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Stepanek Shocks Federer in Rome

Radek Stepanek survives two tiebreakers to upset world No. 1 Roger Federer on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Masters Series Rome. It was an up-and-down contest with countless turns of events, but Stepanek is the one moving on.

With Rafael Nadal out early, the Masters Series Rome seemed like Roger Federer's to win. Radek Stepanek apparently didn't get the memo. Stepanek stunned Roger Federer in a two-set thriller on Friday afternoon in Rome, prevailing 7-6(4), 7-6(7) in one hour and 55 minutes.

Although Federer could not break through against Stepanek's serve in the first set, he really controlled the opening frame of play. He lost just two points on serve in his six service games and won all 20 of his first-serve points. As a result, an early mini-break in the tiebreaker looked like it would be enough. Stepanek, however, got the break back with a drop volley and he did not lose a point from then on. After another mini-break, the Czech closed out the set with an ace.

Stepanek was simply on fire in the early stages of the set two and he promptly broke Federer en route to a commanding 3-0 lead. Beginning at 4-2, however, both players looked like they wanted no part of taking the second set. Stepanek threw away his break advantage with a relatively poor service game, only to come right back with a break of his own thanks to several more Federer errors. That gave Stepanek a chance to serve for the match, but Federer put away a cross-court volley at 30-40 to break yet again and stay in the contest.

Three holds of serve brought the set to a tiebreaker, and once again Federer started out scorching hot with two flawless passing shots. A 3-0 lead soon became a 5-2 advantage, but Stepanek held his two serves for 5-4 and got the mini-break back to 5-5. Stepanek saved one set point and Federer survived one match point before the final momentum swing came at 7-7. Stepanek blocked back a Federer second serve down the line and the Swiss could not handle it, dumping yet another backhand in the net. That gave Stepanek a match point on his own serve and he took it with a service winner down the line.

Stepanek will take on either Novak Djokovic or Nicolas Almagro in the semifinals.


Horna's Run Ended By Stepanek

Radek Stepanek takes out qualifier Luis Horna in the third round of the Masters Series Rome on Thursday afternoon. His reward is a quarterfinal showdown with Roger Federer.

Luis Horna won two rounds in qualifying and then pulled off two big upsets in the main draw of the Masters Series Rome, but his streak will not continue into the quarterfinals. Radek Stepanek put an end to Horna's dream on Thursday with a hard-fought 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory.

It was an up-and-down battle most of the way, although the first set simply came down to a few points. Each player allowed almost nothing to his opponent on serve, but the difference was that Stepanek survived the break points he faced in his one loose service game, whereas Horna threw away one service game by failing to save the only break point Stepanek saw in set one.

Horna, however, had not come through two rounds of qualify and scored big wins over Richard Gasquet and Jose Acasuso only to go away quietly in the third round. He caught fire in the second set and rolled to take it 6-1. Stepanek's form completely deteriorated and after an early break, he seemed to content to try his luck in a decisive third set.

The Czech took a medical timeout for treatment on his thigh in between sets, and that really seemed to break Horna's momentum. The Peruvian never seemed to find the range returning Stepanek's serve as he had in the second frame of play. Like the first set, this one all came down to break-point conversions. Horna blew a service game in which he led 30-0, unable to save the only break chance he gave Stepanek all set. Stepanek, on the other hand, once again denied Horna from taking his only break-point opportunity, and the No. 27 player in the world went on to take the set and the match 6-3.

With the win Stepanek advances to the quarterfinals, where he will meet world No. 1 Roger Federer. Stepanek won their first-ever meeting (on clay) way back in 2002, but overall he is 1-4 against the Swiss, including 1-2 on the dirt.


Federer Tames Karlovic, Advances to Rome Quarters

Roger Federer survives a tough first set with Ivo Karlovic and then steamrolls into the quarterfinals of the Masters Series Rome. Only Radek Stepanek stands in Federer's way of the semifinals.

