Perfecseun sheds some light on...Koubek
Players Under the Microscope
/
Editor /
09 October 2007 /
Koubek can cash in on home soil, says Perfecseun
The ATP rolls into Vienna, Austria this week and one place where the home players seem to rise above the level of expectation. Stephan Koubek was on my list of players to watch this week and I am following his progress religiously. The Austrian is the in-form player out of the home players and he showed his readiness for this tournament by defeating Moya in 3 sets. If Koubek plays the way he did yesterday throughout this tournament and with the help of the home crowd, he will find himself in the last four, at the very least.
Of the matches being played today:
Vliegen should take a win against Victor Troicki who has done well to jump from 211 to 136 by virtue of his performance at Umag where he beat Djokovic in the second round. However, he has not beaten anyone ranked higher than 75 other than that Djokovic win and Vliegen, ranked 66, should bank this one and try to end his season on a positive note.
Thomas Johansson seems to have found his way since New Haven, the last tournament before the US Open. He did do well at the final Grand Slam of the year and has improved to an extent. The home favourite in Stockholm faces Del Potro who made light work of him at Quee's this year. I don't see Johansson winning this one in 2 sets as Del Potro is a solid player on hard court, and fast improving as well. Del Potro should take a set off the Swede and could possibly go on to win the match.