Tennis Atlantic

2015 Caltanissetta, Moscow, Prague and Surbiton Challenger Previews & Predictions
Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic

Citta Di Caltanissetta

ATP Challenger Tour
Caltanissetta, Italy
8-14 June 2015
Red Clay
Prize Money: €106,500

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Albert Ramos-Vinolas (63)
2: Paolo Lorenzi (86)
3: Alejandro Gonzalez (105)
4: Guido Pella (113)
5: Maximo Gonzalez (114)
6: Marco Cecchinato (122)
7: Bjorn Fratangelo (149)
8: Gastao Elias (152)

The last direct acceptance is Christian Garin, ranked 249th. Second seed Lorenzi withdrew due to the left leg injury he attracted in the semi-final of Mestre last week, his place in the draw is taken over by Guilherme Clezar.

Second round match-ups to watch

(4) Guido Pella – Andrea Arnaboldi

Those who follow the Challenger tour have known him for a long time, but Arnaboldi made a name for himself on the main tour as well, with an awe-inspiring run at Roland Garros. In the second qualifying round he beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 27-25 in the third set, in the third round he came back from a set and 5-2* down against Marco Trungelliti and in the first round of the main draw he came back from two sets down and saved a match point against James Duckworth, handing him a bagel in the fifth set. Against Marin Cilic in the next round he wasn’t able to offer much resistance, but it didn’t lessen his dream run. Pella has been in excellent form himself this year, winning two Challengers and reaching the final in another one, so this should be an interesting and close encounter.

(5) Maximo Gonzalez – Elias Ymer

Ymer looked to have injured his hand in his quarterfinal against Albert Montanes in Fürth last week, but judging by his opening round win against Guido Andreozzi here we can assume it wasn’t that bad, which should enable him to challenge Gonzalez, who might be feeling a bit tired after his title run in Mestre last week.

Top Half

Top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas will be looking to avenge his painful loss against Albert Montanes in Fürth last week and he has an excellent draw to do so. Reaching the semi-final shouldn’t be a problem, after which he will face one of Pella, Arnaboldi, Ymer or Gonzalez, who all pretty much have an equal shot of reaching that stage.

Bottom Half

Normally Lorenzi would have been the clear favorite in this half, but with him out of the picture it is quite open. Third seed Alejandro Gonzalez and sixth seed Marco Cecchinato have the best chances and will most likely determine who the finalist will be, with Guilherme Clezar as a dangerous outsider.

Predictions

Semis:

Ramos-Vinolas d. Arnaboldi
Cecchinato d. Gonzalez

Final:

Ramos-Vinolas d. Cecchinato

Hoff Open

ATP Challenger Tour
Moscow, Russia
8-14 June 2015
Red Clay
Prize Money: $50,000

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Marcel Granollers (57)
2: Teymuraz Gabashvili (74)
3: Damir Dzumhur (88)
4: Blaz Rola (97)
5: Radu Albot (130)
6: Alexander Kudryavtsev (131)
7: Daniel Munoz-De La Nava (134)
8: Horacio Zeballos (142)

The last direct acceptance is Miljan Zekic, ranked 329th.

Second round match-up to watch

Karen Khachanov – Evgeny Donskoy

19-year-old Khachanov’s development seemed to have halted a bit in comparison to some of his age-peers, but he has done really well for himself this year, rising almost 150 ranking spots and now sitting at #231. Clay is Donskoy’s worst surface, so Khachanov should be able to really threaten him here.

Top Half

Top seed Marcel Granollers is by far the best ranked player here and he should also have the best chance to advance. His biggest threat to reach the final will be Damir Dzumhur, who reached the third round at Roland Garros and might be able to take Granollers out. They faced off in Casablanca this year, but Granollers had to retire after going down 3-0.

Bottom Half

This half is considerably more open, with various players who can go through. Partially due to them being very erratic, making it hard to predict what form they will bring into the event. Second seed Teymuraz Gabashvili plays the equally erratic Antonio Veic in the second round, while youngster Andrey Rublev faces Renzo Olivo. I think it will be between Gabashvili and Rublev for a place in the final.

Predictions

Semis:

Dzumhur d. Granollers
Gabashvili d. Rublev

Final:

Dzumhur d. Gabashvili

Sparta Prague Open

ATP Challenger Tour
Prague, Czech Republic
8-13 June 2015
Red Clay
Prize Money: €42,500

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Joao Souza (78)
2: Norbert Gombos (103)
3: Kimmer Coppejans (107)
4: Aleksandr Nedovyesov (115)
5: Andre Ghem (140)
6: Albert Montanes (155)
7: Gerald Melzer (163)
8: Inigo Cervantes (164)

The last direct acceptance is Hugo Dellien, ranked 257th.

Second round match-up to watch

(3) Kimmer Coppejans – Pere Riba

Former world #65 Riba just returned after a lengthy injury lay-off and it will be interesting to see what he can do against Coppejans, the young Belgian who is having a breakthrough year. Coppejans will be a good test for Riba, where he can see if he already got what it takes to hang with guys around the top 100 mark.

Top Half

Top seed Joao Souza got upset in the first round by Hans Podlipnik-Castillo, leaving Taro Daniel as the clear favorite in this half. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how tired Daniel will be, given his title run at Fürth last week, where he beat Albert Montanes in the final, whom he is likely to meet again in the semi-final here.

Bottom Half

The clear favorite in this half is Kimmer Coppejans and if he brings the form that saw him reach new heights at Challenger level this year he should be able to conquer this half with relative ease. The main threat will probably be #8 seed Inigo Cervantes, who has been on a great run himself.

Predictions

Semis:

Daniel d. Montanes
Coppejans d. Cervantes

Final:

Coppejans d. Daniel

Aegon Surbiton Trophy

ATP Challenger Tour
Surbiton, Great Britain
8-14 June 2015
Grass
Prize Money: €42,500

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Luca Vanni (102)
2: James Ward (104)
3: Ryan Harrison (126)
4: Denis Kudla (136)
5: Yoshihito Nishioka (146)
6: Jared Donaldson (153)
7: Yuki Bhambri (156)
8: James McGee (157)

The last direct acceptance is Jason Jung, ranked 214th.

Second round match-up to watch

(6) Jared Donaldson – Matthew Ebden

Ebden faces two Americans in a row, having beaten Chase Buchanan in the first round. Ebden’s game translates well to grass and he should be able to give his ranking a boost on the surface, perhaps even by reaching the final here.

Top Half

As said, I think Ebden could do some serious damage here, potentially facing Ryan Harrison in the quarterfinal, who is not in good form. The top section is wide open with top seed Luca Vanni going out to Luke Saville in the first round, leaving James McGee as the only seed.

Bottom Half

This is an excellent opportunity for Denis Kudla to rekindle some form. He potentially faces Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarterfinal, which should be a tough challenge. After that he is likely to face Igor Sijsling, who is a lot better on grass than his ranking may suspect and beat Milos Raonic at Wimbledon in the not too distant past.

Predictions

Semis:

Ebden d. Saville
Sijsling d. Kudla

Final:

Sijsling d. Ebden