ATP Barcelona

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Nadal Continues Clay Dominance, Cecchinato Wins Maiden ATP Title
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Barcelona

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Rafael Nadal showed no signs of stress or fatigue as he raced through his matches in Barcelona without dropping a set, continued his consecutive sets won streak on clay that dates back to last season. Nadal surrendered 5 games to Martin Klizan in the quarters, but was otherwise unbothered, defeating Roberto Carballes Baena, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Klizan, and David Goffin with two bagels and a breadstick thrown in prior to the final.

In that final he faced next-gen star Stefanos Tsitsipas, a rising Greek playing in his first ATP final. Tsitsipas has a great career ahead of him but he was overmatched by Rafa’s clay prowess, falling 6-2 6-1.

Tsitsipas, who has stepped up to a full time ATP schedule this year, won matches against Corentin Moutet, Diego Schwartzman, Albert Ramos, Dominic Thiem, and Pablo Carreno Busta without dropping a set, a great run to the final that saw at least three upsets in that period.

The doubles final was won by the Lopez brothers, as Marc and Feliciano beat Qureshi/Rojer, completing a Spanish sweep of Barcelona.

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ATP Budapest

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Marco Cecchinato had the joy of winning his first ATP title in the Budapest 250. The Italian, who had a poor record on clay at the tour level until this year, defeated John Millman 7-5 6-4 in the final. Millman, another clay struggler at tour level, also had the chance to win his first ATP title, but came up just short.

Cecchinato entered the draw as a lucky loser and went on to defeat Mirza Basic, Damir Dzumhur, J.L. Struff, and Andreas Seppi. The wins over Struff and Seppi coming in three sets. Millman reached the final with wins against Radu Albot, Lucas Pouille, Yannick Maden, and Aljaz Bedene, his final three wins all upsets, and the last two coming in tight third sets.

Inglot/Skugor won the doubles title over Middelkoop/Molteni.

ATP Barcelona

Rafael Nadal’s 10th title in Barcelona was special, as it came on a court that was named after him at the start of the tournament this year. Rafa, 29-5 on the season, and now 10-0 on clay, did the double once again in is career, taking Barcelona after taking Monte Carlo the prior week. Nadal hasn’t dropped a set on clay in nine straight matches and rolled past Rogerio Dutra Silva, Kevin Anderson, Hyeon Chung, Horacio Zeballos, and finalist Dominic Thiem beating Thiem 6-4 6-1. Thiem, playing his second final of 2017, was blitzed by Nadal but still claimed a win over world #1 Andy Murray in the semifinals, and also beat Kyle Edmund, Dan Evans, and Yuichi Sugita on the week.

Florin Mergea and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi beat Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya in the doubles final.

ATP Budapest

Lucas Pouille claimed his eighth win in nine matches 6-3 6-1 over qualifier Aljaz Bedene to claim the title in Budapest, his first of 2017, and the second of his career at age 23. Pouille needed three sets against Jiri Vesely in his first match in Hungary, but didn’t look back after that easing past Martin Klizan and Paolo Lorenzi to make the final, before thumping Bedene, who had won a remarkable sixteen straight matches leading into the final. In the end fatigue likely hurt his already limited changes against the talented Frenchman. Bedene beat lucky loser Marius Copil twice in two matches then beat Robin Haase, Ivo Karlovic, and qualifier Laslo Djere without dropping a set.

Brian Baker and Nikola Mektic won the doubles title over Juan Sebastian Cabral and Robert Farah.

2017 ATP Barcelona Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The second clay level 500 of the season is underway in Barcelona with a host of top players competing. Here is your preview with predictions.

Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
ATP World Tour 500
April 24-30, 2017
Barcelona, Spain
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €2,324,905

Top Half:

Andy Murray is struggling but he’s never lost to Bernard Tomic (5-0), and Tomic won his first match in months against Dustin Brown in round 1. Murray should also find his way past Feliciano Lopez (or Albert Montanes) in the third round, as this is not the most difficult section with no one else in better form, despite Murray’s current issues. Surprise Monte Carlo finalist Albert Ramos faces young gun Casper Ruud in round 2, Ruud has won three straight matches having come through qualifying, but presuming Ramos is rested enough he should continue his good run of play. Jan-Lennard Struff is also playing well, but I have Roberto Bautista Agut reaching the quarterfinals with wins over Struff and Ramos, before falling to Murray.

A solid clay courter, Dominic Thiem should clear out Dan Evans while Pablo Carreno Busta looks set to end Yuichi Sugita’s remarkable run, as a lucky loser he stunned Richard Gasquet on clay in one of the upsets of the year, and also has a win against Tommy Robredo thus far. Carreno Busta defeated Andreas Seppi already, but Thiem should prove too much in the quarters given the result of the Rio final on clay earlier this year that Thiem won.

Bottom Half:

Benoit Paire and Joao Sousa look set to face off in the bottom half, Paire already beat Marcel Granollers, while Sousa is a reasonable favorite against Horacio Zeballos. Look for Paire to sneak into the quarterfinals and face either Monte Carlo quarterfinalist Pablo Cuevas or semifinalist David Goffin, most likely Goffin. Goffin is in great form and should defeat qualifier Nikolosz Basilashvili, while Cuevas beats Karen Khachanov before falling to Goffin. Goffin is the clear favorite to reach the semis here.

Rafael Nadal will play all of his matches in Barcelona on the court named after him, the nine-time and defending champion of this tournament comes off a title in Monte Carlo on clay, and should ease past Rogerio Dutra Silva in round 2, then defeat Kevin Anderson round 3, after Anderson upset a struggling David Ferrer in round 2, also posting a win over Carlos Berlocq round 1. Casablanca finalist Philipp Kohlschreiber needs to defeat Hyeon Chung before facing off with his countryman Alexander Zverev. The younger Zverev will be the favorite, but Kohli is in good form and I have him falling to Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Dark Horse: Pablo Carreno Busta

PCB has a shot at upsetting Thiem and making a run in the top half section, he’s a home player and clearly has the ability on clay, especially with Gasquet already knocked out, to reach the semis or beyond.

