Goffin, Dimitrov, and French Stars Finish the 2017 ATP Season Strong Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Goffin Makes a Big Run
Despite falling short in the Davis Cup final as a team, David Goffin had a great finish to 2017, as he won titles in Shenzhen and Tokyo, reached the semifinals in Basel, and then the final in the ATP World Tour Finals in London. After the US Open he scored wins over Richard Gasquet, Adrian Mannarino, Jack Sock, Dominic Thiem, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. In the Davis Cup final he defeated Lucas Pouille and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga but it still wasn’t enough.
France Captures Davis Cup
France finally won the Davis Cup, after losing a multitude of finals Tsonga and Pouille defeated Steve Darcis twice, and Gasquet and Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeated Ruben Bemelmans and Joris De Loore in what turned out to be the critical doubles rubber. Pouille defeated his teammate Tsonga in the Vienna 500 final, while Tsonga won Antwerp.
Breakthrough for Sock
Jack Sock won the biggest title of his career at the Paris Masters, he won over a weakened field with wins over Kyle Edmund, Pouille, Fernando Verdasco, Julien Benneteau, and Filip Krajinovic. He qualified for the World Tour Finals by virtue of that victory and reached the semifinals after going 2-1 with wins over Alexander Zverev and Marin Cilic.
Dimitrov and Del Potro Looking Strong Heading Into 2018
Grigor Dimitrov finished the year with 49 wins and 4 titles as he reached the final in Stockholm, and the final at the World Tour Finals in London, beating Pablo Carreno Busta, Goffin twice, Dominic Thiem, and Sock.
Juan Martin Del Potro reached the semis in Shanghai, the final in Basel, took a title in Stockholm, and finished the year with a quarterfinal in Paris.
Nadal and Federer Finish 1-2
Damir Dzumhur has 2 ATP titles to end the year as he won in both St. Petersburg and Moscow, while Hyeon Chung won the Next-Gen finals over Andrey Rublev. Nadal won Beijing and lost the final in Shanghai, shutting down his season at the World Tour Finals due to injury concerns but still finishing year end world #1. Federer won Shanghai and Basel to finish year end #2.
Cilic Puts Himself Into World Tour Finals, Murray Continues Push for World #1 Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
ATP Basel
Marin Cilic won his second title of the season and put himself into the final spot avaliable in the Race for London with a 6-1 7-6(5) victory over his rival Kei Nishikori. The Croatian was strong all week in Basel as he posted wins over Mikhail Youzhny, Pablo Carreno Busta, Marcel Granollers, and resurgent veteran Mischa Zverev en route to the final. Zverev took a set off of Cilic and continues to boost his ATP ranking after years in the challenger wilderness. He stunned home favorite Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals.
Nishikori dropped to 1-4 in ATP finals this season, but he did beat Dusan Lajovic, Paolo Lorenzi, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Gilles Muller to make the final. The win over Del Potro was a big one for Nishikori’s confidence, and he looks healthy and ready to challenge the ATP’s elite next season.
Marcel Granollers and Jack Sock beat Robert Lindstedt and Michael Venus in the doubles final.
ATP Vienna
Andy Murray had no trouble in the final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the world #2 continued his bid for the year end world #1. Murray took home a third straight title, as he’s unbeaten in ATP play since the US Open and showed at 29 years of age there is still room for improvement in his world class game. Murray beat Tsonga 6-3 7-6 for a seventh title this season, and his 69th win, compared to just 9 losses.
Murray dropped sets against Martin Klizan and Gilles Simon earlier in the week, but John Isner provided little resistance in the quarters, and David Ferrer withdrew to give Murray a walkover into the finals and a much needed breather.
Tsonga beat German’s Benjamin Becker and Philipp Kohlschreiber, then eased past Albert Ramos, and battled past Ivo Karlovic in a third set tiebreak to reach the final. The Frenchman only made one ATP final this season but he has now posted more wins in 2016 than he did last season, so there are signs of improvement.
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo beat Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin to capture the doubles title.
2016 ATP Vienna Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The other ATP 500 tournament this week takes place in Vienna, Austria where World Tour finals contenders Dominic Thiem and Tomas Berdych are competing in the Race for London and Andy Murray continues his push for year end world #1. Here is a preview with predictions.
