Mikhail Youzhny is in action against former undisputed clay-court king Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of the Mercedes Cup on Thursday.
It's easy to forget that Ferrero was once the King of Clay back in 2003 and many predicted his reign to last long into the future and yield multiple Roland Garros titles. A combination of injuries, a change in racket and the emergence of Rafa Nadal put paid to those predictions but Ferrero has still popped up every now and then, dominating the smaller clay events on the circuit.
However his appearances have been few and far between over the past year. After last year's US Open he was out for nearly eight months and a brief return to the game in April ended with him back on the sidelines after just a couple of weeks.
All in all, he did well to get through an opening round clash with lucky loser Bastian Knittel 6-2, 6-4 but Youzhny will be a different kettle of fish. A former Stuttgart champion he looked in fine form during a 6-3, 6-3 win over dangerman Philipp Petzschner and with the top half of the draw now wide open after Gael Monfils' defeat, he could go a long way.
Ferrero leads 2-1 on the head-to-head but Youzhny has won their only clay-court match, beating the Spaniard in four sets at the French Open back in 2007.
Prediction: Youzhny in two.
