As you can see some of the higher ranked players are missing, but a lot of those absences aren’t surprising. #1 Gilles Muller and #5 Go Soeda are far from admirers of clay, while #6 David Goffin hasn’t played the mandatory ten events to be eligible for this event. He is also ranked 22nd at the moment, of course, so he probably wouldn’t have entered anyway. #8 Albert Ramos-Vinolas and #10 Jan-Lennard Struff not competing might be a surprise, but then again, the schedule isn’t very convenient with both of them having played their last match in QR1 of the Paris Masters three weeks ago.
Groups
Group A
Simone Bolelli
Victor Estrella Burgos
Andreas Haider-Maurer
Maximo Gonzalez
Group B
Diego Schwartzman
Blaz Rola
Joao Souza
Guilherme Clezar
Round-robin match-ups to watch
Simone Bolelli – Victor Estrella Burgos
This is a heavyweight match-up between the two favorites to take down the title, there is a good chance we will see them face off in the final again. However, if they tire each other out too much, Schwartzman, who has an easier group, might take advantage. Estrella Burgos and Bolelli have never met each other, but you have to give Bolelli an edge here. Especially when they get entangled in backhand rallies I expect Bolelli to put a lot of pressure on Estrella Burgos’ defensive slices. Bolelli hasn’t played on clay since the first week of August, but he has time to find his rhythm since it will be the final encounter of the group.
Diego Schwartzman – Joao Souza
Schwartzman has had a great year, reaching six Challenger finals and winning four of them and climbing up to a career high ranking of #76. Souza has been less fortunate in finals, racking up a 1-3 record. However, he clearly had a great year, climbing fifty ranking spots to #90. They faced off once this year, in the final of the San Juan Challenger, with Schwartzman winning 7-6(5) 6-3. However, this tournament is played at the club where Souza grew up, so that might inspire him to make it a closer encounter this time around.
Group A
I have mentioned that Bolelli and Estrella are the favorites, but the competition isn’t too shabby. The last match Haider-Maurer played was in QR2 in Basel against Bolelli, with the Italian only barely scraping through: 3-6 6-4 6-3. Both players are very well-rounded, so a similar close encounter on clay wouldn’t be surprising. The wild card in this group is Gonzalez. It’s hard to predict what he is going to do. When is he on, he is as good as any of these guys, but he can just as easily have a bad day and become a walk-over. This happened at the Guayaquil Challenger last week, where he got hammered by Facundo Arguello: 6-4 6-0.
Group B
This group is likely to be unbalanced, with Brazilian wild card Clezar being ranked significantly lower than the other three. I expect Schwartzman to come through as the group winner, but the battle between Rola and Souza for the second spot is going to be really interesting. They met once this year, on clay, with Rola winning 3-6 7-6(2) 6-3. No doubt their match here will be just as close. Perhaps Souza’s home advantage can get him through this time.
Federer Wins 6th Dubai, Dimitrov Wins 1st 500, Delbonis Wins 1st ATP Title Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
ATP Dubai Roger Federer won a record sixth Dubai open title with a 3-6 6-4 6-3 win over Tomas Berdych, who was denied his shot at consecutive 500 series titles with the loss.
Federer has come back strong in late fall 2013 and the early part of this year. He is 14-2 this year with his only losses coming to Hewitt and Nadal, and starting with Basel last fall, he only had losses to Del Potro, Djokovic and Nadal.
The Swiss maestro had a weeklong streak of wins that consisted of a straight sets victory over Benjamin Becker, a 3 set victory over Radek Stepanek in a close, exciting match, a straight set win over Lukas Rosol and a 3 set upset of Novak Djokovic.
Berdych beat Marius Copil, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Philipp Kohlschreiber, all without dropping a set before the final.
Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi won the doubles title over Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.
ATP Acapulco
Grigor Dimitrov won his second career ATP title 7-6 3-6 7-6 over the big serving South African Kevin Anderson, who was contesting his second ATP final in consecutive weeks and lost both finals.
Dimitrov beat Marinko Matosevic and Marcos Baghdatis in straights in the early rounds, and then won a barn burner 3 set match against Ernests Gulbis in the quarters. After that, he needed a pair of tiebreaks to come back from a set down and defeat his (sort of) rival Andy Murray for the first time in his career, as the Bulgarian continues to rise up the rankings.
Anderson beat Stephane Robert and Sam Querrey in straights, then was gifted with a retirement from a set down against David Ferrer, and prevailed in 3 sets over the in form Alex Dolgopolov in the semifinals.
Anderson did pick up a title this week however, as he and Matt Ebden were the dynamic doubles champions, beating Feliciano Lopez/Max Mirnyi in the doubles final.
