Doha

Frenchmen Simon and Monfils Start 2018 With ATP Titles
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Brisbane

Nick Kyrgios claimed ATP title #4 and his first ever in Australia defeating Ryan Harrison 6-4 6-2. Kyrgios overcame questions about the fitness of his leg early in the week, he needed three sets against Matt Ebden, Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Grigor Dimitrov. Despite the shaky start, Kyrhios improved as the week went on and really pressed the gas pedal when he needed it to start the season. Kyrgios continues to be a player of much promise, and now he heads to the Australian Open brimming with confidence, back in the ATP top 20, and hopefully fit.

Harrison continued his resurgence at age 25, he dropped sets against Leo Mayer and Yannick Hanfmann but won the third set with ease in both matches, then he defeated Denis Istomin and surging young Aussie Alex De Minaur, winning that match in three sets by taking a second set tiebreak and a 6-4 3rd set. Harrison reached 2 ATP finals last season and he’s already halfway to that number in the first week of 2018.

Henri Kontinen and Australia’s own John Peers beat Leo Mayer/Horacio Zeballos in the doubles final.

ATP Doha

Gael Monfils won his first title since 2016 with a comprehensive 6-2 6-3 victory against young gun Andrey Rublev in the Doha final. Monfils got a walkover in the semis against Dominic Thiem, and despite dropping sets to Paolo Lorenzi and J.L. Struff, he seemed to kick the cobwebs off his game pretty quickly, defeating Peter Gojowczyk in straights in the quarters and then taking it to Rublev, who’s shotmaking was erratic when it mattered most. Monfils only made one final last year so he’s already matched that in 2018.

Rublev reached a second career ATP final and picked up 2018 where he left off in 2017. The young Russian found his range against Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Fernando Verdasco, Borna Coric, and Guido Pella, winning tough matches against both Verdasco and Pella. He’s now a trendy dark horse at the Australian Open.

Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic beat Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares in the doubles final.

ATP Pune

33 year old Gilles Simon turned back the clock and had his best week on tour in quite some time, taking home the title in Pune 7-6 6-2 over in-form South African Kevin Anderson. It’s Simon’s first title since 2015 and gives him renewed hope and confidence in his tennis after winning just 16 matches last year. Simon beat Tennys Sandgren, Roberto Bautista Agut, Ricardo Lara, and top seed Marin Cilic, that semifinal win coming in three sets as he was a brick wall against Cilic’s powerful groundstrokes.

Simon isn’t the most exciting player to watch, but he was impenetrable against some big hitters, Anderson being one of them. Kev beat Thiago Monteiro, Mikhail Kukushkin, and Benoit Paire, dropping sets to Kukushkin and Paire but still reaching the final. It’s Anderson’s first final since last year’s US Open.

Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Simon in the doubles final, denying Simon a coveted double title result.

2017 WTA Doha Preview, Predictions #Qatar_Total_Open

Posted by Admin on February 12, 2017

Posted in: ATP, Doha, Niall Clarke, WTA. Tagged: 2017, agnieszka radwanska, angelique kerber, doha, Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, picks, predictions, preview, Womens Tennis, wta. Leave a comment

2017 WTA Doha Preview, Predictions
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

qatar-total-open

The WTA resumes normal duty after the Fed Cup with the Qatar Total Open. Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova are the top two seeds of a stacked field. Here is a run down of the draw for the upcoming Premier event

Top Quarter:

kerber-2016

Kerber came into 2017 as the defending Australian Open Champion and World number one. She was the best player in the world last season, but her poor start to 2017 has seen her slip to second in the rankings. Her fight to claw back to that illustrious position starts in Doha where she will receive a first round bye. The top seed will face wither Irina Begu or Daria Kasatkina in the second round to kick off her tournament. Kasatkina stunned Kerber in Sydney earlier in the season, so the German will be gunning for revenge should they meet in Doha. Timea Bacsinszky comes into Doha off the back of a long Fed Cup weekend against the French. The Swiss faces the in form St.Petersburg runner-up Yulia Putintseva in the first round, a match that could provide an early upset. Monica Puig or Laura Seigemund will meet the winner. It could very well be that the seventh seed exits early, leaving the door open to a surprise quarter finalist. Putintseva’s recent form makes her the favourite if Bacsinszky should fall. Kerber vs Kasatkina will be close but I see the German edging into the quarter finals and beyond.

