GSTAAD PREVIEW – THREE OF TOP FOUR SEEDS IN SEMI-FINALS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2003
Three of the top four seeds in the semi-finals of the Credit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad for the first time in eight years. It’s also the first time since 1997 there are three Spaniards in the Gstaad semi-finals. That was also the year the last time it was an all-Spanish final here (Mantilla d. Viloca).

In the first semi-final, No. 3 seed and top Russian Mikhail Youzhny takes a 2-0 advantage against  jNo. 8 seed Marcel Granollers of Spain. Their previous two meetings came this year (Rotterdam, Duesseldorf) and Youzhny won in straight sets. Youzhny is making his second straight semi-final showing and third of the season. Last week in Hamburg he lost to eventual champ Gilles Simon in three sets. His last ATP World Tour final came in St. Petersburg last October. Youzhny is 7-5 lifetime in Gstaad and this is the Russian’s first semi-final here. Granollers is making his first appearance in an ATP World Tour semi-final since getting to his second career ATP World Tour final in Valencia last November (l. to Ferrer).

In the second semi-final, top seed and reigning champion Nicolas Almagro takes on Spanish countryman No. 4 seed Fernando Verdasco, who has won three of the previous five meetings, all on clay. They met one week ago in the semi-finals of Hamburg and Almagro prevailed 64 61. Almagro leads the ATP World Tour with a 32-8 clay court record (most wins) and he has captured a personal-best three titles. Verdasco is trying to reach his third ATP World Tour final of the season. He was runner-up in San Jose (l. to Raonic) in February and Estoril (l. to del Potro) in May. Verdasco is making his first semi-final showing in Gstaad.

2011 ATP WORLD TOUR TITLE LEADERS – Almagro is tied for third-most this year with three ATP World Tour titles:
1) Novak Djokovic   8
2) Robin Soderling   4
3) Nicolas Almagro   3
Rafael Nadal   3
5) Juan Martin del Potro, David Ferrer, Gilles Simon  2

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

(3) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs (8) Marcel Granollers (ESP) Youzhny Leads 2-0
11 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard R32 Mikhail Youzhny 6-2 7-6(6)
11 ATP World Team Chp.(Duesseldorf) Clay RR Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-4

Youzhny FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Marseille (l Cilic); Hamburg (l Simon); QF: Rotterdam (l Soderling)
YTD W-L: 20-15 (10-9 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 7
Date of Birth: June 25, 1982
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 14

* Youzhny, 29, is appearing in his first semi-final in Gstaad…His previous best was the quarters in 2008 and last year…He is playing here for the sixth time (8-5 record)
* This is his second straight semi-final (Hamburg last week) and third ATP World Tour semi-final of the season…In February he advanced to the semis in Marseille (l. to Cilic)
* Has a 20-15 match record on the season (10-9 on clay)
* The last Russian to reach the final in Gstaad was Igor Andreev in ’08 (l. to Hanescu) and the last Russian winner was Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1995 (d. Hlasek)
* He is 7-10 lifetime in ATP World Tour finals (2-2 on clay) and both of his clay titles came on German soil, in Stuttgart in 2002 and Munich last year

Granollers FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Belgrade (l Volandri); Stuttgart (l Ferrero)
YTD W-L: 15-18 (10-10 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: April 12, 1986
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 45
 
* Granollers, 25, is appearing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final of the season and first in Gstaad…His last semi-final came on home soil last November when he reached his second ATP final in Valencia (l. to Ferrer)
* His previous best result this year was the quarter-finals in Belgrade (l. to Volandri) in May and Stuttgart (l. to Ferrer) two weeks ago
* Has a 15-18 match record on the season, including 10-10 on clay
* His lone ATP World Tour singles title came in April 2008 in Houston where he defeated No. 8-ranked James Blake in the final in three sets

(1)Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs (4) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Verdasco Leads 4-2
05 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay R64 Fernando Verdasco 7-6(4) 6-0
07 Kitzbuhel (Austria) Clay R16 Fernando Verdasco 6-2 7-6(6)
09 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Fernando Verdasco 6-2 7-6(4) 7-6(8)
10 Roland Garros (France) Clay R16 Nicolas Almagro 6-1 4-6   6-1 6-4
11 Hamburg (Germany) Clay SF Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-1
Other Meeting:
01 Spain F7 (Spain) Clay QF Fernando Verdasco 4-6 7-6(5)  6-3

