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Stepanek to step it up a gear against Tursunov

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Perfecseun previews the best of today's action including a mouth-watering tie as Stepanek faces Tursunov

Kremlin Cup Round 2 Men's Tournament

R. Stepanek (Czech) vs D. Tursunov (Russia)

It has been a mixed year for Tursunov but generally he has done pretty well. The Russian has slipped to number 30 in the world but has actually played better than his ranking may suggest. This slump is probably due to a lot of players ranked close to him having had a good season rather than poor form on Tursunov's part, who has won 2 ATP titles this year, Indianapolis and Bangkok. There is nothing wrong with his tennis form at the moment, but he is facing a huge task against a tough opponent today.

Radek Stepanek has had a very good year when its come down to determination on the court. He fights through most of his matches and you can count on him to contest each point as if it were the last. His last match in the Davis Cup against Federer is a good example. Stepanek was 2 sets down and a break down in the third but still managed to take the world number 1 to a tie break and a fourth set.

The Czech number 2 has only lost to opponents in their prime form in his last 4 defeats; Djokovic, Ferrer, Federer and Roddick. He has never played Tursunov but he can take advantage of the Russian who seems to have problems overcoming opponents closely ranked to him.

Suggested Bet: Lay D. Tursunov to win 2-0 sets @ 3.95 and Back R. Stepanek to win the match @ 1.85

Vliegen won yesterday even though it was through retirement but he secured the first set comfortably. Serra is next up and the Frenchman is not exactly comfortable playing on hard courts. He has had a few first round exits in the past weeks and the fact that Vliegen beat him comfortably in France last year on carpet will not aid his confidence going into this one. Vliegen to win this one, probably in 2 sets.

Max Mirnyi faces Arnaud Clement for the first time since 2001 and both have evolved in different players since then. Clement is having a renaissance year of some sorts and will be a hard customer to deal with. Mirnyi has played well this season without much success but he can give Clement a good game and this should go to 3 sets if the Beast of Belarus can keep the big serves going. It could be Mirnyi's day to cash in but Clement won't roll over easily.