Erste Bank Open
ATP World Tour 500
October 24-30, 2016
Vienna, Austria
Surface: Indoor Hard
Prize Money: €1,884,645
Top 4 seeds (ATP rankings in parentheses)
1: Andy Murray (2)
2: Tomas Berdych (9)
3: Dominic Thiem (10)
4: Roberto Bautista Agut (13)
Three top 10 players are also contesting Vienna, headlined by Andy Murray.
First round matchups to watch:
John Isner vs. (Q)Jan-Lennard Struff
John Isner has lost three straight matches while Struff is 9-1 in his last 10 matches and plays his best indoors. Isner is the established veteran in this matchup, but I’m picking Struff to nip him in an upset. Isner has looked out of sorts this Fall and ready for the season to be over.
(7)Lucas Pouille vs. Feliciano Lopez
Pouille has been outplaying Lopez in recent weeks, and the young gun should defeat the serve and volleying veteran in this matchup. I’d expect it to be full of exciting shotmaking.
Kyle Edmund vs. (5)David Ferrer
Ferrer has lost three straight, and one of those losses came against Edmund, who upset him in Antwerp and reached the semifinals last week. The Brit is rising, while Ferrer has been slumping mightily this season. Edmund should be the pick to win their second straight matchup.
(8)Ivo Karlovic vs. Steve Johnson
Johnson leads the h2h with Karlovic 3-2, but Dr. Ivo should even that up if he can just play at his normal level. Johnson has been struggling late in the season, while Karlovic continues to defy his advanced age and compete at the highest ATP level.
Top Half:
Andy Murray can win his 11th straight match if he can hand Martin Klizan a sixth straight loss. Murray will face Gilles Simon in round 2, presuming Simon eases past a struggling Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for a seventh straight time. Simon is a tough opponent, but if Murray keeps up his good form he should reach the quarterfinals. Murray over Pouille is my pick in the quarters, Pouille should beat Lopez and Struff/Isner to reach the quarters.
Young guns Dominic Thiem and Kyle Edmund look set to face off in the quarters. Thiem was a finalist in Metz and is the home hero for this tournament. He’ll need to defeat countryman Gerald Melzer, and Kevin Anderson or Viktor Troicki to reach the quarters. Despite Anderson’s big serve causing Thiem some problems, he should prevail and reach the quarters. Thiem would love to lock down his spot in London, as he’d currently be the 7th player qualified, and a win over Edmund in the quarters would almost assure that. Edmund faces Joao Sousa or Pablo Cuevas, both of whom are struggling, in round 2, after Ferrer.
Bottom Half:
Tomas Berdych would be the last player into the World Tour finals if the season ended today. He’s lost two straight matches entering Vienna and needs wins over Nikolosz Basilashvili, and Andreas Seppi or Karen Khachanov to get some momentum and reach the quarterfinals. Seppi comes off semis in Antwerp while Khachanov recently won his first ATP title. Both could trouble Berdych, but he should be able to build momentum as the #2 seed.
I have Ivo Karlovic opposite Berdych in the quarters, after facing Johnson it will be Nicolas Almagro or Damir Dzumhur for the Croatian. I have Karlovic upsetting Berdych in the quarters, as he holds a 5-3 h2h record against the Czech, who doesn’t have a great return game compared to the Dr. Ivo serve.
Well known ATP players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Roberto Bautista Agut should battle each other in the quarterfinals. Tsonga has been in above average form and opens with Benjamin Becker, a fringe veteran. RBA has Austria’s Jurgen Melzer, who will be seeking a huge upset at home, with Moscow finalist Fabio Fognini likely to follow. Fognini beat his round 1 opponent Albert Ramos in Moscow. Tsonga over RBA is my pick in the quarters, Tsonga should beat Philipp Kohlschreiber or Stephane Robert in round 2, and RBA may be slightly more fatigued by the time they reach the quarters, despite RBA’s win in Shanghai, Tsonga should be slightly better. Both Kohli and Robert reached ATP semifinals last week in Moscow and are in good form.
Dark Horse: Philipp Kohlschreiber
When healthy Kohlschreiber is better than his current ranking, and after reaching the semis in Moscow the German could catch Tsonga in a lull, and also defeat Bautista Agut to reach the semifinals. With Karlovic or Berdych likely to come out of the bottom half, finals are also a possibility for Peppo.