Almagro FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Costa Do Sauipe (d Dolgopolov); Buenos Aires (d Chela); Nice (d Hanescu); F: Acapulco (l Ferrer); Hamburg (l Simon); SF: Auckland (l Nalbandian); Barcelona (l Ferrer); Bastad (l Ferrer)
YTD W-L: 41-14 (32-8 on clay)
YTD Titles: 3
Career Titles: 10
Date of Birth: August 21, 1985
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 10

* Almagro, 25, the defending champion, is appearing in his ninth semi-final or better on the ATP World Tour this season (5-3 in SF matches) and he’s trying to reach his sixth final…Last Sunday he was runner-up in Hamburg  (l. to Simon)
* He re-entered the Top 10 this week, moving from No. 14 to No. 10…He first broke into Top 10 on Apr. 25 and was there for three weeks
* He comes in with a 41-14 match record and ATP World Tour-best 32 match wins on clay (32-8 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 10-4 career record in ATP World Tour finals, all on clay, winning at least one title every year since 2006
* One of six Spaniards to win an ATP World Tour title this season (Almagro-3, Nadal-3, Ferrer-2, Andujar, Ferrero, Robredo)

Verdasco FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: San Jose (l Raonic); Estoril (l Del Potro); SF: Hamburg (l Almagro); QF: London / Queen's Club (l Roddick)
YTD W-L: 23-15 (11-7 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: November 15, 1983
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 20

* Verdasco, 27, is appearing in the semi--finals for the first time in Gstaad and he owns a 5-2 record here…His previous best result was the quarter-finals in his last visit five years ago (l. to Kohlschreiber)
* The Madrid native is making his fourth appearance in an ATP World Tour semi-final or better this season, the second in as many weeks…Last week lost to Almagro in Hamburg…He was runner-up in San Jose (l. to Raonic) in February and in Estoril (l. to del Potro) in May
* Has a 23-15 match record on the season (11-7 on clay)
* Ranked in the Top 10 for nearly one-third of the season before falling to No. 12 on Apr. 18…Slipped out of the Top 20 on June 6 (after Roland Garros)
* He is trying to become the second left-hander (Nadal three titles) to win an ATP World Tour title this season
* He has a 5-10 career mark in ATP World Tour finals (3-5 on clay)

Spaniards in Top 25 -- Here is a look at the ATP World Tour-high nine Spaniards in the Top 50 South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings (as of July 25):

  2) Rafael Nadal
  6) David Ferrer
10) Nicolas Almagro
20) Fernando Verdasco
24) Feliciano Lopez
36) Tommy Robredo
37) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
45) Marcel Granollers
47) Pablo Andujar
 
POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS –

Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs Nicolas Almagro (ESP)  Youzhny Leads 3-0
08 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(4) 3-6 7-6(6)
09 Munich (Germany) Clay R16 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(2) 6-4
11 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R32 Mikhail Youzhny 4-6 6-3 7-6(3) 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP)  Verdasco Leads 2-0
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay R64 Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-2
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Fernando Verdasco 7-6(5) 5-7 7-5 6-1

Marcel Granollers (ESP) vs Nicolas Almagro (ESP)  Almagro Leads 5-0
08 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R128 Nicolas Almagro 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-2
09 Hamburg (Germany) Clay R32 Nicolas Almagro 4-6 6-3 6-4
09 Umag (Croatia) Clay R32 Nicolas Almagro 6-1 6-3
10 Gstaad (Switzerland) Clay R32 Nicolas Almagro 7-6(5) 3-6 6-3
11 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo  Clay R64 Nicolas Almagro 6-3 6-3

Marcel Granollers (ESP) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP)   First Meeting

UMAG PREVIEW – FOGNINI-CILIC, FERRERO-DOLGOPOLOV SQUARE OFF IN SEMI-FINALS
The semi-final line-up on Saturday at the ATP Studena Croatia Open feature the defending champion and three of the Top six seeds, including the No. 1 player from Croatia.

