An all-Spanish clash between David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco will headline Thursday’s second-round slate in Valencia. Andy Murray and Fabio Fognini are also in action.
(1) David Ferrer vs. Fernando Verdasco
Ferrer and Verdasco will be squaring off for the 17th time in their careers but for the first time in more than a year when the two Spaniards collide in the second round of the Valencia Open on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at 9-7 in Ferrer’s favor, including 3-1 on hard courts. They have not faced each other since last spring in Rome, where Ferrer survived 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. Verdasco emerged victorious in their most memorable showdown, a 5-7, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4) thriller in round four of the 2010 U.S. Open.
Current form suggests Verdasco is in greater need of a win right now. The world No. 35 is a modest 24-18 for the season following a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Leonardo Mayer. In reality, though, it is Ferrer who really has to find his way into the quarterfinals to boost his chances of qualifying for the World Tour Finals. Ninth in the race right now, the 32-year-old could climb as high as No. 6 with a title but could also fall to 11th. Ferrer kicked off his campaign on Wednesday by handling Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-5. The surface is not playing particularly fast and the top seed will be determined to pick up additional points, so look for him to take care of business.
Pick: Ferrer in 2
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(3) Andy Murray vs. Fabio Fognini
Murray and Fognini will be meeting for just the fourth time in their careers and for the second time in more than five years when they clash on Thursday. Their most recent encounter came earlier this season on the clay courts of Rome, where Fognini used home-court advantage and an obvious surface edge to crush Murray 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in a Davis Cup quarterfinal rubber as Italy defeated Spain. They have split their other two matches; Fognini rolled 6-2, 6-2 at the 2007 Canada Masters before Murray prevailed 7-6(11), 6-4 at the 2011 Monte-Carlo event.
Like Ferrer, Murray is making a late push to qualify for London. The 10th-ranked Scot has put himself in prime contention by playing his best tennis of the year this fall. He won titles in Shenzhen and Vienna and he opened on Wednesday in Valencia with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Jurgen Melzer. Previously mired in a stretch of losses (six to be exact) and uninspiring performances, Fognini rebounded for a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Albert Ramos on Tuesday. With the world No. 19 in questionable form and Murray playing far more inspired tennis than his opponent, this should be entirely one-way traffic.
Pick: Murray in 2 losing 7 games or fewer
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