Predictions

Semis
Thiem d. Murray
Nadal d. Goffin

Final
Nadal d. Thiem

Murray’s poor form on clay suggests Thiem has a great shot at making this final, Nadal is the clear favorite to win yet again in Barcelona though, especially after dominating Monte Carlo.

Spanish Armada Capture ATP Titles

Posted by Admin on April 25, 2016

Posted in: ATP, Barcelona, Bucharest, Steen Kirby. Tagged: 2016 ATP Barcelona, 2016 ATP Bucharest, ATP Barcelona, ATP Bucharest, fernando verdasco, Fernando Verdasco Bucharest, Kei Nishikori, Kei Nishikori Barcelona, Lucas Pouille, rafael nadal, Rafael Nadal Barcelona. Leave a comment

Spanish Armada Capture ATP Titles
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Barcelona

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Rafael Nadal dispatched Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-5 to once again win the title in Barcelona. The Spanish #1 is in great form having returned to red clay, and he’s proving himself as a resilient star on the ATP tour. The top seed beat Marcel Granollers, Albert Montanes, Fabio Fognini, and Philipp Kohlschreiber, along with Nishikori without dropping a set this week, and he’s playing like a buzzsaw on the clay.

Nishikori reached his second straight final with wins over Thiemo De Bakker, Jeremy Chardy, Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Benoit Paire, all without dropping a set. He’s been great in Barcelona, and has 19 wins compared to four losses on clay over the last two seasons.

The Bryan brothers beat Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers for the doubles title, a big win for the veteran team.

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ATP Bucharest

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Fernando Verdasco won his first ATP title in two years with a Monday victory in Bucharest over Lucas Pouille. Pouille was playing in his first career ATP final after defeating Dusan Lajovic, Ivo Karlovic, Paolo Lorenzi, and Federico Delbonis. He beat Lorenzi after dropping the first set.

Verdasco struggled for a win against Aldin Setkic, but found momentum to defeat Radu Albot, Robin Haase, and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to reach the final. He’s back into the top 60, and could use more wins to get his game back to a Grand Slam level .

Steen Kirby (Marseille)

2016 ATP Barcelona Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The European spring clay court season continues with the first ATP World Tour stop in Spain. The Barcelona Open is a 500 level tournament, and a lot of intriguing talents are taking part.

Barcelona Open BancSabadell
ATP World Tour 500
Barcelona, Spain
April 18-24, 2016
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €2,152,690
Top 8 seeds (top 16 seeds receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Rafael Nadal (5)
2: Kei Nishikori (6)
3: David Ferrer (8)
4: Richard Gasquet (10)
5: Roberto Bautista Agut (17)
6: Benoit Paire (22)
7: Feliciano Lopez (23)
8: Viktor Troicki (24)

Barcelona has nearly half of the ATP top 10, and a good variety of well known players, making this a solid 500 level stop. Most of the first rounders are not likely to be competitive, or interesting.

Top Half:

Recent Monte Carlo champion, and x8 Barcelona champion Rafael Nadal should breeze through his first few rounds. The seed in his section is Joao Sousa, who is average at best on clay. Rafa should open with Monte Carlo quarterfinalist Marcel Granollers, presuming Granollers can dispatch Daniel Munoz De La Nava. After that, it could be Sousa, or Casablanca semifinalist Albert Montanes, another fading Spanish veteran. Montanes opens with Roberto Carballes Baena, who is primarily a challenger player. I have Montanes slipping past Sousa, before falling to Nadal for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Fabio Fognini and Viktor Troicki are the seeds below Rafa, Fognini was poor in Monte Carlo after a few weeks off of the tour, but he’s still a talented, and accomplished clay courter. Fognini should dispatch either Rajeev Ram, or veteran Mikhail Youzhny in his first match. Both are poor on clay, and don’t have games suited for the surface. Viktor Troicki also suffered an opening round loss in Monte Carlo, but he’s had some success on clay, and that should continue against either Ernests Gulbis, or Marton Fuscovics in round 2. Gulbis is on a three match losing streak, while Fuscovics is playing his first ATP match of the season, after going 0-2 last year on the main tour. This section features many underachievers in recent months. I have Troicki defeating Fognini for a quarterfinal spot. They have a split 2-2 h2h.

David Ferrer has multiple finals in Barcelona, but has never won a title at this tournament. The Spaniard pulled out of Monte Carlo with an injury, but he should be fit enough to slip past either Santiago Giraldo, or qualifier Radek Stepanek in his opening match. Giraldo is slightly better on clay than Stepanek, but Ferrer outclasses both players. Andrey Kuznetsov lost his opening Monte Carlo contest, but he’s had a career year thus far, and should get past either Franko Skugor, or Inigo Cervantes to setup a meeting with Ferrer in round 3. Skugor, a doubles specialist, has qualified for three ATP singles main draws already this year. Kuznetsov upsetting Ferrer would not surprise me at all, given David has been in decline as of late, but I have to go with Ferrer to reach the quarterfinals. Kuznetsov upset Ferrer at Wimbledon.

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Both Feliciano Lopez, and Philipp Kohlschreiber are capable of having a good run in their section. Lopez will face qualifier Pedro Cachin, or Ivan Dodig, while Kohlschreiber is likely to face Pablo Carreno Busta, unless Denis Istomin spoils that interesting matchup. The Casablanca quarterfinalist is a possible dark horse, but Kohli should be good enough on clay to advance. Cachin is playing his first ATP match of the season, and Lopez should face Kohlschreiber in round 3. He recently made the semifinals in Houston. Kohli and Lopez have split h2h meetings on clay, I have Kohlschreiber reaching the quarterfinals given the surface.

