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6/11/09 11:28 PM | Ricky Dimon
After saving five match points against Florent Serra on Thursday, Novak Djokovic will do battle with Jurgen Melzer on Friday in Halle. A spot in the semifinals is at stake.
It looked like Novak Djokovic was down and out on Thursday at the Gerry Weber Open. Instead, he remains the tournament favorite heading into the quarterfinals, where he will take on Jurgen Melzer for the second time in their careers.
Djokovic, who saved five match points in a second-round victory over Florent Serra, won his only previous encounter with Melzer 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 three years ago in Metz, France. Current form suggests the No. 2 seed should prevail once again. Djokovic finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal in both Monte-Carlo and Rome and he had three match points against the top-ranked Spaniard in the Madrid semifinals. He also won titles in Dubai and Belgrade. Although he looked shaky for a while against Serra, Djokovic began his Halle campaign with a solid straight-set win over Simone Bolelli.
Melzer heads into this encounter a respectable 28th in the world, but he has been in mediocre form throughout 2009. He was 12-16 at the ATP level prior to his arrival in Halle, where has dispatched Arnaud Clement (in three sets) and Nicolas Kiefer (via retirement). Melzer could be sustaining momentum from a French Open campaign in which he posted two wins before falling to Gael Monfils in four sets.
Both Djokovic and Melzer are all-court players, but grass could give the underdog Austrian his best chance of an upset. He owns a big serve and is also an accomplished net player. If Djokovic plays like he did in the first half of his match against Serra, Melzer will have a real opportunity for victory. Nonetheless, Djokovic has earned a so-called second chance this week, and he should be able to capitalize on it. Djokovic in three is the pick.
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Jurgen Melzer
Novak Djokovic
Gerry Weber Open
attackingtennisrulez, Mar 21, 2010 12:30 AM
luckystar, Mar 20, 2010 11:57 PM
zare, Mar 20, 2010 11:51 PM
maxi, Mar 20, 2010 10:52 PM
maxi, Mar 20, 2010 10:51 PM
smr, Mar 21, 2010 12:21 AM
vamosrafa, Mar 20, 2010 7:28 PM
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