In the first semi-final, No. 6 seed and the top player from Italy, Fabio Fognini, looks for his second win in as many meetings against No. 4 seed and top Croat, Marin Cilic. Fognini won 62 60 in the second round of ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo in April 2009. Following their singles match, they will play each other again in the doubles final.  Fognini is making his second ATP World Tour semi-final showing of the season, the first since February in Santiago (l. to Robredo). The 24-year-old Italian is looking to reach his first career ATP World Tour final. Cilic is also making his second semi-final or better appearance this year. His best result was a runner-up in Marseille in February (l. to Soderling). Cilic is in his first semi-final in Umag. Coming into this week, he had a 2-3 record with second round finishes in 2006-07. Cilic is attempting to become the first Croat to reach the final here since the tournament’s first year in 1990 when Goran Prpic defeated Goran Ivanisevic in three sets.
 
In the second semi-final, reigning champion/former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero meets No. 2 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in Umag for the second straight year. Ferrero won 61 62 in the quarter-finals last season here en route to the title. The unseeded Ferrero captured his 16th career title two weeks ago in Stuttgart after being sidelined for two months due to wrist and knee injuries. Ferrero made his Umag debut in 2005 and he has a 13-3 career mark. He is 11-3 on the season, all on clay, and ranked No. 73.  The 31-year-old Spaniard and Cilic are the only players remaining to win an ATP World Tour title in their career. The 22-year-old Dolgopolov reached his first career ATP World Tour final in Costa do Sauipe (l. to Almagro) in February and he was a semi-finalist in Acapulco and Nice, also on clay. He is ranked No. 26 this week after reaching a career-high No. 20 on Apr. 18.

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

Centre Court

(6) Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs (4) Marin Cilic (CRO) Fognini Leads 1-0
09 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay R32 Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-0

Fognini FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Santiago (l Robredo); QF: Casablanca (l Montanes); Roland Garros (W/O vs Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 19-16 (19-11 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 24, 1987
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 38

*Fognini, 24, the top Italian in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings at No.38, is  appearing in his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the season…In February, he advanced to the semis in Santiago in February (l. to Robredo)
* Overall this is the Italian native’s sixth career ATP World Tour semi-final (0-5) and he’s attempting to advance to his first final…He was a semi-finalist in 2008 in Costa do Sauipe, Warsaw, Umag, and the following year in Stuttgart, all on clay
* He enters with a 19-16 match record (19-11 on clay, 0-5 on hard) and his next win will equal his career-best two years ago when he went 20-26
* Italians are 0-3 in Umag finals (Potito Starace last year, Filippo Volandri in 2003-04)

Cilic FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Marseille (l Soderling); QF: Zagreb (l Mayer); Rotterdam (l Troicki); Munich (l Davydenko); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Nadal); London / Queen's Club (W/O vs Murray); Hamburg (l Youzhny)
YTD W-L: 27-14 (12-6 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: September 28, 1988
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 31

*Cilic, 22, the top Croat on the ATP World Tour, is appearing in his first semi-final in Umag in four showings…His previous best was the second round in 2006-07…He is trying to become the first Croat to reach the final here since the tournament’s first year in 1990 when Goran Prpic defeated Goran Ivanisevic
* This is the Croat’s second ATP World Tour semi-final of the season…His best result was a runner-up in Marseille in February (l. to Soderling)
* He comes in with a 27-14 match record on the year (12-6 on clay) and his last ATP World Tour title came on home soil in Zagreb In February 2010 (d. Berrer)
* He is trying to reach his 10th career ATP World Tour final (5-4 mark) and has never won a clay court title…His previous runner-up result on clay came in Munich in May 2010 (l. to Youzhny)

Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) vs (2) Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) Ferrero Leads 1-0
10 Umag (Croatia) Clay QF Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1 6-2

Ferrero FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Stuttgart (d Andujar); QF: Barcelona (l Almagro)
YTD W-L: 11-3 (11-3 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 16
Date of Birth: February 12, 1980
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 73