Bottom Half:

Kei Nishikori has won back to back Barcelona Open titles, and he’s in a section that should result in a good start to his quest for at third Barcelona title. After a 15-3 record on clay last year, Nishikori recently reached the final in Miami as well. Neither Thiemo De Bakker, or recent challenger champion Elias Ymer are capable of challenging him in round 2. Both Mikhail Kukushkin and Victor Estrella have been dire as of late, and that means power hitter Jeremy Chardy should advance to face Nishikori in round 3. Chardy is 2-0 against Nishikori on clay, but I have to pick Kei to reach the quarters.

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Roberto Bautista Agut continued his good season with a pair of wins in Monte Carlo. RBA will face either Aljaz Bedene, or the rising Karen Khachanov, a qualifier, in round 2. After that, he should face the dangerous, but inconsistent, Alexandr Dolgopolov in round 3. Dolgo will face either Facundo Bagnis or Evgeny Donskoy in round 2. Bagnis, a solid clay courter, upsetting Dolgopolov would not surprise me. The Ukrainian is known to be shaky on the surface. RBA should prevail against either Dolgo or Bagnis to reach the quarters.

Richard Gasquet would like to have a strong showing, and given his section, he should be able to get some momentum going on clay. The #4 seed exited in his second match in Monte Carlo, but should find more success against Malek Jaziri, or Hyeon Chung. The young Korean recently reached the quarterfinals in Houston. Thomaz Bellucci, a loser of five straight, is the other seed in this section, but all eyes will be on the young gun Alexander Zverev. Zverev should defeat fellow German J.L. Struff, a strong qualifier, in round 1, and then force Bellucci to crumble once more for a third round spot. Zverev is a serious threat to Gasquet, but assuming the Frenchman is healthy, I have him in the quarterfinals.

Benoit Paire snapped a losing skid and won a pair of matches in Monte Carlo, where he also posed a threat to Andy Murray. His showing on the clay there was the first signs of life from the scattered Frenchman in weeks. With Nicolas Almagro, his likely round 2 opponent, struggling, Paire should reach round 3. Almagro opens with Teymuraz Gabashvili, who is in total freefall right now. Defending finalist Albert Ramos will face off with Spanish young gun Jaume Munar in round 1. Ramos has lost three straight, but he should defeat Munar, before falling to Pablo Cuevas, the best player in this section on clay. Cuevas 12-2 clay court record should move to at least 14-2 on the season when he reaches the quarterfinals.

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Dark Horse: Alexander Zverev

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Zverev has the skill, and the draw, to at least reach the third round, and if he upsets Gasquet, he could go as far as the semifinals. This young German prospect has come into his own on all surfaces, and he’s the player to watch at the Barcelona Open.

Predictions

Quarters
Nadal d. Troicki
Ferrer d. Kohlschreiber
Cuevas d. Gasquet
Nishikori d. Bautista Agut

Nadal and Ferrer have dominated their respective h2h records in the possible quarterfinal matchups. Cuevas should be slightly better than Gasquet, and Nishikori has a stronger skillset than RBA, that has lead to a 4-0 h2h.

Semis
Nadal d. Ferrer
Nishikori d. Cuevas

Nishikori likely proves too fast, and too skilled for Cuevas, Nadal has won three straight vs. Ferrer, and is simply a much better player than he is right now.

Final
Nadal d. Nishikori

On a hard court, I’d be more tempted to pick Nisihkori, but after Rafa’s strong showing on clay in Monte Carlo, I have to think he’ll get back in the winners circle in Barcelona. This would be a great final, and would move Nadal to 3-0 on clay against Nishikori.

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Steen Kirby (Marseille)

Underdogs qualify in ATP Barcelona and Bucharest
Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Barcelona

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The last time a qualifier reached the last eight of the Barcelona Open was Stan Wawrinka at the 2005 tournament. Since then, many have tried and all of them have failed. Spearheading this year’s bid for the qualifiers will be the two highest ranked players from the qualifying draw.

German top seed, Jan Lennard-Struff, booked his place in the main draw without dropping a set. The world No.115 kicked-off his clay court season at last week’s Napoli Challenger where he suffered a shock first round loss to world No.325 Gianluca Mager. Struff recovered from his Italian disappointment by dismissing Spanish wildcard Pedro Martinez Portero in his first match at Barcelona. Awaiting him in the second round was French 11th seed Edouard Roger-Vasselin, a player who he has lost to twice in 2015. Struff ensured that he wouldn’t succumb to a trio of defeats to the Frenchman by winning 7-6(5), 6-2. During his Barcelona triumph against Roger-Vasselin, Struff won 81% of his first service points (25/31).

Following the top seed into the Barcelona main draw will be Russian second seed Karen Khachanov. Earlier this month, the 19-year-old reached a career ranking high of 135th and has already reached a Challenger final this year in Jonkoping, Sweden. Khachanov’s route to the main draw was one of the toughest. After seeing off India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan in three sets, he faced clay court specialist Marco Trungelliti. Aided by seven aces in the match, Khachanov required two hours and 20 minutes to defeat the Argentine 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), to reach his first ATP main draw since Chennai.

Czech veteran Radek Stepanek eased his way into the Barcelona main draw. The 37-year-old produced back-to-back straight sets wins over wildcard Gerard Granollers and former French Open boys’ champion Christian Garin. Stepanek has enjoyed success in Barcelona during his career. In 2005 he reached the semifinals of the tournament before losing to Rafael Nadal. This year will be his eighth appearance in the main draw of the event.