Predictions
Semis Murray d. Thiem
Tsonga d. Karlovic
Murray and Tsonga should be the favorites to reach the final, they aren’t locks, but they have the clearest path. Look for Murray to end home hopes for Thiem in the semifinals.
Final Murray d. Tsonga
Murray is the best player in this draw, he demonstrated his challenge for #1 in Asia, and that should continue in Vienna, and next week in Paris.
Ferrer, Berdych, and Cilic Stave Off Upset Bids to Capture ATP Fall Indoor Titles Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
ATP Vienna
David Ferrer moved closer to clinching one of the final World Tour Finals slots with his 5th title of the season in Vienna. The Spanish veteran did one better than his final in the Austrian capital last year and slipped past maiden ATP finalist Steve Johnson 4-6 6-4 7-5 to take the title. The American Johnson played hard and continues his career best season but Ferrer survived in the clutch.
The final was the toughest match for Ferrer since a three set victory over countryman Albert Ramos in round 1, and from there he went on to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Fabio Fognini, and Gael Monfils in routine straight set affairs. Ferrer has now captured three ATP 500 level titles this season.
Johnson found form after escaping his first two matches with three set victories over Alex Dolgopolov and Jerzy Janowicz. In the quarterfinals he upset Kevin Anderson in three sets, and Ernests Gulbis in straight sets, as Gulbis was denied a spot in his first ATP final of the season. Stevie J, a former NCAA standout, continues to improve and has now cemented himself as a solid player on the ATP tour, having matured his game beyond simply a powerful forehand.
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo beat Jamie Murray/John Peers to win the doubles final in a battle of doubles specialists.
ATP Stockholm
Americans fell to 0-2 in ATP finals this weekend when Tomas Berdych demolished Jack Sock 7-6 6-2 for his third career ATP Stockholm title. The in-form Berdych has now equaled his number of trophies from last year with a late run of form this Fall. He won Shenzen, and now has Stockholm to go with it.
The powerful Czech didn’t drop a set in all four of his matches this week and faced few challenges against Alex Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, and an injured Marcos Baghdatis en route to the final. Sock needed three sets against both Pablo Carreno Busta and Fernando Verdasco, but like his buddy Johnson in Vienna, he got hot in the quarterfinals and semifinals and upset Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet to reach the final. The 23 year old American is in the midst of a career year and now has two ATP finals (with 1 title) on his resume.
Sock did one better in doubles, teaming with Nick Monroe to take the title over Mate Pavic/Michael Venus. Sock has three ATP doubles titles this season.
In one more note, Finland’s best ever tennis player Jarkko Nieminen finished up his ATP career with a hard fought third set defeat in Stockholm.
ATP Moscow
Top seed Marin Cilic won his first title of the season as he repeated as champion in Moscow 6-4 6-4 in an hour and a half over Roberto Bautista Agut. The title will aid Cilic as he seeks to return to the top 10, and make sure he finishes in the top 15 by the end of the year.
The Croatian was only troubled by Denis Istomin in his first match, prevailing in three sets, and he beat Russian hopes Andrey Kuznetsov and surprise semifinalist Evgeny Donskoy to reach the final. Bautista Agut found form and beat Marsel Ilhan, Lucas Pouille, and Philipp Kohlschreiber over the same span without dropping a set. This final is his best result of the season after multiple ATP semifinal appearances.
The wild card pairing of young gun Andrey Rublev and Russian veteran Dmitry Tursunov took home the doubles title over Radu Albot/Frantisek Cermak. The 32 year old Tursunov has been out with injuries for a year and his run in doubles comes as a shock given the rust factor.
2015 ATP Vienna, Stockholm, and Moscow Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
A trio of European indoor hard court tournaments take place this week on the ATP tour as the season enters its final weeks.
ATP Vienna
Erste Bank Open
ATP World Tour 500
Vienna, Austria
October 19-October 25, 2015
Prize Money: €1,745,040
8 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: David Ferrer (8)
2: Kevin Anderson (10)
3: John Isner (13)
4: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (15)
5: Dominic Thiem (18)
6: Gael Monfils (19)
7: Ivo Karlovic (21)
8: Fabio Fognini (26)
Two top 10, and six top 20 players are in Vienna for its first edition as a 500 level tournament.