Ivo Karlovic hung around for a while in his third-round clash against Roger Federer on Thursday at the Masters Series Rome, but the world No. 1 quickly stepped on the gas pedal and cruised to a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory.

As is the case with most matches involving Karlovic, the first set was a test of whether or not both players could hold serve en route to a seemingly-inevitable tiebreaker. The 6'10'' Croat consistently had a much tougher time taking care of his service games. He saved six break points in the opening frame of play, including one on a Federer set point with an ace. Federer, meanwhile, lost just seven points on his own serve throughout the entire set, but he still had to save two break points. Karlovic's nine aces turned out not to be enough as the Swiss took the first set in a tiebreaker seven points to four.

Karlovic, who had already played two matches in Rome (including one that went to a third-set tiebreaker) compared to Federer's one quick disposal of Guillermo Canas, did not put up as much of a fight in the second set. His first serve became far less effective (just three aces and he won only 68 percent of first-serve points; 82 percent in set one) and Federer seized a crucial break of serve at 2-2. Karlovic never remotely got close against his opponent's serve, winning just three return points, and another break of serve allowed Federer to take the second set in routine 6-3 fahsion.

Federer moves on to the quarterfinals, where he will face unseeded Radek Stepanek. They have faced off five times in their careers and Federer holds a 4-1 edge, including 2-1 on clay.


Rome Third Round Preview: Roger Federer vs. Ivo Karlovic

Two giants--one figuratively, the other literally--will do battle in the third round of the Masters Series Rome on Thursday. It's Ivo Karlovic, who advanced with an epic three-set win over Potito Starace, against Roger Federer, who crushed Guillermo Canas before getting a day of rest.

It will be sixth career meeting between Roger Federer and Ivo Karlovic when the two players clash on the red clay of Rome. Like he does with many of his opponents, Federer owns the head-to-head series with Karlovic; a perfect 5-0. In total they have played 13 sets and Karlovic has won just two. Seven of the 11 sets he has lost, however, resulted in tiebreakers. Only one of Federer's victories came on clay, a 2004 showdown in Gstaad, Switzerland that went to a third-set tiebreaker.

Looking at Federer's 2008 results, it probably seems like this is Karlovic's best chance to pull off a win over the World No. 1. Federer has won just one event in six tries in 2008, and the one title came at a relatively minor event in Estoril, by Nikolay Davydenko's retirement no less. Unfortunately for Karlovic, Federer seems to be heating up at just the right time heading into the French Open. In addition to his Estoril title, the Swiss finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal in Monte-Carlo and he kicked off his Rome campaign with a straight-set demolition of nemesis Guillermo Canas.

Karlovic, though, is also rounding into form at the moment. He slumped throughout this entire season prior to Rome despite playing on his favored surfaces. He brought just an 8-11 match record coming into this week's event, including a dismal 2-7 mark since mid-February, when he reached the semifinals in Rotterdam. While it might seem surprising that Karlovic is getting into rhythm on clay, his least favorite surface, the 6'10'' Croat is actually quite adept on the slow stuff. He even won a title on it in Houston last year. So far in Rome he has taken out Paul-Henri Mathieu and Italian Potito Starace, the latter in a night-session classic that ended in a third-set tiebreaker.

Sure Karlovic is the heavy underdog coming into this contest, but don't write him off just because Federer is on the other side of the net. Karlovic is always a threat in every match he plays thanks to his booming serve. If it's clicking tomorrow, Karlovic will give Federer all kinds of problems. If he doesn't, Federer should be able to roll because he will move Karlovic all over the place from the baseline. Federer in two tight sets is the pick.


Rome Third Round Preview: Luis Horna vs. Radek Stepanek

Only two of the Masters Series Rome third-round clashes are all-unseeded affairs, and by far the most surprising one pits Luis Horna against Radek Stepanek. Will Stepanek's run continue, or will the qualifier Horna spring another upset?