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The lowest ranked player to triumph in the two rounds of qualifying was Argentine world No.245 Pedro Cachin. Notching up only two main draw victories in 2016, the 21-year-old stunned third seed, Jozef Kovalik, 6-4, 7-5, in the first round. The unexpected win set Cachin up with a meeting against 10th seed Pedja Krstin, a player who won his maiden Challenger title on Mexican clay earlier this year. The Serbian was no match for Cachin, who won 79% of his service points to defeat Krstin 6-1, 6-2, in exactly an hour to reach his first ATP main draw.

Franko Skugor demolished his first round opponent to set up a showdown against Renzo Olivo. The sixth seed required only 49 minutes to race past France’s Yannick Jankovits (6-0, 6-2). Facing Olivo in the second round, the world No.148 encountered a much more testing match. After failing to save one out of only two break points he faced during the match, Skugor dropped the second set before taking the match in three sets – 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Barcelona will be his fourth appearance in an ATP main draw this year.

The final qualifier was Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics, who coincidentally reaches his first main draw on the ATP Tour since his appearance at last year’s Barcelona tournament. His qualifying campaign began with a marathon match against Andrey Rublev, which lasted six minutes shy of the three-hour mark. Fucsovics had three match points in the second set, but failed to convert any of them. Saving 13/15 break points throughout the match, the Hungarian clinched the win 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-3. In his final qualifying match, the Hungarian recovered from a second set blip to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, against Spain’s Jordi Samper-Montaña.

First round matches
Q Marton Fucsovics HUN Vs Ernests Gulbis LAT
Q Radek Stepanek Vs Santiago Giraldo
Q Franko Skugor Vs Inigo Cervantes ESP
Q Pedro Cachin ARG Vs Ivan Dodig CRO
Q Jan-Lennard Struff GER Vs Alexander Zverev GER
Q Karen Khachanov RUS Vs Aljaz Bedene GBR

ATP Bucharest

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Michael Linzer will play in his first ATP main draw after causing the biggest upset of the qualifying draw at the BRD Năstase Țiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania.

The 26-year-old, who has won five Futures titles on clay last year, recovered from a set down to stun Bosnian top seed Mirza Basic in the opening round of qualifying. Ranked almost 140 places below Basic, Linzer clinched the two-and-a-half-hour match, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4. He also endured a close second round match against Farrukh Dustov, a player who is yet to win back-to-back matches in a tournament this year. Dustov continued this disappointing trend after Linzer took the match 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4, to reach the main draw in Bucharest. The win elevates the Austrian to 266th in the world, 30 players below his 2012 career high. Since 2010, Linzer has won 16 Futures titles on clay.

Bosnian tennis fans still had something to cheer about after Aldin Setkic stunned second seed Maximo Gonzalez 0-6, 7-6(5), 6-1, in the final round of qualifying. Setkic saved 11/16 break points and won 57% of his first service points to seal the big win. The win over the world No.135 isn’t the biggest victory for the Bosnian. Last year he defeated world No.114 Dustin Brown at a Challenger tournament. Similar to Linzer, the 28-year-old will now play in his maiden ATP main draw.

The highest ranked player to successfully qualify was third seed Radu Albot. The Moldovan started his qualifying bid with a 6-4, 6-2, win over French wildcard Florian Valsot. The win took him to a second round meeting with German fifth seed Tobias Kamke. Converting 4/6 break points and 58% of service points, Albot claimed the win 6-4, 6-2. Albot, who reached a ranking high of 85th last year, will be hoping to end his run of first round losses. In three out of his four previous tournaments, the 26-year-old has fallen at the first hurdle.

The fourth and final qualifier is Italy’s Andrea Arnaboldi. The world No.171 has only managed to win three main draw matches this year with his best performance being a quarter-finalist at the Jonkoping Challenger in Sweden. He will now have a chance of increasing his winning number after defeating compatriot Federico Gaio 6-1, 6-4, without dropping serve.
First round matches
Q Michael Linzer AUT Vs Robin Haase NDL
Q Aldin Setkic BOS Vs Fernando Verdasco ESP
Q Radu Albot MOL Vs (8) Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA
Q Andrea Arnaboldi ITA Vs Taro Daniel JPA

Adam Addicott TA Watermark

2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 15 (Estoril, Munich, and Istanbul)

Posted by Admin on April 28, 2015

Posted in: 2015 ATP Draw Challenge, ATP, Estoril, Istanbul, Joe Craven, Munich, Niall Clarke, Steen Kirby. Tagged: 2015 ATP Estoril, 2015 ATP Estoril Open pIcks, 2015 ATP Estoril Picks, 2015 ATP Estoril Predictions, 2015 ATP Istanbul, 2015 ATP Istanbul Predictions, 2015 ATP Munich, 2015 ATP Munich Picks, 2015 ATP Munich Predictions, 2015 BMW Open by FWU AG, 2015 BMW Open by FWU AG Prediction, 2015 BMW Open Munich, 2015 Estoril Open, 2015 Estoril Open Predictions, 2015 TEB BNP Paribas Open, Andy Murray, Andy Murray Munich, atp, ATP 250, ATP Barcelona, ATP Estoril, ATP Estoril Picks, ATP Estoril Predictions, ATP Istanbul, ATP Istanbul Picks, ATP Istanbul Predictions, ATP Munich, ATP Munich Picks, ATP Munich Predictions, ATP Picks, ATP Predictions, ATP World Tour, BMW Open by FWU AG, BMW Open by FWU AG picks, BMW Open Munich, Estoril Open, Estoril Open Picks, Estoril Open Predictions, Nicolas Almagro, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Philipp Kohlschreiber Munich, Richard Gasquet, roger federer, Roger Federer Istanbul, TEB BNP Paribas Open, TEB BNP Paribas Open Picks, TEB BNP Paribas Open Predictions, Tommy Robredo. Leave a comment

2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 15 (Estoril, Munich, and Istanbul)
Staff, Tennis Atlantic

A trio of clay 250s in Europe are on the offering this week, and here are the picks of our experts, to compliment the rest of our full week of credentialed media coverage.

