'S-HERTOGENBOSCH SATURDAY PREVIEW - DODIG & TURSUNOV SQUARE OFF IN FINAL

Two players who have been shooting up the rankings this year, Ivan Dodig and Dmitry Tursunov, will square off on Saturday in the final of the UNICEF Open, one of the last grass court lead-up events before Wimbledon. They will be playing each other for the first time.

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Croatia’s Ivan Dodig, the No. 4 seed this week and conqueror of No. 2 seed Marcos Baghdatis in the semis, has more than halved his ranking so far this year, largely thanks to winning his first ATP World Tour title in his hometown of Zagreb and reaching the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 event in Barcelona. Now he is through to his second career final and will try to make it two-for-two (he won the Zagreb final in straight sets).

Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov was unseeded in the draw and early on didn’t seem to be on his way to the final, being pushed to three sets twice by fellow unseeded players. But in the semi-finals he upset No. 3 seed Xavier Malisse in straight sets and is looking more and more like the former Top 20 player he was before undergoing three ankle surgeries over the last two years. The Russian has a meatier resume in ATP World Tour finals, this being his ninth (and he is 6-2 in his first eight, including a grass court title run at Eastbourne in 2009).

“I don’t know Dodig very well. I know he has been doing really well this year,” Tursunov said after his semi-final win. “He has been doing well on all sorts of surfaces and has beaten good players this week, so I’m going to have to come out and play until the last point, and take the initiative when I have the chance.”

WHAT’S AT STAKE
Winner   €68,850 and 250 South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking points
Runner-up  €38,250 and 150 South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking points

FINALS HISTORY
Dodig   Playing in his 2nd ATP World Tour final…...He is 1-0 in finals  (2011 Zagreb)
Tursunov Playing in his 9th ATP World Tour final…....He is 6-2 in finals (1-0 on grass, ’09 Eastbourne)

FINAL FED-EX HEAD 2 HEAD

Centre Court

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs. (4) Ivan Dodig (CRO) First Meeting

Tursunov FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Marseille (l Soderling)
YTD W-L: 9-6
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: December 12, 1982
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 70

• Playing first ATP World Tour final of year (best result of year before this was SFs of Marseille - l. to Soderling)
• First appearance here (4-0 so far - d. Kendrick, Mahut, Giraldo and No. 3 seed Malisse)
• Started year at No. 197 but is now No. 70; before this week had a losing record in ATP World Tour main draws (4-6) but has done very well in Challengers (has two titles and another final so far this year)…Went into last year’s Wimbledon ranked No. 371 and ranked as low as No. 516 on July 26 last summer
• At No. 70, Russia’s No. 3 player (after No. 17 Youzhny and No. 28 Davydenko)
• Career-high is No. 20 (spent two weeks there: October 2-8, 2006 and January 29-February 5, 2007)

Dodig FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Zagreb (d Berrer); SF: Barcelona (l Nadal); QF: Delray Beach (l Tipsarevic)
YTD W-L: 21-11
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: January 2, 1985
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 42

• Playing second ATP World Tour final of year (won first ATP World Tour title at Zagreb - d. Berrer in final)
• First appearance here (4-0 so far - d. Hanescu, Haider-Maurer, Gabashvili and No. 2 seed Baghdatis)
• Started year at No. 88 but is now No. 42; two biggest jumps came on February 7 (No. 84 to No. 60 after winning Zagreb) and April 25 (No. 56 to No.44 after reaching SFs of Barcelona)
• At No. 42, Croatia’s No. 3 player (after No. 27 Cilic and No. 36 Ljubicic)
• Set career-high of No. 42 on June 13, 2011 (this week)

DOUBLES FINAL - (2) Lindstedt/Tecau (SWE/ROU) vs. Bracciali/Cermak (ITA/CZE)

• Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau, the No. 2 seeds this week, haven’t had to play any seeded teams but have lost two sets along the way (to Kas/Peya in 1st Rd. and to WCs Huta Galung/Wassen in SFs)
• Lindstedt and Tecau are playing their eighth ATP World Tour doubles final together (5-2 in first seven)
• Daniele Bracciali and Frantisek Cermak, unseeded, upset No. 3 seeds Butorac/Rojer in the QFs in straight sets (they have dropped one set this week, against Haase/Skupski in 1st Rd.)
• Bracciali and Cermak are playing their first ATP World Tour doubles final together
• ATP World Tour doubles final records: Lindstedt (11-9), Tecau (8-4), Bracciali (2-2), Cermak (23-16)
• Cermak has won more ATP World Tour doubles titles and more finals than the other three men combined