Prediction: Kerber def. Putintseva

Second Quarter:

Radwanska Doha 2016

Agnieszka Radwanska looks to kick off some good form this week in Doha. The Pole has not enjoyed the best of start to her season, but her form could change with a title here. Like the other top seeds, she receives an opening round bye, but her tournament could start with a blockbuster clash with Caroline Wozniacki in round two. The Dane leads 9-6 in their head to head, but Radwanska won their last match comfortably. The bottom half of this section has two qualifiers as first round opponents for Roberta Vinci and Elena Vesnina. It is likely they will meet in the second round with Vesnina holding the 5-3 head to head advantage. With Radwanska having won their previous two meetings, it is likely she will face Vesnina in the quarter finals. The Pole should be too tricky for the Russian and will go on to meet Kerber in the semi finals.

Prediction: Radwanska def. Vesnina

Third Quarter:

Dominika Cibulkova headlines the third section as the third seeded player in the draw and one of the tournament favourites. The Slovak also has a bye into the second round where she will likely face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. This will be a heavy hitting affair, but Cibulkova has the advantage of being the higher ranked player and winning the head to head. Barbora Strycova is another player who is coming off a busy Fed Cup weekend and she enters Doha as the eighth seed. The Czech faces a local wildcard in round one before meeting either Sam Stosur or Anastasija Sevastova in round two, both tough tests in very different ways. That said it is difficult to see past Strycova setting up a clash with Cibulkova in the quarter finals. Interestingly, for two players who have been at the top of the game for a long time, they have only met once which Cibulkova won in three sets. It is a good clash of styles, but I expect the Slovak to edge it

Prediction: Cibulkova def. Strycova

Fourth Quarter:

pliskova-2016

Karolina Pliskova enters Doha as the favourite to the take home the title. She is the most in form of the top players, but she has a tough draw ahead of her. After an opening round bye, she could face Caroline Garcia in the second round. The Frenchwoman holds an head to head advantage over the Czech, but Garcia could easily lose to her qualifier opponent in round one. Garbine Muguruza has not reached the heights of her French Open win last year, but a good run in Doha will go a long way towards re-capturing that form. She has a good draw to the quarter finals with Cagla Buyukakcay in the opening round, then Shuai Zheng or Timea Babos in the second. It looks good for a Pliskova vs Muguruza quarter final where the Czech has been dominant. Garcia could upset the odds, but it is likely Pliskova advances to the final four.

Prediction: Pliskova def. Muguruza

Semi Finals:

Radwanska def. Kerber

Pliskova def. Cibulkova

Radwanska vs Kerber is one of those matches that could go either way. They are both primarily counter-punchers, but Radwanska offers slightly more variety and that could be the difference. Pliskova vs Cibulkova will offer a different style of match as they will trade blows. Pliskova is the more consistent of the two and has the better serve.

Final:

Pliskova def. Radwanska

There is something about Pliskova that screams that she will have a big year in 2017, and I believe she will add another title to her collection in Doha.

Djokovic, Dimitrov, and Bautista Agut Start 2017 As Champions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Doha

Novak Djokovic claimed his second consecutive, and second overall Doha title in a nip and tuck 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory over world #1 Andy Murray. Djokovic showed he’s going to make a push for the world #1 early this season in his comprehensive victory over Murray. The new knight Murray played well in the match, but faltered late, and proved it’s still difficult for him to defeat Djokovic when the Serbian is at his best.

Djokovic’s path to the title featured routine wins over J.L. Struff, Horacio Zeballos, and Radek Stepanek. Fernando Verdasco was his semifinal opponent and gave the Serbian all he could handle. Djokovic was a set down and faced five match points in the second set tiebreak before capturing it and going on to win the third set. Verdasco’s weaknesses mentally in clutch situations let him down once again.

Murray showed he’s still a cut above the rest of the ATP tour, posting wins over Jeremy Chardy, Gerald Melzer, Nicolas Almagro, and Tomas Berdych without dropping a set. Murray had a few signs of rust, but he looks healthy and focused as his next stop will be Melbourne, where he’s often the bridesmaid, but never the bride.

Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin beat Vasek Pospisil and Radek Stepanek for the doubles trophy.

