Analysis for Blake-Crivoi (ATP Rome)

Head-to-head record 0:0

American James Blake will face Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi in a battle for the second round spot at Rome Masters. None of them can be rated as a pure claycourter as both players are offensive baseliners who feel better on hard courts. American has started the clay court season in Houston by losing to Canas. His preparation for the European clay season was limited as the American green clay is slightly different surface from the one in Europe. Blake adopts an offensive baseline strategy which he achieves through his aggressive powerful forehands that are deep and flat. He undoubtedly possesses one of the strongest forehands on the tour. He is also an excellent returner of serve, he makes use of compact swings to aggressively return. His forehands, due to being flat and deep, offer little room for error when compared to high margin shots which employ topspin. Although, Blake can incorporate an all-court playing style by aiming his shots down the lines, or moving an opponent from side to side and proceeding to finish the point at the net by smash or volley. Blake is also noted for his exceptional court coverage, speed, and athleticism. He is noted for having incredible foot speed but lacking in footwork. As we said, his style of play is best suited for hard courts as his flat shots tend to stay low and move quickly across the court. This approach is relatively ineffective on clay courts. His opponent Victor Crivoi is relatively unknown player who plays mainly on challenger circuit. However, he has two solid qualifying wins under the belt (defeated Gabashvili and Lapentti both in straight sets) and he is definitely able to keep it close against not prepared Blake today. Odds above 2.35 are high enough for us.