ATP Kitzbuhel – Tuesday Preview

Marcel Granollers vs. Filippo Volandri

Seventh seed Marcel Granollers looks to break a 1-1 series tie with Filippo Volandri. The players last met earlier this year in Belgrade, where the Italian recorded a quarterfinal win in straight sets.

Granollers is 17-18 for the season, following a title-winning run in Gstaad. The 25-year-old Spaniard, who enters into the tournament at World No. 33, will make his Kitzbuhel debut on Tuesday. World No. 73 returns to action after a round of 16 loss to Alexandr Dogopolov in Umag. The 29-year-old veteran is set to take part in his first Bet-At-Home Open.

Jerzy Janowicz vs. Joao Souza

Joao Souza managed to escape from a marathon 5 hours to win 2 qualifying matches and entered in the ATP Kitzbuhel.

The Brazilian sweat to defeat first Weissborn Tristan in almost 3 hours of grueling tennis and 2 hours later was again on court against Crivoi and managed to win in 2 sets bouncing back in second set after he was a break down and saved 3 set points.

Janowicz too is coming from qualifications beating in same day Topic and Klec but he stayed only 2 hours losing his serve only twice, each time in each match. The Brazilian had a day off to rest as his level of fitness is questionable, he lost last week to Gil because of that in a tough decider. The Polish is coming in good form as he played the final in Poznan Challenger but he is 0/4 in ATP matches, 3 of them on clay, while Souza reached twice second round this year while last year has a semi-final in Santiago.

Both players have a big serve and a lot of free points will be seen, both hit with a lot of power from the back of the court with Janowicz advancing more at the net after a powerful serve. A big part of the game on Polish side is the serve, if that will enter he will be tough to break but if he will fail then he will be under pressure. There will not be a lot of long rallies which will be in Brazilian favor to be fresher, he looks steadier from the back of the court.

Santiago Giraldo vs. Daniel Brands

World No. 62 Santiago Giraldo leads opponent Daniel Brands 1-0 in the series, entering into their first-round clash.

Giraldo has compiled a 22-19 mark this year, aided by a runner-up finish on clay in Santiago, Chile. The 23-year-old is bidding for his first victory at the tournament.

World No. 181 Brands will attempt to win his first Tour-level match since early February, when he reached the round of 16 in Zagreb.

Antonio Veic vs. Andreas Haider-Maurer

Austrian Haider-Maurer won his first round in Kitzbuhel back in 2006 at his debut in ATP Tour and he always comes with good feelings here. But that’s remains the only win in Kitzbuhel for him as since then he lost in qualifications. He came in good spirit after 2 quarter-finals in Bastad and Gstaad and improved his rankings, but he will not have an easy first round against Veic.

"I've played against him twice and lost twice, that means I'm warned. But I have confidence and am confident that as I go win", said the Austrian.

Veic is coming from qualifications and is used with the conditions, Laaksonen, Puc and Junqueira to advance in the main draw. The Croatian looked solid in Umag too and his serve worked well in the qualifications.

A lot will depend by serve as both relies on that, the Croat is a tough baseliner and will keep the Austrian more on the baseline, Haider-Maurer hits with a lot of power from the back of the court and hits more flattish.