Monte-Carlo Saturday Preview

© Getty ImagesRafael Nadal will look to keep up his winning streak in Monte-Carlo with victory over Andy Murray.

Last year in Monte-Carlo, a left-handed Spaniard became the first man ever to win an ATP World Tour title six straight years. On Saturday he will take a step closer to making that seven straight years as the semi-finals take place at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

The first semi-final of the day pits No. 4 seed David Ferrer against No. 7 seed Jurgen Melzer. Both had comfortable wins in Friday’s quarter-finals, Ferrer beating No. 11 seed Viktor Troicki, 63 63 (he has now lost just 12 games in his three wins here) and Melzer getting his first win against No. 2 seed Roger Federer, 64 64 (he has lost 22 games in his three wins). This is the second straight year Ferrer has been to the semis here. Melzer had never been to the quarters here before this year and is in fact in his first career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final. He is also the first Austrian to reach the semis here since Thomas Muster won the title 15 years ago. A year ago Ferrer would have had a big edge in their head-to-head, having won their three meetings until then, but in the last 12 months Melzer has won both of their meetings, at Roland Garros (in straight sets) and again at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris in November (three sets). With the win over Federer, Melzer has now posted wins over the current top three players in the past year, defeating Nadal in Shanghai in October and Djokovic at Roland Garros in June.

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The second semi-final pits World No. 1 and six-time reigning champion Rafael Nadal against No. 3 seed Andy Murray. Nadal has an amazing 37-1 record in Monte-Carlo (winning 35 straight) with his only loss coming in his first appearance (a third round loss to Guillermo Coria in 2003). He has stormed past his first three opponents but Murray has been picking up steam - having come into Monte-Carlo on a four-match losing streak (going 0-9 in sets in that streak). He has snapped out of that with straight-set wins in his first three matches here. Murray has equaled his best career result here, having reached the semi-finals two years ago (l. to Nadal). Nadal leads the head-to-head series, 9-4, including 2-0 on clay (the Spaniard won in the aforementioned 2009 semi-final here, 62 76(4), and the year before in Hamburg, 63 62). "It's a great challenge for me. I've played many great matches with Rafa in the past," Murray said of the upcoming semi-final. "I'll give 110%. I think I've got a chance. I'm expecting him to come out all guns blazing, but I'll be ready. I understand if I want to win, I'll have to play one of the best matches of my life."

SATURDAY SEMI-FINALS FED-EX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

(4) David Ferrer (ESP) vs (7) Jurgen Melzer (AUT) Ferrer Leads 3-2
02 Bucharest (Romania) Clay R16 David Ferrer 6-4 7-6(6)
03 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 David Ferrer 6-2 6-2 7-6(2)
09 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard R32 David Ferrer 3-6 7-6(4) 7-5
10 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Jurgen Melzer 6-4 6-0 7-6(1)
10 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard R16 Jurgen Melzer 7-6(6) 2-6 6-3

FERRER FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 29-year-old Spaniard is appearing in the semi-finals for the second straight year and owns a 20-7 career mark after ousting countryman Feliciano Lopez 62 60, Canadian Milos Raonic 61 63 and No. 11 seed Viktor Troicki 63 63…Leads tournament in return games won (16 of 24, 67%), converting 16 of 29 break points (56%)…Has held serve 20 of 24 games (83%)
• Last year he reached the semi-finals for the first time (l. to Nadal)…He also advanced to the quarter-finals from 2005-08
• His past six losses have come to Top 10 opponents – No. 9 Guillermo Coria in 2005, No. 1 Federer in 2006-07, No. 2 Nadal in 2008, No. 8 Fernando Verdasco in 3rd Rd. in 2009 and No. 3 Nadal last year
• A Spaniard has reached the final for the past six years and eight in the past nine years (except ’04)

2011 Highlights:
W: Auckland (d Nalbandian); Acapulco (d Almagro); SF: Australian Open (l Murray); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Fish)

