2016 Kyoto and Cherbourg Challenger Previews & Predictions
Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships
ATP Challenger Tour
Kyoto, Japan
22-28 February 2016
Carpet, Indoor Synthetic
Prize Money: $50,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Yuichi Sugita (117)
2: Tatsuma Ito (120)
3: Go Soeda (131)
4: Luke Saville (184)
5: Hiroki Moriya (190)
6: Yan Bai (211)
7: Ti Chen (220)
8: Duckhee Lee (230)
The last direct acceptance is Jimmy Wang, ranked 441st.
First round match-up to watch
(5) Hiroki Moriya – Flavio Cipolla
Cipolla’s results have been dire lately, but last week he had somewhat of a resurgence he will perhaps be able to build on. The former world #70 reached the semi-final in New Delhi, so perhaps he can cause some troubles against the fifth seed here.
Top Half
A potential clash of generations awaits in the quarterfinal, with 31-year-old Go Soeda and 17-year-old Duckhee Lee on course to meet. They played each other three times, with Soeda winning all of them, but Lee got closer on each occasion, so perhaps he can finally go all the way this time.
https://i.gyazo.com/ea3746875b2a733986c1203327c5cf30.png
If Moriya is able to survive his opening round against Cipolla, a very familiar face might await him in the quarterfinal, top seed Yuichi Sugita. The two have met ten times, with Sugita leading 6-4.
Bottom Half
Second seed Tatsuma Ito is the clear favorite to go through to the final here, although he has a tricky first round opponent in Ze Zhang. Nevertheless, he is expected to go through in this half, which also features Luke Saville, Ti Chen and Yan Bai as outsiders.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Sugita d. Lee
Ito d. Saville
Final:
Sugita d. Ito
Challenger La Manche – Cherbourg
ATP Challenger Tour
Cherbourg, France
22-28 February 2016
Hardcourt, Green Set
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Filip Krajinovic (98)
2: Yoshihito Nishioka (110)
3: Pierre-Hugues Herbert (111)
4: Daniel Brands (132)
5: Adam Pavlasek (144)
6: Jordan Thompson (149)
7: Karen Khachanov (150)
8: Kenny De Schepper (152)
The last direct acceptance is Rankumar Ramanathan, ranked 211th.
First round match-ups to watch
Marco Chiudinelli – Ramkumar Ramanathan
Can 34-year-old Chiudinelli continue the great form that saw him win the Wroclaw Challenger last week? Ramanathan started out the year great by reaching the quarterfinal at the Chennai 250 event, but hasn’t won a match since, so it isn’t a bad draw for Chiudinelli.
(5) Adam Pavlasek – (SE) Jan Hernych
36-year-old Hernych is the man who fell to Chiudinelli in the Wroclaw final and guess who Hernych can potentially face in the second round? Exactly, Chiudinelli. It would be a nice little story and surely is possible given Pavlasek’s limited expertise on indoor hardcourt.
Top Half
One of Chiudinelli and Hernych might reach the quarterfinal, but it’s hard to imagine them making back to back deep runs at their age. Fourth seed Daniel Brands is placed in this section as well and has a great opportunity to reach the semi-final. His opponent there is hard to predict, with several players having a good opportunity. Top seed Filip Krajinovic faces a tough first round opponent in Daniel Evans, while youngster Andrey Rublev and Kenny De Schepper also have an excellent chance to advance.
Bottom Half
Pierre-Hugues Herbert won the Bergamo Challenger two weeks ago and after a spectacular first round loss against Farrukh Dustov in Wroclaw last week, 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-7(3), he should be ready for another deep run. He certainly has a comfortable enough draw to do so. Herbert should at least be able to reach the semi-final, where he will likely reach one of Yoshihito Nishioka, Vincent Millot or Karen Khachanov.
Predictions
Semi-finals:
Brands d. De Schepper
Herbert d. Khachanov
Final:
Brands d. Herbert
Tennis Atlantic 
