2014 Indore and San Juan Challenger Previews, Picks
Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
Only two tournaments this week: one in India on hardcourt and the other one in Argentina on clay.
Indore Open ATP Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour
Indore, India
13-19 October
Prize Money: $125,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Aleksandr Nedovyesov (121)
2: Alexander Kudryavtsev (129)
3: Somdev Devvarman (142)
4: Hiroki Moriya (157)
5: Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (163)
6: Yuki Bhambri (184)
7: Kimmer Coppejans (193)
8: Stefano Travaglia (215)
The last direct acceptance is Karunuday Singh, ranked 499th.
First round match-ups to watch
Gianluigi Quinzi – Ramkumar Ramanathan
Quinzi has been marked a great prospect and is making his comeback on Challenger level here after being out with injury for two months. Ramanathan is 19, a year older than Quinzi, so it will be interesting to see how these two youngsters match up.
Top Half
Two players here are the clear favorites here to make the semi-finals, #1 seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov and #3 seed Somdev Devvarman. It would be a pretty big surprise to see one of the other players in this half upset one of them. Nedovyesov and Devvarman have played each other twice this year, with Nedovyesov winning in four sets at Roland Garros and Devvarman taking down the final of the New Delhi Challenger very comfortably in two sets, 6-3 6-1. Given that New Delhi was played on hardcourt as well, I’d say that result is a better indication of how this match will pan out.
Bottom Half
This half looks considerably more open than the top half, with Yuki Bhambri, Hiroki Moriya, Kimmer Coppejans and Alexander Kudryavtsev all being decent picks to make it through. Bhambri has been struggling with injuries for a while, but if he is in good shape, he is my favorite to reach the final.
Predictions
Semis:
Devvarman > Nedovyesov
Bhambri > Coppejans
Final:
Bhambri > Devvarman
A home country final, resulting in a win for the new generation. They played each other in the beginning of the year at Chennai, with Bhambri comfortably winning in two sets, 6-2 6-4.
Copa San Juan Gobierno
ATP Challenger Tour
San Juan, Argentina
13-19 October
Prize Money: $40,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Diego Schwartzman (79)
2: Joao Sousa (89)
3: Alejandro Gonzalez (90)
4: Horacio Zeballos (104)
5: Facundo Bagnis (120)
6: Facundo Arguello (144)
7: Thiemo de Bakker (147)
8: Guido Andreozzi (150)
The last direct acceptance is Renzo Olivo, ranked 276th.
First round match-ups to watch
(5) Facundo Bagnis – Gonzalo Lama
Bagnis isn’t in the best of shapes, with a 6-6 record in his last six Challenger events. Despite losing to Bagnis twice this year, Lama should feel confident after pushing Victor Estrella Burgos to three sets in his previous tournament.
(3) Alejandro Gonzalez – Guido Pella
Both men have seen better days, but while their career high rankings are pretty close to each other, #70 for Gonzalez and #75 for Pella. Gonzalez is still in the top 100 at #97, while Pella is ranked a lot lower at #196. Their previous matches were both close encounters, with both men winning one, so this should be an interesting battle.
Top Half
After reaching back to back finals, top seed Diego Schwartzman got upset in the first round of the Cali Challenger, where he lost to Christian Lindell. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t the favorite again here. There is some stiff competion awaiting him, with Jason Kubler or Guido Andreozzi in the quarterfinal and Horacio Zeballos, Andre Ghem or Facundo Arguello in the semi-final.
Bottom Half
#2 seed Joao Sousa is by far the best pick to advance here. He’s been solid as of late and is less likely to throw in a random bad match like some others in this half are known to do (See: Thiemo de Bakker, Facundo Bagnis). However, he has a tough second round match against the up and coming Nicolas Jarry, who beat him in three sets at Quito a month ago.
Predictions
Semis:
Schwartzman > Zeballos
Sousa > Gonzalez
Final:
Schwartzman > Sousa
Don’t be surprised if you see Jarry in the final instead of Sousa, however. Their match is likely to be very close and decisive to determine the finalist coming from the bottom half.
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