EASTBOURNE SATURDAY PREVIEW – LET’S PLAY TWO AS KUNITSYN-SEPPI , NISHIKORI-NO. 3 TIPSAREVIC MEET

The semi-finals and final at the AEGON International will be held on Saturday with a pair of players looking for their first career ATP World Tour title and another duo attempting to earn their second ATP World Tour crown.

In the first semi-final on Centre Court, No. 3 seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia brings a 3-0 mark against unseeded Kei Nishikori of Japan. All three previous meetings have come this year, two on hard and one on clay. Tipsarevic is 0-3 in ATP World Tour finals and in February he was runner-up in Delray Beach (l. to del Potro). Last year he advanced to his first grass court final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Stakhovsky). Nishikori is eyeing his third career ATP World Tour final (1-1), the second this year. In February 2008, he captured his first ATP World Tour title in Delray Beach (d. Blake). Two months ago in Houston, he was runner-up at the US Clay Court Championships in Houston (l. to Sweeting). The last Japanese player to reach a grass court final was Shuzo Matsuoka at the Queen’s Club in London in June 1992 (l. to Ferreira).

In the Court 2 semi-final, Igor Kunitsyn of Russia meets Andreas Seppi of Italy in an all-unseeded encounter. In their previous non-tour meeting 10 years ago, Kunitsyn won in straight sets in the Italy #2 Futures. Kunitsyn is trying to reach his second ATP World Tour final. In October 2008, he defeated countryman Marat Safin to capture the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. The last Russian winner on grass was Dimitry Tursunov here two years ago. Seppi is attempting to reach his second ATP World Tour final. In July 2007, he was runner-up in Gstaad (l. to Mathieu). The last Italian to reach an ATP World Tour grass court final was Laurence Tieleman in June 1998 at the Queen’s Club in London (l. to Draper). Seppi is also in the doubles final (w/Grigor Dimitrov). He will play that last on Friday. He is 0-4 in his career ATP World Tour doubles finals.

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

Centre Court

Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs (3) Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) Tipsarevic Leads 3-0
11 Chennai (India) Hard QF Janko Tipsarevic 6-4 6-4
11 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard SF Janko Tipsarevic 6-4 6-4
11 Belgrade (Serbia) Clay R32 Janko Tipsarevic 2-6 6-2 7-6(0)

Nishikori FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Houston (l Sweeting); SF: Delray Beach (l Tipsarevic); QF: Chennai (l Tipsarevic)
YTD W-L: 19-12
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: December 29, 1989
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 59
-Third appearance (2008, ’10-11) in Eastbourne (3-2 record, Semi-finalist in 2011)
-He enters with a career-best 19-12 match record, eclipsing his previous showing of 16-12 in 2008 when he finished a year-end high No. 63
-He reached a career-high No. 46 on May 2, tying Shuzo Matsuoka’s personal-best ranking first established on July 6, 1992
-If he reaches the final, he will move to around No. 46 AND IF he wins the title, he will climb to around a career-high No. 41 or 42

Tipsarevic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Delray Beach (l Del Potro); SF: Chennai (l Malisse); Belgrade (W/O vs Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 25-12
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: June 22, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 30
- Fourth Appearance (2005-06, ’09, ’11) in Eastbourne (7-3 record, Semi-finalist in 2011)
-The No. 3 Serb (behind No. 2 Djokovic, No. 12 Troicki)  is the third-highest ranked player without an ATP World Tour title behind No. 18 Florian Mayer of Germany and No. 21 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine
- He comes in with a 25-12 match record and career-best No. 30 ranking this week…Has runner-up points coming off from last year’s ‘s-Hertogenbosch (150) and IF he wins the title he will move to around No. 25-26
- If he reaches the final, he will try to become the fifth first-time winner on the ATP World Tour this season, joining Kevin Anderson (Johannesburg), Milos Raonic (San Jose), Ryan Sweeting (Houston) and Pablo Andujar (Casablanca)

