Analysis for Andreev-Youzhny (ATP Monte Carlo)

Head-to-head record 0:1

All-Russian match up between Igor Andreev and Michael Youzhny has a clear favourite in our eyes. Andreev is a clay court specialist. Many consider him of having one of the best forehand in the business. His best Grand Slam performance is reaching the quarterfinals of the 2007 Roland Garros. He was born in Moscow but moved to Spain at 15 to train and live in Valencia and that is why he adopted clay court skills. On the contrary, his countryman is everything but not a clay court specialist. Youzhny is a typical hard court specialist who plays with a single-handed backhand, which many believe to be his best shot. From both sides, Youzhny hits the ball on the rise to achieve a flatter flight trajectory and to get the ball to the opponent's side quicker. His service is arguably the weakest component of his game as it lacks power and stability although it has improved in the last few months. He has a good court sense and often makes use of dropshots to mix up the rallies. But basically, he is an offensive minded player who prefers hard courts. This is going to be his first clay court performance this year and Andreev looks more suited in the conditions and has had a match against Tursunov here already.