Saturday Preview: Stage Set for Semifinals

Back to list >

By Barry Newcombe

Radek Stepanek v Andy Roddick: First Meeting
Andy Roddick admits he is excited as the last stages of the Stella Artois beckon him. He has won the title for the past two years--and a third opportunity is now in sight as he goes into the semi-final test against the Czech Radek Stepanek. This is their first meeting and Roddick is cautious as he assesses the challenge ahead. "He's not real flashy but the meat and potatoes of his game is very solid. I don't know if he makes stupid errors, "he said. "He hits flat, I'm sure that's pretty effective on this stuff. " Stepanek, 26, has had a world ranking since 1995 and has gradually brought the number down so that he is now sixteenth. He has gone one round further than in last year's Stella Artois and that means this is his best tournament since the Paris Masters last autumn. Then he reached his first final and was beaten by Marat Safin. This week his serve has been the basis of his progress to the last four when he had to work his way out of potential trouble against the French teenager Richard Gasquet. Roddick has made the most of his chances this far and, at 22, is amused by the fact that after his six years on the tour another generation which includes Gasquet and Rafael Nadal is already under the microscope. For Roddick it is a question of keeping his own hat in the ring.

Verdict: Roddick to reach his third successive Stella Artois final

Ivo Karlovic v Thomas Johansson: First Meeting
This Stella Artois semi-final provides a challenging stage for Ivo Karlovic, at 6ft 10ins the tallest player to be ranked inside the top 100 in the 32 years since rankings began. He came into the Stella Artois with a ranking of 77th and reached the last four unseeded with a straight sets win over the top seed and former champion Lleyton Hewitt who he beat, of course, in that momentous first round at Wimbledon in 2003. Now Karlovic, who was born and still lives in Zagreb, Croatia, takes on the sixth seed Thomas Johansson of Sweden in the semi-finals. They have not met on the regular tour but in the challenger tournament at Surbiton last year Johansson beat Karlovic in a three set match. Johansson is a former Australian champion. The certain factor about Karlovic is that he is a very impressive server and on a grass court especially he can use that serve to telling effect to create positions of command. His best Grand Slam performances have been at Wimbledon, third round in 2003, fourth round last year where he lost in straight sets to champion Roger Federer. Johansson, 30, has been on the tour since 1993 with a best year end ranking of 14th in 2002, the year in which he was Australian champion. He was also champion of Nottingham in 2001. So he knows the business inside out.

Verdict: Johansson to reach his first final since Stockholm last autumn

Jonas Bjorkman(Swe)-Max Mirnyi(Blr) v Frantisek Cermak(Cze)-Leos Friedl(Cze)
Top seeded Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi won the French title only last weekend--their first appearance in a Grand Slam final since they joined up as a regular playing team at the start of the year. In that time Bjorkman and Mirnyi have reached the semi-finals or better at eight of the nine events they have played. Cermak, 28, and his fellow Czech Friedl, also 28, are seeded sixth and had a walkover into the semi-finals when their opponents withdrew. Verdict: Bjorkman and Mirnyi to remain in the hunt for their fifth title of the year.

Simon Aspelin(Swe)-Todd Perry(Aus) v Bob and Mike Bryan(USA)
The Bryan brothers, runners up for the French Open title, have been in five Grand Slam finals including the Australian Open at the start of this year. They have been named men's doubles world champions by the International Tennis Federation for 2004, a year in which they won seven titles. Mike is the older of the twins by two minutes. Aspelin, 31, lives in London and Perry, 29, is from Adelaide and are fifth seeds.

Verdict: The Bryans to set up another clash with their big rivals.

Back to list >