Basel Friday Preview

Three Grand Slam champions – Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick – all of whom rank amongst the world's current Top 10 - take the court for the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Friday.

The first match on Centre Court is the only one not involving anyone from that trio, pitting World No. 27 Richard Gasquet against No. 32 Viktor Troicki in a first-time meeting. Both players are playing on their highest rankings in a long time. Gasquet hasn't ranked this high since last July while Troicki hasn't been ranked this high since this past February. Both have had smooth paths to this round too, Gasquet not losing a set and spending a total of 2:48 on the court so far, and Troicki even less with 49 minutes on court (receiving a walkover from Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second round).
Second up is No. 2 seed and World No. 3 Djokovic against Dutch qualifier Robin Haase. Djokovic is a perfect 7-0 lifetime in Basel, winning the title last year in his debut and 2-0 so far this year. In the only previous meeting with Haase, he rolled to a 62 61 63 win in the first round of the 2007 US Open. But Haase has been shooting back up the rankings this year, from No. 451 at the end of 2009 to No. 66, his most notable moment coming in the second round of Wimbledon, where he pushed World No. 1 and eventual champion Rafael Nadal to five sets. He also upset No. 8 seed John Isner in the second round on Wednesday.

Third up is No. 4 seed and top American Roddick taking on David Nalbandian. Roddick leads the overall head-to-head series against the former World No. 3 player, 3-2, but since winning their first three meetings he has lost both encounters in straight sets, in the semi-finals here in 2003 and at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2006. Nalbandian has two Top 10 wins this year - Nikolay Davydenko in Davis Cup and Robin Soderling in Toronto but his overall mark against the Top 10 this season is 2-5.

Last up is top seed and World No. 2 Federer against wild card Radek Stepanek, a head-to-head Federer leads handily, 8-2. Stepanek's wins have both come on clay, including their first meeting in Gstaad way back in 2002. Federer still leads their clay court head-to-head, 3-2, and is 5-0 against the Czech on all other surfaces (losing just one set). Federer is also an impressive 35-7 in Basel (including winning 21 of his last 22 matches here, his loss to Djokovic in last year's final the only blemish in that stretch).

FRIDAY QUARTER-FINALS HEAD-TO-HEADS – In Order of Play

Centre Court

Viktor Troicki (SRB) vs Richard Gasquet (FRA)  First Meeting

Troicki FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
W: Moscow (d Baghdatis); SF: Doha (l Nadal); New Haven (l Istomin); Tokyo (l Nadal); QF: Zagreb (l Berrer); Belgrade (l Wawrinka)
YTD W-L: 35-29
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: February 10, 1986
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 32

• Troicki, 24, the No. 2 Serbian (behind No. 3 Djokovic) on the ATP World Tour, is appearing in his seventh quarter-final or better this season…He is 4-2 in QF matches…Two weeks ago he captured his first career ATP World Tour title in Moscow (d. Baghdatis) in his third final
• He enters with a 35-29 match record on the season (25-18 on hard) and his 35 wins is a career-best, surpassing his previous high of 32 last year
• Prior to his title run, his best ATP World Tour results were three semi-finals -- in the opening week in Doha (l. to No. 2 Nadal), in New Haven in late August (l. to Istomin) and Tokyo two weeks ago (l. to No. 1 Nadal after holding two match points)…He also reached the quarter-finals in Zagreb in February (l. to Berrer) and in his hometown of Belgrade (l. to Wawrinka) in May
• He is playing in Basel for the second time and last year in his debut lost in the second round…He posted a 63 60 first round win on Tuesday over Michael Berrer and then received a walkover when Paul-Henri Mathieu withdrew due to a knee injury
•  Last year he advanced to his second career ATP World Tour final in Bangkok (l. to Simon)…In 2008, he reached his first ATP final in Washington, losing to Juan Martin del Potro
• He is a member of his country’s Davis Cup team that will play in the final in December (vs. France)…In March, he defeated John Isner in four sets in opening rubber and in July lost to Marin Cilic in second rubber although Serbia won the tie…Last month lost to Stepanek in four sets in opening rubber in SF tie although his country rallied to win 3-2

Gasquet FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
W: Nice (d Verdasco); F: Sydney (l Baghdatis); Gstaad (l Almagro); SF: Metz (W/O vs Zverev); QF: Brisbane (l Roddick); Casablanca (l Hanescu); Belgrade (l Isner)
YTD W-L: 37-20
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: June 18, 1986
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 27

