Miami Friday Preview

A pair of former ATP World Tour champions, a player making his second semi-final appearance and a new face in the final four lead the Sony Ericsson Open action on Friday.

No. 4 seed and 2008 World No. 1 Rafael Nadal takes a 5-2 career record against No. 6 seed and 2003 World No. 1 Andy Roddick in the first semi-final. Nadal is trying to reach his third final in Miami, having finished runner-up in 2005 and ’08. Roddick, who is the lone former champion remaining (2004), is looking to reach his second Sony Ericsson Open final.

In the evening semi-final, No. 5 seed Robin Soderling of Sweden makes his Miami semi-final debut and brings a 5-2 lifetime mark against No. 16 seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
Here is a glance at the match-ups:
No. 4 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 6 Andy Roddick Nadal leads 5-2 (2-2 on hard)
No. 5 Robin Soderling vs. No. 16 Tomas Berdych Soderling leads 5-2 (3-1 on hard)

2010 ATP World Tour Match Wins Leaders (W-L; Titles)
1) Andy Roddick 24-4 1
2) Marin Cilic 20-4 2
3) Marcos Baghdatis 18-7 1
4) Juan Carlos Ferrero 17-5 2

FRIDAY SEMI-FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS
(4) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (6) Andy Roddick (USA) Nadal Leads 5-2 (2-2 on hard)
04 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Andy Roddick 6-0 6-3 6-4
04 ESP v. USA DC Final (Spain) Clay RR Rafael Nadal 6-7(6) 6-2 7-6(6) 6-2
07 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells Hard SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-3
08 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard QF Andy Roddick 7-6(5) 6-2
08 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain)Grass SF Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-4
08 ESP vs. USA WG SF (Spain) Clay RR Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-0 6-4
09 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 7-6(4)

Nadal
Age (Birthdate): 23 (June 3, 1986)
Residence: Mallorca, Spain
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 4 (No. 1 – August 18, 2008)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 16-3 (16-3)
2010 Finals W-L: 0-1
Career Finals W-L: 36-12
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’10 Doha/’09 Rome
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 3-4
Miami W-L (Best Result): 21-6 (Runner-up – 2005, ‘08)
Coach: Francisco Roig / uncle Toni (not here)

Roddick
Age (Birthdate): 27 (August 30, 1982)
Residence: Austin, Texas
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 8 (No. 1 – Nov. 3, 2003)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 24-4 (24-4)
2010 Finals W-L: 1-2
Career Finals W-L: 28-19
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’10 Indian Wells/’10 Brisbane
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 15-4
Miami W-L (Best Result): 29-9 (Winner – 2004)
Coach: Larry Stefanki

NADAL FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The 23-year-old Spaniard enters the semi-finals for the third time in seven appearances with a 21-6 career record with his best results a runner-up finish in 2005 (l. to Federer in five sets) and in 2008 (l. to Davydenko)…Also a quarter-finalist in 2007 (l. to Djokovic) and last year (l. to del Potro)
* The left-hander from Mallorca has dropped only one set thus far en route to the semis…He opened the tournament last Friday with a 64 63 victory over American Taylor Dent, on Sunday he rallied for a 67(8) 62 62 win over Argentine wild card David Nalbandian, on Tuesday he beat countryman and No. 15 seed David Ferrer 76(4) 64, and on Wednesday he ousted No. 8 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 63 62
* Has converted 16 of 24 break points (67%) and has been broken four times (holding 38 of 42 service games), saving 16 of 20 break points (80%)
* He is trying to become the first Spaniard in tournament history to capture the title…Besides his two runner-up showings, Carlos Moya (2003) and Sergi Bruguera (1997) were also finalists

2010 Highlights:
F: Doha (l Davydenko); SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Ljubicic); QF: Australian Open (l Murray)

