ATP. Dubai. (Hard). Экспресс

ATP. Dubai. (Hard). Экспресс

Начало первой игры: 2011-02-24 13:20   

Экспресс:
1. ATP. Dubai. (Hard) Gilles Simon - Richard Gasquet WIN1 коэф. 1.68
2. ATP. Dubai. (Hard) Philipp Petzschner - Tomas Berdych Over (20.5) коэф. 1.85
Итоговый коэффициент: 3.11

Simon ended his winless streak against Mikhail Youzhny on Tuesday--now he will look to do the same at Gasquet's expense on Thursday when the two Frenchmen square off in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Gasquet is dominating the ATP-level head-to-head series 4-0, including 2-0 on hard courts. Their last ATP encounter came two years ago in Sydney, where Gasquet prevailed 6-4, 6-4. The tide could turn, though, because Simon is in fine form at 9-4 for his 2011 campaign. He won the Sydney title and took Roger Federer to five sets at the Australian Open. Following his win over Youzhny (against whom he was previously 0-7), the world No. 33 trounced qualifier Lukas Rosol on Wednesday. Gasquet has taken out Grigor Dimitrov and Sergei Bubka so far this week. The world No. 28, 7-4 on the year, is a better shot-maker than Simon but is also more inconsistent. Look for a more solid Simon to get his first win over Gasquet in three sets. Petzschner and Berdych will be facing each other for the fourth time in their careers when they meet in quarterfinal action on Thursday. If their three prior encounters are any indication, the Dubai faithful will be in for a good one. Berdych leads the head-to-head series 2-1, but all three have gone the distance. Berdych won 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 two years ago in Washington and 7-6(8), 6-7(7), 6-4 that same summer in Cincinnati, but Petzschner got revenge last year with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory on the clay courts of Munich. Both players are in the midst of fine showings in Dubai; Petzschner has taken out Andreas Seppi and Philipp Kohlschreiber (both in three sets) while Berdych has dismissed Jeremy Chardy and Nikolay Davydenko (both in straights). For Petzschner, who was 3-6 for the season heading into this week, it is an impressive turnaround. For Berdych, now 12-3, it is just more of the same. Expect another close affair, with the seventh-ranked Czech pulling out a win after two tight sets.