It is a deserved merit for the 23-year-old,
whose all-court craft makes him a player
none of the big names relish facing.
Rochus is now Belgium's number one
player, ahead of older brother Christophe
and Xavier Malisse, and his ascent is
largely thanks to a sizzling start to
the season.
He reached the semi-finals in Adelaide,
the final in Auckland and then marched
into the fourth round at the Australian
Open, losing a tight match to eventual
champion Marat Safin.
And his grass-court form is good too.
Rochus reached the quarter-finals in
Halle, losing to Safin again, and then
made light of his 5ft 5ins frame to
beat 6ft 10ins Ivo Karlovic in Nottingham.
His Wimbledon best came in 2003 with
a run to the fourth round, upsetting
seventh seed Guillermo Coria in his
opening match.
A year earlier, he had beaten brother
Christophe in the first round before
scoring a stunning upset over Safin.