2011 in Review:
• The No. 2 Spaniard (behind No. 1 Nadal) enters his fourth semi-final (or better) with a 20-4 match record (8-0 on clay, 12-4 on hard) on the season
• He won ATP World Tour titles in Auckland (d. Nalbandian) in January and Acapulco (d. Almagro) in February…Also a semi-finalist at the Australian Open (d. Nadal in QF, l. to Murray)
• He is 1-1 vs. Top 10 opponents this season and he’s trying to register his 30th career win (29-55)
• Has an 11-10 career mark in ATP World Tour finals (6-7 on clay)
• In first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, lost in opening round to Ivo Karlovic and followed with quarter-final in Miami (l. to Fish)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has a 100-69 career mark and his best result is a runner-up in Rome last year (l. to Nadal)…Also semi-finalist in Miami in 2005-06, Rome in 2005, along with Monte-Carlo in 2010-11 and Madrid last year
• He is the 11th active player to win at least 100 matches in his career

MELZER FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 29-year-old Vienna native is the first Austrian to reach the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo since Thomas Muster won the title in 1996…In his first three matches, defeated Dutchman Robin Haase 36 61 62, No. 9 seed Nicolas Almagro 61 64 and No. 2 seed/No. 3 ranked Roger Federer 64 64 for the first time (1-3)
• Ranks No. 2 this week in break points saved (12 of 16, 75%) and has held serve 26 of 30 games (87%)
• He has a 4-4 career mark and prior to this year his only win came over Paul-Henri Mathieu last season (l. to Petzchner)…In his first three appearances, lost in the first round in 2005, ’07 and ‘09

2011 Highlights:
QF: Marseille (l Tursunov)
 
2011 in Review:
• The top Austrian is making his first career semi-final showing in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament…He will move from No. 9 to a career-high No. 8 on Monday
• Prior to this week, his previous best result was the quarter-finals in February in Marseille (bye, d. Seppi, l. to Tursunov)…This is also the second time this year he’s won back-to-back matches…At the Australian Open, he reached the 4th Rd. (l. to Murray)
• Has a 10-6 match record (4-1 on clay) and he posted his first Top 10 win of the season on Friday over No. 3-ranked Federer…It was his Top 10 win since defeating No. 7 Ferrer at ATP Masters 1000 Paris last November (12-45 mark in career)…He has never beaten two Top 10 foes in the same tournament
• In March, he played in first round Davis Cup home tie vs. France and lost to Jeremy Chardy in opening rubber and defeated Gilles Simon in five sets in fourth rubber although France prevailed 3-2
• In first two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, reached the third round in Indian Wells (bye, d. Benneteau, l. to Gasquet) and lost in opening round to Philipp Petzschner in Miami 

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has a 41-47 career mark and this is his first semi-final after five quarter-finals – 2004 Hamburg, Toronto, and last year in Madrid, Shanghai and Paris
 
(1)Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (3-WC) Andy Murray (GBR) Nadal Leads 9-4
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 6-7(3) 6-4  4-6  6-3  6-1
07 ATP Masters Series Madrid (Spain) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 7-6(5) 6-4
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg Clay R16 Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2
08 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass QF Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-4
08 ATP Masters Series 1000 Toronto Hard SF Rafael Nadal 7-6(2) 6-3 
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard SF Andy Murray 6-2 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4
09 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard F Andy Murray 6-3 4-6  6-0
09 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells ) Hard F Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-2
09 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo  Clay SF Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-6(4)
10 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF Andy Murray 6-3 7-6(2)  3-0 ret
10 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 7-6(6)  6-4
10 ATP Masters 1000 Toronto Hard SF Andy Murray 6-3  6-4
10 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals  Hard SF Rafael Nadal 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(6)

                                       Rafael Nadal Andy Murray
 Sets Won:                               23              13
 Tiebreak Sets Won:                  6                 3

 Match Wins By Surface:
 Clay:                                      2                  0
 Hard:                                     5                  4
 Grass:                                    2                  0