ATP Sao Paulo
23-year-old Argentine dirtballer Federico Delbonis had one of the worst chokes of 2013 when he lost the ATP Hamburg final to Fabio Fognini in 3 sets, but he finally made amends for that and captured his first ATP title in Sao Paulo with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win over maiden finalist Paolo Lorenzi, who at the age of 32, reached both his first ATP semifinal and first ATP final ever.
Delbonis crushed Filippo Volandri in straights before upsetting Nicolas Almagro in 3 in one of the best wins of his career yet. He also beat Albert Montanes in straights and dispatched home hope Thomaz Bellucci in 3 sets in the semis.
Lorenzi beat Pere Riba and Rogerio Dutra Silva in straights, then needed 3 sets against Juan Monaco and a second set retirement against Tommy Haas to reach the final.
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Philipp Oswald won the doubles final over Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.
Raonic Shuts Off the Lights in San Jose, Nadal Returns to Glory in São Paulo and Del Potro is King in Rotterdam
ATP San Jose
Milos Raonic came into the SAP Open not having lost a set, much less a match in San Jose, and he kept that streak alive throughout the final edition of the tournament, shutting out the lights with a win over Tommy Haas 6-4 6-3.
Raonic was dominant with his serve, but also brutal and precise with his groundstrokes all week, notching wins over Michael Russell, Denis Istomin and Sam Querrey, who he plainly dismantled. Not only did he serve well, but he also broke serve quite well.
As for Haas, after an iffy start to his season, he got back to playing the kind of quality tennis we saw from his last year, navigating past Jesse Levine, Steve Johnson and John Isner without dropping a set before running into the brick wall that is Raonic in San Jose.
I’m sure Milos will join American and California tennis fans in lamenting the demise of this event, as will Xaiver Malisse and Frank Moser, who took the last doubles title over Lleyton Hewitt and Marinko Matosevic.
ATP São Paulo
Rafa Nadal won his 51st title against a fellow traveler on the comeback trail, David Nalbandian in a clean and confident straight sets 6-2 6-3. The final was much easier for Rafa than some of his other matches, including 3 set wins over Carlos Berlocq in the quarters and Martin Alund in the semis, where at times he was clearly struggling. He still isn’t at 100% but given the opponents he was playing, he relied on mental edge and his tenacity to prevail. He also beat Joao Souza in his opening match.
Nalbandian was equally compelling, having not played a tour match in 6 months yet beating Jorge Aguilar in 3, Guido Pella, Nicolas Almagro in 3 and Simone Bolelli in the semis to reach the final. He showed he still has something left in the tank in what is his 13th year on tour and time will tell if he continues this level of play in the coming weeks and months.
Also some extra credit to Alund, who hadn’t won an ATP main draw match before this tournament, yet raced out to the semis, and will be top 100 with a career high ranking at the age of 27. He’s a truly determined grinder in the game. The Golden Swing has featured a strong showing from Argentines, and not the usual suspects either.
Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares took the doubles title over Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak.
ATP Rotterdam
Juan Martin Del Potro did one better than last year, capping off the title in Rotterdam 7-6 6-3 over surprise finalist Julien Benneteau. Del Potro imposed himself on his opponents all week and didn’t drop a single set against his other opponents Gael Monfils, Ernests Gulbis, Jarkko Nieminen and Grigor Dimitrov (who did well for himself to make the semis).
Benneteau, meanwhile, was equally dominant until the final, beating Tobias Kamke and Victor Hanescu in the early rounds, before beating Roger Federer in a huge upset again in the quarters. He then followed that up with a victory over Gilles Simon. Unfortunately, another final defeat drops him to 0-8 in ATP finals as he continues to have the moniker of “close but no cigar”.
In the doubles, Robert Lindstedt and Nenad Zimonjic beat Thiemo De Bakker and Jesse Huta Galung.
2013 ATP Rotterdam, San Jose and São Paulo Previews Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
Two indoor hard court events and an indoor clay court event are the ATP offerings this week. Rotterdam has the strong field of a 500 series event, San Jose will play its final edition before shuttering its doors, and the Brasil Open will be held for the second time in a row in vibrant São Paulo.
ATP Rotterdam
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
ATP World Tour 500
Rotterdam, Netherlands
February 11-February 17, 2013
Prize Money: € 1,267,875
Top 8 seeds
1: Roger Federer
2: Juan Martin Del Potro
3: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
4: Richard Gasquet
5: Gilles Simon
6: Andreas Seppi
7: Jerzy Janowicz
8: Florian Mayer
First round matchups to watch:
Bernard Tomic vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Both guys are regarded as the future of ATP tour. Both have also been good but inconsistent recently with Tomic having not played since AO and Dimitrov coming off a 1st round loss in Zagreb. They are 4 spots apart in the rankings and Dimitrov is a year older. Should be a fun, even match indoors.
