MEMPHIS THURSDAY PREVIEW –  SEEDS ISNER, STEPANEK, RAONIC, ANDERSON EYE QUARTER-FINALS
• All eight second round matches will be played on Thursday at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships with the 2010 champion and two finalists on Stadium.

• In the day session, 2010 winner Sam Querrey takes a 4-1 career lead against No. 7 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa followed by Olivier Rochus against American teenager Ryan Harrison, who is looking for his second straight win against the top Belgian. Last week in San Jose, Harrison fired a career-high 27 aces in his first round win en route to the semi-finals.

• In the evening session, top seed John Isner looks for his second win in as many meetings against countryman Donald Young. Isner fired 26 aces in his first round win over Gilles Muller on Tuesday.
In the final match, Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine attempts to even the head-to-head (0-1) against No. 4 seed and last year’s  runner-up Milos Raonic of Canada. Stakhovsky is trying to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season while Raonic takes a 12-1 mark on the season into the match.

• There are four other matches on outside courts, highlighted by No. 3 seed and 2009 runner-up Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic taking on American Ryan Sweeting on Grandstand.   

Thursday Second Round FedEx ATP Head 2 Heads – In Order of Play
 
Stadium

(WC) Sam Querrey (USA) vs (7) Kevin Anderson (RSA) Querrey Leads 4-1
08 Las Vegas (U.S.A.) Hard F Sam Querrey 4-6 6-3 6-4
09 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain)Grass R32 Sam Querrey 7-5 6-3
10 Los Angeles (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Sam Querrey 7-6(8) 4-6 6-0
10 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Toronto Hard R32 Kevin Anderson 7-6(4)  4-6 6-4
11 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Clay R64 Sam Querrey 7-6(1) 1-0 ret
Other Meeting:
07 Sacramento CH (USA) Hard R32 Sam Querrey 6-3 3-6 6-3

Querrey FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 2-4
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: October 7, 1987
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 99

• Querrey is 13-4 lifetime in Memphis and he’s trying to reach his fifth quarter-final in six appearances here…He captured the title two years ago (d. Isner) and was a quarter-finalist in 2007, ’09 and ‘11
• He defeated Colombian Alejandro Falla 26 63 64 on Tuesday and he is 2-4 on the season…His other win came in the 1R at the Australian Open (d. Kenny De Schepper, l. to Tomic)
• This is the second tournament he’s working with former World No. 4 and 1986, ’89 Memphis winner Brad Gilbert…They are working on a trial basis
• He is ranked No. 99 this week and last June (16th) he underwent right elbow surgery…Was sidelined for nearly three months and finished in Top 100 at No. 93 for the fifth consecutive season

Anderson FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
QF: San Jose (l Raonic)
YTD W-L: 5-3
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: May 18, 1986
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 36

• Anderson won his first match in Memphis (1-2) on Wednesday by serving 19 aces and winning 29 of 30 first serve points in a 75 63 victory against qualifier Robby Ginepri
• Last week in San Jose, the top South African reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season, losing to eventual champion Milos Raonic 75 76
• He comes in with a 5-3 match record on the season and last month he lost in the first round in Auckland (l. to Mannarino) and followed with third round at the Australian Open (l. to No. 7 Berdych)
• Last season captured his first career ATP World Tour title in his hometown of Johannesburg

Olivier Rochus (BEL) vs (WC) Ryan Harrison (USA) Harrison Leads 1-0
12 San Jose (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Ryan Harrison 4-6 6-2 6-3

Rochus FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
F: Auckland (l Ferrer)
YTD W-L: 6-5
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: January 18, 1981
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 51

• Rochus, who is the top Belgian at No. 51, made a successful Memphis debut on Wednesday with a 16 64 76(5) win over No. 5 seed Alex Bogomolov Jr.
• Last month he advanced to his 10th career ATP World Tour final in Auckland (l. to Ferrer)
• Last season the Belgian returned to Top 100 at No. 67 by reaching final in Newport (l. to Isner) for second year in a row…Also reached QF on grass in Eastbourne (l. to Seppi)
• Compiled a 13-7 mark in Challenger events, winning title in Le Gosier in March (d. Robert) and reaching final in Rennes (l. to Benneteau) in October
• Compiled match records of 7-3 on grass, 4-8 on hard and 2-5 on clay last season

Harrison FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: San Jose (l Raonic)
YTD W-L: 6-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 7, 1992
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 73

