Favorites Advance in Tuesday @NewYorkOpen Action

Posted by Admin on February 11, 2020
Posted in: ATP, New York, New York Open, Steve Fogleman. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Kyle Edmund, 2020 New York Open (Photo: TennisAtlantic.com)

Favorites Advance in Tuesday @NewYorkOpen Action
Steve Fogleman at the Ancestral Home of the New York Islanders

A second day of rain did nothing but make you feel better about yourself for coming out to watch indoor tennis. And the weather outside did nothing to dampen the confidence of today’s winners.

Jordan Thompson, 2020 New York Open (Photo: TennisAtlantic.com)

Borat Sagdiyev

Jordan Thompson played Ivo Karlovic’s game and beat him at it in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(2). While serving only 6 aces to Karlovic’s 11, the mustachioed Australian won an amazing 86% of his first service points and was never broken. From one big man to another, Thompson moves on to face American John Isner.

Soonwoo Kwon, 2020 New York Open (Photo: TennisAtlantic.com)

Soonwoo Kwon doused the hopes of qualifier Go Soeda, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, after Soeda snuck up and took the second set tiebreak. Kwon nailed six aces in the third set after only four aces in the first two stanzas. Kwon’s service game will next have to match up against the tournament’s #2 seed Milos Raonic.

Paolo

Paolo “Houdini” Lorenzo

Paolo Lorenzi pulled a Pure Houdini today. He was down a set and a break to World #159 Danilo Petrovic, the lowest ranked player in the main draw. Petrovic, who was two games away from winning his first ATP Tour main draw match, disputed a call in the 8th game and continued to argue through the break and into the third set, where he was destroyed by Lorenzi, 6-0. Someone on twitter accused him of match-fixing, but I saw a guy out there who desperately wanted to win his first (at 28 years old) and he simply unraveled. Lorenzi, a quarterfinalist last year, faces Kecmanovic for a chance to return to New York’s Elite Eight.

You know that one match that you see on an Order of Play and you say, “that’s my match?” Me too. Yesterday, that match was Kecmanovic-Paul. And it disappointed. Today was no different. Today’s “my match” was Dominik Koepfer and Brayden Schnur. Schnur, a finalist at last year’s New York Open, clearly had the weight of history on his racket. He could not deliver a repeat performance of his 2019 run, and although the chants of “Let’s go, Canada” were louder in the second set, they did little to raise his game. For his part, Koepfer was consistent throughout the 6-3, 6-4 win. Earlier, Kyle Edmund eased past Yasatuka Uchiyama and will play Dominik Koepfer in the second round. That’s all for me until the quarterfinals on Friday here at NYCB Live, home of the Nassau Coliseum. See you on Valentine’s Day from the Guy-land.

Qualifiers Placed, @NewYorkOpen Main Draw Underway Monday

Posted by Admin on February 10, 2020
Posted in: ATP, New York, New York Open. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
New York Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

A Day for Ducks and Qualifiers

Qualifiers Placed, @NewYorkOpen Main Draw Underway Monday
Steve Fogleman on the G’Island

On a rainy Monday on Long Island, Noah Rubin left the New York Open with a scowl on his face after winning just 37% of the points in a qualifying final loss. His conqueror was the 38-year-young Paolo Lorenzi, who advanced to the main draw at the New Yorker’s expense, 6-3, 6-1. And Lorenzi’s smile was Rubin’s frown turned upside down. The Roman citizen never has a poker face and is easily the Steve Buscemi of tennis.

Paolo Lorenzi, New York Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

This Old Man

Jason Jung also dispatched Mitchell Kruger, 6-2, 6-4, at about the same time that Lorenzi finished off Rubin. Jung draws 2018 tournament champion Kevin Anderson in the main draw. 35-year-old Go Soeda destroyed Bernie Tomic in a stunning 39 minutes to take the third qualifying spot in the draw. Soeda’s first round opponent is Soonwoo Kwon. The last qualifying final, between Bradley Klahn and Danilo Petrovic, was a close affair for most of the first set before the Serb pulled away, 6-3, 6-2. Petrovic is the lowest ranked player (#159) to qualify for the main draw. He’ll square off against Old Roman Lorenzi in the first round.

Go Soeda, New York Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

Go Soeda Advances

The players on the Grandstand Court are at the mercy of their noisy, partying neighbors next door on Stadium. At the commencement of today’s matches, the lights went down as Noah Rubin was introduced on the main court. That meant lights out for Jung and Krueger, who had unceremoniously already begun warm-ups. C’est la vie for them.

