2010 If Stockholm Open Men’s singles competition; Tuesday’s Preview
A total of seven first round clashes are included in today’s schedule at the 2010 If Stockholm Open Men’s singles competition in Sweden.
In the opening round on Tuesday, the eight seed Tommy Roberdo will take on Ivan Dodig on the very first occasion in his career at the Centre Court in Stockholm. The twenty five year old Dodig is currently ranked number 132 in the
world by ATP. He is still looking for his maiden title on the tour. World number forty two, Tommy on the other hand has so far reached the semi final in Bastad, the quarter final in Auckland, Indian Wells as well as Metz this season. He has won nine ATP World
Tour titles in his career. This has been a good venue for him as he previously made his way into the final four in his sole appearance back in 2002. The professional tennis player from Spain is a former top ten contender on the tour and is currently ranked
ninety places higher than Ivan in the ATP rankings list.
Next up is the sixth seed Feliciano Lopez versus Florian Mayer. World number thirty Lopez won the Johannesburg event after thrashing out Robert in the title battle earlier this season. Moreover, he also reached the semi final round
in London and Los Angeles as well as the quarter final in World Tour Masters 1000 Rome where he was defeated at the hands of Gulbis. Lopez did triumph in their sole clash in straight sets however that meeting came back in 2005 and Mayer is a much improved
player now, as he has advanced into the semi final in Hamurg, quarter final in Rotterdam as well as Stuttgart earlier in 2010. He enters with a match record of 19-15 on the season and is currently ranked number forty seven in the world by ATP.
In the third match of the day, Robin Haase from Netherlands will meet Filip Prpic, a qualifier from Sweden. This will be their first meeting with Robin strongly favoured to win the match. He is currently ranked number sixty eight
in the world and stands at a 6-9 win loss record on the season. Prpic on the other hand, is the number two Swedish player at the event and has the benefit of crowd support behind him. World number five Robin Soderling is the top ranked Swede on the tour.
Last up on the centre court is the seventh seed Thomaz Bellucci versus James Blake, who is a wild card entrant from the United States of America. The twenty two year old Bellucci is one of the brightest rising stars on the tour
and the Brazilian also got the better of James in the pair’s only clash earlier this season in Miami. He is currently ranked number forty seven in the world and has reached the quarter final in Brisbane, Costa Do Sauipe, Barcelona as well as Hamburg so far
in 2010.
Blake on the other hand, enters with a match record of 13-15 on the season and enjoys a good record in Sweden, capturing the trophy back in 2005 as well as 2006. The thirty year old Blake is coming off his United States Open appearance
in New York, where he was given a wild card entry into the main draw. The American played some great tennis and successfully made his way into the third round with an impressive victory over Peter Polansky in four sets. In his third round battle, the Florida
resident was dismissed by the eventual finalist Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their second career clash 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-3. As a result of this defeat, Blake dropped down to a match record of 13-15 on the tour.
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