Top Half:
2-time champion and defending champion Roger Federer is back in action and opens against Grega Zemlja, then will face the winner of Zagreb semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny vs. wild card Thiemo De Bakker. In the quarters, Fed could get Jerzy Janowicz, who opens with Victor Hanescu, followed by the winner of Julien Benneteau vs. Montpellier semifinalist Michael Llodra. It is not a super easy draw but it is one Federer should be able to handle.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga opens with wildcard Igor Sijsling and then the winner of Martin Klizan vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu. In the quarters he should get Gilles Simon, who opens with a qualifier, and then a qualifier or Marcel Granollers. This is another very good draw for J-WT.
Bottom Half:
Defending finalist Juan Martin Del Potro will open with a possibly tricky match against Gael Monfils, before squaring off against a qualifier or Zagreb semifinalist Robin Haase in the second round. In the quarters he is slated to meet Andreas Seppi (who opens with a qualifier). Montpellier semifinalist Jarkko Nieminen, who has drawn David Goffin, is also an option.
Richard Gasquet, still in the hunt for the Montpellier final, and playing great at the moment, opens with Viktor Troicki. He might see his opponent in the Montpellier final, Benoit Paire, yet again in the 2nd round. That’s if Paire can beat Marcos Baghdatis.
Florian Mayer opens with Nikolay Davydenko, who should have an edge in that one, and then play the winner of Dimitrov/Tomic.
Dark Horse: Bernard Tomic
While Tomic might be a bit rusty, he was also gifted with a good draw assuming he can beat Dimitrov. Davydenko was not that impressive in Montpellier and Gasquet or Paire may well be tired after reaching the final there. He has a reasonable chance at the semis, though he won’t be the favorite in that section.
Predictions:
Semis:
Federer d. Tsonga
Del Potro d. Gasquet
Federer should cruise past Janowicz and deal with Tsonga, while Del Potro hasn’t been great but doesn’t have a very hard draw. Gasquet will probably be tired at that point, but it should still be a close match though and I could see Gasquet winning.
Final:
Federer d. Del Potro
In a rematch of last year’s final, expect the same result. The Swiss Maestro should claim his 3rd in Rotterdam.
ATP San Jose
SAP Open
ATP World Tour 250
San Jose, California
February 11- February 17, 2013
Prize Money: $ 546,930
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Milos Raonic
2: John Isner
3: Sam Querrey
4: Tommy Haas
1st round matchups to watch:
Benjamin Becker vs. Ryan Harrison
This match is notable. Why? Because Becker is your average aging mid level grinder who occasionally has a good run. Meanwhile, Harrison is still a talented young player but his career seems to have struck a bit of a rut as he remains outside the top 50 and really didn’t have very many great results last year. That being said, San Jose was his best result last year in reaching the semis, and if Harrison is going to get up in the rankings these are the kind of matches he needs to win.
Harrison has not played a match since Australia, meaning that there might be some rust in his game, while Becker comes off a 1st round loss in Zagreb. This one could go either way, though Harrison will have fan support and beat Becker twice last year.
Blaz Kavcic vs. Lleyton Hewitt
Zagreb quarterfinalist Blaz Kavcic is playing very well right now and will be one to watch as he takes on Hewitt. The Aussie is at an uncertain level at the moment, having not played that many matches in the first month of the year. This match could also go either way depending on Kavcic’s fatigue level and Hewitt’s activity level. Kavcic has a 2-0 H2H record against Hewitt.
(WC) Jack Sock vs. (7) Marinko Matosevic
Sock is another young American player who has been a real rollercoaster recently. He comes into San Jose having not played a match since AO qualies, and may well be ice cold to take on Matosevic, another Aussie at an unsure level. If Sock is going to improve his ranking, these are the kind of matchups he needs to win, but I don’t think you can expect him to win this one.
Ivo Karlovic vs. (WC) Steve Johnson
Karlovic is of course known for his fantastic serve and not much else, as he knocked off Grigor Dimitrov in Zagreb but then fell in the next round. As for Johnson, he fell in the opening round of the Dallas challenger and is playing questionably at the moment. This is another pick ’em matchup, almost certain to end with two or three tiebreaks and a whole lot of holding serve.
Top Half
Milos Raonic is coming off Davis Cup dominance and has won this event twice in a row. He’ll open with Michael Russell or a qualifier, then likely faces 6 seed Denis Istomin (if Istomin can beat a qualifier) and the Becker/Harrison winner. Assuming Raonic is in good health, he should cruise to the semis.
Sam Querrey, also coming off a confident and successful Davis Cup showing, opens with the Hewitt/Kavcic winner. That could be a possible trip up on a bad day, but otherwise should also be in route for the semis. His quarterfinal opponent would be the Matosevic/Sock winner, Flavio Cipolla or Alejandro Falla. This is another pretty weak quarter of middling players.