Estoril

2015 Estoril Open Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Lopez vs. Haase, Krajinovic vs. Ramos, Robredo vs. Carreno Busta, Montanes vs. Muller, Gasquet vs. De Schepper, Almagro vs. L. Mayer, Coric vs. Sousa, Garcia-Lopez vs. Anderson
Quarterfinals: Lopez vs. Ramos, Robredo vs. Muller, Gasquet vs. Almagro, Coric vs. Garcia-Lopez
Semifinals: Ramos vs. Robredo, Almagro vs. Coric
Final: Robredo vs. Almagro
Champion: Almagro

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches: Lopez vs. Haase, Gonzalez vs. Kyrgios, Robredo vs. Carreno Busta, Montanes vs. Muller, Gasquet vs. De Schepper, Almagro vs. L. Mayer, Coric vs. Sousa, Garcia-Lopez vs. Anderson
Quarterfinals: Lopez vs. Kyrgios, Robredo vs. Muller, Gasquet vs. Almagro, Sousa. vs. Garcia-Lopez
Semifinals: Lopez vs. Robredo, Gasquet vs.Garcia-Lopez
Final: Robredo vs. Gasquet
Champion: Gasquet

Joe Craven’s picks

Round 2 matches: Lopez vs. Haase, Krajinovic vs. Kyrgios, Robredo vs. Carreno Busta, Montanes vs. Silva, Gasquet vs. Elias, Almagro vs. L. Mayer, Chardy vs. Sousa, Garcia-Lopez vs. Anderson
Quarterfinals: Lopez vs. Kyrgios, Robredo vs. Montanes, Gasquet vs. Almagro, Chardy vs. Garcia-Lopez
Semifinals: Lopez vs. Robredo, Almagro vs. Garcia-Lopez
Final: Robredo vs. Almagro
Champion: Almagro

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Robredo is a consensus pick to reach the final, but nobody has him winning it, as Almagro-Gasquet is a pivotal quarterfinal matchup, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez is also expected to do well.

Munich

2015 BMW Open by FWU AG Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Murray vs. Struff, Stakhovsky vs. F. Mayer, Bautista Agut vs. Stepanek, Estrella vs. Tipsarevic, Kohlschreiber vs. A. Zverev, Bolelli vs. Goffin, Fognini vs. Thiem, Andujar vs. G. Melzer
Quarterfinals: Murray vs. Mayer, Bautista Agut. vs Estrella, Kohlschreiber vs. Goffin, Fognini vs. Andujar
Semifinals: Murray vs. Bautista Agut, Kohlschreiber vs. Fognini
Final: Murray vs. Kohlschreiber
Champion: Murray

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches: Murray vs. M. Zverev, Stakhovsky vs. Rosol, Bautista Agut vs. Stepanek, Estrella vs. Tomic, Kohlschreiber vs. A. Zverev, Bolelli vs. Goffin, Fognini vs. Pospisil, Andujar vs. G. Melzer
Quarterfinals: Murray vs. Rosol, Bautista Agut. vs Tomic, Kohlschreiber vs. Goffin, Fognini vs. Andujar
Semifinals: Murray vs. Bautista Agut, Kohlschreiber vs. Fognini
Final: Bautista Agut vs. Kohlschreiber
Champion: Kohlschreiber

Joe Craven’s picks

Round 2 matches: Murray vs. Struff, Stakhovsky vs. Rosol, Bautista Agut vs. Dustov, Estrella vs. Tipsarevic, Kohlschreiber vs. A. Zverev, Bolelli vs. Goffin, Fognini vs. Pospisil, Andujar vs. G. Melzer
Quarterfinals: Murray vs. Rosol, Bautista Agut. vs Estrella, Kohlschreiber vs. Goffin, Fognini vs.Andujar
Semifinals: Murray vs. Bautista Agut, Kohlschreiber vs. Fognini
Final: Murray vs. Fognini
Champion: Murray

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With the withdrawal of Monfils, Fognini or Kohlschreiber should reach the final from the bottom half, while Murray and RBA will fight it out in the top half.

Istanbul

2015 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Federer vs. Ilhan, Gimeno-Traver vs. Nedovyesov, Giraldo vs. Rublev, Darcis vs. Schwartzman, Bellucci vs. Paire, Kuznetsov vs. Cuevas, Haider-Maurer vs. Kokkinakis, Golubev vs. Dimitrov
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Gimeno-Traver, Giraldo vs. Darcis, Paire vs. Cuevas, Haider-Maurer vs. Dimitrov
Semifinals: Federer vs. Giraldo, Paire vs. Dimitrov
Final: Federer vs. Dimitrov
Champion: Federer

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches: Federer vs. Ilhan, Gimeno-Traver vs. Kukushkin, Giraldo vs. Rublev, Melzer vs. Schwartzman, Bellucci vs. Paire, Gabashvili vs. Cuevas, Haider-Maurer vs. Lajovic, Golubev vs. Dimitrov
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Kukushkin, Giraldo vs. Schwartzman, Paire vs. Cuevas, Haider-Maurer vs. Dimitrov
Semifinals: Federer vs. Giraldo, Paire vs. Dimitrov
Final: Federer vs. Dimitrov
Champion: Federer

Joe Craven’s picks

Round 2 matches: Federer vs. Ilhan, Gimeno-Traver vs. Kukushkin, Giraldo vs. Rublev, Melzer vs. Schwartzman, Bellucci vs. Paire, Kuznetsov vs. Cuevas, Dodig vs. Lajovic, Golubev vs. Dimitrov
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Gimeno-Traver, Giraldo vs. Schwartzman, Bellucci vs. Cuevas, Dodig vs. Dimitrov
Semifinals: Federer vs. Schwartzman, Bellucci vs. Dimitrov
Final: Federer vs. Bellucci
Champion: Federer

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Everyone has a Federer sweep, while opinions are mixed on Paire, Bellucci, and Dimitrov.