New York Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

I cannot play in the dark.

The tournament has an impressive multi-media display system. The only problem is that without a lot of fans filling up the arena, it’s full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. On the other hand, there’s nothing like hearing the tossed coin hit the black courts from 300 feet away so loudly that you think that you dropped some change.

2020 @NewYorkOpen Preview, Predictions, Upsets

Posted by Admin on February 10, 2020
Posted in: ATP, New York Open. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

New York Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

2020 @NewYorkOpen Preview, Predictions, Upsets

Steve Fogleman on Long Island

The New York Open is back for another year in the Coliseum in Hempstead, New York and we’re back as well at this ATP 250 tour event. A 250-level tournament is tricky for marketing purposes: just a couple of months ago, organizers were selling tickets for “Kei Nishikori Night” for Wednesday night’s matches. Then, Nishikori withdrew (as he just did in Delray Beach) and Nick Kyrgios became the celestial focus. Alas, he dropped out with a week to go, leaving it all to John Isner and the top Americans left to showcase. Let’s look at the draw.

John Isner, 2019 New York Open

Top seed John Isner is still looking for his first NY Open title in three tries. Like the other top 3 seeds, he’ll have a bye, meaning he need only win one match to reach the quarterfinals. He’ll face the winner of the Karlovic-Thompson match. There, I am taking Karlovic to avenge his Roland Garros loss to the Australian. In the quarters, Isner’s likely opponent will be 5 seed and fellow American Tennys Sandgren fresh off of yet another successful Australian Open run. Sandgren should ease past Steve Johnson in their first ever pro meeting on hard courts.

Quarterfinal: Isner vs. Sandgren

Reilly Opelka, 2019 New York Open Finalist (TennisAtlantic.com)
Reilly Opelka has his own quarter of the draw as the 3 seed. The 2019 NY Open champion would have been pleased with that, but the draw gods stuck the 2018 champion, Kevin Anderson, right into his section. They will face each other in the quarterfinals if Opelka gets out of his second round match against Nishioka/Laaksonen and Anderson can beat a qualifier and Cam Norrie.

 

Quarterfinal: Opelka vs.Anderson

 

Embed from Getty Images

4 seed Ugo Humbert probably has the most intriguing section of the draw. After a bye, he’ll face the winner of Marcos Giron and one Jack Sock.  At this point, Sock’s level of play is anyone’s guess. Even if Humbert does advance to the quarterfinals, I don’t think he’s a lock to move on any further. That’s because some of the biggest momentum in this section comes from two players: Tommy Paul and Miomir Kecmanovic. I’m picking the Serb to win their first meeting today and to beat the qualifier he’ll face in the second round. It’s a shame that Paul and Kecmanovic were drawn to play each other in the first round, because these young guns are very dangerous, especially in a 250. Currently, Kecmanovic is the underdog at +125 despite being the seeded player in the match.

Quarterfinal: Humbert vs. Kecmanovic

 

Milos Raonic, the 2 seed, also has to deal with a stacked quarter of his own. He starts play in the second round and Soonwoo Kwon will likely be his first opponent. Last year’s finalist is this year’s wildcard and Brayden Schnur would love to get back on track here in New York. Unfortunately, he’s drawn Dominik Koepfer in R1 in their first meeting and that match is going to be a tough out. However, with his 6-1 record on the black courts of the Coliseum, I would consider Schnur a value bet at +145. An all-Canadian quarter would be nice.

Quarterfinal: Raonic vs. Schnur

On a hunch, I think a Japanese player will advance to the second round, but I haven’t figured out which one yet. Yasutaka Uchiyama is a big first round underdog against Kyle Edmund. I will pick an upset of Yoshihito Nishioka today by Henri Laaksonen (+295). Or perhaps it will be top qualifying seed Go Soeda if he can get past Bernard Tomic today.

As always, this information is for amusement purposes only. And in just a few hours, the indoor main draw carnival begins.