Court 2 –  Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) vs Andreas Seppi (ITA)  First ATP Meeting
Other Meeting:
01 Italy F6 (Valdengo) Clay R32 Igor Kunitsyn 6-2 6-2

Kunitsyn FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 8-8
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: September 30, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 71
-Third Appearance (2006-07,  ‘11) in Eastbourne (4-2 record, Semi-finalist in 2011)
-The 29-year-old Russian is trying to reach his second ATP World Tour final…In October 2008, he defeated countryman Marat Safin to capture the Kremlin Cup in Moscow
- The last Russian winner on grass was Dimitry Tursunov here two years ago…Tursunov is in the final of ‘s-Hertogenbosch on Saturday (vs. Dodig)…Nikolay Davydenko is the lone Russian winner this year (Munich)
- Will jump from No. 71 to around No. 62 IF he reaches the final and around No. 56 IF he wins the title

Seppi FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 10-11
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: February 21, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 51
-Fifth Appearance (2006, ’08-11) in Eastbourne (8-4 record, Semi-finalist in 2006, ‘11)
- The Italian is attempting to reach his second ATP World Tour final.. In July 2007, he was runner-up on clay in Gstaad (l. to Mathieu)…The last Italian singles winner on the ATP World Tour was Filippo Volandri in October 2006 in Palermo
- The last Italian to reach an ATP World Tour grass court final was Laurence Tieleman in June 1998 at the Queen’s Club in London (l. to Draper)
- Will jump from No. 51 to around No. 41 IF he reaches the final and around No. 39 IF he wins the title

WHAT’S AT STAKE
Winner   €71,000 and 250 South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking points
Runner-up  €37,400 and 150 South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking points

POTENTIAL FINAL FED-X HEAD 2 HEADS

Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)   Kunitsyn Leads 1-0
10 Washington (USA) Hard R64 Igor Kunitsyn 6-2 6-3
Other Meeting:
10 Eastbourne Q (Great Britain) Grass -- Kei Nishikori 4-6 6-4 6-3

Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Andreas Seppi (ITA)    First Meeting

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)    Tied 1-1
06 Los Angeles (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Igor Kunitsyn 4-6 6-1 6-2
10 St. Petersburg (Russia) Hard R32 Janko Tipsarevic 6-4 6-2
Other Meetings:
02 Bukhara CH (Uzbekistan) Hard R32 Janko Tipsarevic 4-6 6-2 6-4
03 Helsinki-2 CH (Finland) Hard R32 Igor Kunitsyn 2-6 6-1 7-6(2)
 
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs Andreas Seppi (ITA)  Tipsarevic Leads 3-0
06 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Janko Tipsarevic 1-6  6-4 4-6 6-2 6-4
07 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Janko Tipsarevic 7-5  7-5
10 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R32 Janko Tipsarevic 7-6(4) 7-5

DOUBLES FINAL – FIRST-TIME DUO DIMITROV-SEPPI  TAKE ON VETERANS ERLICH-RAM

The first-time duo of Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Andreas Seppi of Italy take on the veteran Israeli squad of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in Friday’s unseeded doubles final. Seppi is also in the singles semi-finals.

Both teams posted wins over seeded opponents en route to the final.

Dimitrov and Seppi dropped the opening set of the tournament in the first round and then proceeded with a pair of straight-set wins, including a 7-5, 6-3 victory over top seeds Bopanna-Qureshi in the quarter-finals. Dimitrov is the first Bulgarian to reach an ATP World Tour doubles final. Seppi is 0-4 in his career in ATP World Tour doubles finals and he opened the season with a runner-up in Doha (w/Bracciali).

Erlich and Ram knocked out No. 2 seeds and two-time reigning champions Fyrstenberg-Matkowski in the first round.  The Israelis are aiming for their third tourney title. They captured the crown in 2005-06 in Nottingham.

This is their 25th career ATP World Tour level final (12-12), the first together since August 2008 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l. to Bryans). Their last ATP World Tour title came in Indian Wells in March that year (d. Nestor-Zimonjic).

Erlich is 14-13 lifetime in doubles finals and his last title came at Queen’s one year ago (w/Djokovic). Ram is 16-17 in career doubles finals and his last title came in Miami (w/Mirnyi) in 2009.