Analysis for Robredo-Stepanek (Sydney)

Head-to-head record 5:0

The head-to-head is hugely one-sided but 3 of 5 meetings they played were on clay where conditions are much more suitable for Spaniard. Both matches on fast surfaces were really tight. Both players seem to be out of form currently - Robredo lost to Calleri in straight sets last week and Stepanek retired form the match against Sirianni (official reason was the foot injury but he looked totally destroyed by enormous heat). But last year´s performances catapulted him back among the top players after his recovery form the long lasting back and arm injuries. In the second round of the 2007 US Open, Št?pánek played a superb match against third seed Novak Djokovic, which he ended up losing in the ultimate tie-break of the fifth set. Although he lost the match, his defeat was a close one [7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 7-5, 5-7, 6-7 (2)]. He showed the world that he is still a top-ten contender and shouldn´t be underestimated anymore. His play is based on a very strong and well-placed serve and it is always very difficult to break him on fast surfaces. Stepanek is known for his fighting spirit and unwillingness to concede defeat, as he has demonstrated several times in his career. We hope that Stepanek will fight bravely for his spot in the second round here and we believe he can make it. Robredo is known as a particularly dangerous clay court player, though he has had several respectable results on hard courts as well. His main strengths lie in his groundstrokes and return game, and are complemented by his accuracy and incredible foot speed. Robredo´s serve is not one of his strenghts, however we can hardly call it weak point. He is a versitile player but prefers slower surfaces and Stepanek´s odds above 2.5 represent value for us.

Expekt offers Stepanek at 2.82 as well