BASTAD SATURDAY PREVIEW – TOP FOUR SEEDS IN SEMI-FINALS FOR FIRST TIME IN BASTAD SINCE 2008

The top four seeds are in the semi-finals at the SkiStar Swedish Open on Saturday. Three of the four players are former champions here and the other is a two-time finalist. It’s the first time the top four seeds have reached the semi-finals in Bastad since 2008 and first time on the ATP World Tour since Roland Garros where the top four ranked players advanced to the semis.

In the opening match on Centre Court, top seed and World No. 5 Robin Soderling brings a 6-3 career mark (2-1 on clay) against No. 3 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Soderling won their previous meeting in five sets in the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year. The top Swede, who won the title here two years ago and was runner-up last year, owns a 20-8 career mark in Bastad. Soderling, a three-time winner on the ATP World Tour this year, is making his fourth semi-final showing this season. Berdych, who was runner-up in Bastad in 2005 and ’08, is appearing in his fifth semi-final of the season. He is looking to reach his first final since Wimbledon last year (l. to Nadal).

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In the second semi-final, reigining champ and No. 3 seed Nicolas Almagro meets No. 2 and 2007 winner David Ferrer, who has won all seven previous meetings, four on clay. Almagro has won a career-best three ATP World Tour clay court titles (Costa do Sauipe, Buenos Aires, Nice) and he owns a 35-12 match record, including a 26-6 mark on clay (most wins on ATP World Tour). He broke into the Top 10 for the first time on Apr. 25 and was there for three weeks. Ferrer is making his sixth appearance in a semi-final this year (4-1 in SFs) and he’s 2-2 in ATP World Tour finals. Last weekend he posted a pair of Top 10 wins over Americans Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in Austin, Texas. Spain won the tie 3-1 and they will take on France in the semi-finals in September. The No. 6-ranked Ferrer is 38-10 on the year (21-5 on clay).

2011 ATP WORLD TOUR TITLE LEADERS
1) Novak Djokovic 8
2) Nicolas Almagro 3
Rafael Nadal 3
Robin Soderling 3

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

Centre Court

(1)Robin Soderling (SWE) vs (3)Tomas Berdych (CZE) Soderling Leads 6-3
05 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 7-5 6-2
06 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (USA) Hard R64 Robin Soderling 6-4 6-3
06 Stockholm (Sweden) Hard QF Robin Soderling 6-2 6-3
07 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay QF Tomas Berdych 5-7 6-3 6-0
08 ATP World Team Chp.(Duesseldorf) Clay RR Robin Soderling 6-4 1-6 6-3
08 Halle (Germany) Grass R16 Robin Soderling 6-2 7-5
09 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Hard QF Robin Soderling 6-2 6-2
10 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami Hard SF Tomas Berdych 6-2 6-2
10 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Robin Soderling 6-3 3-6 5-7 6-3 6-3
Other Meetings:
03 Bratislava CH (Slovak Republic) Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 7-6(3) 7-5
09 Sunrise CH (U.S.A.) Hard F Robin Soderling 6-1 6-1

Soderling FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Brisbane (d Roddick); Rotterdam (d Tsonga); Marseille (d Cilic); QF: Estoril (l Del Potro); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Djokovic); Roland Garros (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 36-9 (14-5 on clay)
YTD Titles: 3/Career Titles: 9
Date of Birth: August 14, 1984
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 5

* Soderling, 26, the top Swede is appearing in his third straight semi-final in Bastad and fourth overall (’04) in 10 showings… Has a 20-8 record…Two years ago he captured the title (d. Monaco) last year he was runner-up (l. to Almagro)
* This week he’s leads the tournament in first serve pts. won (82%), return games won (53%, 8 of 15 games) and is No. 2 in service games won (94%, 16 of 17) and second serve pts. won (71%)
* He jumped off to a career-best 18-1 start in first two months of the season, winning a personal-high three ATP World Tour titles in Brisbane (d. Roddick), Rotterdam (d. Tsonga) and Marseille (d. Cilic)…Since then has an 18-8 mark and looking to reach his first final since February
* Has a 9-10 career record in ATP World Tour level finals (1-4 on clay) and his lone clay title came here in ‘09

Berdych FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Chennai (l Wawrinka); Dubai (l Djokovic); Nice (l Almagro); Halle (l Petzschner); QF: Australian Open (l Djokovic); Rotterdam (W/O vs Tsonga); Marseille (l Cilic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Bellucci); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Gasquet)
YTD W-L: 34-14 (9-5 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: September 17, 1985
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 8