• Gasquet, 24, is appearing in the quarter-finals in Basel for the second straight year after posting a 63 61 win over Yen-Hsun Lu and 64 75 victory over Tobias Kamke…The No. 3 Frenchman (behind No. 13 Tsonga, No. 14 Monfils) is making his eighth ATP World Tour quarter-final or better showing this season and he comes in with a 37-20 match record (19-12 on hard)…He is 4-3 in QF matches
• The last Frenchman to reach the semi-finals in Basel was Julien Boutter in 2001 (l. to Federer)
• He advanced to the final in Sydney (l. to Baghdatis) in January, won his sixth career ATP World Tour title in Nice (d. No. 9 Verdasco) in May and was runner-up in Gstaad (l. to Almagro) on Aug. 1
• He also was a semi-finalist in Metz (withdrew due to illness) in late September
• He is one of four Frenchmen (Michael Llodra-2, Gael Monfils-1, Gilles Simon-1) to win an ATP World Tour title this year

(Q) Robin Haase (NED) vs (2) Novak Djokovic (SRB) Djokovic Leads 1-0
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Novak Djokovic 6-2 6-1 6-3

Haase FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 9-11
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 6, 1987
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 66
• Haase, 23, the Dutch No. 2 (behind No. 45 de Bakker), is a leading candidate for ATP Comeback Player of the Year…Has overcome two right knee surgeries (July ’08 and May ’09) while climbing from No. 451 last year to No. 66 this week
• He qualified into the main draw and is making his Basel debut this week…This is his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since April 2008 in Valencia and he’s trying to advance to his first semi-final since Amersfoort in July 2007
• Has a 2-2 career mark vs. Top 10 opponents, defeating No. 10 Berdych in ’07 Montreal and No. 10 Murray in ’08 Rotterdam, both first round matches…This year lost to No. 1 Nadal in five sets in second round at Wimbledon
• Has made the comeback by winning a circuit-best five Challenger titles while compiling a 32-8 match record…In ATP World Tour level play, has a 9-11 mark
• Three of his titles have come in Italy – Caltanissetta in March, Manerbio in August and Como in September…Also a winner in Furth in June and San Marino in August
• Two years ago he reached a career-high No. 56 on April 28, 2008 and his best year-end ranking was No. 112 in 2007…Following year he was No. 115, finishing as top Dutchman both years

Djokovic FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
W: Dubai (d Youzhny); Beijing (d Ferrer); F: US Open (l Nadal); SF: Rotterdam (l Youzhny); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Verdasco); Wimbledon (l Berdych); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada (l Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai (l Federer); QF: Australian Open (l Tsonga); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Verdasco); Belgrade (l Krajinovic); Roland Garros (l Melzer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Roddick)
YTD W-L: 54-14
YTD Titles: 2/Career Titles: 18
Date of Birth: May 22, 1987
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 3
 
• Djokovic, 23, the World No. 3 and reigning champion, is appearing in the quarter-finals or better for the 14th time in 17 tournaments this season…It is also seven straight QFs since a 3rd Rd. exit at Queen’s… He enters with a 54-14 match record in 2010 (36-8 on hard), his fourth straight 50-plus match wins year
• He is making his second showing in Basel (7-0) and last year defeated Federer in the final in three sets…He opened on Tuesday with a 64 62 first round win over Ernests Gulbis and followed with a 64 76(6) victory over Jarkko Nieminen
• In his most recent action, reached semi-finals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai (l. to Federer) and week before repeated title in Beijing (d. Ferrer)…Both of his titles have been repeat efforts on a Monday…In March he won in Dubai (d. Youzhny) in a rain-delayed final…He is 2-1 in finals this season
• On Sept. 13 (also a Monday), he was runner-up at the US Open (l. to Nadal) after defeating Federer in a five-set semi-final (saved two match points)
• After reaching the US Open final, he helped lead his country to a 3-2 Davis Cup semi-final victory over the Czech Republic by winning in four sets over Berdych in the fourth rubber…Tipsarevic won the fifth and decisive rubber (d. Stepanek)…Serbia will host France in the final in December
• He opened the season with a quarter-final at the Australian Open (l. to Tsonga in five sets) and moved to a career-high No. 2 on Feb. 1…Has ranked No. 2 for a total of 26 weeks, 15 straight from Feb. 1-May 10 and then returned to No. 2 on July 5 after Wimbledon (for six weeks) before slipping to No. 3 on Aug. 16…He regained No. 2 after the US Open final on Sept. 13

(4) Andy Roddick (USA) vs David Nalbandian (ARG) Roddick Leads 3-2
02 ATP Masters Series Toronto  Hard QF Andy Roddick 6-3 6-2
03 ATP Masters Series Montreal  Hard F Andy Roddick 6-1 6-3
03 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard SF Andy Roddick 6-7(4)3-6  7-6(7)  6-1 6-3
03 Basel (Switzerland) Carpet(I) SF David Nalbandian 7-5 7-5
06 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard (I) RR David Nalbandian 6-2 7-6(4)