Week 14 standings

Barcelona
1: Niall (228 points) (+500 overall)
2: Steen (146 points) (+300 overall)
3: Jeff (140 points) (+180 overall)
4; Joe (82 points) (+180 overall)
5: Chris (76 points) (+90 overall)

Bucharest
1: Niall (64 points)(+250 overall)
2: Jeff (50 points) (+150 overall)
3: Chris (48 points) (+90 overall)
4: Steen (38 points) (+90 overall)
5: Joe (0 points) (+0 overall)

A solid week for Niall as he claimed two more titles this season.

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Overall standings (after week 13)

1: Steen: 6990 ranking points (+390 points overall)
2: Niall: 5660 points (+500 points overall)
3: Jeff: 5360 points (+330 points overall)
4: Joe 4990 points (+180 points overall)
5: Chris: 4800 points (+180 points overall)

Steen and Niall extended their lead further, as Chris and Joe lag behind, and Jeff still is within striking distance of second place.

ATP Draw Challenge (London Queens)

Nishikori repeats in Barcelona, Garcia-Lopez claims second ATP title of the season in Bucharest
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Barcelona

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Barcelona continued it’s trend of not creating new champions as Kei Nishikori repeated in the Catalan heartland over surprise finalist Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-4. Nishikori only had one difficult three setter all week, as he rolled past Teymuraz Gabashvili and Santiago Giraldo, overcame Roberto Bautista Agut with a breadstick third set, and then dispatched Martin Klizan to reach the final. Even with the large field of players, he was clearly a cut above the rest this week, and continues in his quest to have top 4 Roland Garros seeding.

Pablo Andujar boosted his ranking back up to 42 with a run to the final. The unseeded 29 year old, nicknamed Picasso, reached his first 500 level final (3 250 titles on clay, and an additional three 250 level finals on clay). Pablo beat his compatriot Albert Ramos in round 1, and then got past Leo Mayer in 3 sets, to setup a match against another Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. He won that one, and then upset Fabio Fognini, and David Ferrer in consecutive matches, without dropping a set to reach the final, in a remarkable week for him. Fognini had previously beaten Rafael Nadal for the second time this season, as he continues to struggle.

Henri Kontinen and Marin Draganja beat Jamie Murray/John Peers for the doubles title in three close sets.

ATP Bucharest

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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez won a nailbiting final over Jiri Vesely, who was playing for his second ATP title of 2015 (and the second of his young career), 7-6 7-6. The veteran Spaniard used his variety to get the win and has nearly returned to the top 30 in the rankings, with his second ATP title of the season (won Zagreb). GGL has now added three titles to his trophy case over the past two seasons, and appears to be having a late career resurgence.

GGL beat Lorenzi Giustino, Marcos Baghdatis, and Lukas Rosol without dropping a set, and then upset Gael Monfils in a three set battle reach the final. Vesely came out of the 7 seed slot in the draw and beat Diego Schwartzman, Malek Jaziri, Ivo Karlovic, and Daniel Gimeno-Traver, an in-form player who upset Gilles Simon in the previous round, to reach the final with a three set win. Vesely is rapidly improving, all be it inconsistently, and he’s a force to be reckoned with these days on tour.

Romanians won the doubles title, but it wasn’t their normal top doubles players, as the underdog team of Marius Copil and Adrian Ungur beat Artem Sitak/Nick Monroe for the title.

Steen Kirby (Marseille)

Tennis Atlantic 2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 14 (Barcelona and Bucharest)

Posted by Admin on April 20, 2015

Posted in: 2015 ATP Draw Challenge, ATP, Barcelona, Bucharest, Chris De Waard, Jeff McMillan, Joe Craven, Niall Clarke, Steen Kirby. Tagged: 2015 ATP Barcelona, 2015 ATP Barcelona Picks, 2015 ATP Barcelona Predictions, 2015 ATP Bucharest, 2015 ATP Bucharest Picks, 2015 ATP Bucharest Predictions, 2015 Barcelona Open, 2015 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, 2015 BRD Nastase Tiriac, ATP Barcelona, ATP Barcelona Picks, ATP Barcelona Predictions, ATP Bucharest, ATP Bucharest Picks, ATP Bucharest Prediction, ATP Picks, ATP Predictions, Barcelona Open, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadelll, Barcelona Open Picks, Barcelona Open Predictons, BRD Nastase Tiriac, BRD Nastase Tiriac Predictions, Brd Nastase Tiriac trophy predictins. Leave a comment

Tennis Atlantic 2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 14 (Barcelona and Bucharest)
Staff, Tennis Atlantic

Up to 750 points are up for grabs this week in the pair of European clay court events, Barcelona is a 500, and Bucharest is a 250.