ATP Brisbane

Grigor Dimitrov won his first ATP title in three years as the 25 year old defeated Kei Nishikori 6-2 2-6 6-3 in a fantastic singles final. Dimitrov played his best tennis in well over a year as he was firing accurately from both wings and pushing the Japanese #1 around for much of the match. Dimitrov returned well to get his breaks when needed, and maintained his high level of play in the clutch moments of the match.

Dimitrov also defeated top 10 players Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic in his quarterfinal and semifinal matches respectively for his best results in years. He also defeated Steve Johnson and Nicolas Mahut in early round action.

Nishikori for his part got off to a solid start, defeating Jared Donaldson, Jordan Thompson, and Stan Wawrinka before falling in the final. Wawrinka was disappointing in his semifinal match, while Nishikori showed he’ll be a dark horse threat in Melbourne.

For Dimitrov, a renewed push for the ATP top 10 will be in order if he can maintain this high level of play. He’s certainly not an opponent anyone wants to draw at the Australian Open.

Australian young guns Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jordan Thompson eased past Sam Querrey and Gilles Muller in the doubles final, to the delight of the local crowd.

ATP Chennai

Roberto Bautista Agut earned his fifth career ATP title with a 6-3 6-4 victory over young gun Daniil Medvedev, who at age 20 was taking part in his first ever ATP final. RBA was one of the tournament favorites from the start, and he got off to a hot start, easing past Rogerio Dutra Silva. In round 2 Mikhail Youzhny was in control, a set and a double break ahead, but Youzhny suffered an epic collapse and RBA won in three sets, going on to defeat Benoit Paire in straights in the semifinals.

The young Medvedev made the best of a favorable draw, defeating Thiago Monteiro, Rendy Lu, and Jozef Kovalik without dropping a set. He then came back from a set down to score a close victory over veteran Dudi Sela. After starting 2016 on the futures tour, you’ll certainly be seeing more of this young Russian on the ATP tour in 2017.

Indian pairing Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan defeated Purav Raja and Divij Sharan in an all Indian doubles final at India’s only ATP World Tour tournament.

2017 ATP Doha Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The other top tier 250 this week takes place in Doha, Qatar, where three top 10 players make their Aussie Open preparations. Here is a preview, with predictions.

Qatar ExxonMobil Open
ATP World Tour 250
Doha, Qatar
January 2-7, 2017
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $1,237,190

Top 4 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Andy Murray (1)
2: Novak Djokovic (2)
3: Tomas Berdych (10)
4: David Goffin (11)

The world’s top two have decided to start their 2017 seasons in Qatar, as this is once again a lucrative and strong 250.

First round matches to watch:

Malek Jaziri vs. (7)Philipp Kohlschreiber

A match between a pair of veterans. Kohli is 3-0 in his career against the local favorite Jaziri but the German had a disappointing year on hard courts going just 9-8 on the surface in 2016. Jaziri reached the top 60, in large part due to his strong results at the challenger level. The Tunisian went 27-15 on hard courts and would love an upset win to start his year. Kohli is the clear favorite though.

Andrey Kuznetsov vs. (5)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Kuznetsov posted a career best 29-21 record in 2016 and reached the ATP top 50. The now 31 year old Tsonga went 38-17, including a solid 19-9 hard court record. Tsonga should be in good enough form and fitness heading into this matchup to defeat the Russian with aggressive play, but this still not an easy first round matchup.

Top Half:

World #1 Andy Murray, newly knighted, started his season in Abu Dhabi at an exhibition, and will open with veteran Jeremy Chardy, who he has a great h2h with, in round 1, with the Kohlschreiber/Jaziri winner likely in the quarters. dirtballer Gerald Melzer opens with veteran Paul-Henri Mathieu, while two more veterans, Nicolas Almagro and Paolo Lorenzi are also in this section. Almagro is 4-0 in the h2h against Lorenzi, but the Italian had a career year in 2016, making huge strides on hard courts. This isn’t a difficult section for Murray, who likely slides past Kohlschreiber to reach the semifinals.