2020 @AustralianOpen Week 1 Men’s Preview, Predictions, Long Shot R1 Picks

Posted by Admin on January 19, 2020
Posted in: ATP, Australian Open. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Nicolas Mahut nicomahut • Instagram photos and videos

2020 @AustralianOpen Week 1 Men’s Preview, Predictions, Long Shot R1 Picks
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

It’s a new year with the same pressing question: Will a Young Gun will snatch a major from the Big Three? It’s never felt more in their grasp, and yet it still feels like Groundhog Day. Like floodgates after a massive storm, you know that when the day comes when a young’un lifts that fat hardware, it will become a regular occurrence.

Embed from Getty Images

Who is going to be the first? Zverev’s January form lends pessimism to his campaign. Daniil Medvedev tops his quarter with Zverev as the challenger-in-waiting. This is a shame for the youth movement. Assuming Zverev can get to a quarterfinal with the Russian, the winner should be exhausted enough to lose to #1 seed Nadal in the semifinal, unless fatigue has set in with Nadal as well. Nadal’s path is predictably easy into the fourth round. After that, he could draw dangerously unpredictable Nick Kyrgios and with another win, Dominic Thiem. Should he be forced to run this gantlet, Nadal may survive Thiem, but he will be a wounded warrior going after the winner of Zverev and Medvedev.

A wild card in Zverev’s section is Andrey Rublev, who has already picked up two titles in 2020. He’ll do well to advance to a fourth round match against Sascha, but the fatigue should have set in by then, allowing Zverev to advance to a Medvedev quarterfinal.

R4: Nadal d. Kyrgios
R4: Thiem d. Duckworth
QF: Nadal vs. Thiem
QF: Medvedev d. Zverev

Embed from Getty Images

Roger Federer never seems to have an easy draw, but he has to be pleased with this one. Young Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the fourth round would be his biggest test. On the other side of that quarter, I predict Berretini will be upset by Fabio Fognini, setting up a Federer-Fognini quarterfinal.

R4: Fognini d. Berretini
R4: Federer d. Shapovalov
QF: Federer vs. Fognini

Embed from Getty Images

Djokokvic’s quarter is counter-weighted by young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas, but before that quarterfinal match occurs, I’m taking Dusan Lajovic to meet the Serb in the fourth round. Roberto Bautista Agut will likely stand in the way of Tsitsipas in the fourth round as well. This is another quarter that should be upset-free, with the exception of Lloyd Harris taking out #14 seed Diego Schwartzman in the first round.

R4: Djokovic d. Lajovic
R4: Tstsipas d. Bautista Agut
QF: Djokovic vs. Tstsipas

And finally, it’s time for our new segment called “Potentially Worthy Picks”. These are big upset bets with big paydays. Remember that this is for amusement purposes only, and if you place a real bet and it doesn’t win, please don’t flame me on twitter. It’s not like I called you a liar on national television.

Potentially Worthy First Round Upset Picks
Lloyd Harris (+300) d. Diego Schwartzman
Elliot Benchetrit (+200) d. Yuichi Sugita
Yasataka Uchiyama (+300) d. Mikael Ymer

2020 @AustralianOpen Week 1 Women’s Preview, Predictions, Long Shot R1 Picks

Posted by Admin on January 19, 2020
Posted in: Australian Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ao2020 logo

2020 Australian Open Week 1 Women’s Preview, Predictions, Long Shot R1 Picks
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

It’s been a bummer summer down under: On the upside, Serena Williams ended a three-year title drought by winning in Auckland, and the leftovers of the Hopman Cup produced some exciting matches. The downside: No Hopman Cup, and the optics of players having to retire due to smoke from devastating bush fires at qualifying in Melbourne. It’s not a good look when you’re supposed to be in the business of protecting your hard assets, the players, by playing dumb during a natural disaster.

And that’s exactly what Tennis Australia has done. Perhaps the Australian tournaments have given Ozzies something to take their mind off of the daily troubles of worrying about their friends and loved ones. The Australian Open has dealt with the disaster on a reactionary basis, waiting for players to speak out before they do. My heart goes out to Australia and a Shake-My-Damn-Head goes out to Tennis Australia.

In the meantime, let’s turn the page on pre-Open action, get this major on and get this sport out of here so this country can get back to recovery.

Alas, the first “jewel” of the Grand Slam is upon us.

Embed from Getty Images

Whether Serena William’s title in Auckland will break the floodgates here and get her back to Grand Slam glory remains to be seen. As close as she has been in New York in back-to back years tells me it’s been a cerebral condition and flat out, I expect to see her in the semifinals at worst.

Who’s quarter is this anyway?

