vienna (as a qualifier) in October 2008 (d. Monfils)…He or Mayer will attempt to become the first German to win an ATP World Tour title since Benjamin Becker in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in June 2009

Mayer FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Sydney (l Troicki); Zagreb (l Berrer); QF: Brisbane (l Stepanek); Dubai (l Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 18-10 (4-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 5, 1983
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 35

• Mayer, 27, is appearing in his third ATP World Tour semi-final of the season, the first since February in Zagreb (l. to Berrer)…He came into Munich with an 0-3 career mark from 2005-07 before putting together three straight wins…He is No. 2 in points won returning first serve (40%), No. 3 in return games won (52%, 11 of 21) and No. 4 in break points converted (32%, 11 of 34)
• The top German on the ATP World Tour also advanced to the semi-finals in Sydney (l. to Troicki) in January and he comes in with an 18-10 match record on the season (4-1 on clay)
• He is trying to break through and win his first career ATP World Tour title (0-3) and his last final came in Stockholm last October (l. to Federer)…The last German to win in Munich was Kohlschreiber in 2007
 
(7)Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs Radek Stepanek (CZE) Davydenko Leads 5-4(2-1 on clay)
02 Vienna (Austria) Hard R16 Nikolay Davydenko 6-1 5-7 7-5
03 CZE v. RUS WG 1st RD (Czech Rep)Clay RR Nikolay Davydenko 1-6 7-6(4) 6-2 3-6 6-0
04 Estoril (Portugal) Clay R32 Radek Stepanek 7-6(4) 6-3
04 Moscow (Russia) Carpet QF Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(2) 5-7 6-1
05 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Carpet QF Radek Stepanek 7-5 6-4
06 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard SF Radek Stepanek 4-6 6-3 6-3
07 ATP Masters Series Montreal Hard QF Radek Stepanek 6-4 7-5
09 Barcelona (Spain) Clay QF Nikolay Davydenko 6-7(4) 6-2 6-2
09 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (China) Hard QF Nikolay Davydenko 6-1 4-6 6-1

Davydenko FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Doha (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 11-9 (5-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 20
Date of Birth: June 2, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 40

• Davydenko, 29, is appearing in his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the season, the first since the opening week in Doha where he was runner-up (l. to Federer)…This is also his second semi-final in Munich and in 2004 he captured the title (d. Verkerk)…Owns a 10-3 career mark here
• He is No. 3 this week in break points saved (78%, 21 of 27) and has held 30 of 36 games (83%)
• The No. 2 Russian (behind No. 13 Youzhny) has an 11-9 match record (5-2 on clay) on the season… Last week he reached the third round in Barcelona (l. to No. 11 Almagro) and it was the first time since Doha he won back-to-back matches in a tournament
• He has a 20-6 career mark in ATP World Tour finals (9-4 on clay) and he’s won at least one title for eight straight years (2003-2010)

Stepanek FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Brisbane (l Soderling)
YTD W-L: 11-9 (4-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: November 27, 1978
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 67

• Stepanek, 32, is appearing in his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the season, the first since the opening week in Brisbane (l. to Soderling)…This is also his second semi-final in Munich, the first since making his debut in 2002…Also a quarter-finalist in 2003-04…Owns a 10-4 career mark here
• The Czech Republic No. 2 (behind No. 7 Berdych) has an 11-9 match record (4-2 on clay) on the season and he leads the tournament in return games won (43%, 16 of 37) and points won returning first serve (61%)
• He has a 4-7 career mark in ATP World Tour finals and his lone final on clay came in Hamburg in 2006 (l. to Robredo)

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS

Philipp Petzschner (GER) vs Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) Davydenko Leads 1-0
09 Hamburg (Germany) Clay R32 Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 6-2

Philipp Petzschner (GER) vs Radek Stepanek (CZE)   First Meeting

Florian Mayer (GER) vs Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)  Tied 2-2
06 Sopot (Poland) Clay F Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(6) 5-7 6-4
07 Halle (Germany) Grass R16 Florian Mayer 6-4 6-4
10 Beijing (China) Hard R32 Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 6-4
11 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Florian Mayer 6-3 4-6 7-6(4) 6-4
Other Meeting:
 02 Furth CH (Germany) Clay R32 Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 6-4

Florian Mayer (GER) vs Radek Stepanek (CZE)   Mayer Leads 2-1
04 Estoril (Portugal) Clay R16 Florian Mayer 6-4 6-2
11 Brisbane (Australia) Hard QF Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-3
11 Zagreb (Croatia) Hard R16 Florian Mayer 7-6(3) 6-3