Juan Carlos Ferrero has a tough ask against compatriot Feliciano Lopez in the first round of Cincinnati today.
Lopez is a strong favourite for this one as Ferrero is just not the same player any more on hard courts. It's easy to forget that Ferrero made the US Open final back in 2003, the same year he became world number one but that was as good as it got for the Spaniard and the continued rise of Roger Federer from 2004 onwards, hastened his demise.
On clay, Ferrero is still a threat. He won in Stuttgart last month but the next few months could be a lean spell for him. He crashed out in the opening round of Montreal to Ernests Gulbis.
Lopez also went out early but he had a particularly bad news. He did well to get past Washington champion Radek Stepanek in the opening round but then he ran into Mardy Fish and was outplayed in straight sets.
However there could be more opportunities for the winner of this one who could face Andy Roddick in round two. The American has been stricken by injury over the past couple of weeks and will not be at his best plus Lopez stunned him in straight sets at Wimbledon.
