Guillermo Coria (8) - Nikolay Davydenko (12)

Guillermo Coria (8) - Nikolay Davydenko (12)

Form guide>
Just by getting past the first round here, Nikolay Davydenko broke the mould. He became the first winner of the prestigious Sankt-Pölten tournament to reach the second round of the French in six years. Davydenko has won a clay court tournament prior to the French in each of the past three seasons and has been in fine fettle so far this year.

Guillermo Coria is a hot favourite for the crown, having reached the semis here in 2003 and the final last year. The next step up is the title, but the Argentinean has not been in the same rich vein of clay court form as in recent years. A right shoulder injury has hampered him and as a result he has not won a major tournament since Monte-Carlo in April 2004. He will need to overturn another statistical anomaly if he is to become champion too, as the no No8 seed has never won the French Open.

Tactical guide>
Coria is the consummate clay court player. Able to run all day, and all night if needs be, he preys on his opponent's mistakes like a hungry hyena. Russian Nikolay Davydenko will need to cut down his unforced errors to an absolute minimum then, all the while keeping the ball long to avoid the Argentinean seizing the initiative in the long drawn-out rallies. The Australian Open quarter-finalist should draw on his Melbourne experience and play with the carefree abandon of the underdog if he is to prevail.

Head-to-heads
>Guillermo Coria has won each of the three matches the pair has played up this point. Davydenko will be hoping for a happier outcome than the 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 drubbing he received at the French Open last year.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/articles/2005-05-29/200505291117380070898.html