Roddick FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
W: Brisbane (d Stepanek); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (d Berdych); F: San Jose (l Verdasco); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Ljubicic); SF: Atlanta (l Fish); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Fish); QF: Australian Open (l Cilic); Memphis (l Querrey); Tokyo (l Monfils)
YTD W-L: 45-13
YTD Titles: 2
Career Titles: 29
Date of Birth: August 30, 1982
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 9

• Roddick, 28, the top American on the ATP World Tour, is making his 10th quarter-final or better appearance in 16 tournaments this year…He is trying to qualify for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London for the eighth straight year…Currently holds down the eighth and final spot
• He made a successful return to Basel on Wednesday, firing 16 aces in a 75 76(6) win over countryman Sam Querrey and followed with a 63 64 victory over Andrey Golubev…He has a 9-3 career mark in Basel and, reaching the semi-finals in his last visit in 2003 (l. to Nalbandian) and quarter-finals in 2001-02 (l. to Federer both times)…Also made his Davis Cup debut here in 2001 in dead rubber (d. Bastl)
• He enters with a 45-13 match record on the season, including 39-10 on hard courts (most wins in 2010), This is his first tournament since Oct. 13 when he retired (vs. Garcia-Lopez) with a right groin injury in the third round at the Rolex Shanghai Masters…The previous week he reached the quarter-finals in  Tokyo (l. to Monfils in a third set tie-break. held one match point…It was his first tournament since a second round four-set loss to Janko Tipsarevic at the US Open on Sept. 1
• Has a 2-2 record in ATP World Tour finals, opening the season with his first title Down Under in Brisbane (d. Stepanek) and in April, he captured his fifth career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Miami (d. Berdych)…Also a runner-up in San Jose (l. to Verdasco) and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Ljubicic), all on hard courts
• His 29 titles is third-most among active players on the ATP World Tour, behind Roger Federer (64) and Rafael Nadal (43)…Has won at least one title every year since 2001 and trying to finish in Top 10 for ninth consecutive season
• On Aug. 9 he fell out of the Top 10 at No. 11 for the first time since Aug. 14, 2006 when he was No. 12 and on Aug. 16 he was No. 13, his lowest since Oct. 14, 2002…Comes in No. 9 this week
• After a 26-4 start, has a 19-9 mark, reaching the third round at Roland Garros (l. to Gabashvili), Queen’s (l. to Sela) and fourth round at Wimbledon (l. to Lu 9-7 in fifth set)…During the summer, reached SFs in Atlanta and Cincinnati (l. to Fish in both)

Nalbandian FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
W: Washington (d Baghdatis); QF: Buenos Aires (W/O vs Montanes); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada (l Murray)
YTD W-L: 27-8
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 11
Date of Birth: January 1, 1982
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 29

• Nalbandian, 28, the No. 2 Argentine (behind No. 25 Monaco) on the ATP World Tour, is appearing in his fifth ATP World Tour quarter-final or better this year…Has a 27-8 match record on the season (22-7 on hard)
• This is his eighth appearance in Basel (24-5 record) and he captured the title in 2002 (d. Gonzalez) and runner-up in 2003 (W/O vs.Coria), ’04 (l. to Novak) and ’08 (l. to Federer)…Opened with a 63 64 win over Czech Republic qualifier Jan Hajek on Tuesday and followed with 46 64 64 victory over No. 6 seed Marin Cilic on Thursday
• Has a 33-45 career record vs. Top 10 opponents (2-5 this year) and 4-1 in Basel with only loss to No. 2 Federer in final two years ago…Also beat No. 2 Roddick here in semi-finals in 2003
• In August he earned his 11th career ATP World Tour title in Washington (d. Baghdatis)…He entered as a wild card ranked No. 117 and he dropped only one set in six matches en route to his first ATP World Tour title on U.S. soil…Afterwards, jumped to No. 45
• His career-best 11-match winning streak came to an end with his quarter-final loss to eventual champ Andy Murray at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Toronto…During his run he posted wins over six Top 25 opponents, including No. 6 Davydenko in Davis Cup and No. 5 Soderling in Toronto
• Earlier in the season he reached the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires (w/o to Montanes) and Monte Carlo
• He returned to action in February after nine months out (hip surgery); also missed over two months between April and July (hamstring injury); returned for Davis Cup in July and beat Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny in fifth and decisive rubber in quarter-finals…In March, also won fifth and decisive rubber over Sweden’s Andreas Vinciguerra in first round tie…In semi-finals, lost to France’s Monfils in 2nd rubber
• Has missed last six Grand Slams (last one played was 2009 Australian Open - upset by Lu in 2nd Rd.)