2010 in Review:
* The World No. 4 (will return to No. 3 next Monday) has a 16-3 mark on the season (all on hard courts) and he’s appearing in his third semi-final or better in four tournaments…He’s trying to reach his second ATP World Tour final of the season and 22nd career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (15-6)
* His last title came at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (d. Djokovic) last May…Has played in 12 tournaments since the title
* He’s coming off his second semi-final of the year in Indian Wells (l. to eventual champ Ljubicic in third set tie-break)…He also captured his sixth career ATP World Tour doubles title there (w/M. Lopez)
* He opened the campaign with a runner-up in Doha (l. to Davydenko, held two match points) and followed with a quarter-final at the Australian Open where he retired with a right knee injury (vs. Murray) on Jan. 26

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* The Spaniard is playing in his 200th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 match…He has a 165-34 career match record and a 15-6 mark in finals, winning at least two titles in each of the past five years (2005-09)…Won a personal-best four in 2005 and three each in 2007-08-09
* He’s won at least 20 matches in four different ATP Masters 1000 tournaments – Monte Carlo (29-1), Indian Wells (26-4), Rome (22-1) and Miami (21-6) but still looking to win the title here for the first time
* Has reached the final in eight of the current nine Masters 1000 finals (except Cincinnati)…He also won the former Masters 1000 tournament in Hamburg in 2008 and was runner-up in ‘07

Miscellaneous:
* In 2008, he became the first left-hander to finish No. 1 since John McEnroe in 1984, in addition to becoming first Spaniard as year-end No. 1 in history of ATP Rankings (since 1973)…Spent 46 weeks at No. 1 before Federer regained the top ranking on July 6, ’09 (after capturing Wimbledon title)
* He has a 62-35 career record vs. Top 10 opponents and he broke a six-match losing streak with his win over No. 10 Tsonga on Wednesday night…Since beating No. 4 Djokovic in a 4:03 marathon in the semi-finals of Madrid last May, has a 2-11 mark with a pair of wins over Tsonga (’09 Paris)
* In ’08, captured his fourth straight Roland Garros crown (d. Federer) and became first player since Borg in 1978-81 to accomplish feat...Also first player since Borg in 1980 to win without dropping a set in Paris
* His 31-match winning streak came to an end last year in Paris as Robin Soderling won 4th Rd. battle

RODDICK FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The 27-year-old American comes into the semi-finals for the third time with a 29-9 career record…He is trying to reach his second final…In 2004, he captured the title (d. Coria, who retired) and he also was a semi-finalist two years ago (d. Federer in QF, l. to eventual champ Davydenko)
* Five of his losses have come to Top 10 opponents (has a 4-5 mark)
* He has yet to drop a set in posting wins over Russian Igor Andreev 64 64, Ukraine native Sergiy Stakhovsky 62 61, German Benjamin Becker 76(4) 63 and No. 33 seed Nicolas Almagro 63 63…Has been broken once thus far (holding 37 of 38 games and saving nine of 10 break points) while firing 27 aces (6.8 avg.)…Also leads in 2nd serve points won (68%) and has a 71% first serve pct.
* Made his breakthrough here in 2001 when he defeated former No. 1 Marcelo Rios (2nd Rd.) and No. 4 ranked Pete Sampras (3rd Rd.) before falling to No. 7 Lleyton Hewitt in the quarter-finals

2010 Highlights:
W: Brisbane (d Stepanek); F: San Jose (l Verdasco); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Ljubicic); QF: Australian Open (l Cilic); Memphis (l Querrey)

