Analysis for Santoro-Stakhovsky (ATP Moscow)

Head-to-head record 1:0

French veteran Fabrice Santoro will face Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second Moscow round. Santoro is becoming a legend but he is currently far from his best. In addition to his doubles prowess, Fabrice is noted for his cheery attitude on court and his vast arsenal of trick shots, making him a crowd favorite and gaining him the admiration of his peers. In recognition of Santoro's varied and innovative style of play, Pete Sampras has nicknamed him The Magician. Santoro plays with two hands on forehand and backhand, and though he is right-handed, often slices his forehand with his left hand. He attributes this to his having used racquets of the same weight throughout his career, which were too heavy for a six-year-old starting off a career to hold with one hand. Santoro has beaten many former world number one players including Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. At 36, he is currently the oldest player in the ATP Top 100. He is a great player but time cannot be stopped and the end of his career is coming. He is not at his best and we think he will have difficult times against Stakhovsky. Ukrainian turned professional in 2003 and had been playing mostly at the Challenger level from 2005-2008. His career high in singles is number 74 (November, 2008). He won his first career title in 2008, as a lucky loser ranked 209, defeating number 1 seed Ivan Ljubicic in the final. He is coming off the solid challenger run and was impressive in the first round here demolishing unknown Russian opponent. 2 points bet here.