Novak Djokovic will kick off his Rome campaign in second-round action on Tuesday against Radek Stepanek. Marin Cilic and Santiago Giraldo, meanwhile, are contesting a first-round match.
Radek Stepanek vs. (2) Novak Djokovic
Djokovic will be in action for the first time since Monte-Carlo when he takes the court on Tuesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The world No. 2 suffered an injury-plagued semifinal loss to Roger Federer in Monte-Carlo before withdrawing from Madrid due to his wrist problem. He is still a stellar 19-3 for the year, which includes back-to-back Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami.
Up first for Djokovic is Stepanek, against whom the Serb is 9-1 lifetime. He has won eight straight in the head-to-head series since the start of the 2007 season, during which Djokovic won their most memorable encounter 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(2) at the U.S. Open. Stepanek is still going relatively strong at 35 years old, with a solid ranking of 43rd in the world. He is 8-9 for the season following a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win over Pablo Andujar on Sunday. Djokovic’s health will obviously determine the exact outcome of the match, but he should cruise without much trouble if he is anywhere close to 100 percent.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(Q) Santiago Giraldo vs. Marin Cilic
Giraldo and Cilic will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Tuesday. Cilic has won all three of their previous meetings and he is 7-0 in total sets against Giraldo. They most recently faced each other last spring in Miami, where the Croat scored a 6-2, 7-6(6) victory.
However, Giraldo is currently in the best form of his career. The Colombian is up to a best-ever ranking of 36th in the world thanks to a semifinal showing in Houston, a runner-up finish in Barcelona, and a quarterfinal performance in Madrid as a qualifier. Giraldo also qualified for the main draw this week in Rome. Cilic is playing well, too, but he has cooled off just a bit since a scorching hot February. The world No. 26 would much rather contest this one on grass or a fast hard court.
Pick: Giraldo in 3
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Murphy cannot be blamed for giving Seppi a 2nd time violation (he is only following instructions) but what a moment for it to happen. Seppi was serving to save a break point and effectively the match. Time that the time violation rule is overhauled.
That won’t happen until Rafa retires.
Exactly. Powers that be are more than happy with that rule ATM.
ATP are currently experimenting with a new rule in the challenger level events whereby you can’t touch your face before serving.
(Note to federazzi: That’s a joke, son.)
Tursonov wins. Never happen but would LOVE to see him meet Rafa in the semis.
http://tennis.si.com/2014/02/12/dmitry-tursunov-rafael-nadal-time-violation-video/
how did Tursunov beat RBA?
Has anyone seen or heard anything of Federer in Rome?
https://twitter.com/rogerfederer/status/465903928581033985
#CiaoTutti
Lol
For you, @nadline28:
RT @rogerfederer: “Oh and btw ciao tutti, I just arrived in bella Italia! Looking forward to Rome #mostamazingcity”
Was that really Fed tweeting?
Bahhhhh Fedbug.
no handshake between Seppi and umpire
no
Why no handshake? Did he at least look him in the eyes?
#OldStory
Is it true that Federer was the mover and shaker in forcing umpires to enforce the rule more strictly?
Ricky, everytime I post a tweet, I get moderated.
Whadup.
you must be posting Rated R tweets
#approved
Ooops, wrong forum. So sorry.
(Note to Federazzi: Another joke, son – that’s the last one I’m explaining. You’re on your own now. The rest is up to you to decide. Takes all the fun out of it.)
hawkeye63@May 13, 2014 at 2:57 pm
¤ Try to post Twitter pictures in a way I recommended.
¤ If a comment contains more than one link, (w) usually sends it to the moderation queue.
I didn’t quite understand your tutorial. Do you have to post the tweet and then add the picture?
I meant: A twitter picture = a tweet that includes a picture.