• Harrison improved to 6-4 on the season with a 63 26 64 win over fellow American teenager Jack Sock on Tuesday…On Wednesday, he and fellow teenager Denis Kudla defeated the veteran Israeli duo of Erlich-Ram 62 63
• Last weekend the 19-year-old Austin, Texas resident reached his third career ATP World Tour semi-final in San Jose, falling to eventual champion Milos Raonic…In the first round, hit a career-high 27 aces in three-set win over No. 8 Olivier Rochus and saved two match points in his second round victory over Robby Ginepri…Jumped from No. 94 to No. 73 afterwards
• Prior to San Jose, he made his Davis Cup debut vs. Switzerland and helped U.S. to 5-0 victory, defeating Michael Lammer in two tie-breaks in dead rubber
• Last season Harrison finished a year-end best No. 79 highlighted by a pair of ATP World Tour semi-finals in Atlanta and Los Angeles (lost to Fish both times)

(1) John Isner (USA) vs Donald Young (USA)  Isner Leads 1-0
08 Washington (USA) Hard R16 John Isner 6-4 7-6(4)
Other Meeting:
09 Tallahassee CH (U.S.A.) Hard F John Isner 7-5 6-4

Isner FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 5-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: April 26, 1985
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 13

• Isner is seeded No. 1 for the second time in his career…Last July he captured the title in Newport as top seed…On Tuesday, opened with a 76 76 win over Gilles Muller, firing 26 aces and winning 48 of 50 first serve points…Reached the final here two years ago (l. to Querrey) and won doubles title with him
• The No. 2 American is ranked a career-high No. 13 this week and enters with a 5-2 match record…Also has a 7-0 mark in tie-breaks
• He opened the year with an opening round loss in Sydney (l. to Reynolds) and followed with third round at the Australian Open (l. to Lopez in five sets)
• On Feb. 10, posted the biggest win of his career over World No. 3 Federer in four sets in Davis Cup first round tie (on clay) in Switzerland…Also won dead rubber (d. Chiudinelli)

Young FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 2-3
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 23, 1989
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 41

• Young is trying to reach his second quarter-final in Memphis…Made his debut here four years ago and reached the quarter-finals (l. to Bjorkman)…On Monday, opened with a 76(4) 46 76(6) over Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov to improve his record to 3-2 in Memphis
• The No. 4 American (behind Fish, Isner, Roddick) is 2-3 on the season…Last month he lost in the first round in Auckland (l. to Falla) and second round at the Australian Open (l. to Lacko)…Last week fell in the first round to Michael Russell in San Jose
• Last season finished a year-end best No. 39 with a 19-17 match record, highlighted by his first ATP World Tour final in Bangkok (l. to Murray)…Also turned in a Grand Slam-best fourth round at the Australian Open (l. to Murray)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) vs (3) Milos Raonic (CAN) Raonic Leads 1-0
10 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Hard R16 Milos Raonic 6-7(8)   7-6(9) 6-3

Stakhovsky FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 3-5
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: January 6, 1986
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 68

• Stakhovsky is trying to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season and he made his Memphis debut on Tuesday, defeating qualifier Robert Kendrick 63 76
• The 26-year-old Ukrainian enters with a 3-5 match record on the season and all three of his wins have come against opponents ranked outside the Top 200…He reached the second round at the Australian Open (d. No. 246 Marchenko in five sets), won a Davis Cup match vs. Monaco’s Lisnard (No. 360) and beat No. 546 Kendrick in the first round
• Last season he finished No. 62, his fourth straight Top 75 year-end ranking

Raonic FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Chennai (d Tipsarevic); San Jose (d Istomin)
YTD W-L: 12-1
YTD Titles: 2
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: December 27, 1990
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 35

• Raonic is attempting to reach his third ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season and comes in with a sparkling 12-1 match record…Last year’s finalist here (l. to Roddick) opened the tournament on Wednesday by firing 15 aces (saved four break pts.)  in a 62 76(3) victory over Latvian Ernests Gulbis
• Last Sunday he defended his title in San Jose (d. Istomin, won 44 of 48 service points) and held serve 41 of 42 games in four matches…In his eight San Jose matches, has held serve 83 of 85 games…He is the first two-time winner on the ATP World Tour this season
• This season leads the ATP World Tour in aces (190), service games won (96%), first serve pts. won (84%) and break points saved (84%)
• He opened the season by capturing his second career ATP World Tour title without losing his serve in 48 games, defeating No. 10 Almagro in the semi-finals and No. 9 Tipsarevic in the final (in three TBs)
• His only loss this season came to Aussie Lleyton Hewitt in the third round at the Australian Open
• In first round Davis Cup tie in Vancouver vs. France, defeated Julien Benneteau and lost in doubles rubber…Withdrew from reverse singles on Sunday due to left knee pain

Grandstand

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs Ivan Dodig (CRO)         First Meeting

(3) Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs Ryan Sweeting (USA)  First ATP Meeting
Other meeting:
10 New Haven Q (U.S.A.) Hard -- Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-0

Benjamin Becker (GER) vs Xavier Malisse (BEL)  First Meeting

Court 1

Philipp Petzschner (GER) vs Lukasz Kubot (POL)  Petzschner Leads 2-0
10 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 Philipp Petzschner 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-2
11 Stockholm (Sweden) Hard R32 Philipp Petzschner 6-2 7-5

MARSEILLE THURSDAY PREVIEW - TOP 10 STARS FISH & DEL POTRO OPEN CAMPAIGNS
• The second round of the Open 13 wraps up Thursday with two of the Top 10 - Mardy Fish and Juan Martin del Potro - making their first appearances of the week at the ATP World Tour 250 indoor stop.