A third round matchup that was projected to be David Ferrer against either Richard Gasquet or Jose Acasuso has turned out to be Radek Stepanek against Luis Horna. It will be the third head-to-head meeting between the two unseeded players when they square off on Thursday in Rome. The series is tied up at one win apiece, although Horna won their only previous encounter on dirt. Stepanek and Horna have not played since 2005.

Stepanek, ranked 27th in the world, is enjoying a quietly strong year. The 29-year-old veteran reached the semifinals in Sydney, the final in San Jose, the semifinals in Memphis, and the fourth round of the Masters Series Miami. Stepanek suffered a first-round setback in Monte-Carlo at the hands of Robin Soderling two weeks ago, but now that early-season success seems to be carrying over to the clay. So far in Rome the Czech has dispatched Jarkko Nieminen and upset No. 5 seed David Ferrer. Both matches went to three sets.

At 27-years-old, Horna is also a veteran but he has never enjoyed consistent success similar to that of Stepanek. In fact the Peruvian really hasn't been heard from at all since giving Rafael Nadal a battle at the U.S. Open two years ago. Horna managed to reach the semifinals in Acapulco earlier in 2008, but most of his recent wins have come on the Challenger circuit. Still, he is a force to be reckoned with on clay, his favorite surface. This week he has stunned both Richard Gasquet and Jose Acasuso; each in straight sets. Even before that, Horna had to win two rounds in qualifying just to make the main draw.

Does the 111th-ranked player in the world have another surprise left in him? It's quite possible, as red clay is the surfaces that most favors Horna. Stepanek's confidence, however, should be sky-high after his huge win over Ferrer. Furthermore, the rock-solid Stepanek is going to make Horna work extremely hard and he's not just going to throw away the match like Gasquet did in the first round. Horna hasn't seen anyone like Stepanek in either qualifying or the main draw, so look for him to finally go down in three sets.

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Rome Second Round Recap: Stepanek Upsets Ferrer

David Ferrer made it to the final last week in Barcelona, but he doesn't last long in Rome. Radek Stepanek pulls off the upset and leads the charge into the third round in the first quarter of the draw.

Radek Stepanek d. David Ferrer 4-6, 6-2, 6-1

Ferrer looked well on his way to victory after taking the first set, but quickly it became apparent that he had simply played too much tennis in recent weeks. The No. 5 seed, who won the Valencia title and finished runner-up in Barcelona, started wearing down visibly in set two and he completely disappeared in the final frame of play. Ferrer won just 13 points in the last set, including a mere six on his own serve. All Stepanek had to do in this match was remain rock solid and allow his opponent to deteriorate. That's never something the Czech has had a problem doing, and he certainly had no problems doing it on Wednesday.

Luis Horna d. Jose Acasuso 6-3, 7-6(1)

Horna is scorching hot this week, having already come through qualifying before upsetting Richard Gasquet in the first round. The Peruvian was still unchallenged after one set against Acasuso, but the Argentine battled in set two. Acasuso surged to a 5-2 lead, but Horna suddenly found himself serving for the match at 6-5 after storming back to win four straight games. The back-and-forth momentum continued as Horna was promptly broken, only to turn things around swiftly and decisively in the tiebreaker, which he took seven points to one. Overall, the difference was that Horna fired 11 aces while serving at 76 percent, whereas Acasuso put in just 53 percent of his first deliveries.

Ivo Karlovic d. Potito Starace 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(3)

The night session in the Foro Italico had all the makings of a Davis Cup atmosphere. Unfortunately for the wild Italian fans, their man could not pull out a victory. Starace, however, looked like he would fade away quickly, but he at least battled back admirably to give the crowd an instant classic. Down a set and a break and facing the seemingly unbreakable 6'10'' Croat, Starace suddenly broke Karlovic to level the second set at 4-4. He went on to take the set in a tiebreaker. The decisive frame of play also went to a tiebreaker, but not before Starace saved match points serving at 4-5. He couldn't save the next ones he faced. Starace's nerves showed in the decider, while Karlovic played flawless and aggressive tennis to take it seven points to three. Next up for Karlovic is top-seeded Roger Federer.