2010 in Review:
* The Austin, Texas resident is trying to reach his fourth ATP World Tour final of the season and the second in as many tournaments…He enters with a 24-4 match record on the ATP World Tour (most match wins and matches played) and he’s coming off a runner-up effort on Mar. 21 in Indian Wells (l. to Ljubicic)… He also leads the ATP World Tour with a 15-4 mark in tie-breaks
* In mid-February he reached the final in San Jose where he lost to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 36 64 64 and followed with a quarter-final in Memphis (l. to eventual champ Querrey)… The top American opened the season by capturing his 28th career ATP World Tour title in Brisbane (d. Stepanek) to extend his title streak to 10 consecutive years (tied w/Federer among active players)…Then followed by reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open (l. to Cilic in five sets)
* He came into the tournament No. 2 on ATP World Tour in aces (321, 13.4 avg.) behind Karlovic (385) and leader in service games won (91%) and No. 2 in first serve points won (80%)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* Has a career record of 139-57 since playing his first Masters 1000 tournament in Miami (falling second round to Agassi) in 2000…Owns a 4-4 in finals, winning his last Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati in 2006 (d. Ferrero)…Also won there in 2003 (d. Fish)…His other titles have come in Montreal in 2003 (d. Nalbandian) and Miami in 2004 (d. Coria, ret.)

Miscellaneous:
* In 2009, the top American finished in the Top 10 for an eighth consecutive season at No. 7…He and Federer have the longest streak among active players on the ATP World Tour
* Has a 32-56 career record against Top 10 opponents and has won two of past three Top 10 meetings
* His 28 career titles is No. 3 among active players on the ATP World Tour, behind Federer (62) and Nadal (36)

(16) Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs (5) Robin Soderling (SWE) Soderling Leads 5-2
05 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 7-5 6-2
06 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati Hard R64 Robin Soderling 6-4 6-3
06 Stockholm (Sweden) Hard QF Robin Soderling 6-2 6-3
07 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Clay QF Tomas Berdych 5-7 6-3 6-0
08 ATP World Team Chp. (Germany) Clay RR Robin Soderling 6-4 1-6 6-3
08 Halle (Germany) Grass R16 Robin Soderling 6-2 7-5
09 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Hard QF Robin Soderling 6-2 6-2
Other Meetings:
03 Bratislava CH (Slovak Republic) Hard R32 Tomas Berdych 7-6(3) 7-5
09 Sunrise CH (U.S.A.) Hard F Robin Soderling 6-1 6-1

Berdych
Age (Birthdate): 24 (September 17, 1985)
Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 20 (No. 9  – August 20, 2007)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 16-6 (15-6)
2010 Finals W-L: 0-0
Career Finals W-L: 5-4
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’09 Munich/’09 Munich
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 4-6
Miami W-L (Best Result): 12-5 (SF – 2008, ’10)
Coach: Tomas Krupa

Soderling
Age (Birthdate): 25 (August 14, 1984)
Residence: Monte-Carlo, Monaco
ATP Ranking (Career-High): No. 7 (No. 7 – February 22, 2010)
2010 W-L Record (on Hard): 16-4 (16-4)
2010 Finals W-L: 1-0
Career Finals W-L: 5-7
Last ATP Final/Last ATP Title: ’10 Rotterdam/’10 Rotterdam
2010 Tie-Break W-L: 7-3
Miami W-L (Best Result): 7-3 (SF – 2010)
Coach: Magnus Norman

BERDYCH FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The 24-year-old Czech Republic native is attempting to become the first Czech-born player to reach the final here since 1989 when Ivan Lendl captured the title (also won in ’86)…He is appearing in the semi-finals for the second time in three years…In 2008, he advanced to the semi-finals, losing to No. 2 Nadal 76(6) 62…Has a 12-5 career mark
* The last player outside the Top 10 to reach the final here was No. 31 Nadal in ’05 (l. to Federer)…The last winner outside the Top 10 was No. 18 Jim Courier in 1991
* Since retiring in the 1st Rd. in his debut in 2005, has reached the 3rd Rd. or better five times…Lost to No. 3 Nalbandian in 3rd Rd. in ’06, Chela in 3rd Rd. in ’07 and 4th and last year fell to No. 3 Djokovic in 4th Rd.
* En route to the semi-finals, has beaten Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 63 64, Argentine Horacio Zeballos 64 75, World No. 1 Roger Federer 64 67(3) 76(6), saving one match point, and No. 10 seed Fernando Verdasco 46 76(5) 64 in a two hour, 51-minute battle…Has saved 23 of 29 break points in the tourney

