Help
2/14/09 3:36 PM | Ricky Dimon
Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek will face each other on Saturday night in a rematch of last year's SAP Open final. The winner will make a repeat appearance in the title match.
It will be a rematch of the 2008 San Jose final when Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek square off in the semifinals on Saturday night. Roddick won that encounter 6-4, 7-5 to clinch the title and improve his head-to-head record against Stepanek to 4-0. The defending champion has two wins over Stepanek on both hard courts and grass (twice at Queen's Club).
Roddick should have the edge this time around as well; he is playing even better this year than last. The sixth-ranked American is already flourishing under esteemed new coach Larry Stefanki. He finished runner-up to Andy Murray in Doha and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, taking out Novak Djokovic in the quarters before falling to Roger Federer. So far in San Jose, Roddick has been justifying his status as the No. 1 seed and current title holder. Seeking his fourth SAP Open title, Roddick kicked off the week with a 6-0, 7-6(3) victory over Swedish qualifier Michael Ryderstedt and followed that up with straight-set wins over Ernests Gulbis and Tommy Haas.
Stepanek has already been up-and-down in 2009. He started the season with a title in Brisbane, defeating Robin Soderling, Richard Gasquet, and Fernando Verdasco in his last three matches there. The 21st-ranked Czech, however, lost in the Sydney first round and got completely destroyed by an on-fire Verdasco in the third round of the Australian Open. But Stepanek seems to be back on track in San Jose as the 2008 runner-up and current No. 4 seed. He has defeated Dominik Meffert, Chris Guccione, and Todd Widom on his way to the semifinals. An interesting scoreline resulted on Friday against Widom, with Stepanek overcoming the little-known American qualifier 5-7, 6-0, 6-0.
Roddick, as Stepanek knows all to well from their four previous meetings, is a completely different beast from anyone the challenger has faced so far this week. Stepanek must raise his level of play to have an upset chance, and he needs to play aggressive tennis while attacking the Roddick backhand and going into the net behind it. As long as Roddick continues to serve well, he should make it 5-0 against his opponent and return to the San Jose final. Roddick in two tight sets is the pick.
Tell a friend »
Andy Roddick
Radek Stepanek
SAP Open
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2010, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
