Metz, St. Petersburg Friday Preview

© A Briand – Moselle OpenJo-Wilfried Tsonga is one of two Frenchmen in the quarter-finals.

METZ FRIDAY PREVIEW - SIX OF TOP EIGHT SEEDS HIGHLIGHT QUARTER-FINALS
• Six of the eight seeds who started the week - including three of this year’s Wimbledon quarter-finalists - are still alive for Quarter-Final Friday at the ATP World Tour 250-level Moselle Open.

• The first match on Centre pits No. 4 seed Florian Mayer against No. 5 seed Andreas Seppi. Since winning the clay court title in Bucharest a year ago, Mayer has gone 0-4 in ATP World Tour quarter-finals - Shanghai and Basel at the end of last year then Wimbledon and Hamburg this summer (and all four losses were routine straight-setters). The German hopes to break out of that funk today as he faces Seppi, who is 2-5 in ATP World Tour quarter-finals since Bucharest a year ago. These two are tied 1-1 in their head-to-head but haven’t played in more than five years.

• Next up is No. 2 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber against No. 7 seed Gael Monfils. Kohlschreiber has always enjoyed competing in Metz, this being his seventh year here. The German’s best previous result was a runner-up finish in 2009 - but the player who spoilt his perfect ending that year will be standing across the net from him again today. After being sidelined for nearly four months with a knee injury, Monfils, who has fired 33 aces in two wins, has made a successful return to the ATP World Tour this week, winning both of his first two matches back in straight sets. Monfils dominates the head-to-head, 6-1, with Kohlschreiber’s only win coming on grass (Monfils is 4-0 on hard and 2-0 on clay courts).

• Next up is top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against American Jesse Levine. Tsonga has had an excellent year but is coming off a shock result at the US Open, where he was seeded No. 5 but fell first round. He has rebounded well this week, winning his opening match in straight sets, and this is a good venue for him - he won the title last year. Levine is through to the quarter-finals of an ATP World Tour event for the first time in more than three years (since Newport in July 2009) but it will be tough to keep his run going, as he is 0-4 in his career against Top 10 players (and is actually 0-11 against Top 20 players - he has never beaten anyone ranked higher than No. 24).

• Last up is No. 8 seed Nikolay Davydenko against Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic. Davydenko reached the semi-finals here in his only previous appearance in 2005, and now seems to be on the verge of repeating the feat - Karlovic has always been a threat to the top players, but Davydenko has always had his number, leading their ATP World Tour head-to-head series, 6-1, which includes a 4-0 mark on hard courts (however none of those matches came on indoor hard courts).

FRIDAY QUARTER-FINALS FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

Centre Court

(5) Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs (4) Florian Mayer (GER) Tied 1-1
05 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay R64 Andreas Seppi 7-6(3) 6-3
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Florian Mayer 5-7  7-5 6-2 6-2

Seppi FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Belgrade (d Paire); F: Eastbourne (l Roddick); QF(4): Doha (l Federer); Rotterdam (l Berdych); Bucharest (l Fognini); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 29-22 (9-13 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: February 21, 1984
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 28

Mayer FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
QF(2): Wimbledon (l Djokovic); Hamburg (l Haas)
YTD W-L: 19-21 (5-7 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: October 5, 1983
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 25

(7) Gael Monfils (FRA) vs (2) Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) Monfils Leads 6-1
08 Vienna (Austria) Hard SF Gael Monfils 6-4 5-7 7-6(2)
09 Metz (France) Hard F Gael Monfils 7-6(1) 3-6 6-2
10 FRA vs. GER WG 1st RD (France) Hard RR Gael Monfils 6-1 6-4 7-6(5)
11 Halle (Germany) Grass SF Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-3
11 GER vs. FRA WG QF (Germany) Clay RR Gael Monfils 7-6(3) 7-6(5) 6-4
11 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (USA) Hard R16 Gael Monfils 6-2 6-2
12 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Clay R64 Gael Monfils 7-5 6-7(2)  6-3

Monfils FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
F(2): Doha (l Tsonga); Montpellier (l Berdych)
YTD W-L: 16-7 (13-4 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: September 1, 1986
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 44

Kohlschreiber FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Munich (d Cilic); F: Kitzbuehel (l Haase); SF(3): Auckland (l Rochus); Montpellier (l Berdych); Halle (l Haas); QF(4): Delray Beach (l Sela); Eastbourne (l Seppi); Wimbledon (l Tsonga); Hamburg (l Almagro)
YTD W-L: 41-20 (19-10 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: October 16, 1983
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 18

(1) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs Jesse Levine (USA)  First Meeting

Tsonga FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Doha (d Monfils); SF(3): Marseille (l del Potro); Wimbledon (l Murray); Winston-Salem (l Isner); QF(6): Dubai (l Del Potro); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Nadal); ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Simon); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Djokovic); Roland Garros (l Djokovic); London Olympics (l Djokovic)
YTD W-L: 42-17 (23-8 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: April 17, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 7

Levine FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 6-13 (3-10 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 15, 1987
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 78

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs (8-WC) Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) Davydenko Leads 6-1
05 Doha (Qatar) Hard R32 Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(7) 6-3
06 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Nikolay Davydenko 7-5 4-6 3-6 7-5 6-3
06 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R32 Ivo Karlovic 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4
09 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo  Clay R32 Nikolay Davydenko 6-4 6-3
10 Doha (Qatar) Hard QF Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(4) 7-6(7)
11 Doha (Qatar) Hard QF Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 7-5
12 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Clay R64 Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(4) 6-3
Other meetings:
99 Germany F10 (Germany) Clay SF Ivo Karlovic 7-6(5) 6-4
03 Heilbronn CH (Germany) Carpet R32 Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 7-5