Embed from Getty Images

Naomi Osaka is the #3 seed, and she’ll be tested if she wants to reach the semis. After an opening round match against Marie Bouzkova, she’ll likely square off against Saisai Zhang before heading to the third round against one of Venus Williams, Coco Gauff, Sorana Cirstea or Barbora Strycova. I’ll predict that she’ll face Cirstea in R3 before falling to Serena Williams in the quarters.

Serena’s path is far more manageable than Osaka’s to win the section. After an opening round match against Anastasia Potapova, Williams may face Qiang Wang for a second round win. In the third round, I’ll go with Dayana Yastremska after surviving Johanna Konta in the second round. A win over Yastremska to reach the quarters is no easy feat, but Williams should prevail.

R4: Osaka d. Kenin
R4: Williams d. Yastremska
QF: Williams vs. Osaka

Embed from Getty Images

2020 Adelaide champion Ashleigh Barty has a surprisingly easy ride to the semifinals in her quarter. Her main challengers, Petra Kvitova and Madison Keys, face difficult early round contests and it will be impressive if Kvitova and Keys can even make it to the quarterfinals.

R4: Barty d. Riske
R4: Kvitova d. Linette
QF: Barty vs. Kvitova

Embed from Getty Images

Simona Halep’s section of the draw is also a glide path to the quarterfinals, provided she gets by the plucky Jen Brady in R1, which I expect. Belinda Bencic should face her in the quarters of what would shape up to be an upset free quarter of the draw, but I’m going with Kontaveit to upset her in the third round before Kontaveit loses to Sabalenka in the fourth round. Just a hunch here.

R4: Sabalenka d. Kontaveit
R4: Halep d. Muchova
QF: Halep vs. Sabalenka

Embed from Getty Images

Karolina Pliskova already has a trophy in the bag this year with a 3rd Brisbane title. That’s good for her because the draw is filled with spoilers. World #6 Elina Svitolina is the least of her problems should she reach the final.

Pliskova starts with the unpredictable Kristina Mladenovic. A second round match would see her facing the winner of the Siegemund-Vandeweghe contest. After that, she could hit a speed bump against Pavlyucheckova, Vondrousova, Giorgi, or even Kuznetsova.

R4: Bertens d. Svitolina
R4: Vondrousova d. Pliskova
QF: Vondrousova vs. Bertens

And finally, it’s time for a new segment called “Potentially Worthy Picks”. These are big upset bets with big paydays. Remember that this is for amusement purposes only, and if you actually place a real bet and it doesn’t win, please don’t flame me on twitter.

Potentially Worthy First Round Upset Picks

Viktoria Kuzmova (+300) d. Julia Goerges
Daria Kasatkina (+420) d. Madison Keys
Fiona Ferro (+180) d. Van Uytvanck
Sorana Cirstea (+140) d. Barbora Strycova

A Tough Slog to a Home Title for @AshBarty at @BrisbaneTennis; 2020 @WTA Brisbane International Preview, Predictions

Posted by Admin on January 5, 2020
Posted in: Australian Open, Brisbane, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

A Tough Slog to a Home Title for @AshBarty at @BrisbaneTennis; 2020 @WTA Brisbane International Preview, Predictions
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

If it’s the Coco and Serena show in Auckland, then the Brisbane International is the home of the Grupo Del Muerto. And indeed, there’s no place like home…unless you’re seeded in the Group of Death.

Top seed and world #1 Ash Barty hoped to take a bit of a victory lap down under and win a big home country tournament or two before the Australian Open, but the gods of the draw decided to have a little fun with her at the Brisbane International, a premier-level WTA tour event. In order for Barty to get out of her quarter, she’ll need to get by Maria Sharapova, Sloane Stephens, Petra Kvitova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

After Barty’s bye, she’ll face a very wild card in Maria Sharapova, provided Sharapova dispatches a qualifier. Barty beat Sharapova in their one and only meeting at the Western & Southern Open last summer, but you truly never know which Sharapova will show. I’ll give Barty the edge and send her on to the third round against Sloane Stephens, who beat the Australian in their only meeting at the 2017 US Open. Barty’s quest for a title to open 2020 will likely end with a Stephens victory in the quarterfinals.