First round matchups to watch:
(1)David Ferrer vs. Albert Ramos
Ferrer has a 4-0 h2h record against his countryman and should be a solid favorite after posting a 7-2 record over his last 9 matches. Ramos is in great form though, he qualified in Shanghai and shocked Roger Federer for the biggest win of his career, going on to push eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to three sets in the round of 16. Ferrer is a better player, and far better indoors, but Ramos may be able to notch another top 10 win in this one if Ferrer plays as poorly as he did in Shanghai.
(8)Fabio Fognini vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu
Fognini leads the h2h 2-1 with Mathieu but they haven’t played since 2009. The French veteran isn’t a clutch player but he has a solid ballstriking game indoors and could trouble Fognini if the Italian loses his cool. Fabio reached the semis in Beijing and his form has been good since the US Open though, so I have him avoiding the upset and winning this one.
(5) Dominic Thiem vs. Jerzy Janowicz
Janowicz has a h2h win over Thiem and recently reached a challenger final on indoor hard. JJ has a great game for this venue, though he’s struggled to maintain ATP level tennis this season, and Thiem faces the pressure of being the home favorite. Both player are about equal in talent level, but Thiem’s consistency should help him prevail.
Top Half:
The defending finalist David Ferrer should draw another Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, in the second round after facing Ramos. GGL has lost three straight matches, and his round 1 opponent Santiago Giraldo is struggling mightily as well. Though GGL is good indoors, Ferrer leads the h2h 7-1 and he should reach the quarterfinals.
Fabio Fognini should be able to reach the quarterfinals as well, as he’ll face either Austrian journeyman Dennis Novak or Radek Stepanek in round 2, after his match with PHM. Stepanek hasn’t played well in quite some time and I don’t expect him to challenge Fognini. Ferrer leads the h2h with Fognini 8-0 and with the World Tour Finals on the line, look for Ferrer to make the semifinals in Austria.
Shanghai finalist, and former Vienna champion, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga may be exhausted from his exploits at the Masters level but his round 1 opponent Tommy Haas, a loser of four straight matches, isn’t likely to defeat him. After Haas I also give Lukas Rosol or qualifier Yuichi Sugita a limited chance to upset Tsonga. Rosol has a big enough game to pull it off, but Tsonga is an excellent indoors player and the Czech has been out of tune for some time.
Gael Monfils is the biggest threat to Tsonga reaching the semifinals, The high flying Frenchman will look to extend his h2h over a struggling Thomaz Bellucci to 3-0 in his first match since the US Open. Monfils has struggled to stay healthy, but Bellucci, and likely Rajeev Ram in round 2 are both opponents he should be favored against. Ram opens with dirtballer Paolo Lorenzi in round 1.
Monfils beat Tsonga in Miami this year, but Tsonga has an edge in the overall h2h, and I look for Jo to bite him back if they meet in the quarterfinals. Fatigue is a factor, but so is rust with Monfils.
Bottom Half:
Kevin Anderson should cruise to the quarterfinals past Austria’s Andreas Haider-Maurer, and Jiri Vesely, presuming Vesely beats Austrian wild card Gerald Melzer in round 1. Vesely reached the quarterfinals in Shenzen and he’s a streaky player. The h2h between Kev and Jiri is 1-1, with Vesely beating him early this season in Auckland. Indoors with Anderson’s serve the result should swing to his favor. Anderson comes off the quarterfinals in Shanghai and solid wins over Fognini and Kei Nishikori.
I look for Dominic Thiem to beat Janowicz and then the winner of Alex Dolgopolov/Steve Johnson to reach the quarterfinals in front of the home fans. Dolgo has lost five straight matches, but he was solid enough in Shanghai and he has a higher peak than Johnson who won a round in Shanghai and went out in round 2. Thiem and Dolgo is a tough matchup, but consistency and venue should give Thiem the advantage.
Anderson is 3-0 in the h2h against Thiem and beat him at the US Open this year, it could be close, but big Kev should gain some ranking points and reach the semis.