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Rome Preview: First Quarter, Second Round

Roger Federer is already safely through to the third round of the Masters Series Rome and six other players in the first quarter of the draw will look to join him with victories on Wednesday. David Ferrer vs. Radek Stepanek headlines the action.

(5) David Ferrer vs. Radek Stepanek

Last week in Barcelona, Ferrer not only finished runner-up, but also took the second set from Rafael Nadal in the title match. Ferrer is an all-court player, but he is especially brutal on clay. Stepanek, on the other hand, does not particularly love the dirt. The Czech was in fine form on hard courts earlier this season, however, and that appears like it might be carrying over to the clay. Stepanek dispatched the slumping Jarkko Nieminen in the first round on Monday; not exactly a great win, but a confidence-builder nonetheless.Ferrer, who holds a 2-1 head-to-head edge over Stepanek, won both of their meetings last year on hard courts. Stepanek will be tough, but Ferrer should take this in straight sets.

Jose Acasuso vs. Luis Horna

This is probably not a matchup anyone expected for the second round of a Masters Series event--at least not on Horna's end--but it shouldn't be a massive surprise considering both of these guys love the dirt. Horna deserves credit for his blowout win over Richard Gasquet in the first round, but fans need to realize that the Frenchman is in the midst of a dismal slump and was simply dreadful on Monday. Other than a semifinal appearance in Acapulco on the red stuff earlier this year, Horna has done almost nothing to inspire confidence. Acasuso has been rock solid on clay in 2008 and his fine form continued with a first-round drubbing of Dmitry Tursunov. Also in Acasuso's favor is a 5-0 head-to-head advantage over Horna, including 3-0 on clay. The Argentine should advance in straight sets.

Ivo Karlovic vs. Potito Starace

Karlovic is just 9-11 in matches this season and he slumped throughout the U.S.A. hard-court circuit. If he can't get it done on hard courts, surely he will flounder on the clay, right? Well, maybe not. The 6'10'' Croat obviously prefers faster surfaces, but he actually won an ATP title on the slow stuff last year and he is off to a good start so far in Rome. Karlovic posted a convincing win over 15th-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round on Tuesday. Starace will have the Italian crowd behind him in this contest and he will also have his favorite surface under his feet. A relative non-factor on anything other than clay, Starace is a force on the dirt. He has two ATP quarterfinal appearances in 2008 and a Challenger title. Starace has already taken out one Croat in Rome (Marin Cilic in the first round), and he has a good chance of eliminating another. But don't be surprised if it results in a three-set thriller.


Karlovic Too Big as Mathieu Fades Away

Ivo Karlovic takes a first-set tiebreaker and then rolls as Paul-Henri Mathieu disappears thereafter. Karlovic advances to the second round of the Masters Series Rome, where he will meet Potito Starace.

What began as a typical Ivo Karlovic match quickly turned into a rout, as the 6'10'' Croat cruised past 15th-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round of the Masters Series Rome on Monday.

As expected, serving dominated the opening frame of play. Mathieu had to save only one break point and Karlovic never allowed the Frenchman a single break chance as the first set progressed to a tiebreaker. Karlovic had been getting slightly more looks at his opponent's serve throughout the first 12 games so it seemed like he would have an advantage in the decider, and that turned out to be just the case. Behind his powerful serve, Karlovic put away Mathieu seven points to four.

It was all academic for Karlovic after that, as Mathieu completely went in the tank at the beginning of the second set. Karlovic broke immediately, held, broke again, and held serve in routine fashion once more to seize an insurmountable 4-0 lead. During one stretch Karlovic won a whopping 14 straight points. Mathieu held his meaningless last two service games, but he still never threatened Karlovic's serve at all and was dispatched quietly 6-2.

Karlovic will take on Italian Potito Starace in the second round in front of what will surely be a pro-Starace crowd at the Foro Italico.

