2016 Noumea, Happy Valley, Bangkok and Mendoza Challenger Previews & Predictions
Chris de Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Challenger BNP Paribas Noumea
ATP Challenger Tour
Noumea, New Caledonia
4-9 January 2016
Hardcourt
Prize Money: $75,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Adrian Mannarino (47)
2: Alejandro Falla (122)
3: Edouard Roger-Vasselin (123)
4: Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (143)
5: Blaz Rola (144)
6: Jordan Thompson (154)
7: Daniel Brands (159)
8: Henri Laaksonen (181)
The last direct acceptance is Maxime Chazal, ranked 256th. Former world #25 Julien Benneteau is making his comeback at this event on a wildcard, having been out of the game with an injury since March.
Top Half
Top seed Adrian Mannarino is a remarkable addition to the tournament, as the world #47 is far and away the highest ranked player in the draw, with second seed Alejandro Falla far behind at #122. Mannarino entered the tournament on a wildcard and judging by one of his tweets his participance is quite possibly due to missing the entry deadline of the ATP events. Naturally he is the big favorite in a half that also includes #5 seed Blaz Rola and #7 seed Daniel Brands.
Bottom Half
This half will probably come down to two Frenchman who also happen to be doubles partners, Benneteau and #3 seed Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Of course it’s hard to tell how Benneteau’s form is after being out of the game for such a long time, but given that Roger-Vasselin’s level dropped during last season and Benneteau won their last three encounters, I’m still inclined to give him the slight edge. One thing is for sure, the entourage of this Challenger will be miles away from the one at Roland Garros in 2014, when they won the doubles event together.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Mannarino d. Brands
Benneteau d. Roger-Vasselin
Final:
Mannarino d. Benneteau
2016 City of Onkaparinga ATP Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour
Happy Valley, Australia
4-10 January 2016
Hardcourt, Plexipave
Prize Money: $75,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Dudi Sela (100)
2: Bjorn Fratangelo (128)
3: Alejandro Gonzalez (141)
4: Igor Sijsling (145)
5: Aleksandr Nedovyesov (162)
6: Grega Zemlja (172)
7: Renzo Olivo (173)
8: Taylor Fritz (174)
The last direct acceptance Jan Satral, ranked 223rd.
Top Half
With seeds falling like flies, top seed Dudi Sela is one of two, together with Fritz in the bottom half, still standing after the first round. Naturally this makes him a strong favorite to make it to the final, with perhaps Andrey Golubev as an outsider to take him out. But Golubev is highly volatile and the steady Sela is clearly the safer bet.
Bottom Half
If Fritz can survive the encounter with his countryman Sarkissian he is the favorite to make it all the way to the final. Similarly, if Sarkissian comes through, I can see him going all the way. Competition will come from Dennis Novak, Alex Bolt and Aldin Setkic, who smell a golden opportunity to make it far with all the seeds going out early.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Sela d. Golubev
Fritz d. Novak
Final:
Fritz d. Sela
Bangkok Open 2016
ATP Challenger Tour
Bangkok, Thailand
4-10 January 2016
Hardcourt, Plexipave
Prize Money: $50,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Tatsuma Ito (119)
2: Yuichi Sugita (126)
3: Mikhail Youzhny (127)
4: Kimmer Coppejans (130)
5: Go Soeda (132)
6: Gastao Elias (133)
7: Konstantin Kravchuk (139)
8: Andre Ghem (149)
The last direct acceptance is Yasutaka Uchiyama, ranked 252nd.
Top Half
Veteran players will likely battle for a spot in the final here, but besides Youzhny 34-year-old Marco Chiudinelli and 35-year-old Stephane Robert being the main contenders. Both took out a seed in the first round, with Chiudinelli ousting top seed Ito convincingly, 6-2 6-3, while Robert beat #8 seed Andre Ghem in a marathon match, 6-7(3)7-6(4) 6-3.
Bottom Half
This half is hard to call, with a lot of players being in contention with a decent shot. #4 seed Kimmer Coppejans might be the best pick to reach the final, as the Belgian youngster simply has the most potential. If he can find his game, he should be able to outplay guys like Soeda, Kravchuk and Sugita.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Youzhny d. Chiudinelli
Coppejans d. Kravchuk
Final:
Youzhny d. Coppejans
Torneo de Mendoza
ATP Challenger Tour
Mendoza, Argentina
5-10 January 2016
Red Clay
Prize Money: $50,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Horacio Zeballos (124)
2: Rogerio Dutra Silva (125)
3: Roberto Carballes Baena (131)
4: Facundo Arguello (137)
5: Facundo Bagnis (140)
6: Andrej Martin (146)
7: Maximo Gonzalez (147)
8: Gerald Melzer (166)
The last direct acceptance is Enrique Lopez-Perez, ranked 402nd.
First round match-up to watch
Top Half
This half is dominated by home players, with four Argentineans being the seeds. Out of Zeballos, Arguello, Bagnis and Gonzalez it’s very difficult to pick one clear favorite and most of it will come down to their form of the day.
Bottom Half
Here it might come down to Jarry’s form. If he can find his game early on, he might be able to hit through Carballes Baena’s strong defense. However, that seems unlikely after a lenghty injury lay-off, making Carballes Baena a reasonable favorite to reach the final.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Zeballos d. Arguello
Carballes Baena d. Melzer
Final:
Zeballos d. Carballes Baena
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