The final semifinal spot should come down to a battle of big servers in the quarterfinals. Ivo Karlovic faces the all-courter Andreas Seppi in round 1 and he should be able to find consistency and serve past him, and Jan-Lennard Struff or Sergiy Stakhovsky in his first two matches. Struff qualified and has two challenger titles and a semifinal as of late, so his form has been excellent at a lower level. JL has always been a good challenger tour player but hasn’t quite made the jump to ATP tennis on a regular basis, the Karlovic serve should prove to be too much.
Look for John Isner to join Karlovic in the quarters by ousting the in-form Kenny De Schepper and then the struggling Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis should get his first match win in months by defeating ATP main draw débutante Lucas Miedler, a 19 year old Austrian who hasn’t even reached the challenger tour level yet, but came through qualifying.
Isner is 7-3 in his last 10 matches, and those three losses all came at the hands of top 10 players. The match with Karlovic should come down to just a few points, but I give him the edge to reach the semis.
Dark Horse: Jan-Lennard Struff
Struff is just 4-17 at the main tour level this year but he’s 16-2 since the US Open and in fantastic form at the Challenger Tour level. JL reached the quarterfinals in Vienna last year and posted two ATP semifinals indoors as well (Marseille and Metz). He’s got all the shotmaking ability needed to excel, but his mental game is rather weak. Should Ivo Karlovic and Isner slip up, Struff could find his way to the semifinals of an ATP tournament for the third time in his career.
Predictions
semis Ferrer d. Tsonga
Isner d. Anderson
Ferrer leads the h2h with Tsonga 3-1 and should be fresher than his rival in this semifinal. Ferru already took the title indoors in Kuala Lumpur, and he should reach another final this Fall in Vienna, reprising his result last year.
Isner tends to have the matchup edge with Anderson and his form has been good.
final Ferrer d. Isner
Ferrer is 5-1 in the h2h against Isner and should be highly motivated to capture another ATP title.
ATP Stockholm
IF Stockholm Open
ATP World Tour 250
Stockholm, Sweden
October 19-October 25, 2015
Prize Money: €537,050
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Tomas Berdych (5)
2: Richard Gasquet (11)
3: Gilles Simon (14)
4: Bernard Tomic (20)
Stockholm boasts a quality field for an ATP 250 tournament with four top 20 names.
First round matchups to watch:
Benjamin Becker vs. John Millman
Becker has caught fire this Fall on indoor hard, the offensive baseliner reached the final of the Mons challenger and the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur for an overall 9-3 record since the US Open. Previously in a cold slump, he’s back playing crafty tennis and could be a threat in Stockholm. John Millman qualified for Beijing and upset Tommy Robredo, the Australian has the talent to be an ATP level player but he’s still seeking a breakthrough, and winning this match would help. Look for Becker to advance and maintain his hot streak.
Fernando Verdasco vs. Denis Kudla
Fernando Verdasco has lost three straight and could be in for an upset defeat at the hands of the dynamic ball striker Denis Kudla. Kudla went 7-2 on the USTA Pro Circuit after the US Open and is now returning to the ATP main draw level in Stockholm. It’s been a career year for Kudla, and look for him to add to that with a win over the declining Verdasco.
(6)Jeremy Chardy vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis
The talented young gun Kokkinakis is seeking his 12th ATP tour level win this season and could break out of a cold slump with a win over Chardy, a big hitter who is capable of playing well indoors. Chardy lost to Kokkinakis on grass earlier this season and has lost two straight matches himself. I have Kokkinakis pulling off the upset.
Top Half:
The defending and two-time Stockholm champion Tomas Berdych will open with the Alex Zverev/Mikael Ymer winner. Ymer is the younger brother of the better known Elias Ymer and gets a main draw wild card. His ATP debut will take place against a fellow young gun who is seeking to snap a four match losing streak. Zverev should fall to the Shenzen champion and Shanghai quarterfinalist Berdych in round 2.
Look for Berdych to face another former Stockholm champion, Grigor Dimitrov, in the quarterfinals. A struggling Dimitrov opens with a qualifier, and then is likely to face the retiring Jarkko Nieminen. Nieminen gets a wild card and is ending his ATP career in Stockholm after a solid career as Finland’s #1 tennis player. The speedy defensively minded veteran opens with Daniel Munoz-De La Nava, who has been on fire on the clay court challenger tour. Nemo has lost four straight, and Dimitrov is far better at this point in their careers.