In the only other first-round match in the first quarter of the draw on Day 2, clay-court guru Jose Acasuso eliminated hard-hitting Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-2.  The Argentine next faces Peruvian qualifier Luis Horna, a first-round upset winner over Richard Gasquet.


Payback Part Two: Federer Dumps Canas

Roger Federer defeats Guillermo Canas for the second time in their last two meetings, evening their head-to-head series at 3-3. Federer advances to the second round of the Masters Series Rome with the victory.

Roger Federer still owed Guillermo Canas some payback.

Canas shocked Federer at consecutive tournaments last spring, defeating the world No. 1 in both Indian Wells and Miami. As of Tuesday, Federer had only returned the favor once to Canas in the form of a 6-0, 6-3 rout at the Masters Series Madrid.

Federer notched his second revenge victory over Canas today in the second round of the Masters Series Rome, blowing past the Argentine 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 23 minutes. It was a foregone conclusion that Federer would be the one dictating play in this contest. The burden was on Canas to retrieve all of Federer's shots and coax his opponent into going for ill-advised winners at inopportune times. That did not turn out to be the case.

Federer played a patient, controlled match, while at the same time running Canas all over the place. The Swiss consistently hammered away at the ad side of the court, forcing Canas to run around his backhand and leave almost the entire court open. That gave Federer relatively easy looks at winners down the line, off both the forehand and backhand side.

Always a fighter, Canas did not give up despite being down a set and he made Federer work hard in the second frame of play. Canas even had a break point chance to go up 4-2, but when Federer saved it and went on to hold serve, the momentum turned one final time. Federer promptly broke to 4-3, held to 5-3, and then broke Canas again to finish off the match.


Canas Sets Up Federer Showdown

Guillermo Canas survives Italian wildcard Gianluca Naso to move on to the second round of the Masters Series Rome, where he will meet Roger Federer. Other Day 1 winners included Luis Horna, Radek Stepanek, and Potito Starace.

Luis Horna d. Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-1

Gasquet's recent slump really hit a low point on Monday in Rome. The No. 9 seed was in this match in the first set against the Peruvian qualifier, but one break was all Horna needed. Gasquet lost just seven points on serve it set one, but one loose service game cost him dearly because he never threatened Horna's serve. The Frenchman completely disappeared in set two, as he tends to do when things aren't going well for him. Even his heralded one-handed backhand collapsed and the result was a truly dreadful performance.

Radek Stepanek d. Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

The only minor surprise about this result is that Nieminen managed to take a set, as his current slump is just about as bad as Gasquet's. The Finn has barely been able to win a match since reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Servers dominated set one in this contest, as both players struggled to win any return points. One poor service game by Nieminen, however, was enough for Stepanek to roll 6-3. The Czech's serve fell off in the second set and Nieminen became more aggressive, taking advantage of his opponent's weaker second deliveries. Inevitably, however, the better player took control in the decisive set and played the crucial points with far more confidence. The result was an expected win for Stepanek, who advances to face 5th-seeded David Ferrer.

Guillermo Canas d. Gianluca Naso 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2

Only the Italian faithful would have liked to see the wild card Naso deprive everyone of a Federer-Canas showdown in the second round, and their man almost came through. Naso survived a wild first set after blowing multiple chances in the first-set tiebreaker, but after that the veteran Argentine wore him down. Naso was unable to continue the aggressive tactics he used in set one, as Canas, in typical Canas fashion, started putting everything in play and ran his opponent incessantly from side to side. Naso visibly grew tired and faded quickly in the final set despite maintaining a well-appreciated effort.

Potito Starace d. Marin Cilic 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

It wasn't particularly pretty, but to the delight of the Italian crowd, Starace is moving on to the second round. While it was an up-and-down match, Starace is far more comfortable on clay than Cilic is, and that was apparent throughout. The 6'5'' Croat briefly raised his level in the second set and his huge serves began taking a toll on his opponent, but as he did in the first set, Starace dictated baseline rallies in the final frame of play. Down an early break, Cilic broke back to level things at 4-4, but he was promptly broken with ease and Starace served out the match.