Tournament Highlights:
• The 24-year-old reigning six-time champion has a 37-1 career record with 35 consecutive match wins after opening with a 62 62 victory over Jarkko Nieminen and following with a 62 64 win over No. 13 seed Richard Gasquet and 61 63 triumph over Ivan Ljubicic…Has only lost five sets (72-5) during streak (in 2005-06 SF & F, ’09 F)…Last year he beat Verdasco 60 61 in final…He only lost 14 games in his five matches en route to title
• He leads the tournament in 2nd serve points won (64%) and No. 2 in service games won (23 of 25, 92%), 1st serve points won (78%) and points won returning 1st serve (49%)…Also No.3 in return games won (13 of 25, 52%)
• His lone loss came in the third round to Guillermo Coria in 2003 (did not play in 2004 due to injury)
• In 2008, became the first player to win four straight titles since New Zealand’s Anthony Wilding from 1911-14…His six titles ties Reggie Doherty of England for most in tourn. history (1897-99, 1902-04)
• Since the loss to Coria eight years ago, has captured titles over Coria in 2005, World No. 1 Roger Federer from 2006-08 and Djokovic in 2009…Has a 12-0 mark against Top 10 opponents
• In 2008, captured the doubles title (w/Robredo) over Bhupathi-Knowles and became the first player to win both titles in the same year since Ilie Nastase in 1973 (d. Borg, won doubles w/Gisbert)

2011 Highlights:
F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); SF: Doha (l Davydenko); QF: Australian Open (l Ferrer)

2011 in Review:
• The World No. 1 has a 22-4 match record on the season and he’s appearing in the semi-finals or better for the fourth time in five tournaments…He is coming off back-to-back finals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami, losing to Djokovic in three sets in both …This is the third time in four years (except ’09) he enters Monte-Carlo without a title… His last title came in Tokyo on Oct. 10, 2010…He is trying to reach his 27th ATP Masters 1000 final (18-8) and 32nd on clay (29-2) …A winner of 31 straight ATP World Tour level semis on clay since his lone loss to Moya in ’03 Umag
• With three wins this week, has improved his clay court winning streak to 27 since his last loss to Robin Soderling in 4th Rd. at ’09 Roland Garros
• He opened year with a semi-final in Doha (l. to Davydneko) and followed with a quarter-final at the
Australian Open where he injured his left adductor early in match against Ferrer (lost 64 62 63)
• Last month he led Spain to a 4-1 first round Davis Cup victory in Belgium by winning both of his singles matches (d. Ruben Bemelmans in second rubber, O. Rochus in dead rubber)…In July, Spain will travel to Austin, Texas to face the U.S.in the quarter-finals
• Has ranked No. 1 for past 45 weeks (since June 7, 2010 after Roland Garros title) and 91 overall since first taking over the top spot on Aug. 18, 2008

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History
• The all-time leader with 18 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles (since 1990) is 18-8 in ATP Masters 1000 finals…He has 199 career match wins (199-40), third behind Federer (234) and Agassi (209)
• He’s won at least two titles in each of the past six years (2005-10)…Won a personal-best four in 2005 and three each from 2007-10…He captured his 18th career title at age 23 and Agassi won his 17th title at age 34 in 2004…Has reached the final in eight of the current nine Masters 1000 finals (except Cincinnati)…He also won the former ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Hamburg in 2008

MURRAY FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 23-year-old Scot is appearing in his second semi-final in three years…He opened with a 61 64 win over Radek Stepanek on Wednesday and followed with a 63 63 victory over No. 15 seed Gilles Simon and 62 61 over Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil
• Leads the tournament in points won return 1st serve (49%) and No. 2 in return games won (62%, 16 of 26) and No. 3 in break points converted (64%, 16 of 25) and 1st serve points won (78%)…Has held serve 20 of 24 games (83%), saving nine of 13 break points
• He is making his fifth appearance in six years (except '07) and owns an 8-4 record
• Two years ago he reached his first clay court semi-final, defeating  No. 9-ranked Nikolay Davydenko 76(1) 64 for his first Top 10 win on clay (l. to Nadal)…He was the first British player to reach the semi-finals here since Tim Henman in 2002 (l. to Moya)
• Last year he lost in the opening round (after bye) to Philipp Kohlschreiber 62 61