Berdych beat Dimitrov in the Stockholm final last year and given Dimitrov’s poor form this season the Czech has the edge to reach the semifinals.
Shanghai quarterfinalist Bernard Tomic will open with either Sam Querrey or Marcos Baghdatis. Querrey leads the h2h 3-0 over Baghdatis, and Tomic should have the edge in his section to reach another ATP quarterfinal. Trouble should await at that stage though, as Becker/Millman or Gilles Muller/qualifier are the options. Muller has an ATP quarterfinal and a semifinal this Fall and is a solid indoor player, as is Becker. The pair of veterans have met just once before and Becker came out on top. I have that result repeating itself and a Tomic vs. Becker quarterfinal, in which Tomic should have the edge.
Bottom Half:
Richard Gasquet should cruise through his section of the draw and power his way to the semifinals. Neither Steve Darcis, or a struggling Adrian Mannarino, look to be threatening in his first match and he’ll have a decided edge over the Chardy/Kokkinakis winner in the quarters. The other option in this section is the winner of Federico Delbonis/qualifier, and Delbonis much prefers clay.
Gilles Simon could make it an all-French semifinal against Gasquet if he can beat Leo Mayer/qualifier and likely the winner of Jack Sock vs. Denis Kudla in the quarterfinals. Sock faces dirtballer Pablo Carreno Busta first up, and then the Verdasco/Kudla winner. On Simon’s end, Mayer is struggling, and Kudla beat Sock the last time they played. Simon is 7-3 in his last 10 matches and should beat Kudla in the quarters.
Dark Horse: Benjamin Becker
Either Becker or Gilles Muller could get through to the semifinals over Tomic and possibly give Berdych/Dimitrov problems as well in the semifinals. Becker, even at his age, still has a quality serve and plays smart, aggressive tennis indoors. His back injury seems to have sorted itself out and he’s back cranking on the ball from both wings.
Predictions
semis Berdych d. Tomic
Gasquet d. Simon
Berdych is 4-0 in the h2h against Tomic and has beaten him twice this season. Given his good record in Stockholm, he should prevail once more. Gasquet is 6-1 in the h2h against Simon and won a pair of matches in Shanghai to show form.
final Berdych d. Gasquet
Berdych is 2-1 against Gasquet this year, and was 1-1 against him last season. It’s a close h2h and a difficult match to predict, but Berdych’s better form gives him the advantage.
ATP Moscow
Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow
ATP World Tour 250
Moscow, Russia
October 19-October 25, 2015
Prize Money: $698,325
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Marin Cilic (12)
2: Roberto Bautista Agut (23)
3: Viktor Troicki (24)
4: Philipp Kohlschreiber (31)
With just one top 20 player, Moscow has the weakest field of the tournaments this week.
First round matchups to watch:
(8)Mikhail Kukushkin vs. (WC)Andrey Rublev
Kukushkin has had success in Moscow before and he posted a quarterfinal in Kuala Lumpur. Rublev by contrast has lost three straight, but the teenager is the great white hope for Russian men’s tennis and will have all eyes on him at a home tournament. Rublev is plenty talented, but with his recent run of poor form, I have Kukushkin winning this match and schooling the youngster.
Simone Bolelli vs. Lucas Pouille
Bolelli leads the h2h against the young gun Pouille 3-0 and he’s 8-4 since the US Open. Pouille by contrast has lost three straight matches since reaching the quarterfinals in St. Petersburg. Pouille has a great forehand and the ability to notch a win in this one, but a wiser Bolelli should defeat him.
Top Half:
Defending champion Marin Cilic should blaze through to the semifinals. Cilic opens with the winner of Aljaz Bedene/Denis Istomin, and then should face Rublev/Kukushkin in the quarters, as Radu Albot/Andrey Kuznetsov is the only player that stands in their way. Istomin just won a challenger title and should beat Bedene, but Cilic is 6-3 since the US Open and should move that to 8-3 with wins over Istomin and Kukushkin. He’s by far the best player in his section and just beat Kukushkin at the US Open.
