Jarkko Nieminen is somewhat of a veteran now on the ATP tour. He looked done and dusted at the beginning of 2010 but finished the year very strongly to regain his top 50 ranking and give the Finnish fans some hope that Jarkko will be around for a few years longer at the top of his game. In the first round he had an excellent win over Aussie Open semi finalist David Ferrer. I don't think the Spaniard played his best game and Nieminen struggled on his second serve winning less than 40% of them. Jarkko will have to get a high percentage of first serves in to be with any chance of taking the match.
Viktor Troicki will also have to be serving at his best to win the match. The Serbian is on the verge of a top 20 spot in the rankings for the first time and he possesses a very good tennis brain and uses his first serve to good effect to win many cheap points and get himself out of trouble on many ocassion. His game is well suited to the indoor courts and his will try and use his power to dominate Nieminen in this match. Troicki has had a good start to 2011 reaching the Doha quarter finals losing to Federer, reaching the Sydney International final and also a 3rd round appearance in the Aussie Open where he had to retire a set down to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Troicki won 33 out of 35 first serve points in his first fround match with wildcard Schoorel, but Nieminen will be a tougher opponent.
Match Prediction:
Viktor Troicki
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