ATP S-Hertogenbosch – Men’s Wednesday Preview

Filippo Volandri vs. Alex Bogomolov

Beating Ricardo Mello in first round in Unicef Open, the Italian Filippo Volandri added another win on grass having a total of two, the last win came back in 2004.

Wasn’t an easy match as the match could go either way easily but was Volandri who was steadier then the Brazilian. The American managed to turn the match against Chardy who was coming after a good run but also the Frenchman remained without steam being a little bit tired at the end.

Still Bogomolov served well and remained solid from the back of the court forcing Chardy to hit another shot and overall he has fewer points won then Chardy.

A good opportunity for both of them to take some points here, neither is a good grass court player but overall we see Bogomolov as the likely winner as he has the better serve and if he will keep his errors low like he did against Chardy he will have the upper hand.

 

Dmitry Tursunov vs. Nicolas Mahut

Interesting meeting as both are good grass court players. They also have only one meeting and that in Wimbledon back in 2008 taken by the Russian. Tursunov served well against Kendrick wining a lot of free points behind the serve, in face he lost only 5 points on first delivery.

Mahut also was solid against Mannarino but he lost his serve twice and still he doesn’t play at the same level as back in 2010 on grass. The Frenchman is on his favorite surface but still his serve doesn’t sting and his makes some errors on court. Both rely on serve and advance a lot to the net, Tursunov also has a solid baseline display, and few exchanges will be seen here. A few points will make the difference as tie-breaks should be seen but Tursunov looks more steadier and he served better so far on grass.

Michael Berrer vs. Santiago Giraldo

Michael Berrer overcame the 15 aces from Almagro’s racquet, also the Spaniard won with only one point more then the German, and was steadier to advance further in Unicef Open.

Despite his serve and volleys the German isn’t on his favorite surface, last time when he won back to back matches on grass is in 2007 in s-Hertogenbosch where he made quarter-finals. He will have a difficult task against Giraldo who even that he isn’t on his favorite surface he looked well in first round against Russell, he hits with a lot of power and near the lines to force Berrer to play more from the baseline and has overall the better serve.

Xavier Malisse vs. Jesse Huta Galung

Little can be said about Malisse’s game in first round against tricky Falla. He controlled the match from the beginning even that he lost his serve once, he was solid on serve and returns and seems that enjoys the conditions here.

Huta Galung needed more then 2 hours to beat Kavcic, who was under injury clouds, in a match that could go either way but he was playing at home and had the upper hand. The Belgian plays well on grass and has a semi-final to defend here and despite playing with the local hope.

Jarkko Nieminen vs. Denis Gremelmayr

A left handed duel. German Denis Gremelmayr had his luck to face qualifier Walter in first round to register his first win on grass of his career. He was solid on serve, especially on first one as he lost only five points but still he was pushed to a tie-break, his returns on first serve of his opponent were poor.

Nieminen past easily by Gonzalez showing a solid serving display even but he lost his serve twice.

The Finn looked in good form but the result didn’t come, he will have the upper hand against Gremelmayr who has limited experience on the surface.

Robin Haase vs. Marcos Baghdatis

In his first grass-court match of the season, Marcos was challenged early by Clement, the Frenchman started well making the opening break. But it did not take Marcos long to find his way into the contest and slowly he found his rhythm, especially in the second set which was a much dominant affair for Cypriot.

He will meet local hope Haase who past by Zverev in seven minutes after one hour. The Dutchman served well and he lost his serve once when he was relaxed, he has the upper hand on serve and he needs to play an aggressive tennis to charge the net a lot as the Cypriot looks the steadier player from the back of the court.

Haase is playing at home and the match is the last of the day and a lot of crowd will be expected but the conditions will be slower and Haase has a poor record in s-Hertogenbosch as he is only his second round in 5 appearance.