* Ferrero, 31, is playing in his fifth 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
* He returned in Stuttgart two weeks ago and captured the title, defeating countryman Pablo Andujar in the final…Last week lost in the first round in Hamburg (l. to Stebe)
* Former World No. 1 (spent 8 weeks at No. 1 from September 8 to November 2, 2003)
* He is trying to reach his 35th career ATP World Tour level final…Has a 16-18 career record and last year won three ATP World Tour titles, the last coming in Umag in August 2010
* One of six Spaniards to win an ATP World Tour title this season (Almagro-3, Nadal-3, Ferrer-2, Andujar,  Ferrero, Robredo)

Dolgopolov FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
F: Costa Do Sauipe (l Almagro); SF: Acapulco (l Ferrer); Nice (l Hanescu); QF: Sydney (l Simon); Australian Open (l Murray)
YTD W-L: 24-18 (13-10 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: November 7, 1988
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 26

* Dolgopolov, 22, is appearing in his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final or better this year, all coming on clay…Last year the Ukraine native lost here in the quarter-finals to Ferrero
* He enters with a 24-18 match record on the season, 13-10 on clay
* In February he reached his first career ATP World Tour final in Costa do Sauipe (l. to Almagro)…Also SF in Acapulco (l. to Ferrer) and Nice (l. to Hanescu) and two QF, at Sydney (l. to Simon) and Australian Open (first Grand Slam QF - l. to Murray)
* He reached a career-high No. 20 on April 18 and comes in No. 26
* He is one of three players in Top 30 yet to win an ATP World Tour title in his career along with No. 22 Florian Mayer and No. 23 Janko Tipsarevic

DOUBLES FINAL PREVIEW - CROATS TAKE ON ITALIAN DUO IN DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP
*In an all-unseeded doubles final, the Croat squad of Marin Cilic and Lovro Zovko meet the Italian tandem of Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini in Saturday's doubles final.
*Cilic and Zovko come into the final with a 9-9 career mark since first teaming up together in an ATP World Tour tournament here in Umag four years ago.
*Cilic and Fognini, who played each other in the singles semi-final earlier in the day, both have a chance to become the first player this year to win a singles and doubles ATP World Tour title in the same tournament.
*Bolelli and Fognini are playing together for the second time in an ATP World Tour tournament. In May, they reached the semi-finals on home soil in Rome.  They first debuted together at the Napoli Challenger in 2006, reaching the final.
*Here is a look at the ATP World Tour doubles finals records: Cilic (0-0), Zovko (0-4), Bolelli (1-0), Fognini (0-2).

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS –

Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)  First Meeting

Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)  Dolgopolov Leads 1-0
10 St. Petersburg (Russia) Hard R32 Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-6(5) 6-4
Other Meeting:
07 San Remo CH (Italy) Clay QF Fabio Fognini 7-5 6-3

Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)   Cilic Leads 1-0
09 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati Hard R64 Marin Cilic 6-3 6-4

Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)   First Meeting

LOS ANGELES SATURDAY PREVIEW - FISH LEADS AMERICAN TRIO IN Farmers Classic SEMI-FINALS
For the first time in nine years there are three Americans in the semi-finals of the Farmers Classic, with two of the home nation’s veterans and one of its up-and-comers joining a Latvian star. It is the second week in a row three Americans have reached a final four. It happened in Atlanta.

The first semi-final pits top seed and No. 1 American Mardy Fish against Ryan Harrison. The 29-year-old Fish and the 19-year-old Harrison played for the first time a week ago in the semi-finals of Atlanta, with Fish breaking serve three times and not losing his own serve during a 62 64 victory, afterwards saying “I had to play well and I did play well.” After another three wins Harrison will have another shot at the World No. 9; he is the first American teenager to reach back-to-back ATP World Tour semi-finals since Andy Roddick in the summer of 2002. He is looking to break through and register his first career win against  Top 10 players (0-6). He has won three sets in those six losses.

