Analysis for Stepanek-Ferrero (ATP Shanghai)

Head-to-head record 2:1

Juan Carlos Ferrero will play Czech Radek Stepanek in the opening round at Shanghai Masters. We already described both of these players last week. Ferrero was known as one of the best clay court players during his prime but he has distinguished himself as an all-court and all-round player through his solid performance on hard court tournaments. He actually said during an interview that he prefers to play on hard courts. Tennis experts agreed that Ferrero's clay court game translated well to the hard court due to his aggressive style of playing. He also has one of the greatest forehands in the game and immense speed on the court. His latest results were solid and even if he was eliminated in the second round by Verdasco last week, his self-confidence must be high. His opponent, Radek Stepanek, is a big-hearted player who is said to be not as talented as other top players but his main weapons are his head and enormous fighting spirit. He opened the season in a great style but his latest results weren´t convincing. Last week, he was defeated by Gulbis in the first round and we think that Ferrero should be a slight favourite in this match. Odds above 1.9 are fine for us.