Feliciano Lopez hopes to continue his recent good form in Gstaad at the Swiss Open.
Lopez has never won a clay-court title in his career so far but over the next few weeks he could enjoy some of his best opportunities so far. He has a tough draw in Gstaad and is likely to face the in-form Nicolas Almagro in the quarters, a prolific winner on the clay this year.
However Lopez is in the form of his life after his quarter-final run at Wimbledon last month and the role he played in Spain's Davis Cup defeat of the USA earlier this month. He generally prefers the faster surfaces but he is certainly no mug on clay and his variety can be unsettling for some of the usual baseline bashing merchants.
Wildcard Michael Lammer is ranked 366 and has never been higher than 150 in the world. His place in the main draw owes more to the little strength in depth in Swiss tennis rather than any future prospects of making the big time.
Lammer can at least go into this match with the confidence of a winning streak behind him. He won a futures event in the small town of Fieberbrunn in Austria last week and it will no doubt be a bit of a culture shock going from competing in front of a few villagers and their dogs to entertaining the crowds on Centre Court in his homeland.
Prediction: Lopez in two.
