Novak Djokovic and Olivier Rochus will meet in the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open on Saturday. The winner gets either Tommy Haas or Philipp Kohlschreiber in the title match. Novak Djokovic and Olivier Rochus will square off for the third time in their careers when they do battle in the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open on Saturday. Surprisingly, Rochus is a perfect 2-0 in the head-to-head series.
They have not met, however, since 2005. Rochus beat Djokovic twice that season; first in a five-set Davis Cup rubber and then 7-6(4), 7-5 on the indoor carpet of Lyon, France.
A lot has happened since then, of course, and now Djokovic is heavily favored to earn his first victory over Rochus. The world No. 4 has a massive edge in current form. He 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. Djokovic got bounced by Philipp Kohlschreiber early at the French Open, but he has bounced back this week with wins over Simone Bolelli, Florent Serra, and Jurgen Melzer.
Rochus, meanwhile, has been toiling at the Challenger level this year due to a ranking well outside the Top 100, and the 5'6'' Belgian had won only two matches on the ATP Tour in 2009 before his arrival in Halle. But is it all suddenly turning around? After coming through qualifying, Rochus double-bageled fellow qualifier Fernando Vicente, survived a three-setter with Philipp Petzschner, then dispatched Andreas Beck in a three-set quarterfinal clash.
This is somewhat of an improbably semifinal encounter; Rochus because he has been out of form and Djokovic becasuse he looked absolutely finished in round two against Serra. The second-seeded Serb trailed 7-5, 5-2 and faced triple match point before eventually saving five match points on his way to a three-set triumph. This one should be more routine, along the lines of his quarterfinal win over Melzer. Djokovic in straights is the pick.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar