The last time iseen him play he had open blisters the size of 20c pieces on his hands but he toughed out others wouldnt have turned up ...anyway I hope he kicks ******** for ya tonight good luck

You are right about him being too short straight up knowledge. I am having Safin to win in straight sets at $1.90 and a little bit on Safin 3 sets to 1 as a saver.

The only decent player Stepanek has beaten all week is Youzhny who was a little bit tired after winning a title last week. The top half of the draw was always a lottery after a lot of withdrawals and when you see Henman being the strongest seed in that half you can see how Stepanek got through.

Safin to win 3-0. Stepanek doesn't stand a chance. I keep telling myself anyway.

I keep telling myself that as well JD. Hopefully Marat's alter ego doesn't come along tonight and spoil it for all of us!!

Did anyone see Stepanek beat Safin in Russia a couple of weeks ago?

I saw bits and pieces of the match when the live feed wasn't playing up. Safin pretty much blew that match in the first set, he had 4 set points and didn't convert any of them then only to see Stepanek snatch the set on his first chance. Safin was very patchy that day and didn't serve very well at all. Stepanek on the other hand played his normal reliable game.

I have seen safin's last couple of matches and he is playing 1000 times better this week than he was then. He is serving very well and his backhand is on fire.

Stepanek has been consistent without being spectacular, which is always the way with him. He will usually win when his opponent has an off day because his level of play rarely differs - it is good without ever being great.

So if you choose to back Stepanek tonight you are pretty much backing that Safin will have an off night, rather than Stepanek having a great one.

Thankyou Mr Saffin