The Tsonga/Kuznetsov winner will get Facundo Bagnis or shotmaker Dustin Brown in round 2, Tsonga should be safe to advance until he runs into Tomas Berdych in the quarters. Berdych opens with qualifier Alessandro Giannessi, a 26 year old with limited ATP experience. His Czech counterpart Jiri Vesely should follow in round 2, as wild card Anil Yuksel is making his ATP main draw debut. The 23 year old Vesely remains a talent but he was a rather pedestrian 21-20 at the tour level last year. Berdych went 40-21, with 22 of those wins coming on outdoor hard courts in 2016. Berdych leads Tsonga 8-2 in the h2h, and should be the favorite to reach the semifinals.

Bottom Half:

Novak Djokovic went 67-9 in 2016, despite his great successes on the season, he surrendered the world #1 ranking at the end of the season, and now has something to fight for in 2017. Djokovic’s early path is routine as Jan-Lennard Struff, and Horacio Zeballos/Florian Mayer aren’t likely to be more than hitting partners for the Serbian. Marcos Baghdatis has a 2-1 h2h against fellow veteran Radek Stepanek. Stepanek came through qualifying and their match should be fun to watch if you’re a fan of attacking tennis. Baghdatis went 26-23 in 2016, while Stepanek, now 38, went 33-15 overall, with a majority of his wins coming on the challenger tour level. Baghdatis is favored to win in round 1, with qualifier Mohamed Safwat or wild card Arthur De Greef to follow. The 26 year old Safwat has limited ATP experience while De Greef is playing just his third career ATP match at age 24. De Greef prefers clay, so Safwat should fall to Baghdatis in round 2, with Djokovic winning his quarterfinal against Baghdatis.

David Goffin looks hungry to renew his success in 2017 after a 51-25 record in 2016. Goffin should ease past Robin Haase in round 1, with either Fernando Verdasco or qualifier Vasek Pospisil to follow. Pospisil had a terrible 2016, going just 9-22 at the tour level, and thus his ranking his dropped outside of the top 100. Verdasco went just 29-26 for his part in 2016, but should be slightly better than Pospisil to start the season. Goffin over Verdasco is my pick to reach the quarters. Veteran Ivo Karlovic, now 37, went 32-24 in 2016, while his first round opponent Illya Marchenko broke through at the ATP level in 2016 posting a 26-28 record overall. Karlovic’s serve should be enough to get him past his round 1 match, and into the quarters after he defeats 20 year old Karen Khachanov, who opens with local wild card Mubarak Shannan Zayid. Khachanov reached the ATP level in 2016 with a 50-27 record overall. Goffin over Karlovic is my pick for the quarters.

Dark Horse: Karen Khachanov

Goffin, Djokovic, Murray, and Berdych/Tsonga look safe to reach the semifinals, but of those four spots, Goffin is the most vulnerable to an upset. Khachanov made big strides in 2016 and Karlovic is beatable if his first serve percentage is off. Getting past Karlovic and Goffin won’t be an easy path, but perhaps the Russian can make some headlines to start the season.

Predictions

Semis
Murray d. Berdych
Djokovic d. Goffin

It’d be an unlikely result if the world #1 and #2 fail to reach an ATP final to start the season, as they prepare for the Aussie Open.

Final
Murray d. Djokovic

Murray triumphed over Djokovic late in 2016, and for now I have to predict that momentum will continue in this tough to predict matchup.

2016 WTA Doha Preview, Predictions @QatarTennis

Posted by Admin on February 21, 2016

Posted in: Doha, Niall Clarke, WTA. Tagged: 2016, agnieszka radwanska, angelique kerber, Belinda Bencic, doha, Garbine Muguruza, petra kvitova, picks, predictions, preview, Qatar Open, Simona Halep, wta. 1 Comment

Doha

2016 WTA Doha Preview, Predictions @QatarTennis
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

The tour moves from Dubai and Rio to the capital of Qatar for the Qatar Total Open in Doha. The tournament was founded in 2001 and the winners include Justine Henin, Martina Hingis and Monica Seles, as well as two-time winners Victoria Azarenka, Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova.

Qatar Total Open

Tier: Premier

Location: Doha, Qatar

Surface: Hard

Prize money: $2,517,25

Date: February 21^st– 27th

Top eight seeds who receive a BYE (Ranking)

Angelique Keber (2)
Simona Halep (3)
Agnieszka Radwanska (4)
Garbine Muguruza (5)
Petra Kvitova (8)
Belinda Bencic (9)
Lucie Safarova (10)
Carla Suarez Navarro (11)

No Serena and no Maria Sharapova here, but otherwise a strong field.