Barcelona

2015 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Nishikori vs. Gabashvili, Dolgopolov vs. Giraldo, Cuevas vs. Struff, Bellucci vs. Bautista Agut, Cilic vs. Thiem, Monaco vs. Klizan, Robredo vs. Souza, Granollers vs. Tsonga, Gulbis vs. Paire, Kuznetsov vs. Kohlschreiber, Kyrgios vs. de Bakker, Montanes vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Ilhan, Ramos vs. Mayer, Fognini vs. Verdasco, Almagro vs. Nadal
Round of 16 matches: Nishikori vs. Dolgopolov, Cuevas vs. Bautista Agut, Cilic vs. Klizan, Robredo vs. Tsonga, Paire vs. Kohlschreiber, de Bakker vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Ramos, Verdasco vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals; Nishikori vs. Cuevas, Cilic vs. Tsonga, Kohlschreiber vs. Ferrer, Ramos vs. Nadal
Semifinals; Nishikori vs. Cilic, Ferrer vs. Nadal
Final; Nishikori vs. Nadal
Champion; Nadal

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches: Nishikori vs. Carreno Busta, Dolgopolov vs. Giraldo, Cuevas vs. Carballes Baena, Bellucci vs. Bautista Agut, Cilic vs. Thiem, Monaco vs. Klizan, Robredo vs. Kukushkin, Granollers vs. Tsonga, Gulbis vs. Paire, Kuznetsov vs. Kohlschreiber, Kyrgios vs. Ymer, Montanes vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Ward, Ramos vs. Mayer, Fognini vs. Verdasco, Almagro vs. Nadal
Round of 16 matches: Nishikori vs. Dolgopolov, Cuevas vs. Bautista Agut, Cilic vs. Klizn, Robredo vs. Tsonga, Paire vs. Kohlschreiber, Kyrgios vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Mayer, Verdasco vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals; Nishikori vs. Bautista Agut, Klizan vs. Tsonga, Kohlschreiber vs. Ferrer, Mayer vs. Nadal
Semifinals; Nishikori vs Tsonga, Ferrer vs. Nadal
Final; Nishikori vs. Nadal
Champion; Nishikori

Jeff McMillan’s picks

Round 2 matches: Nishikori vs. Carreno Busta, Dolgopolov vs. Giraldo, Cuevas vs. Struff, Bellucci vs. Bautista Agut, Cilic vs. Thiem, Monaco vs. Klizan, Robredo vs. Souza, Granollers vs. Tsonga, Gulbis vs. Paire, Kuznetsov vs. Kohlschreiber, Kyrgios vs. Ymer, Berankis vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Ilhan, Ramos vs. Mayer, Fognini vs. Verdasco, Almagro vs. Nadal
Round of 16 matches: Nishikori vs. Dolgopolov, Cuevas vs. Bellucci, Cilic vs. Monaco, Robredo vs. Tsonga, Gulbis vs. Kohlschreiber, Kyrgios vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Ramos, Verdasco vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals; Nishikori vs. Cuevas, Monaco vs. Robredo, Kohlschreiber vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Nadal
Semifinals; Nishikori vs Robredo, Ferrer vs. Nadal
Final; Nishikori vs. Nadal
Champion; Nishikori

Joe Craven’s picks

Round 2 matches: Nishikori vs. Carreno Busta, Dolgopolov vs. Giraldo, Cuevas vs. Struff, Bellucci vs. Bautista Agut, Cilic vs. Thiem, Monaco vs. Klizan, Robredo vs. Kukushkin, Granollers vs. Tsonga, Gulbis vs. Paire, Kuznetsov vs. Kohlschreiber, Kyrgios vs. de Bakker, Berankis vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Ilhan, Andujar vs. Mayer, Fognini vs. Verdasco, Almagro vs. Nadal
Round of 16 matches: Nishikori vs. Dolgopolov, Cuevas vs. Bellucci, Cilic vs. Monaco, Robredo vs. Tsonga, Paire vs. Kohlschreiber, Kyrgios vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Mayer, Verdasco vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals; Dolgopolov vs. Bellucci, Monaco vs. Tsonga, Kohlschreiber vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Nadal
Semifinals; Dolgopolov vs. Monaco, Ferrer vs. Nadal
Final; Dolgopolov vs. Nadal
Champion; Nadal

Chris de Waard’s picks

Round 2 matches: Nishikori vs. Carreno Busta, Dolgopolov vs. Giraldo, Cuevas vs. Struff, Bellucci vs. Bautista Agut, Cilic vs. Thiem, Monaco vs. Klizan, Robredo vs. Kukushkin, Granollers vs. Tsonga, Gulbis vs. Paire, Kuznetsov vs. Kohlschreiber, Kyrgios vs. Ymer, Berankis vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Ilhan, Ramos vs. Mayer, Fognini vs. Verdasco, Almagro vs. Nadal
Round of 16 matches: Nishikori vs. Dolgopolov, Cuevas vs. Bautista Agut, Cilic vs. Monaco, Robredo vs. Tsonga, Paire vs. Kohlschreiber, Kyrgios vs. Ferrer, Lopez vs. Ramos, Verdasco vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals; Dolgopolov vs. Cuevas, Cilic vs. Tsonga, Paire vs. Ferrer, Ramos vs. Nadal
Semifinals; Dolgopolov vs. Cilic, Ferrer vs. Nadal
Final; Dolgopolov vs. Nadal
Champion; Nadal

Nadal and Nishikori are both expected to do well, Nadal is the favorite, and Dolgopolov could surprise.