Karlovic FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
QF: Zagreb (l Youzhny)
YTD W-L: 12-13 (10-7 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: February 28, 1979
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 90

Davydenko FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Rotterdam (l Federer); Nice (l Baker)
YTD W-L: 19-19 (13-10 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 21
Date of Birth: June 2, 1981
South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking: 48

ST. PETERSBURG FRIDAY PREVIEW - ALL EIGHT QUARTER-FINAL SPOTS UP FOR GRABS
• It’s quarter-final Friday at the St. Petersburg Open and six of the eight players left are still looking for the first ATP World Tour title of their career. With no first-time winners on the ATP World Tour so far this year, there’s a good chance it’ll be a breakthrough weekend for someone.

• First up on Centre Court is Italy’s Flavio Cipolla against Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver, an all-unseeded battle. Both Cipolla and Gimeno-Traver are among the six players who have never won an ATP World Tour title before - in fact, neither has even made an ATP World Tour final. This is a first-time meeting at the ATP World Tour level but Gimeno-Traver leads 3-1 in the Challengers.

• Next up is No. 4 seed Fabio Fognini against Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut. Fognini got the monkey off his back in St. Petersburg this year, having lost first round in both previous attempts but now moving through to the quarter-finals. Now he faces Bautista-Agut, who took out No. 6 seed Yen-Hsun Lu en route to this round. Both are looking for their first ATP World Tour titles - Fognini’s best result is one final, while Bautista-Agut has recorded his best ever result this week (he had never been to a quarter-final before). This is a first-time meeting at the ATP World Tour level but Fognini did win handily in an ATP World Tour qualifying match two years ago.

• Next up is top seed Mikhail Youzhny against No. 7 seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the only two players in the final eight to have ATP World Tour titles to their names (Youzhny actually has eight, while Garcia-Lopez has two). Youzhny has cruised through to the quarter-finals without losing a set, his two wins pushing his career record at this tournament to an impressive 29-9 (he is a one-time champion and two-time runner-up here). Things will get tricky now though as he faces nemesis Garcia-Lopez - the Spaniard has won all four of the pair’s previous meetings, though three of them were on clay and only one on hard court (and that was outdoor).

• Last up is No. 3 seed Martin Klizan against Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis. Klizan is playing this event for the first time but it’s no surprise he has done so well on debut given his recent results - he is fresh off his first Grand Slam second week at the US Open, stunning Jo-Wilfried Tsonga en route for his first Top 10 win, and he is now sitting at a career-high No. 45. Now he has a first-time meeting with fellow rising star Berankis, who, though he is down at No. 89 on the rankings, is definitely one to watch in the future - he is a former junior World No. 1 and has been as high as No. 73, and did recently reach his first ATP World Tour final, at Los Angeles in the summer.

FRIDAY QUARTER-FINALSFEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

Centre Court

Flavio Cipolla (ITA) vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) First ATP Meeting
Other meetings:
07 Napoli CH (Italy) Clay R32 Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-6(5) 7-6(5)
07 Trani CH (Italy) Clay SF Flavio Cipolla 6-3 7-6(3)
09 Napoli CH (Italy) Clay R32 Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-1 6-3
09 Tarragona CH (Spain) Clay R16 Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-1 7-6(1)

Cipolla FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Casablanca (l Andujar)
YTD W-L: 16-21 (10-12 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 20, 1983
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 81

Gimeno-Traver FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
QF: Bastad (l Almagro)
YTD W-L: 5-9 (2-2 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: August 7, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 93
Roberto Bautista-Agut (ESP) vs (4) Fabio Fognini (ITA) First ATP Meeting
Other meeting:
10 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris Q   Carpet -- Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-4

Bautista-Agut FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 3-7 (3-5 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 14, 1988
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 87 (Career-high)

Fognini FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
F: Bucharest (l Simon); QF: Eastbourne (l Roddick)
YTD W-L: 20-19 (6-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 24, 1987
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 53

(1) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs (7) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) Garcia-Lopez Leads 4-0
06 Hamburg  Clay R64 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-0 6-4
08 Gstaad (Switzerland) Clay QF Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 4-6 7-5 6-3
09 Kitzbuehel (Austria) Clay SF Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3 1-6 7-6(5)
09 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (USA) Hard R32 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5 6-3

Youzhny FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Zagreb (d Lacko); SF: Halle (l Federer); QF(4): Doha (l Nadal); Dubai (l Federer); Munich (l Cilic); Wimbledon (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 26-15 (13-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: June 25, 1982
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 29

Garcia-Lopez FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Stuttgart (l Monaco); QF(2): Auckland (l Verdasco); Casablanca (l Andreev)
YTD W-L: 20-19 (10-9 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: June 4, 1983
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 68

(3) Martin Klizan (SVK) vs Ricardas Berankis (LTU)  First Meeting

Klizan FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Kitzbuehel (l Haase)
YTD W-L: 13-11 (7-3 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 11, 1989
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 45

Berankis FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
F: Los Angeles (l Querrey)
YTD W-L: 8-3 (all on hard courts)
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: June 21, 1990
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 89