Analysis for N.Lapentti-Cuevas (ATP Vina del Mar)

Head-to-head record 0:0

Nicolas Lapentti from Ecuador will play Uruguayan qualifier Pablo Cuevas in the first round at Movistar Open in Chile. Lapentti is an experienced player who turned professional in 1995 and won his first top-level singles title later that year. In 1999, he reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 6 and in 2002, Lapentti won his fifth and the last tour singles title at St Pölten. It has been 7 years already and Lapentti is not the same player anymore. This year, he only noted 2 losses on hard courts (Kadir and Stepanek) but this is going to be his clay court debut in 2009. Lapentti is a defensive baseliner who returns every ball and relies on the opponent making mistakes. He has consistent shots, makes few errors of his own while making it difficult for opponents to hit winners. His game has more to do with physical endurance and determination to retrieve un-retrievable balls as well as mental stamina. Lapentti excelled on slow courts in past but his physical endurance is far from his best. We don´t expect him to achieve the major successes anymore. His opponent will be talented Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas. Even if his latest results aren´t impressive, he had the solid season last year and proved he can be dangerous, especially on clay. Cuevas opened the year at the Movistar Open in Vina del Mar. He earned his first tour-level victory in his first-round match against Guillermo Coria. He then beat Fernando Verdasco and Jose Acasuso, before falling in the semifinal against Fernando Gonzalez. Cuevas held two match points in the semifinal, which would prove to be the deciding match of the tournament after Juan Monaco retired during the doubles final. Cuevas would reach his career-high singles ranking of No. 88 following Vina del Mar. This year, he came through qualifiers here and seems to be in a solid form again. Bearing in mind his last year performance here and the qualifying matches he has under the belt, we think he should be a slight favourite against veteran Lapentti. Anything above 2 is worth taking for us.