* Berdych, 25, the top player from Czech Republic, is appearing in his third semi-final in four appearances (9-3 mark) …All three of his losses came to Spanairds…He reached the final in 2005 (l. to Nadal) and ’08 (l. to Robredo)…He lost in the first round in ’06 (l. to Almagro)
* He and Ferrer are the only players this week yet to lose serve, holding all 17 service games…Also No. 2 in return games won (44%, 7 of 16)
* He enters with a 34-14 match record (9-5 on clay) and he’s appearing in his fifth semi-final of the season…His last final came at Wimbledon last year (l. to Nadal) and his last ATP World Tour title came in Munich in May 2009 (d. Youzhny)
* Has a 5-6 career record in ATP World Tour level finals (2-2 on clay)

(4) Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs (2) David Ferrer (ESP) Ferrer Leads 7-0 (4-0 on clay)
06 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (USA) Hard R32 David Ferrer 4-6 7-6(1) 6-0
06 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 David Ferrer 7-6(1) 7-6(6) 6-1
07 Bastad (Sweden) Clay F David Ferrer 6-1 6-2
08 Valencia (Spain) Clay F David Ferrer 4-6 6-2 7-6(2)
09 Valencia (Spain) Hard R32 David Ferrer 7-5 6-7(3) 6-2
11 Acapulco (Mexico) Clay F David Ferrer 7-6(4) 6-7(2) 6-2
11 Barcelona (Spain) Clay SF David Ferrer 6-3 6-4

Almagro FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Costa Do Sauipe (d Dolgopolov); Buenos Aires (d Chela); Nice (d Hanescu); F: Acapulco (l Ferrer); SF: Auckland (l Nalbandian); Barcelona (l Ferrer)
YTD W-L: 35-12 (26-6 on clay)
YTD Titles: 3/Career Titles: 10
Date of Birth: August 21, 1985
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 14

* Almagro, 25, the No. 3 Spaniard in the South African Airway 2011 ATP Rankings, behind No. 2 Nadal, No. 6 Ferrer, is making his third semi-final appearance (14-4 mark)…He won the title last year (d. Soderling) and was runner-up in ’07 (l. to Ferrer)
* He is No. 2 this week in first serve pts. won (78%), No. 3 in aces (14) and No. 4 in return games won (8 of 20)
* He comes in with a 35-12 match record and ATP World Tour-best 26 match wins on clay (26-6 mark)
* He’s won a career-best three ATP World Tour titles, all on clay, Costa do Sauipe (d. Dolgopolov) and Buenos Aires (d. Chela) in February, and Nice (d. Hanescu) in May…Also runner-up in Acapulco (l. to Ferrer)
* Has a 10-3 career record in ATP World Tour finals, all on clay, winning at least one title every year since 2006

2011 CLAY COURT WINS LEADERS – Almagro and Ferrer are among the Top 5 match wins leaders on clay this year:  W-L
1) Nicolas Almagro 26-6
2) Rafael Nadal 24-2
3) David Ferrer 21-5
4) Juan Ignacio Chela 20-9
5) Novak Djokovic 17-1

Ferrer FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Auckland (d Nalbandian); Acapulco (d Almagro); F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Nadal); Barcelona (l Nadal); SF: Australian Open (l Murray); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Fish); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Djokovic); Nice (l Dolgopolov)
YTD W-L: 38-10 (21-5)
YTD Titles: 2/Career Titles: 11
Date of Birth: April 2, 1982
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 6

* Ferrer, 25, the No. 2 Spaniard in the South African Airway 2011 ATP Rankings, behind No. 2 Nadal, is trying to reach his fifth ATP World Tour final (2-2)
* He has a 13-4 career mark in Bastad and this is his fourth semi-final (or better) in six visits…He won the title in 2007 (d. Almagro) and reached the semi-finals in ’08 and last year
* He leads the tournament this week in service games won, along with Berdych (winning all 17 games), saving all six break pts., and in second serve pts. won (71%)…Also No. 3 in return games won (7 of 17, 41%)
* He comes in with a 38-10 match record (21-5 on clay) and last weekend he led his country to a 3-1 Davis Cup quarter-final victory over the U.S. in Austin, Texas by posting Top 10 wins over Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish
* He’s 2-2 in ATP World Tour finals this season, winning in Auckland (d. Nalbandian) in January and Acapulco (d. Almagro) in late February…Also runner-up to Nadal in ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo and Barcelona
* Has an 11-12 career record in ATP World Tour finals (6-9 on clay), winning at least one title in five of the past six years (except ’09)

