ATP - Belgrade Tuesday

Ungur Andrian (ROM) vs. Ramirez-Hidalgo Ruben (ESP)
Romanian Adrian Ungur looked impressive in qualifications in Belgrade wining easily against Ilhan, Elgin or Gombos. He started a little bit shaky against Ilhan but after he found his rhythm and broke back he never looked back controlling the match.He will meet now veteran Ramirez-Hidalgo who is in poor form. H2h is 2-1 for Ungur, all meetings on clay. The Romanian is a powerful baseliner who has clean shots on both wings, his serve can let him down during the match but when he has some wins under his belt he has a lot of confidence in his game while the Spaniard has a typical clay courts game but needs consistency on court and failed to show that recently. The conditions are faster in the morning and will favor the powerful display of Ungur.

Kukushkin Mikhail (KAZ) vs. Devvarman Somdev (IND)
The Indian Somdev Devvarman has little success on clay but his rankings improved a lot recently and he makes a lot of efforts to adapt to the surface, he is from a week to accommodate with the European clay and is working on serve which on this surface is his worst weapon.

He has a solid defense and likes to chase down a lot of balls frustrating a lot of players but his serve will be the key of the match. He will meet Kukushkin who plays with a low confidence but he made a solid match against Lopez in Barcelona and overall played more on the surface. Kukushkin stay solid in rallies until he blast a winner as forehand is his main weapon, he has a good backhand but is more defensive one as he uses him only in rallies, a solid serve and good retrieving skills which will punish any weakness on Devvarman’s serve, the odds looks good on the Kazakhstan player as still is too soon to back the Indian on this surface.

Gulbis Ernests (LAT) vs. Marchenko Illya (UKR)
Last time when Marchenko won a match was in January in Zagreb when he beat Lajovic and is on eight losing strike in all competitions. He has only one match on clay, he tried to qualify in Barcelona but he lost in first round to Vagnozzi. He isn’t on his favorite surface, last year he beat only Ziadi on the surface despite that has a solid defense. Neither Gulbis is in good form but he is better suited for the clay, the Latvian has a powerful serve and hit with a lot of power from the back of the court pushing the Ukrainian way behind the baseline, also Gulbis will win more free points behind the serve while Marchenko will need to win his game on court but didn’t showed any consistency recently.

Peya Alexander (AUT) vs. Berrer Michael (GER)
Licked more to serve and volley the Austrian Alexander Peya put a lot of fight on court to qualify here with wins over Brizzi, Ciric and Granollers-Pujol. He has a decent record against left hander but his form prior to Belgrade didn’t impress too much. Neither Berrer is licked to clay courts but overall his game is better suited, he has a powerful serve and much stable during the match and stays better in long rallies, Peya will try to finish the points quickly but overall Berrer has more option in defensive then the Austrian.

Monaco Juan (ARG) vs. Lopez Feliciano (ESP)
Juan Monaco is coming here after he managed to lose to Vagnozzi in Barcelona. He was good in first round against Dimitrov but being down on serve and making a lot of errors on court permit to the Italian to cruise through the match. This will be the key of the match here too as he needs a high percentage of first serve in as the Spaniard has a powerful serve and will won more free points then the Argentine. Monaco has the edge on the court, he is a solid baseliner who will force Lopez to play an extra shot as the Spaniard isn’t the most trustable player in rallies and also his backhand wing is prone to errors. The Argentine is favorite to take this one but is hard to back him after last week representation.

Granollers Marcel (ESP) vs. Skugor Franco (CRO)
Franco Skugor managed to qualify for the second year in Belgrade, last year he lost to Fogninin in first round. He was rock solid with his serve working well and seems to enjoy this venue, he easily won against Weintraub, Fabbiano and Basic. He has a strong serve and powerful forehand, he can remain competitive in long rallies and usually is outplayed by much powerful players. Granollers didn’t impress too much in Barcelona, he struggled against Brands for a set and a half until the German started to make errors on court, Skugor has a solid serve to feel comfortable on his game, he can force a tie-break and there anything can happen. Tricky match but Skugor is coming with some confidence here.

Mello Ricardo (BRA) vs. Isner John (USA)
They met in Indian Wells and the American won in straight sets but after a competitive second set. Mello arrived Monday here and he hasn’t much time to adjust to the conditions, "I made a workout today, but it was windy enough. I hope to be more adapted to these conditions for the game tomorrow." – said the Brazilian. Isner played in doubles here and last year he reached the final, he has the upper hand on serve but Mello knows that on this surface the serve can be negate. Still, hard to go against Isner and especially his serve, last year Isner played good on clay having a lot of patience in long rallies, he lost in three tie-breaks to Karlovic in Houston. Mello has the game to remain competitive and can force a tie-break here but the upper hand will be on the American as he serves more consistent during the match.

Gonzalez Fernando (CHI) vs. Klizan Martin (SVK)
Fernando Gonzalez makes his return to the ATP tour in Belgrade in what he describes as “the beginning of the end” of his career. He has been off the court for eight months following a hip injury sustained during the 2010 US Open and know is on his comeback trail. It will be symbolic because I feel it will be the beginning of the end of my career. It will take more time to realise what I’m capable of doing.” – said the Chilean who hasn’t a stable goal. He will meet qualifier Klizan here who beat Naso, Zekic and Veic in straight sets to advance in the main draw. He is in good form, he played the Rome final and has the game to take this one against a player who will struggle to rebound the serving motion, hard to back Gonzalez here and we stick with the player who has more consistency lately, Klizan.

Volandri Filippo (ITA) vs. Lajovic Dusan (SRB)
The young prospect Dusan Lajovic will be for the second time in Belgrade after last year lost in the opening round against Karlovic. He is a player who spends a lot of time in Futures level, he won recently two in Italy and one of them on clay. He is solid player who can be a tricky player in a give day, he needs to be patient in long rallies as he will play against Volandri. The Italian is in good form recently playing the final in Napoli recently but he lost the final in Schoorel after he looked strongly. Volandri has the upper hand being more experience but Lajovic can win some points behind the serve and if he will be patient enough he can snatch the win.