• First up is No. 5 seed Richard Gasquet against Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn. Fresh off his third quarter-final of the year in Rotterdam, Gasquet started strong in Marseille, beating No. 82-ranked Go Soeda, Japan’s No. 2 player, in just 63 minutes, 60 62. Now he faces the No. 81-ranked Kunitsyn for a spot in his fourth quarter-final of the year. The No. 15-ranked Gasquet won their only previous meeting handily (61 64 64 at Wimbledon last year) and Kunitsyn has lost his last 24 matches against Top 15 players (his last win came in October 2006).

• Next up is No. 6 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov against France’s Michael Llodra. Dolgopolov went into the Australian Open ranked a career-high No. 13 but didn’t defend his quarter-final points from 2011, falling in the third round, and now finds himself at No. 18. He could be in for a tough test as Llodra has really lifted his game in Marseille the last three years - he was a runner-up in 2009, a champion in 2010 and a quarter-finalist in 2011. The French veteran also beat Dolgopolov in their only previous meeting.

• The evening session begins with No. 4 seed Juan Martin del Potro against Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko. Both players made it far at the ATP World Tour 500 indoor stop in Rotterdam last week before losing to Roger Federer - Davydenko in the semi-finals, del Potro in the final. Now they will face each other - not only does Davydenko lead their head-to-head, 3-1, but he has won all three of their hard court meetings in straight sets (del Potro’s win came on clay). Davydenko defeated the Argentine in the final of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London in November 2009 in their last meeting. But the Russian has lost his last eight matches against Top 10 players, his last win coming over a year ago (against then-No. 1 Rafael Nadal at Doha last January).

• The last match of the day sees No. 2 seed Mardy Fish take on French qualifier Albano Olivetti. In his only previous ATP World Tour event this year, the No. 8-ranked Fish was surprised in the second round of the Australian Open by Colombian veteran Alejandro Falla - now he will begin his second event of the year against 20-year-old French rookie Olivetti, who actually played his first ATP World Tour-level match in the first round here (beating No. 92-ranked Matthias Bachinger in straight sets). Fish is playing Marseille for the first time in his career but has had success indoors before, winning one of his six titles indoors. Fish helped the U.S. to a 5-0 first round Davis Cup win in Switzerland less than two weeks ago, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets and teaming with Mike Bryan to win the doubles point.

Thursday Second Round FedEx ATP Head 2 Heads – In Order of Play

Centre Court

Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) vs (5) Richard Gasquet (FRA) Gasquet Leads 1-0
11 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 Richard Gasquet 6-1 6-4 6-4

Kunitsyn FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 2-6
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: September 30, 1981
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 81

Gasquet FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
QF: Sydney (l Istomin); Montpellier (l Kohlschreiber); Rotterdam (l Davydenko)
YTD W-L: 8-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: June 18, 1986
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 15

(6) Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) vs Michael Llodra (FRA) Llodra Leads 1-0
10 Eastbourne (Great Britain) Grass SF Michael Llodra 6-3 7-5

Dolgopolov FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
F: Brisbane (l Murray)
YTD W-L: 7-3
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: November 7, 1988
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 18

Llodra FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 3-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: May 18, 1980
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 50

(4) Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) vs Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) Davydenko Leads 3-1
07 ATP Masters Series Paris (France) Hard R32 Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(3) 6-1
08 ARG v. RUS WG SF (Argentina) Clay RR Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1 6-4 6-2
08 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 6-2
09 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals  Hard F Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 6-4

del Potro FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
F: Rotterdam (l Federer); QF: Sydney (l Baghdatis); Australian Open (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 9-3
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 9
Date of Birth: September 23, 1988
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 10

Davydenko FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Rotterdam (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 5-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 21
Date of Birth: June 2, 1981
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 40

(Q) Albano Olivetti (FRA) vs (2) Mardy Fish (USA)  First Meeting

Olivetti FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 1-0
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: November 24, 1991
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 388

Fish FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 2-1
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: December 9, 1981
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 8

BUENOS AIRES THURSDAY PREVIEW - FOUR FORMER TOP 10 PLAYERS IN ACTION ON DAY 4

• No fewer than four former Top 10 players are in action Thursday as the second round wraps up at the Copa Claro, an ATP World Tour 250 event held on the clay courts of Buenos Aires.

