Analysis for O.Rochus-Golubev (ATP St.Petersburg)

Head-to-head record 0:0

Oli Rochus will play talented qualifier Andrey Golubev in the first round at St. Pete tournament. Rochus is much more experienced and also played well indoor in past but hasn´t had any success over the last 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. But this year he remains far behind expectations – he lost to the likes Ouanna, De Heart or Decoud and he doesn’t seem to be confident enough. His opponent came through qualifiers easily winning 3 matches without losing a single set which indicates he feels well within the conditions here. He is still young but has a potential for further improvements and we just thing that odds above 2.4 don´t reflect the true reality here.