First round matches to watch

(9) Karolina Pliskova vs Margarita Gasparyan:

Two of the tour’s brightest young talents have been pitted together in the opening round.

Pliskova has not really ‘got going’ this year but she is still a hugely dangerous. With her power and serve she can beat anyone on any day, but her movement still remains a problem.

Many people have high expectations of Gasparyan this year as the Russian attempts to breakthrough the ranks. Gasparyan has the rare trait of using a one handed backhand and can produce big winners from that wing.

With Pliskova not in the best of form it might be worth looking at this match as a potential upset. It will also showcase two of the tours best young talent’s in their first meeting.

Kiki Mladenovic (Photo: Christopher Levy for TennisEastCoast.com)

Kiki Mladenovic (Photo: Christopher Levy for TennisAtlantic.com)

Barbora Strycova vs Kristina Mladenovic

Can Mladenovic avenge her doubles partner by defeating the in form Strycova in Doha?

Both players are known for their variety but they go about their games in different ways. Mladenovic is more attack orientated whilst Strycova is more of a counter puncher.

The Czech is the more in form of the two but her feisty characteristics means she can go off the rails at any time. It should be a fascinating contest with plenty of variety. The Frenchwoman leads the head to head 2-0.

(13) Caroline Wozniacki vs Ana Konjuh

Teenager Konjuh will face former world number one Wozniacki in a potential upset of a round one tie.

The Croatian is seen as one of the brightest prospects on tour and with Wozniacki not playing her best tennis, an upset might be on the cards.

The Dane has won their previous two meetings comfortably, can she make it a hat trick?

Draw Analysis

Kerber’s Quarter:

For the first time since the Australian Open triumph we will see Kerber in a tour event. The German’s success in Melbourne propelled her to number two in the world rankings and therefore has earned the top seeding for this event. Kerber will receive an opening round BYE before meeting Saisai Zhang or Varvara Lepchenko in round two. Elina Svitolina is scheduled for round three but the Ukrainian has not been at her best this season despite a good week in Dubai. A second round clash with Eugenie Bouchard could be interesting in the Canadian is near her best.

Petra Kvitova’s start to 2016 has left a lot to be desired but as we know, she can turn it on at any time. The Czech could use Doha as a launching pad for the season, but she has a tough round two awaiting her against the winner of Mladenovic vs Strycova. The door could be open for one of them to make the quarter finals with the ever unpredictable Svetlana Kuznetsova projected for round three. The Russian will play Julia Goerges in a rematch of the German’s demolition in Dubai so there could be an early exit for the two time grand slam champion.

Muguruza’s quarter:

Muguruza is another big name that has made a poor start to the season. The Spaniard has not looked right this year and has considered taking a small break to refresh. Is it pressure or is it something else? Either way the 22 year old could be in for another early exit with Nao Hibino or Yaroslava Shvedova scheduled to meet her in round two. Sara Errani, fresh off winning the Dubai title, might fancy her chances in taking advantage of an early Muguruza exit providing she is not too tired. The Italian faces Tsvetana Pironkova in round one before meeting Madison Brengle or Timea Babos in round two. A good chance for Errani to make the last eight.

Belina Bencic suffered an early exit last week so should be fairly fresh heading into Doha. The Swiss star could face dangerous American Coco Vandeweghe in round two with Pliskova projected for the third round. The Czech however has a tough draw with Gasparyan and the winner of Andrea Petkovic vs Ekaterina Makarova awaiting the winner. All four players are capable of making round three and potentially causing a lot of problems for Bencic.

Radwanska’s quarter:

The Pole will enter Doha as one of the favourites to take home the title. She has a fairly kind round two with Annika Beck likely to meet her there. The German is a solid player but will unlikely have the weapons to pose a big rest. Jelena Jankovic is projected for round three which could be an interesting clash. Sabine Lisicki or Moncia Niculescu could throw a spanner in those works however.

Defending champion, Safarova, will return to action to defend the title she surprisingly won 12 months a go. The Czech has struggled with injuries so will likely be slightly rusty when she returns to the court. Lucie Hradecka will likely welcome her compatriot back but Roberta Vinci might end her run in round three. The Italian has been in good form since ending Serena’s calendar year grand slam dreams in New York and will be the favourite to advance to the quarter finals. Lesia Tsurenko in round one is a tough prospect however.

