Mannarino, Youzhny, Seppi, Cilic two wins away from title match – Preview: St. Petersburg Open 2011
On the fifth day of the 2011 St. Petersburg Open, quarterfinals of the men’s singles division will be taking place. Adrian Mannarino (France) would take on Mikhail Youzhny (Russia). The 33rd ranked Youzhny would try to entertain
his home crowd when he takes on the 86th ranked French player. The Russian has been runner-up twice in the St. Petersburg Open, first in 2002 and then in 2010 and in the 2004 edition of the tournament, he won the final against Karol Beck (Slovakia).
Entering the quarterfinals, the 29-year old Russian has considerable experience to play in St. Petersburg as compared to his French opponent, who could never make it in the finals of the tournament. Both players have met only once
before, and that was in the qualification round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in 2009, which Youzhny won.
In the other quarterfinal, Marin Cilic (Croatia) will face Andreas Seppi (Italy). Both players have entered into the quarterfinals with convincing victories over their respective opponents in the second round of the tournament.
Ranked 22nd in the world, Cilic, also the quarterfinalist of the 2009 US Open, will try to edge past world number 52, Seppi in what is supposed to be an evenly matched affair. Seppi still has to win his debut career title while the Croatian has five career
titles under his belt.
On a personal level, both players have won four games against each other. Cilic will have a height advantage against Seppi, something the Italian would be aware of prior to their match. Cilic, with a height of 6ft 6in is 3in taller
than his Italian opponent. The Croatian can smash the ball at the extreme corner of his opponent’s court and can reply to lob shots and effectively score with lobs and aces.
In another quarterfinal, Potito Starace (Italy) will face Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia). The 27-year old Serbian has been in great physical form recently. Entering the 2011 St. Petersburg Open as a second seeded player, Tipsarevic
has faced his quarterfinal opponent three times before. Ranked at number 13 in the world, the Serbian leads his personal game count against Starace by winning two and losing one. Starace, ranked at 53 in the world, participated in the 2008 St. Petersburg Open
and faced a defeat by Tipsarevic in straight sets.
The Serbian player, quarterfinalist of the 2011 US Open, is bidding to take his place in the 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to be held in November 2011. Tipsarevic is the winner of the 2011 Malaysian Open and then successfully
defended his title at the 2011 Kremlin Cup. With two ATP back-to-back titles in October 2011, Tipsarevic is in rhythm when it comes to playing exuberant shots and deceiving his opponents with drop shots and aces. He can win the quarterfinal and quite possibly
win his third ATP title this season.
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