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Rome Masters Daily Tips: Volandri to be Luczak's kryptonite

Events RSS / / 26 April 2010 /

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Volandri in his element on the clay of Rome

Volandri in his element on the clay of Rome

"Fillippo has a strong affection for this place; Rome he says, is his favourite tournament and has the best crowd. His best ever tournament performance was back in 2007 when at the Rome Masters he defeated Richard Gasquet, Roger Federer (in straight sets) and Tomas Berdych to reach the semi-finals before losing to Fernando Gonzalez."

Filippo Volandri has been in the tennis wilderness for the last couple of years and the few headlines he's made in recent times have been for all the wrong reasons. But in his own backyard and in front of the TV cameras he can come good this evening, says Ben Caudell.

Filippo Volandri (ITA) v Peter Luczak (AUS)

Today's only singles match to be played under floodlights kicks off at 19:30 UK time and will put Filippo Volandri, AKA Superman, back into the spotlight for the very first time in nearly three years.

The Italian has slipped dramatically down the ATP Tour World Rankings since June 2007, when he was ranked at an all-time high of 25. Now ranked at 152 in the world, the 28 year old Livorno resident will possibly see this match as a last ditched attempt to get his mind and form back on track.

Punters who are familiar with Volandri and his topsy turvy career will be aware that this man has a love for the clay courts and spends 90% of his playing career on the dirt; it is very rare to see the Italian play on any other surface, two years in-fact since he last played on a surface that wasn't clay!!!

Fillippo has a strong affection for this place; Rome he says, is his favourite tournament and has the best crowd. His best ever tournament performance was back in 2007 when at the Rome Masters he defeated Richard Gasquet, Roger Federer (in straight sets) and Tomas Berdych to reach the semi-finals before losing to Fernando Gonzalez.

He has played two recent Rome challenger tournaments in April, winning one and reaching the quarter finals of the other in preparation for this event and is currently 8-2 in all matches. Luczak, the older of the two players and higher ranked at 72 in the world has played a lot tougher opposition in the lead up to this match; he has managed to qualify for both Monte Carlo and Rome Master Series events and is currently 5-5 in all matches and 4-6 on clay. He also has a 1-0 head-to-head series advantage over Volandri - the match was played in Napoli and Luczak won 7-5 6-2.

With this match being played in Rome and taking centre stage as the evening match, all eyes will be on Volandri. He will have to step up another gear if he is going to have any chance of winning today. It's make or break time for the Italian and I have a slight feeling "Superman" may regain his super powers, even if for one night only.

Selection:

Back Fillippo Volandri @ [2.3] to win match

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