Former champion Viktor Troicki is just 2-3 since the US Open, but wild card Cem Ilkel, or a struggling Teymuraz Gabashvili are unlikely to oust him in the opening round. Gabashvili is a streaky player with talent, but like Troicki he seems to have lost his way right now. I have Troicki going out to Borna Coric in the quarterfinals, after Coric defeats Evgeny Donskoy and Ricardas Berankis (Berankis opens with Malek Jaziri). Coric has the most talent in this section and has been battling at the ATP level while Donkoy, Berankis, and Jaziri have all been on the challenger tour (and done well at that level). Berankis is a potential dark horse in this section if his solid ball striking pays off.
Bottom Half:
St. Petersburg semifinalist Roberto Bautista Agut plays well in Russia, and he should use his forehand to once more excel indoors and defeat Marsel Ilhan/qualifier, and then setup a meeting with either Joao Sousa or the Bolelli/Pouille winner in the quarters. Sousa is one of the better indoor specialists in the game and after Daniel Gimeno-Traver he’ll face Bolelli/Pouille. I have the St. Petersburg finalist Sousa snapping a losing streak and beating Bolelli (who he beat in St. Petersburg), and Bautista Agut for a spot in the semifinals. His game is well suited for this venue.
Philipp Kohlschreiber opens with Mikhail Youzhny/qualifier. Youzhny is a horrific 9-23 at the ATP level this year while Kohlschreiber was a semifinalist in Metz and should at least make a quarterfinal in this one. A qualifier has a fantastic chance to make the quarterfinals opposite Kohli. Pablo Cuevas opens with a qualifier, as does Robin Haase, and they both prefer a surface other than indoor hard. I have the qualifiers winning those round 1 matches, and then Kohlschreiber beating a qualifier for a spot in the semis.
Dark Horse: Ricardas Berankis
Berankis has the talented needed to get through Coric and his weak early section, and then give Cilic a test in the semifinals. The former top junior is undersized for the ATP game but he’s a solid ball striker, and still has a lot of intangible talent, even though his pro career has been a disappointment thus far.
Predictions
semis Cilic d. Coric
Kohlschreiber d. Sousa
Cilic and Kohlschreiber should be strong favorites to meet each other in the final.
final Cilic d. Kohlschreiber
Kohli leads the h2h with Cilic 5-3, but I feel Cilic is the better player right now and will find a way to win and repeat as champion.
Jan-Lennard Struff, Kenny de Schepper Cruise Into Erste Bank Open Main Draw Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic
Jan-Lennard Struff headlined the group of four qualifiers for the 41st Erste Bank Open after the top two seeded players crashed out.
Struff enjoyed a brief first round match after his opponent, Serbia’s Miljan Zekic, retired whilst trailing 1-5. In the last round Struff faced world No.251 Jan Satral. Satral knocked out 7th seed Mirza Basic in the first round after two closely fought sets – 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4). This year Satral has won two Futures titles and his first ever Challenger title in doubles. Despite 155 places separating the two players, the final encounter was a tough match for the third seed. After taking the opening set comfortably, Struff trailed 2-5 in the second set and saved three set points before clawing his way back to 5-5. As the second set went into a tie-break, the German world No.96 experienced another problem. Satral rapidly opened up a 5-0 lead but failed to close the set out as Stuff staged another comeback to book his place in the main draw. Struff took the match 6-3, 7-6 (9) after an hour and twenty-four minutes.
France’s Kenny de Schepper joined Struff in the final after stunning Belgian top seed Ruben Bemelmans. De Schepper booked his in place in the final round of qualifying after beating Switzerland’s Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-3. Meanwhile, Bemelmans received a first round bye. World No.121 De Schepper saved three break points as he brushed aside the top seed 6-3, 6-2. This was the second time in two weeks that De Schepper has beaten the Belgian. In the first round of the Mons Challenger in Belgium last week he defeated Bemelmans in three sets. The Frenchman comes to Austria high in confidence after reaching back-to-back Challenger semifinals in France and Belgium.
Japan’s Yuichi Sugita defeated Spain’s Jaume Munar (6-1, 6-2) in the first round to set up a clash with second seed Nikoloz Basilashvili. Leading into the qualifying tournament, Sugita has won 11 out of 15 matches played since the US Open. The 27-year-old won his first title of the year at the Bangkok Challenger last month. During his 86-minute match against Basilashvili, Sugita broke the Georgian player four times as he took the match 6-3, 7-5, to move into the first round of the tournament for the first time in his career.