• First up is No. 3 seed Gilles Simon against Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq. Simon, a former No. 6 currently at No. 12, has had a good start to the year on hardcourts - he is 6-3 on that surface, already making semi-finals at Brisbane and Montpellier - but he has yet to make an impression on clay, losing his opening match at his only previous clay court event of the season in Sao Paulo. Now he goes for the quarter-finals here - and not only is he 3-0 head-to-head against Berlocq, but the Argentine has lost his last 10 matches against Top 20 players (his last win was then-No. 18 Juan Carlos Ferrero on grass at ’s-Hertogenbosch in 2007).

• Next is No. 7 seed Fernando Verdasco against Russian qualifier Igor Andreev. Verdasco, a former No. 7 currently at No. 25, has always done well on clay, winning three of his five career titles on this surface, as well as reaching nine of his 16 career finals on it - he also already has one clay court quarter-final in the books this year, at Sao Paulo last week. He and Andreev are both 28 years old, both 4-4 so far this year and have always had very close matches, the only difference is Verdasco has closed out most of their matches - he is 4-1 against the Russian, including 2-0 on clay (although both matches went to third set tie-breaks).

• Next is No. 5 seed Juan Monaco against Argentina’s David Nalbandian. This time it’s the underdog who is the former Top 10 player - Nalbandian is a former No. 3 currently at No. 85, but he reached his first quarter-final of the season in Sao Paulo last week and will now go for back-to-back quarter-finals for the first time since August 2010. Monaco will be tough, though - he not only won the pair’s last meeting, but he is 6-0 on clay this year (including winning the Vina del Mar title). The 27-year-old also climbed up to No. 20 this week, his first time in the Top 20 since July 2008 (he has been as high as No. 14).

• Last up is No. 2 seed Nicolas Almagro against Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis. Last year Almagro won more clay court matches than anyone on tour, with 32 wins on the surface, and he is looking headed for similar numbers already this year - he is 7-0 on clay already this year (including winning the Sao Paulo title last week) and is looking to reach his fourth quarter-final of the season (he was a semi-finalist in Chennai and a quarter-finalist in Auckland). Almagro has been as high as No. 9 in the rankings, but is currently just two spots away at No. 11. Today he has a first-time meeting with the 21-year-old Delbonis.

Thursday Second Round FedEx ATP Head 2 Heads – In Order of Play

Estadio Central – 

(3) Gilles Simon (FRA) vs Carlos Berlocq (ARG) Simon Leads 3-0
07 Bucharest (Romania) Clay SF Gilles Simon 6-7(4) 6-2 6-3
08 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells  Hard R128 Gilles Simon 6-2 6-3
11 Estoril (Portugal) Clay R16 Gilles Simon 6-2 6-1

Simon FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Brisbane (l Dolgopolov); Montpellier (l Monfils)
YTD W-L: 7-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 9
Date of Birth: December 27, 1984
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 12

Berlocq FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
F: Vina del Mar (l Monaco); QF: Sao Paulo (l Almagro)
YTD W-L: 9-4
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: February 3, 1983
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 43

(7) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs (Q) Igor Andreev (RUS) Verdasco Leads 4-1
04 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-4 4-6 2-6 7-5
05 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay R32 Fernando Verdasco 6-4 5-7 7-6(5)
08 Umag (Croatia) Clay F Fernando Verdasco 3-6 6-4 7-6(4)
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Igor Andreev 6-2 6-4 6-4
09 New Haven (U.S.A.) Hard SF Fernando Verdasco 7-6(4)7-6(5)

Verdasco FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Auckland (l Ferrer); QF: Sao Paulo (l Ramos)
YTD W-L: 4-3
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: November 15, 1983
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 25

Andreev FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 4-3
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: July 14, 1983
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 118

David Nalbandian (ARG) vs (5) Juan Monaco (ARG) Nalbandian Leads 2-1
05 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (USA)Hard R64 David Nalbandian 6-2 6-1
05 Munich (Germany) Clay QF David Nalbandian 6-0 6-4
09 Buenos Aires (Argentina) Clay SF Juan Monaco 2-6 7-5 7-6(2)

Nalbandian FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
QF: Sao Paulo (l Volandri)
YTD W-L: 5-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 11
Date of Birth: January 1, 1982
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 85

Monaco FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Vina del Mar (d Berlocq)
YTD W-L: 6-1
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: March 29, 1984
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 20

(Q) Federico Delbonis (ARG) vs (2) Nicolas Almagro (ESP)  First Meeting

Delbonis FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
QF: Vina del Mar (l Berlocq)
YTD W-L: 3-1
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 5, 1990
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 150
 
Almagro FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Sao Paulo (d Volandri); SF: Chennai (l Raonic); QF: Auckland (l Kohlschreiber)
YTD W-L: 12-3
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 11
Date of Birth: August 21, 1985
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 11