ATP Kitzbuhel – Wednesday Preview

Juan Ignacio Chela vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver

World No. 23 Juan Ignacio Chela leads Daniel Gimeno-Traver 1-0 in the series, having won their only previous meeting on clay in 2006.

Chela looks to regroup after an early exit in Umag, where he fell to fellow veteran Potito Starace in the round of 16. The 31-year-old Argentine, who reached the Kitzhbuhel final in 2006, is bidding for his 24th match win this season.

World No. 80 Daniel Gimeno-Traver defeated Austrian wildcard Dominic thiem in the opening round, 6-4, 6-2. The 25-year-old Spaniard will attempt to record his 10th victory of the year on Wednesday.

 

Andreas Seppi vs. Pere Riba

Seppi picked up where he remained last year, with a convincing win against Denis Istomin. He was in control of the match from the beginning, he won a lot of free points behind the serve and faced only 2 break points without losing his serve.

Istomin played unconvincingly but Seppi showed some improvements in the Umag tournament.

He will meet Pere Riba in the second round, the Spaniard won against Romanian Victor Hanescu who also was in poor form recently. Wasn’t an easy match but the Spaniard played well in key moments and after annihilate Romanian’s serve he was the better player on court.

"I know him, and I know how he plays. I'm fine, and if I play like today I can win", said Seppi about his opponent.

They didn’t met until now, the slight altitude gives a slow advantage to Seppi on serve while from the back of the court both are tough competitors but Seppi plays a little better then in Umag, he takes the ball earlier and the surface being much faster he can go for his shots.

Antonio Veic vs. Marcel Granollers

Croatian Antonio Veic ended Austrians hope for a local player in higher stages of the tournament after he defeated Haider-Maurer in first round. The Austrian wasn’t at his best complaining by hip injury but was a competitive match with a lot of ups and downs and only a few points made the difference, points that were won by Veic.

The Croat was solid behind the serve and he hit with a lot of power, his ground stroke found the target and overall was the better player on court and he could finish even easier.

Granollers kept the good form of results with a much easier win over Volandri. The Italian started with a break but since then he started to make a lot of errors spreading them all over the court and handed the match to the Spaniard who overall served well. Granollers then played in doubles and lost in a tight match and still the level of his fitness is questionable. Veic isn’t without chances here, he needs to keep his points short and force on Granollers’ serve.

Fabio Fognini vs. Giraldo Santiago

Santiago Giraldo advanced in second round in Kitzbuhel after a much easier match against Daniel Brands. The German was solid on serve and forehand but he lucked the consistency and when his serve didn’t entered he was under pressure. The second set was tighter as the Columbian saved six break points but he served well during the match and he was solid from the back of the court.

Fognini comes after a semi-final in Umag and leads the head-to-head with 2-0 but the most recent meeting is back in 2008. The altitude gives an edge to Giraldo on serve but the Columbian struggled in some moments and Fognini has good retrieving skills and can exploit Columbian’s down more than Brands, he also looks steadier from the back of the court and will force Santiago to be more aggressive on his shots. 

Pablo Andujar vs. Albert Ramos

After almost 2 hours and a half Spaniard Albert Ramos managed to beat Andreev in first round keeping his good form. It was a close match with both players having ups and downs and a solid struggle from the back of the court but Ramos had the upper hand having more matches then Andreev.

H2h is 2-1 for Andujar but since he reached the final in Stuttgart his level dropped and he struggled against Rosol in first round. Neither player excelled in first round and another tight match is expected here.

They know each other game well, Andujar plays more aggressive behind the serve and forehand combination trying to finish the points quickly while Ramos looks steadier from the back of the court having a much tougher defense. Not the easiest match today, Ramos looks solid recently and came with a high morale and if Andujar will fail on serve he will be under pressure. 

Albert Montanes vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber

Kohlschreiber advanced in second round after he beat veteran Muster in first round and even that the scoreline suggest an easy match in some parts the German was pushed all the way, he had the upper hand with his drop shots as he putted the Austrian always in difficult with his movement on court.

Montanes advanced after he beat his compatriot Marti and looked fresher on court, he was the more experienced player on court and he played as much as he needed to win.

They met in Hamburg this year and Montanes withdrew with neck pain, the surface is on faster side then in Hamburg and both players will have an edge on serve. Both likes to dictate from the back of the court and both can break opponents rhythm well, both have a powerful serve to win free points but the Spaniard looks tougher from the back of the court, he needs to play with deep and high balls on opponent’s backhand as the bounce is higher than in Hamburg forcing the German into errors.

Joao Souza vs. Ivan Ljubicic

Souza registered his first win on European clay in an ATP tournament after he qualified for the main draw here and in Gstaad.

He made a solid match behind the serve facing only two break points and losing his serve once but he created 11 break opportunities converting only two of them. He stayed on court more than 2 hours and his level of fitness might be questionable as he complained by tiredness in the second match of the qualifications and will not count on free points when he will meet Ljubicic.

Souza too has a powerful serve of himself and can resist but with the altitude the Croat seems to have the upper hand here. Ljubicic played well in Umag against Ferrero but the surface was slower and his level dropped in decider, also his serve, while here he will win a lot of free points behind the serve.

Feliciano Lopez vs. Robin Haase

Second seed Feliciano Lopez holds a 1-0 series edge against Robin Haase entering into the round of 16. Wednesday signals their first meeting on clay.

Lopez makes his return to competition following a quarterfinal finish in Gstaad. The 29-year-old won consecutive matches before falling to compatriot Nicolas Almagro, 4-6, 5-7. Lopez has made the Bet-At-Home Open quarterfinal or better in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

World No. 53 Robin Haase passed into the second round after opponent Potito Starace retired in the second set. The 24-year-old is 17-19 for the season, looking to win consecutive matches for the first time since Wimbledon.

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