POTENTIAL FINAL MATCH-UPS –
Robin Soderling (SWE) vs Nicolas Almagro (ESP) Soderling Leads 5-3
09 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R32 Robin Soderling 7-6(7) 6-4 6-4
09 Bastad (Sweden) Clay QF Robin Soderling 7-5 6-3
09 Hamburg (Germany) Clay R16 Nicolas Almagro 7-5 6-3
09 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (China) Hard R32 Robin Soderling 6-4 7-5
10 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Clay R32 Nicolas Almagro 6-4 7-5
10 Bastad (Sweden) Clay F Nicolas Almagro 7-5 3-6 6-2
10 Beijing (China) Hard R16 Robin Soderling 7-5 4-6 6-3
11 ATP Masters 1000 Rome (Italy) Clay R16 Robin Soderling 6-3 3-6 6-4

Robin Soderling (SWE) vs David Ferrer (ESP)  Soderling Leads 9-4
04 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Robin Soderling 7-6(5) 6-4
04 Nottingham (England) Grass R32 Robin Soderling 7-6(5) 3-6 6-2
06 Bastad (Sweden) Clay R16 Robin Soderling 6-3 6-1
07 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R32 Robin Soderling 7-6(13) 6-1
07 ATP Masters Series Hamburg Clay R32 David Ferrer 1-6 6-3 6-2
08 Bastad (Sweden) Clay QF David Ferrer 7-5 6-7(3) 6-1
09 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Robin Soderling 6-7(5) 7-5 6-2 7-6(5)
10 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R16 Robin Soderling 6-2 5-7 6-2 3-6 7-5
10 Bastad (Sweden) Clay SF Robin Soderling 4-6 6-3 6-2
10 Beijing (China) Hard QF David Ferrer 6-2 6-4
10 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai Hard R16 Robin Soderling 7-5 6-4
10 Valencia (Spain) Hard SF David Ferrer 6-3 3-6 6-3
10 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Hard RR Robin Soderling 7-5 7-5

Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs Nicolas Almagro (ESP) Berdych Leads 3-2
05 Bastad (Sweden) Clay R16 Tomas Berdych 4-6 6-3 6-4
06 Bastad (Sweden) Clay R32 Nicolas Almagro 6-2 7-6(7)
07 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay R64 Tomas Berdych 5-0 ret
10 ATP World Team Chp. (Duesseldorf) Clay RR Tomas Berdych 6-7(4)6-4 6-3
11 Nice (France) Clay SF Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-4

Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs David Ferrer (ESP)  Ferrer Leads 5-2
04 Gstaad (Switzerland) Clay R32 David Ferrer 2-6 6-3 6-4
04 Palermo (Italy) Clay SF Tomas Berdych 7-5 6-4
05 ATP Masters 1000 Hamburg Clay R64 Tomas Berdych 6-2 2-6 6-3
06 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay SF David Ferrer 6-3 7-5
07 ATP World Team Chp. (Duesseldorf) Clay RR David Ferrer 6-1 6-3
07 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard R16 David Ferrer 6-4 6-2
10 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Hard QF David Ferrer 4-6 7-5 6-4

SATURDAY STUTTGART PREVIEW - FORMER NO. 1 FERRERO-NEWCOMER DEL BONIS, ANDUJAR-KUBOT MEET

It’s down to four at the MercedesCup and they’ll battle it out for spots in the final on Saturday as a pair of Spaniards meet opponents trying to capture their first ATP World Tour title.

The first semi pits Spanish veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero against Argentine youngster Federico del Bonis. Although he is playing his first tournament in two months, Ferrero seems to be right back on track, losing just one set en route to this round, losing the first set of a 67(6) 62 62 second round win over No. 3 seed Mikhail Youzhny. Last year he lost in the semi-finals here to countryman No. 30-ranked Albert Montanes. This time he will face No. 240-ranked del Bonis, who had never won an ATP World Tour-level match before this week (0-4). But he has won three in qualifying and three in the main draw, all in straight sets, to reach his first semi-final. The 31-year-old Ferrero and the 20-year-old del Bonis will be playing each other for the first time.

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The second semi-final features Spain’s Pablo Andujar against Poland’s Lukasz Kubot, both former Top 50 players trying to work their way back into the elite. The only other time Andujar made it this far at an event this year he went on to win his first ATP World Tour title, at Casablanca. Kubot is playing in his first semi-final of the year but has really come alive in his last few tournaments, reaching the third round at Roland Garros and the fourth round at Wimbledon. With three wins here, he has won eight of his last 10 matches. This will be their second meeting and they met right here two years ago, with Kubot winning 62 64 in the first round.