The second semi-final features unseeded Alex Bogomolov Jr. of the U.S. and Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. Both players have upset  two seeds en route to this round, 28-year-old Bogomolov beating No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 4 Thomaz Bellucci while 22-year-old Latvian Gulbis beating No. 5  Xavier Malisse and in the biggest surprise of the tournament so far, No. 2 Juan Martin del Potro. Gulbis is playing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final since the second week of the season in Sydney while Bogomolov  is making his first career ATP World Tour semi-final. This is their first meeting on the ATP World Tour but Gulbis won their only previous meeting on the Challenger circuit, 61 60 in Bermuda three years ago.

With only one seed remaining, this is the second-fewest amount of seeds to reach the semi-finals in the tournament’s Open Era history (no seeds reached the semi-finals in 2004).

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

Straus Stadium

(1)Mardy Fish (USA) vs Ryan Harrison (USA)  Fish Leads 1-0
11 Atlanta (USA) Hard SF Mardy Fish 6-2 6-4

Fish FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
W: Atlanta (d Isner); SF: Memphis (l Raonic); Delray Beach (l Del Potro); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); QF: Houston (l Nishikori); Wimbledon (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 28-14 (18-8 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: December 9, 1981
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 9

* Fish, 29, the top American, is appearing in his fifth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season, the second in as many weeks…He is coming off his ATP World Tour title defense of his career in Atlanta last week (d. Isner, saving 2 MPs at 6-4 in 2nd set TB)...His other semi-finals came in February in Memphis (l. to Raonic) and Delray Beach (l. to del Potro) and in Miami in April (l. to Djokovic)
* He has a 9-4 career mark in Los Angeles and this is his second semi-final (2008, l. to del Potro)
* This week has held serve 16 of 19 times (84%) and won eight of 18 return games (44%)
* He is the top seed this year for the third time (Houston, QFs; Atlanta, winner)
* He enters with a 28-14 match record (18-8 on hard) and he broke into the Top 10 for the first time on Apr. 18 then slipped out for next three weeks before returning on May 16 (has been there since – 11 weeks)
* Three weeks ago, he played in U.S.-Spain Davis Cup QF tie in Austin, Texas and lost opening match to Lopez 8-6 in fifth set and then to No. 6 Ferrer in four sets in reverse singles
* Prior to that, reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final (l. to Nadal)
* Has a 6-12 career mark in ATP World Tour finals (2-2 last year)…One of four Americans to win an ATP World Tour title this season, joining Andy Roddick (Memphis), Ryan Sweeting (Houston) and John Isner (Newport)

Harrison FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Atlanta (l Fish)
YTD W-L: 10-11 (9-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 7, 1992
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 94

* Harrison, 19, is making his second straight ATP World Tour semi-final showing after last week’s semi-final debut in Atlanta (l. to eventual champ Fish)…Last week he defeated qualifier Rajeev Ram 46 61 76(5) in the quarter-finals and also posted his fifth Top 50 win this year over No. 40 Xavier Malisse…He was last direct entry into main draw…This week, he beat Richard Berankis 67 75 63, Michael Russell 63 64 and Yen-Hsun Lu 36 63 64…Has come back 12 times this year from losing the opening set in ATP World Tour main draw, qualify., Chs.
* This week is No. 2 in aces (24), behind Gulbis (29) and No. 4 in service games won (88%, 35 of 40), saving 11 of 16 break points (69%), including 10 of 12 in QF win over Lu
* Has a 10-11 match record on the season (9-6 on hard)…Also 10-4 in Challengers with one title (Honolulu)
* He is the first American teenager to reach back-to-back ATP World Tour semi-finals since Andy Roddick in summer 2002 with semi-final in Los Angeles and runner-up in Toronto
* After Atlanta, he jumped from No. 120 into the Top 100 for the first time at No. 94 this week…Will improve to around No. 82-83 thus far and to around No. 68 if he reaches the final (around No. 60 if he wins the title)
* At Wimbledon (d. No. 37 Dodig, l. to No. 6 Ferrer in five sets) as a lucky lose
* He is one of two teenagers (No. 68 Bernard Tomic (18) of Australia) in the current Top 100 South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings
* In Newport, captured his first ATP World Tour doubles title (w/Ebden, d. Brunstrom-Shamasdin) and only teenager to win a singles or doubles crown this season
* In March, advanced to the fourth round at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells, posting wins over No. 49 Chardy, No. 25 Garcia-Lopez and No. 37 Raonic before losing to No. 2 Federer 76 63
 
