Tennis: Rosset eyes up clash of titans

Rosset during his third round clash with Tommy Haas Keystone

Today's fourth round Wimbledon encounter between Switzerland's Marc Rosset and Germany's Alexander Popp brings together two giants of the tennis world.

They may not be the biggest names in the sport but they are the tallest players on the tour, both measuring just over two metres.

Both players are making their first appearances in the fourth round. On Saturday, Rosset finally made it past the third round on his fourth attempt, beating Popp’s compatriot, Tommy Haas, in an epic five-set struggle. Popp is playing at Wimbledon for the first time and secured his place in today’s match with an impressive win over the fourth seed, Gustavo Kuerten.

Popp and Rosset have never played against each other, although they did warm-up together on Saturday – before they knew about today’s line-up. Other than that brief encounter, both have little knowledge of their opponent.

The match is likely to be dominated by serve with both players well used to maximising their (usual) height advantage. Popp may have age on his side – at 23 he is six years younger than Rosset. But Rosset is the more experienced player and will be expected to do well against a player 81 places lower than him in the world rankings.

by Mark Ledsom