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Bucharest

2015 BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches; Simon vs. Tipsarevic, Qualifier vs. Troicki, Karlovic vs. Coric, Mayer vs. Schwartzman, Garcia-Lopez vs. Darcis, Lajovic vs. Rosol, Bolelli vs. Haider-Maurer, Copil vs. Monfils
Quarterfinals: Simon vs. Troicki, Coric vs. Mayer, Garcia-Lopez vs. Rosol, Haider-Maurer vs. Monfils
Semifinals; Simon vs. Coric, Rosol vs. Monfils
Final; Simon vs. Monfils
Champion; Simon

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches; Simon vs. Tipsarevic, Istomin vs. Troicki, Karlovic vs. Coric, Jaziri vs. Vesely, Garcia-Lopez vs. Baghdatis, Lajovic vs. Rosol, Bolelli vs. Haider-Maurer, Youzhny vs. Monfils
Quarterfinals: Simon vs. Troicki, Coric vs. Vesely, Garcia-Lopez vs. Rosol, Haider-Maurer vs. Monfils
Semifinals; Simon vs. Vesely, Garcia-Lopez vs. Monfils
Final; Simon vs. Monfils
Champion; Simon

Jeff McMillan’s picks

Round 2 matches; Simon vs. Tipsarevic, Istomin vs. Troicki, Karlovic vs. Coric, Mayer vs. Schwartzman, Garcia-Lopez vs. Darcis, Qualifier vs. Rosol, Bolelli vs. Haider-Maurer, Copil vs. Monfils
Quarterfinals: Simon vs. Troicki, Karlovic vs Schwartzman, Garcia-Lopez vs. Rosol, Bolelli vs. Monfils
Semifinals; Simon vs. Karlovic, Garcia-Lopez vs. Monfils
Final; Simon vs. Monfils
Champion; Simon

Chris de Waard’s picks

Round 2 matches; Simon vs. Tipsarevic, Istomin vs. Troicki, Karlovic vs. Coric, Mayer vs. Schwartzman, Garcia-Lopez vs. Darcis, Lajovic vs. Rosol, Bolelli vs. Haider-Maurer, Copil vs. Monfils
Quarterfinals: Simon vs. Troicki, Coric vs. Mayer, Garcia-Lopez vs. Rosol, Bolelli vs. Monfils
Semifinals; Simon vs. Coric, Garcia-Lopez vs. Monfils
Final; Simon vs. Monfils
Champion; Simon

Everyone is predicting an All-French final, while opinions are mixed on Borna Coric.

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Week 13 standings

Monte Carlo
1: Jeff (306 points) (+1000 overall)
2: Steen (260 points) (+600 overall)
3: Chris (256 points) (+360 overall)
4; Joe (256 points) (+360 overall)
5: Niall (244 points) (+180 overall)

Jeff got 3 out of 4 semifinalists, and a correct champion and finalist picked, thus he runs away with the title deservedly.

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Overall standings (after week 13)

1: Steen: 6600 ranking points (+600 points overall)
2: Niall: 5160 points (+180 points overall)
3: Jeff: 5030 points (+1000 points overall)
4: Joe 4810 points (+360 points overall)
5: Chris: 4620 points (+360 points overall)

Jeff rises from last to third with his Masters win, while Steen continues to extend his lead over second place

ATP Draw Challenge (London Queens)

Teens Rublev and Munar among qualifiers at 2015 Barcelona Open
Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic

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As Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych battled it out in the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters. Things were also heating up in Barcelona as the final stage of qualifying for the ATP Open Banc Sabadell commenced with four seeded player’s booking their place in the main draw.

Top seed James Ward produced a convincing match as he dropped only five games against Portugal’s Rui Machado. Going into the match the British number three had to overcome a tough three set match against wildcard entrant Eduard Guell Bartrina, a Spanish 16-year-old who is ranked 50th in the juniors. Fortunately for Ward he didn’t encounter such difficulty against Machado in the deciding round as he remained unbroken through the match to ease himself to a 6-2, 6-3, victory.

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Andrey Rublev’s progression from juniors into the pro circuit got yet another boost as he knocked out second seed Norbert Gombos 7-6(4), 6-3. The world junior number one produced his first ever main draw Masters win last month when he beat Pablo Casrreno Busta in three sets at the Miami Open. It wasn’t all plain sailing during the match, however, as Gombos opened a commanding lead in both sets (5-2 in the first and 3-1 in the second) before the current French Open boy’s champion battled his way back to take both sets.

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Rublev wasn’t the only junior to reach the main draw as Spain’s Jaume Munar produced a 6-2, 7-5, win against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin. Munar was the runner-up to Rublev in last year’s French Open Boy’s final. In the first round the 17-year-old was leading 6th seed Daniel Munoz de la Nava 6-3, 5-4, before he retired due to an apparent issue with his left knee. At 835th in the world, Munar will be the lowest ranked player in this year’s draw.

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Dutch third seed Thiemo De Bakker endured two close sets before edging his way past Germany’s Peter Torebko. After losing his first two service games of the match, Bakker started started to generate more consistency on court against Torebko to enable him to take the 7-5, 6-4, victory. Bakker has only played in the tournament once before which was in 2010. On that occasion he produced back to back top 20 wins over Juan Carlos Ferrero and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the semi-finals.

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During the only three setter match in the final round of qualifying, Marton Fucsovics spent over two hours on court to beat Kenny de Schepper. The Hungarian 7th seed came from a set down to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2). He had two opportunities to take the final set 7-5 but failed to convert as Schepper forced things into a deciding tie-break. Unfortunately for Schepper in the final, he suffered three consecutive breaks of serve as Fucsovics surged to the win.

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The final qualifier into the Barcelona main draw is Yuichi Sugita. The Japanese world number 140 came into the qualifying draw with good form following his run to the final of the ATP St. Brieuc Challenger in France where he lost to Nicolas Mahut. St. Brieuc had been his first Challenger final since October last year. During his Barcelona qualifying campaign Sugita only dropped a total of five games (one against Juan Lizariturry in the first round and four to Oriol Roca Batalla in the final round).

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The teens, Rublev and Munar both got interesting round 1 matchups against Benoit Paire and Fernando Verdasco respectiely, while Sugita will face Thomaz Bellucci, Fucsovics will face Andrey Kuznetsov, de Bakker takes on Elias Ymer, and Ward gets a winnable match with Marsel Ilhan

Adam Addicott TA Watermark