Finally 19-year-old Austrian wildcard Lucas Miedler qualified for the first ATP main draw in his career. During his junior career, Meidler won the 2014 Australian Open boys’ doubles title. This year Meidler has already won 11 Futures titles on the doubles circuit. During the qualifying tournament, Miedler came from a set and a break down in the first set to defeat Italian 8th seed Riccardo Bellotti 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. In the final round he played 35-year-old fourth seed Michael Berrer. Berrer has recently confirmed that he has delayed his retirement plans after enjoying a promising 2015 season where he beat Rafael Nadal in January and reached his first ATP semifinal in three years in Colombia. Despite being ranked 400 places lower than Berrer, Meidler faced no break points as he stunned the German 6-4, 6-4.
First Round Matches
Yuichi Sugita Vs Lukas Rosol – Rosol has beaten Sugita once before which was in 2010 during the qualifying rounds of the US Open.
Jan-Lennard Struff Vs Sergiy Stakhovsky – This will be their seventh meeting with Struff leading 6-1. They have played each other twice in 2015. Struff won in the Orleans Challenger, but Stakhovsky won in the second round of the Marseille Open.
Top Ten Players Murray, Berdych and Cilic Claim ATP Titles
ATP Vienna
Andy Murray continued his strong run of play to finish out the 2014 season, as the Scotsman toppled fellow top 10 player David Ferrer 5-7 6-2 7-5 in a Murray-coaster final in the Austrian capital. The title is the second for Murray this season, and both of his ATP titles this year have come at the 250 level after the US Open, the other of course in Shenzen last month.
Ferrer served for the match in the third set, but could not finish the job, and Murray had a late push to win.
Murray bolstered his claim to one of the 8 World Tour Final spots with wins over Vasek Pospisil, JL Struff and Viktor Troicki to reach the final this week. He appeared comfortable throughout as he didn’t drop a set before the final.
Ferrer continues to befuddle fans and pundits alike with his topsy-turvy form. He actually played quite well this week, scoring wins over Tobias Kamke and Ivo Karlovic without dropping a set, and then winning a third set tiebreak against Philipp Kohlschreiber to reach the final.
The Austrian fans were able to celebrate one of their own lifting a trophy this week, as Jurgen Melzer, and his veteran pal Philipp Petzschner defeated Andre Begemann and Julian Knowles in the doubles final. Both pairings were made up of an Austrian and a German.
ATP Stockholm
Tomas Berdych also claimed a 250 title as expected this week. The in-form Czech won a hard fought match with Grigor Dimitrov, prevailing 5-7 6-4 6-4, and in the process preventing Dimitrov from repeating as the Stockholm champion. The match could have perhaps ended in two sets, but Berdych couldn’t finish off the first set and Dimitrov had a late charge to take it. Berdy was much better late in the second and third sets and that was enough to get him through.
The path to a second career Stockholm title for Berdych ran through Dustin Brown, Marius Copil and Matthias Bachinger this week, all without dropping a set as the Czech number one is serving lights out at the moment.
Dimitrov beat Teymuraz Gabashvili, Jack Sock in a 3 set comeback, and Bernard Tomic to reach the final this week.
Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen defeated Treat Huey and Jack Sock in the doubles final.
ATP Moscow
Marin Cilic laid claim to his twelfth career ATP 250 level title in Moscow, and he completed the trio of top 10 winners on the ATP tour this week. The Croat #1 defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-4 in the final and in the process qualified for the World Tour Finals.
Cilic did not have smooth sailing to the final, as he needed 3 sets against Evgeny Donskoy in his first match, and against an in form Mikhail Kukushkin in the semifinals, but along with dispatching Tommy Robredo in the quarters, he did reach the final and gave RBA few opportunities to win the match.
Bautista Agut, who has had a tremendous season in his own right, was a well-deserved finalist, and this year he has cemented himself as one of the top 5 Spanish players on tour. The Spaniard with the powerful forehand defeated Andrey Kuznetsov, Sam Groth, Ricardas Berankis and his bad blood rival Ernests Gulbis without dropping a set to reach the final.
Frantisek Cermak and Jiri Vesely combined to win the doubles title over the Aussies Sam Groth and Chris Guccione.