(1) Roger Federer (SUI) vs (WC) Radek Stepanek (CZE) Federer Leads 8-2
02 Gstaad (Switzerland) Clay R16 Radek Stepanek 3-6 6-3 6-2
04 Gstaad (Switzerland) Clay QF Roger Federer 6-1 5-7 6-4
06 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay R16 Roger Federer 6-1 6-4
07 ATP Masters Series Montreal Hard SF Roger Federer 7-6(6)6-2
07 CZE v. SUI WG PO (Czech Republic)Carpet RR Roger Federer 6-3 6-2 6-7(4)  7-6(5)
08 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay QF Radek Stepanek 7-6(4)7-6(7)
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Roger Federer 6-3 6-3 6-2
08 ATP Masters Series Madrid (Spain) Hard R32 Roger Federer 6-3 7-6(6)
08 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR Roger Federer 7-6(4)6-4
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Clay R16 Roger Federer 6-4 6-1

Federer FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
W: Australian Open (d Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (d Fish); Stockholm (d Mayer); F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Nadal); Halle (l Hewitt); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada (l Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai (l Murray); SF: Doha (l Davydenko); Estoril (l Montanes); US Open (l Djokovic); QF: Roland Garros (l Soderling); Wimbledon (l Berdych)
YTD W-L: 54-12
YTD Titles: 3
Career Titles: 64
Date of Birth: August 8, 1981
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 2

• Federer, 29, the three-time Basel champion, is appearing in the quarter-finals or better for the ninth time in 11 showings…Has a 35-7 career mark in his birthplace tournament and has yet to face break point in 18 service games in wins over Alexandr Dolgopolov and Janko Tipsarevic this week…He also was runner-up in 2000-01 and last year (l. to Djokovic)
• He is coming off his third title of the season on Oct. 24 in Stockholm (d. F. Mayer), which was his 64th career title, tying Pete Sampras for No. 4 on the Open Era titles list…Has won titles in 18 countries
• He enters with a 54-12 match record on the season (36-6 on hard) and since falling in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in July, has won 23 of 26 matches, reaching the final in four of five tournaments (except US Open, SF) during that span…Overall is 3-4 in finals this year and 64-28 in his career
• Prior to Stockholm was runner-up in Shanghai (l. to Murray in fourth straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final - runner-up to Nadal at Madrid, to Murray at Toronto, beat Fish in Cincinnati final)
• During Stockholm played in his 900th career match and has a record of 732-173, most among active players on ATP World Tour
• Has won at least one Grand Slam title for eight straight years (tying mark of Borg and Sampras)
• Was ranked No. 1 for 285 weeks, one week short from all-time leader Sampras (286); slipped to No. 2 after Roland Garros on June 7 then to No. 3 after Wimbledon on July 5 (lost in QFs at both events)…He is attempting to finish in the Top 2 for a record eighth straight year

Stepanek FastFacts:
2010 Highlights:
F: Brisbane (l Roddick); SF: Tokyo (l Monfils); QF: New Haven (l Troicki); Moscow (l Cuevas)
YTD W-L: 16-14
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: November 27, 1978
South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking: 38

• Stepanek, 31, the oldest player left in the singles draw (will turn 32 on Nov. 27), is looking to reach the semi-finals in Basel for the second straight year…Last year in his debut (l. to Djokovic in three sets)
• He has reached the quarter-finals or better five times this year and comes in with a 16-14 match record (15-14 on hard)…Has a 21-44 career mark vs. Top 10 opponents and he is facing a Top 10 for only the second time this season…His best win came over No. 1 Federer in QF of 2008 Rome
• His best results were a runner-up in Brisbane in first week of the year (l. to No. 7 Roddick), semi-finals last month in Tokyo (l. to Monfils) and quarter-finals in New Haven (l. to Troicki) in August and Moscow two weeks ago (l. to Cuevas)
• In September he played in Davis Cup semi-finals vs. Serbia and lost fifth and decisive rubber to Tipsarevic
• He was sidelined for two and a half months due to mononucleosis and returned end of May at Prostejov Challenger (reached final but retired against Hajek w/stomach illness)
• Married former WTA Tour star Nicole Vaidisova on July 17, 2010 in Prague
• He reached a career-high No. 8 (has spent 12 career weeks in Top 10, all between July 10 and October 1, 2006 - peaked at No. 8 for two weeks)