2011 Highlights:
F: Australian Open (l Djokovic)

2011 in Review:
• The top British player has a 9-4 match record on the season and he’s appearing in his second semi-final (or better)…He snapped a four-match losing streak (nine straight sets lost) on Wednesday and it was his first win since defeating David Ferrer in the semi-finals at the Australian Open
• He lost to Djokovic 64 62 63 in his third Grand Slam final and then to Marcos Baghdatis 64 61 in Rotterdam, Donald Young 76(4) 63 in Indian Wells & Alex Bogomolov 61 75 in Miami
• He is looking for his second Top 10 win of the season (1-1) and second career on clay (1-5)…Overall, he is 43-32 vs. Top 10 opponents

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has a 96-40 career mark and 6-1 in finals…Last year won titles in Toronto and Shanghai…He’s won most ATP Masters 1000 titles without a Grand Slam crown

ATP WORLD TOUR MASTERS 1000 TITLE LEADERS -- Nadal is attempting to capture his 19th career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title while Murray his aiming for his seventh. Here are the leaders (since 1990):

                       No. 
Rafael Nadal     18 
Andre Agassi    17     
Roger Federer   17 
Pete Sampras    11  
Thomas Muster   8
Michael Chang    7
Novak Djokovic   7
Andy Murray       6
 
POTENTIAL FINAL FED-EX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS

David Ferrer (ESP) vs Rafael Nadal (ESP)   Nadal Leads 11-4
04 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay QF David Ferrer 6-3 6-7(3) 7-5
05 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-3
05 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay SF Rafael Nadal 4-6 6-4 7-5
05 Roland Garros (France) Clay QF Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-2 6-0
07 Barcelona (Spain) Clay SF Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-1
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R16 David Ferrer 6-7(3) 6-4 7-6(4)  6-2
07 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR David Ferrer 4-6 6-4 6-3
08 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo  Clay QF Rafael Nadal 6-1 7-5
08 Barcelona (Spain) Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-1 4-6 6-1
09 Barcelona (Spain) Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-5
09 ATP Masters 1000 Montreal Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 4-3 ret
10 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 7-6(5) 6-4
10 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo  Clay SF Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3
10 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Clay F Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-2
11 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF David Ferrer 6-4 6-2 6-3

David Ferrer (ESP) vs Andy Murray (GBR)   Tied 3-3
06 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R32 David Ferrer 4-6(5)7-6(0) 6-1
06 ATP Masters Series Toronto Hard R64 Andy Murray 6-2 7-6(6)
10 ATP Masters 1000 Rome (Italy) Clay R16 David Ferrer 6-3 6-4
10 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Clay QF David Ferrer 7-5 6-3
10 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals  Hard RR Andy Murray 6-2 6-2
11 Australian Open (Australia) Hard SF Andy Murray 4-6 7-6(2) 6-1 7-6(2)

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs Rafael Nadal (ESP)   Nadal Leads 3-1
08 Beijing Olympics (China)  Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-0 6-4
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Clay R32 Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-1
10 Roland Garros (France)  Clay SF Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3 7-6(6)
10 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (China) Hard R16 Jurgen Melzer 6-1 3-6 6-3

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs Andy Murray (GBR)   Murray Leads 5-0
08 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard R64 Andy Murray 3-6 6-3 6-3
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Andy Murray 6-7(5) 4-6 7-6(5) 6-1 6-3
08 GBR vs. AUT WG Play-offs (G.B.) Grass RR Andy Murray 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-1
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R32 Andy Murray 7-5 6-0 6-3
11 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Andy Murray 6-3 6-1 6-1