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

Centre Court

(Q) Federico Del Bonis (ARG) vs Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) First Meeting

Del Bonis FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 3-1 (3-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 5, 1990
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 240

• Was 0-4 in ATP World Tour matches before this week (0-1 in 2009, 0-2 in 2010, 0-1 in 2011)
• First appearance at this event (3-0 so far - as qualifier, d. No. 5 seed Mayer in 1st Rd., Stakhovsky in 2nd Rd. and qualifier Cervenak in QFs)…Has 55 points coming off on Monday and by reaching the semi-finals, will jump from No. 240 to around No. 203…Will climb to around No. 169 if he reaches the final
• Career-high is No. 117 (set July 19, 2010)
• Juan Martin del Potro, a two-time winner this season, is the only Argentine to win a title this season

Ferrero FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Barcelona (l Almagro)
YTD W-L: 6-2 (6-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 15
Date of Birth: February 12, 1980
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 85

• Playing third ATP World Tour event of year; in mid-April reached QFs in Barcelona (l. to Almagro) then fell 1st Rd. at Madrid two weeks later (l. to de Bakker); missed next two months with wrist and knee injuries
• Third appearance at this tournament (7-2 record); reached QFs in 2007 (l. to Lopez) and SFs in 2010 (l. to Montanes); is 3-0 so far this year (d. LL Knittel, No. 3 seed Youzhny and Granollers in first three rounds)
• Former World No. 1 (spent 8 weeks at No. 1 from September 8 to November 2, 2003)
• He is trying to reach his 34th career ATP World Tour level final…Has a 15-18 career record and last year won three ATP World Tour titles, the last coming in Umag in August 2010
 
Pablo Andujar (ESP) vs Lukasz Kubot (POL) Kubot Leads 1-0
09 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay R32 Lukasz Kubot 6-2 6-4

Andujar FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Casablanca (d Starace); QF: Costa Do Sauipe (l Mello); Nice (l Almagro)
YTD W-L: 17-15 (15-9 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: January 23, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 55

• Playing second ATP World Tour semi-final of year (in only other SF, went on to win title in Casablanca); Came into Stuttgart on four-match losing streak (fell 2nd Rd. at Roland Garros and 1st Rd. at three straight tourn.)
• Third appearance at this tournament (4-2 record); fell 1st Rd. in 2009 and 2nd Rd. in 2010; 3-0 so far this year (d. qualifier Criovoi, Montanes and WC Stebe in first three rounds)
• Has a 17-15 match record on the season (15-9 on clay) and coming into this year had a total of 15 match wins between 2007-10
• Career-high is No. 48 (set April 25, 2011)

Kubot FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Acapulco (l Bellucci)
YTD W-L: 15-11 (9-6 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 16, 1982
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 69

• The top player from Poland is making his first semi-final showing of the year; went 7-9 in first nine ATP World Tour events of year but has gone 8-2 in last three events, Roland Garros (d. No. 12 Almagro en route to 3rd Rd.) and Wimbledon (d. No. 8 Monfils en route to 4th Rd.) and semis this week
• Second appearance at this tournament (5-1 record); reached QFs in 2009 (l. to Kiefer); 3-0 so far this year (d. Gimeno-Traver, No. 8 seed Garcia-Lopez and Giraldo in first three rounds)
• Has a 15-11 match record on the season, tying last year’s wins total (15-25)
• He is trying to reach his third career ATP World Tour singles final…In 2009, was runner-up in Belgrade (l. to Djokovic) and last year was a finalist in Costa do Sauipe (l. to Ferrero)
• Career-high is No. 41 (set April 12, 2010)

POTENTIAL FINAL MATCH-UPS
 
Federico Del Bonis (ARG) vs Pablo Andujar (ESP) First ATP Meeting
Other Meetings:
09 Napoli CH (Italy) Clay QF Pablo Andujar 7-5 6-2
10 Reggio Emilia CH (Italy) Clay SF Pablo Andujar 6-1 6-0
10 Genova CH (Italy) Clay R32 Pablo Andujar 3-6 7-5 6-0

Federico Del Bonis (ARG) vs Lukasz Kubot (POL) First Meeting

Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) vs Pablo Andujar (ESP) Andujar Leads 1-0
07 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R32 Pablo Andujar 2-1 ret.

Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) vs Lukasz Kubot (POL) Ferrero Leads 1-0
10 Costa do Sauipe (Brazil) Clay F Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1 6-0

DOUBLES FINAL – (2) Melzer/Petzschner (AUT/GER) vs. (3) Granollers/M. Lopez (ESP/ESP)
• Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner, the No. 2 seeds, haven’t lost a set en route to the final
• Melzer and Petzschner are playing their fourth ATP World Tour doubles final together (they are 3-0 in their first three, the titles coming at Zagreb and Wimbledon last year and at Rotterdam this year)
• Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, the No. 3 seeds, haven’t lost a set en route to the final either
• Granollers and Lopez are playing their second ATP World Tour doubles final together (they lost their first)
• ATP World Tour doubles final records: Melzer (10-13), Petzschner (3-2), Granollers (6-6), Lopez (5-4)