2010 Highlights:
SF: Brisbane (l Roddick); QF: San Jose (l Roddick); Memphis (l Gulbis); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Nadal)

2010 In Review:
* The No. 2 player from the Czech Republic (behind No. 18 Stepanek) is appearing in his second ATP World Tour semi-final in seven tournaments this season and owns a 16-6 match record, with all but one match coming on hard courts
* He is trying to reach his 10th career ATP World Tour final (5-4), his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title match (won ’05 Paris) and his first final in the U.S.
* He helped his country to a 4-1 first round Davis Cup win over Belgium (on clay), defeating O. Rochus in straight sets in the opening rubber and winning the doubles (w/Stepanek) in similar fashion
* In his last tournament in Indian Wells, he reached the quarter-finals (d. No. 12 Verdasco in 3rd Rd., l. to No. 3 Nadal)
* He opened the season by reaching the semi-finals in Brisbane (l. to eventual champ Roddick) and followed with opening round loss in Sydney (l. to Luczak after bye) and 2nd Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Korolev)
* In February he reached back-to-back quarter-finals in San Jose (l. to Roddick) and Memphis (l. to Gulbis)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* Has a 63-45 career match record and his best result was the title in Paris in 2005 (d. No. 10 Ljubicic in five sets)…Also a semi-finalist four other times (including here) – ’06 Madrid, ’07 Monte-Carlo and ’08 Miami and quarter-finalist on five other occasions
 
Miscellaneous:
* In 2009, finished in Top 20 for fourth consecutive year at No. 20 and helped his country to its first Davis Cup final since 1980 (l. to Spain 5-0)…Went 3-2 in singles matches
* Has a 15-44 career mark vs. Top 10 opponents and broke an eight-match losing streak vs. Federer in 4th Rd…The last time he beat two Top 10 opponents in same tourn. was ’06 Madrid – d. No. 6 Roddick in 3rd Rd., and No. 2 Nadal in QF
* Has a 5-4 career mark in ATP World Tour finals and has never reached a final on U.S. soil

SODERLING FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
* The top Swede has a 7-3 career record, reaching the semi-finals for the first time in four appearances…He is the first Swede to reach the semis here since Thomas Enqvist in 1999 (l. to Krajicek)…The last Swede to reach the final was Stefan Edberg in 1990 (l. to Agassi)…Mats Wilander is the only Swedish winner (1988) in tournament history
* En route to the semi-finals, has beaten Aussie Peter Luczak 76(5) 60, German Philipp Petzschner 61 62, No. 9 seed Fernando Gonzalez 60 67(3) 62 and No. 13 seed Mikhail Youzhny 61 64
* Leads the tournament in return games won (20 of 37, 54%) and points won returning 2nd serve (66%)
* Prior to this year, his best result was the third round (ret. vs. No. 1 Federer) in 2008…Made his debut here in ’04 and lost in the second round to Lleyton Hewitt

2010 Highlights:
W: Rotterdam (d Youzhny); SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Roddick); QF: Marseille (l Llodra)

2010 In Review:
* The 25-year-old Swede enters his third ATP World Tour semi-final or better (second in a row) with a 16-4 mark on the season (all on hard courts), with his best result coming indoors…In his last tournament he reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final in Indian Wells (d. No. 4 Murray, l. to Roddick)
* He captured his fifth career ATP World Tour title in Rotterdam on Feb. 14 when Russian Mikhail Youzhny retired in the second set with a right hamstring injury
* Also a quarter-finalist in Marseille (l. to eventual champ Llodra)…Afterwards, went to career-high No. 7
* In opening Davis Cup tie Mar. 5-7 at home against Argentina, he defeated Eduardo Schwank in the opening rubber and Leonardo Mayer in the fourth rubber, both in straight sets, but his country lost 3-2
* Began season 0-2 with losses in Chennai (l. to Ginepri) and Australian Open (l. to Granollers)
* Trying to reach his 13th career ATP World Tour level final (5-7), his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final and first in the U.S.