Halep’s quarter:

Halep is another big name trying to find form this week but she could find it difficult against Caroline Garcia in round two. The Frenchwoman has had a solid start to the season but has yet to make a major breakthrough. Will Doha be her week? Caroline Wozniacki is the projected round three opponent but the Dane could struggle with Konjuh and Daria Gavrilova. The seeds are favourites to meet in the third round but the banana skins could open up the draw.

Carla Suarez Navarro is the other seed in this section that will receive an opening round BYE. The Spaniard will likely meet Donna Vekic in round two with Timea Bacsinszky in line for a round three. However the Swiss is not in the same form as she was last season so could lose early to Bethanie Mattek Sands in round one or Anna Schmiedlva/Yulia Putintseva in the second round.

Agnieszka Radwanska

Predictions

Quarter Finals:

Kerber def. Mladenovic

Errani def. Bencic

Radwanska def. Vinci

Halep def. Suarez Navarro

Semi Finals:

Kerber def. Errani

Radwanska def. Halep

Final:

Radwanska def. Kerber

Raonic Upsets Federer in Brisbane, Djokovic and Wawrinka off to winning starts in Doha and Chennai
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Brisbane

Embed from Getty Images

Milos Raonic scored his second career win over Roger Federer, as the Canadian upset the Swiss legend 6-4 6-4 in Brisbane. Federer was suffering from the flu this week, and it showed, even though he reached the final. Raonic had that extra edge when needed to hold serve and grab a break in both sets, and he’s continuing to improve his bid for the top 10 with his 8th career ATP title.

Raonic needed three sets over Ivan Dodig, but his straight set wins over Lucas Pouille, and Bernard Tomic prepared him well for the final. Not much is new with Raonic’s game, but when he serves and returns as well as he did this week, he’s hard to stop.

A flu ravaged Federer still played well against Tobias Kamke, slipped past Grigor Dimitrov in three sets, and handled Dominic Thiem in straights. Dimitrov choked under pressure, while a subdued Federer was somewhat more aggressive than usual.

Henri Kontinen and John Peers beat Aussies Chris Guccione and James Duckworth in the doubles final.

ATP Doha

Embed from Getty Images

Novak Djokovic will head into the Australian Open as a heavy favorite after his blistering warm-up run in Doha. The Serbian superstar and world #1 won his sixth consecutive tournament dating back to last season, and captured his first ever title in Doha with a thumping 6-1 6-2 win over Rafael Nadal. Djokovic has owned Nadal in recent years, and though the Spaniard played well before the final, he could only watch in awe as his game was dismantled from the start, later going on to compliment Djokovic’s performance.

Novak beat Dustin Brown, Fernando Verdasco, Leonardo Mayer, and Tomas Berdych as well this week, all without dropping a set, as he was rarely tested in Qatar.

Nadal lost his third ATP final in a row, but he still clawed his way past Pablo Carreno Busta in three sets, Robin Haase, Andrey Kuznetsov, and first time ATP semifinalist Illya Marchenko in the semifinals. Marchenko had the run of his life this week, scoring wins over David Ferrer, Teymuraz Gabashvili, and Jeremy Chardy with sharp, powerful baseline play. Things appear to be on the upswing for both players, and Nadal appears to be improving on hard courts.

The Lopez brothers, Feliciano and Marc, beat Philipp Petzschener and Alexander Peya in the doubles final.

ATP Chennai

Embed from Getty Images

Stan Wawrinka won his fourth ATP Chennai title (third in a row) with a resounding win over first time ATP finalist Borna Coric 6-3 7-5. We’ll be seeing more from Coric, as the 19 year old won three setters over Marcel Granollers, Roberto Bautista Agut, and improving semifinalist Aljaz Bedene. He also beat Austin Krajicek in round 2 this week.

Wawrinka was simply the toast of the town with routine straight set wins over Andrey Rublev, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Benoit Paire before the final. He too looks to be a threat heading into the Australian Open as well, and could challenge Djokovic like he has in the past in Melbourne.

Oliver March and Fabrice Martin defeated Krajicek/Paire in the doubles final.

Steen Kirby (Marseille)

Tennis Atlantic

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