TENNIS-AUS-ATP

(Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)

4 seed Elena Svitolina’s quarter is also dangerous, with Angelique Kerber, Madison Keys, Donna Vekic and Danielle Collins waiting in the wings. The Ukrainian will get past the plucky Danielle Collins in the opening round and Donna Vekic in the second before being eliminated by an in-form Madison Keys, who must defeat Kerber to get there.

Naomi Osaka, 2018 Citi Open (Photo: Mike Renz for Tennis Atlantic)

Naomi Osaka, 2018 Citi Open (Photo: Mike Renz for Tennis Atlantic)


Naomi Osaka, a year wiser, is used to getting her own quarter these days and what to do with such a blessing. In a trip-up match with Sakkari, she should prevail before facing another major test in Sonia Kenin. It’s a test she should also pass before dispatching Kiki Bertens in the quarterfinals.

pliskova-2016

Karolina Pliskova has become more of a sure thing over the last year, a compliment to her maturity as a player. As such, I believe she’ll use that bye and a second round match against an Australian wild card to polish her early-season form. She’ll need the tune-up before beating Naomi Osaka in 3 sets to advance to the final against Madison Keys. In three sets, I’ll predict it’s Pliskova who begins 2020 with the Brisbane title.

Will Auckland Become @CocoGauff Land? 2020 @WTA @ASB_Classic Auckland Preview, Predictions

Posted by Admin on January 5, 2020
Posted in: Auckland, Australian Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Will Auckland Become @CocoGauff Land? 2020 @WTA @ASB_Classic Auckland Preview, Predictions
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Coco Gauff (Photo: Citi Open)

Or will it be like old times again with Serena and Wozniacki meeting in the final?

The 2020 Coco Gauff tour is almost underway. The ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand is stacked with the aforementioned former grand slam champions and a dose of the youth movement. Not too shabby for a WTA International level event.

Gauff, who is amazingly still 15 years old, looks to play her first pro match down under. It’s hard to believe that she made her pro debut just last year in Miami before shocking the world with stellar play at Wimbledon and the US Open.  Down Under has been patiently waiting for a chance to join her carnival of tennis enthusiasm. Gauff will have a tough opening round match against 21-year-old Slovakian Viktoria Kuzmova, where she’s a favored -149, and assuming Gauff prevails, she’ll likely face Serena Williams in Round 2.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (Photo: (C) 2014 Chris Levy @tennis_shots for TennisEastCoast.com)

Svetlana Kuznetsova (Photo: (C) 2014 Chris Levy @tennis_shots for TennisEastCoast.com)

Or will she? Outside of the American teen sensation, all the buzz is about the first-round match between grand slam champs with a lot of mutual history. Serena Williams and Sveta Kuznetsova have met 13 times, and although Serena holds a 10-3 edge on the 2004 US Open champ, anyone who follows women’s tennis knows that Kuznetsova can beat anyone when she’s in form. With Serena at -400 in the match, this could be a nice upset pick.

Amanda Anisimova’s quarter co-stars Caroline Garcia, who should meet in the quarterfinals with Anisimova advancing to a semifinal against Serena Williams. Garcia’s game hasn’t inspired a lot of confidence lately, and she’s even money against Taylor Townsend in the opening round. I’m going to stand by Garcia, though, as she’d only need to beat the winner of Flipkens-Bouchard to reach the quarters.

Wozniacki

Julia Goerges is the 4 seed and her quarter is shared by 5th seeded Caroline Wozniacki. It’s highly likely that they’ll meet in the quarterfinals here, a rematch of last year’s Auckland final. I expect Wozniacki to fight right up through her supposed final grand slam in Melbourne Park to go out with a bang and I’d take her to advance to a semifinal and to contest Serena Williams in the final.

Petra Martic doesn’t get any respect as a top 20 player, as least not from me yet. I’ve been watching her fail to qualify or get knocked out of the first round of too many tournaments to mention. And her quarter is full of spoilers, like Alize Cornet, Bec Peterson, Alison Van Uytvanck and American Cici Bellis. I see Bellis surprising Martic in the quarterfinals before falling to Wozniacki in the semis. That said, the oddsmakers have installed Martic as a -149 favorite in her opener against Van Uytvanck. You’d expect a little more confidence in a 2 seed.

The fans in Auckland should get a two-fer, as they’ll see a Serena Williams-Coco Gauff battle, but they should also be so fortunate as to be gifted a blast from the past final, with Serena Williams besting Caroline Wozniacki to win her first tour title of any kind since the memorable 2017 Australian Open.