Analysis for O.Rochus-Darcis (ATP Halle)

Head-to-head record 0:0

Oli Rochus will play his fellow countryman Steve Darcis on the second day in Halle. Rochus is much more experienced and also played well on grass in past but hasn´t had any success over the last few months and it seems his best years are far behind him. In June 2006, Rochus had a very good chance to beat World No. 1 Roger Federer and end his 39-match winning streak on grass. In the quarter-final of the tournament in Halle, Rochus held four match points in the second set at 5–6 and in the tie-break. He couldn't close out the match and eventually lost 7–6, 6–7, 6–7. Perhaps his biggest win was at Wimbledon in 2002, where he overcame top ten star Marat Safin in four sets. The victory was particularly impressive considering Safin is almost a foot taller than the Belgian star. As you can see, his grass results are pretty impressive considering the fact he is one of the smallest players on AT circuit. On the other hand, Steve Darcis hasn´t played a pro match on grass yet but has been a big improver this year. At the Dutch Open last year, in his 3rd career ATP-level tournament, he won his first ATP-level singles match and then went on to win the tournament, catapulting him into the top-150 for the first time. He beat all top-60 players en route to the title. On 2 March 2008, Darcis won his second ATP event in Memphis beating Swede Robin Soderling in the final. He was fairly successful as a junior reaching #8 in the world and beating the likes Baghdatis, Murray or Berdych. We think he has a good potential for further improvement and are curious about his play on grass. Well, he lacks the match practice on this surface but his odds against elderly countryman seem to be more than fair.