Alex Bogomolov Jr. (USA) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT) First ATP Meeting
Other Meeting:
08 Bermuda CH (Bermuda) Clay R32 Ernests Gulbis 6-1 6-0

Bogomolov Jr. FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
QF: Zagreb (l Garcia-Lopez); s-Hertogenbosch (l Malisse); Newport (l Isner)
YTD W-L: 13-9 (7-4 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 23, 1983
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 64

*Bogomolov, 28, is putting together the best season of his career and he’s playing in his first career ATP World Tour semi-final…His previous best were quarter-finals in Zagreb, ’s-Hertogenbosch and Newport…He also captured his first ATP World Tour doubles title in Atlanta last Sunday (w/Ebden)
* He was 0-5 in his career in ATP World Tour quarter-final matches
* Has returned well this week, winning 15 of 35 return games (45%)…Has been broken eight times (held 26 of 34 service games), saving 13 of 21 break points
* This is his fourth appearance at this event (5-3 record); fell early in first three appearances (2nd Rd. in 2002 and 2003, 1st Rd. in 2004); is 2-0 this year (d. qualifier Jones and No. 7 seed Dimitrov in first two rounds)
* Has a 13-9 match record on the ATP World Tour this season (7-4 on hard) and posted the biggest win of his career over No. 4 Andy Murray in the second round of the Sony Ericsson in Miami in March
* He reached a career-high No. 63 on July 11 and will moved from No. 64 to around No. 57 next week by reaching the semi-finals and if he reaches the final to around No. 53
 
Gulbis FastFacts:
2011 Highlights:
SF: Sydney (l Simon); QF: Doha (l Nadal); Nice (l Berdych)
YTD W-L: 13-14 (10-8 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: August 30, 1988
South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking: 84

*Gulbis, 22, is playing in his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the year…His best result came in the second week of the season in Sydney where he reached the semi-finals (l. to eventual champ Simon)…Also a quarter-finalist in Doha in first week (l. to Nadal) and in Nice in May (l. to Berdych)
* This is the Latvian’s third appearance at the tournament (5-2 mark); He fell in the 2nd Rd. in first two appearances (2009-10); This week he’s defeated No. 5 seed Xavier Malisse 26 63 76(5), qualifier Daniel Kosakowski 62 64 and No. 2 seed/’08 champion Juan Martin del Potro 62 64 (his first Top 20 win of the year)
* Has served well this week, leading in aces (29) and No. 2 in service games won (91%, 30 of 33 held), second serve pts. won (56%) and No. 3 in first serve points won (80%)
* Has a 13-14 match record on the season (10-8 on hard) and broke a five-match losing streak since 2nd Rd. win in Nice (d. Istomin) with his three-set victory over Malisse here
* Trying to reach his second career ATP World Tour final…In February 2010, captured first ATP World Tour title in Delray Beach (d. Karlovic) and finished season with a 31-20 match record
* Came in No. 84 and will move to around No. 72 thus far and to around No. 65 if he reaches the final (around No. 57 if he wins the title)
* He reached a career-high is No. 21 (set February 7, 2011)
 * Working with another former Argentine player, Guillermo Canas (after working with Hernan Gumy)

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS –

Mardy Fish (USA) vs Alex Bogomolov Jr. (USA)  Bogomolov Leads 1-0
04 Houston (U.S.A.) Clay R32 Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-3 6-1
Other Meetings:
02 Bronx CH (USA) Hard R32 Mardy Fish 7-5 7-5
02 San Antonio CH (USA) Hard R32 Mardy Fish 6-4 6-3

Mardy Fish (USA) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT)   First Meeting

Ryan Harrison (USA) vs Alex Bogomolov Jr. (USA)  First ATP Meeting
Other Meetings:
10 Binghamton CH (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-3 6-7(3)6-2
10 Tiburon CH (USA) Hard QF Ryan Harrison 6-4 3-6 6-4

Ryan Harrison (USA) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT)   Gulbis Leads 1-0
10 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Ernests Gulbis 6-4 7-6(5)