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
* Has a career record of 56-44 and he’s appearing in the semi-finals for the second straight time…In his last tournament he lost to Roddick in Indian Wells…His previous best results were the quarter-finals four times – 2004 Paris, 2007 Monte-Carlo and 2009 Shanghai and Paris

Miscellaneous:
* In 2009, finished in Top 10 for first time at No. 8 with a 49-21 match record…He reached his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, defeating four-time champion and World No. 1 Nadal in 4th Rd. before falling to Federer in straight sets...Also advanced to the quarters at Wimbledon (l. to Federer)
* Last season won a personal-best seven matches against Top 10 foes (7-11) with best win over Nadal
* Won his first non-indoor ATP World Tour title in his native country in Bastad (d. Monaco) on clay in July
…In March, captured Challenger title in nearby Sunrise (d. Berdych)
* Coached by former World No. 2 and 2000 Roland Garros finalist Magnus Norman

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS
Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Tomas Berdych (CZE) Nadal Leads 7-3
05 Bastad (Sweden) Clay F Rafael Nadal 2-6 6-2 6-4
05 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati (USA) Hard R64 Tomas Berdych 6-7(4) 6-2 7-6(3)
06 ATP Masters Series Toronto Hard R16 Tomas Berdych 6-1 3-6 6-2
06 ATP Masters Series Madrid (Spain) Hard QF Tomas Berdych 6-3 7-6(6)
07 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Clay SF Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-5
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass QF Rafael Nadal 7-6(1) 6-4 6-2
08 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard SF Rafael Nadal 7-6(6) 6-2
09 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (U.S.A.)Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-4 7-5
09 ESP vs. CZE DC Final (Spain) Clay RR Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-0 6-2
10 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-4 7-6(4)

Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Robin Soderling (SWE) Nadal Leads 3-2
06 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-5 6-1
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R32 Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 6-7(7)4-6 7-5
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Clay R16 Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-0
09 Roland Garros (France) Clay R16 Robin Soderling 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2)
09 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Hard RR Robin Soderling 6-4 6-4

Andy Roddick (USA) vs Tomas Berdych (CZE) Roddick Leads 5-2
06 ATP Masters Series Madrid (Spain) Hard R16 Tomas Berdych 7-6(7) 6-3
07 CZE v. USA WG 1st RD (Czech Rep.) Clay RR Andy Roddick 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-6(4)
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Andy Roddick 7-6(6) 2-0 ret
08 Tokyo (Japan) Hard SF Tomas Berdych 6-7(3) 7-5 7-6(3)
09 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R16 Andy Roddick 7-6(4) 6-4 6-3
10 Brisbane (Australia) Hard SF Andy Roddick 1-6 6-3 6-4
10 San Jose (U.S.A.) Hard QF Andy Roddick 7-6(5) 7-6(5)

Andy Roddick (USA) vs Robin Soderling (SWE) Soderling Leads 2-1
08 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard QF Robin Soderling 7-6(6) 6-3
08 Lyon (France) Carpet QF Robin Soderling 7-6(5) 7-6(5)
10 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard SF Andy Roddick 6-4 3-6 6-3

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Title Leaders (since 1990):
1) Andre Agassi 17
2) Roger Federer 16
3) Rafael Nadal 15
4) Pete Sampras 11
5) Thomas Muster 8
6) Michael Chang 7
7) Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Novak Djokovic, Gustavo Kuerten, Marcelo Rios, Marat Safin 5 each
13) Andy Roddick and 4 others 4 each