Bottom Half
John Isner will hopefully be fully rested and have his game together to take on the winner of Vasek Pospisil vs. Evgeny Donskoy in an intriguing first rounder. He would get either 8 seed Xavier Malisse or Go Soeda in the quarters, with a qualifier or the struggling Matt Ebden also options.
Tommy Haas is in his first match back from a opening round loss in Australia. Haas will start with Jesse Levine or Bradley Klahn, before a likely difficult quarterfinal matchup with Fernando Verdasco. Former finalist Verdasco opens with a qualifier followed by the Karlovic/Johnson winner. This is easily the most competitive quarter of the four.
Dark Horse: Evgeny Donskoy
This tournament is top heavy and not the most fertile spot for dark horses, but Donskoy fits the bill. If he can slide past Pospisil and Isner is still in a funk, he grabs the upset, which would really open things up and make a semifinal run feasible. The 22-year-old Russian is talented and capable, along with being at a career high ranking of 68 but it is still unlikely. Furthermore, possible quarterfinal opponent Soeda beat him in straights recently in Chennai.
Predictions
Semis
Raonic d. Querrey
Verdasco d. Isner
Raonic and Querrey could really slug it out indoors in a match in which Raonic will have a slight edge. Verdasco ought to be good enough to get past a struggling Isner, who has not been at his best at all this year.
Final
Raonic d. Verdasco
This would be a rematch of the 2011 final, in the tournaments final edition. You have to expect the result to be the same, with Raonic capping off 3 straight with another beast mode showing indoors.
ATP Sao Paulo
Brasil Open
ATP World Tour 250
São Paulo, Brazil
February 11-February 17, 2013
Prize Money: $ 455,775
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Rafael Nadal
2: Nicolas Almagro
3: Juan Monaco
4: Jeremy Chardy
1st round matchups to watch:
Andrey Kuznetsov vs. Carlos Berlocq
If you’ve paid attention this week, this match is a rematch of their 1st round encounter just a few days ago in Vina Del Mar, won by Berlocq easily in straight sets. Nothing has changed, except Berlocq is still in the running for the Vina title and may be a bit tired by the time he reaches this match.
(7) Pablo Andujar vs. Santiago Giraldo
Andujar hasn’t won a match this year, including an opening match loss in Vina Del Mar and is on a precarious footing as he takes on the steady eddy Giraldo. He should have just enough to hand the seeded Andujar another loss.
Top Half:
It is a draw eerily identical to Vina Del Mar. Rafael Nadal, who has been comfortable and confident as he seeks the title in Vina, will open with a qualifier or Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo. He could then face the “warlocq”, Berlocq again if they meet in the Vina final. Rafa could also face Vina quarterfinalist Albert Ramos, Guillermo-Garcia Lopez or Kuznetsov.
Nadal’s Vina semifinal opponent Jeremy Chardy opens with Leo Mayer or wild card Ricardo Mello and then 5 seed Thomaz Bellucci in the quarters (if Bellucci beats a qualifier and the winner of Filippo Volandri/Daniel Gimeno-Traver). Gimeno-Traver is coming off the quarterfinals in Vina.
Bottom Half:
Nicolas Almagro will return to action after a bit of a layoff, as he faces either a qualifier or current Vina semifinalist Horacio Zeballos. Looking ahead to the quarters, he could get 6 seed Fabio Fognini (coming off a confident Davis Cup showing), Guido Pella, David Nalbandian (who happens to be playing doubles with Nadal), or a qualifier.
Juan Monaco lost his opening round match in Vina Del Mar and will be looking to pick things back up against either Tommy Robredo or Simone Bolelli. The winner of that match could get the Giraldo/Andujar winner, Albert Montanes or Vina quarterfinalist Paolo Lorenzi.
Dark Horse: Fabio Fognini
Fognini should be both rested and confident compared to other players in his section. His first two rounds against Pella and Nalbandian/Qualifer should be somewhat easy and likely quarterfinal opponent Almagro may be a bit rusty having not played since Australia. Zeballos, another possibility, could be fatigued after a strong showing in Vina.
He has a good shot at at least the semis, where likely opponent Monaco has been inconsistent, as have most of the players in that section.
Predictions:
Semis:
Nadal d. Bellucci
Fognini d. Monaco
Nadal should not have any trouble with Bellucci, who is solid enough on clay and well rested enough to beat Chardy. Fognini should be in good enough form to beat Monaco for the first time.
Final:
Nadal d. Fognini
Nadal has looked just fine in his comeback and you really can’t expect anything short of a title against a field like this. He should be undefeated at this point in his comeback.
