2011 BNP Paribas Open – Viktor Troicki vs. Michael Llodra Preview
Serbian tennis player Viktor Troicki will be facing Frenchman Michael Llodra in their third round match at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, after both players cleared their opening rounds at the tournament.
This year, Viktor Troicki is seeded 16th at the tournament due to his current World Number 18 ranking. This is the second year in a row in which he has taken part in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells as a
seeded player. He received a bye in his first round at this year’s event, and went on to the second round to face Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic.
Tomic, on the other hand, entered the Indian Wells tournament as a wild card and defeated Indian qualifier Rohan Bopanna to set up his second round match against Troicki. However, he suffered a straight-sets defeat against the
right-handed pro.
Michael Llodra, meanwhile, has taken part in the Indian Wells tournament five times prior to this. However, this is the first time that he is competing in the event as a seeded pro. Currently ranked World Number 27, the French
pro is seeded 24th at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open. He also received a bye in the first round, moving directly to the second round against Columbian tennis player Santiago Giraldo.
Giraldo is 23 years old, and is currently ranked World Number 44. He defeated Spanish tennis pro Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first round of the tournament, and went on to suffer a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Michael Llodra
in the second round.
Now, Viktor Troicki and Michael Llodra will be competing against each other in the third round of the 2011 BNP Paribas Open. This is a significant achievement for Llodra, who has been unable to make it past the second round of
the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells for the past three years. Troicki, meanwhile, made it to the fourth round of the tournament last year. However, his success was due to his opponents dropping out and retiring from matches rather than his own skill.
Llodra and Troicki have met on the court once before, playing against each other at last year’s Serbia vs. France Davis Cup final. On that occasion, Troicki managed to defeat the Frenchman in straight sets to help Serbia win the
2010 Davis Cup. The Serbian player, therefore, has a distinct advantage over his opponent. In addition to this, Troicki is only 25 years old whereas Llodra has already crossed the 30-year-old line. Despite the fact that Llodra has more experience than his
opponent, he will probably be under psychological as well as physical pressure during the match. A straight-sets win is predicted for Viktor Troicki.
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