ATP Chennai

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The five ATP 250 level hard court stops in the run-up to the Australian Open saw five different players claim titles and find form during the first portion of the 2019 season. Here is your look at all of January’s ATP action.

ATP Doha

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Roberto Bautista Agut claimed a 9th career ATP title defeating Tomas Berdych 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the final, after stunning world #1 Novak Djokovic 3-6 7-6(6) 6-4 in the semifinals, one of the best wins of his career. The Spaniard also claimed wins against Matteo Berrettini, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Stan Wawrinka.

It was a great comeback tournament for Berdych who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, Fernando Verdasco, Pierre Hugues Herbert and Marco Cecchinato. David Goffin and Herbert won the doubles title over Haase/Middelkoop.

ATP Chennai

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Kevin Anderson is a dark horse for the Australian Open title and he was the player to beat in India, capturing the Chennai title 7-6 6-7 7-6 over fellow big serving veteran Ivo Karlovic. Gilles Simon, Jaume Munar, and Laslo Djere also fell to Anderson as he didn’t drop a set until the final. Karlovic, the oldest top level player on tour, defeated Felix Auger Aliassime, Evgeny Donskoy, Ernests Gulbis, and Steve Darcis, a veteran on the comeback trail.

Home heroes Bopanna and Sharan defeated Bambridge/O’Mara in the doubles final.

ATP Brisbane

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Kei Nishikori came through as the favorite in Brisbane, defeating rising Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-4 3-6 6-2 in the final. Nishikori didn’t drop a set prior to the final, racking up wins against Denis Kudla, Grigor Dimitrov, and Jeremy Chardy. Medvedev’s path to the final was defeating Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, three capable and crafty veterans.

Marcus Daniell and Wesley Koolhof beat Ram/Salisbury in the doubles final.

ATP Sydney

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Sydney native Alex De Minaur triumphed at home for his maiden ATP title. The Demon edged tour veteran Andreas Seppi 7-5 7-6 for his 5th straight match win. ADM defeated Dusan Lajovic, Reilly Opelka, Jordan Thompson, and Gilles Simon to reach the final, he didn’t drop a set all week.

The veteran Seppi was happy to find form in what was a challenging tournament for him. Jeremy Chardy, Martin Klizan, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Diego Schwartzman were his victims on the week in some nip and tuck matches.

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares defeated the Colombians Cabal/Farah in the doubles final.

ATP Auckland

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Tennys Sandgren has a lot of points to defend in Melbourne, but he enters the AO in great form after claiming his first career ATP title. Sandgren won Auckland without dropping a set this week. Sandgren blitzed past Cam Norrie who grew up in Auckland. Max Marterer, Marco Cecchinato, Leonardo Mayer, and Philipp Kohlschreiber were all defeated by Sandgren.

Norrie defeated Benoit Paire, Joao Sousa, Taylor Fritz and J.L. Struff to reach the final. Ben McLachlan/ Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Klaasen/Venus in the doubles final.

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

ATP Doha

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

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

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

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

ATP Brisbane

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

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

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

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

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

ATP Chennai

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

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

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

2017 ATP Chennai Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Despite not featuring as good of a field as Brisbane and Doha, Chennai is still an opportunity for the ATP’s best to prepare for the first slam of the season, and it remains India’s only ATP event. Here is a preview, with predictions of this 250.

Aircel Chennai Open
ATP World Tour 250
January 2-7,2017
Chennai, India
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $447,480

Top 4 seeds (Who all receive first round byes) (ATP rankings in parentheses)
1: Marin Cilic (6)
2: Roberto Bautista Agut (14)
3: Albert Ramos (27)
4: Martin Klizan (35)

Just two of the ATP top 20 start their year in Chennai.

First round matches to watch

(6)Borna Coric vs. (Q)Hyeon Chung

The qualifier Chung, age 20, posted a 27-18 record in 2016 with a majority of his wins coming at the challenger tour level. Coric went 23-25, and at age 20 still has much room for improvement. Both of these players are talented young guns likely to feature in ATP main draws for years to come. Coric wasn’t fit at the end of last year, and thus Chung is probably a slight favorite, presuming Coric is rusty.

(WC)Ramkumar Ramanathan vs. (Q)Yuki Bhambri

Both of these young Indian players are ranked outside of the top 200, but have proven they have the talent to be much better than their current rankings. Bhambri should be the favorite after ripping through qualifying and going 17-13 in 2016. Ramanathan for his part went 40-33 overall in 2016 and should continue to improve in 2017. Bhambri is the more talented player, he’s just had bad luck with injuries in recent years.

Top Half:

Marin Cilic went 50-25 in 2016, an improvement on his 2015 season, as he returned to the top 10, and can now make a push for the top 5. The Croatian #1 will open with Gastao Elias or qualifier Jozef Kovalik, Kovalik is lower ranked but still probably the favorite in his round 1 match on hard courts. Cilic’s path to the semis is relatively clear, as the seed, Rendy Lu, lacks the firepower to beat him in the quarters. Lu opens with Radu Albot after going just 7-9 at the ATP level in 2016. Watch out for 20 year old Russian Daniil Medvedev in this section. Medvedev opens with young Brazilian Thiago Monteiro, who much prefers clay. The Russian reached the top 100 in 2016 after posing a 69-27 record, and looks set for more accomplishments in 2017. Cilic over Medvedev is my pick for the quarters as Lu doesn’t impress me.

Chung/Coric will face Damir Dzumhur or journeyman veteran Dudi Sela in round 2. On hard courts Sela is probably a slight favorite, despite his poor ATP record last season. Chung should reach the quarters to face off with veteran serve and volleyer Steve Darcis. Darcis opens with challenger level qualifier Nikola Mektic, with Ramos to follow. The Belgian went 42-12 in 2016, though only three of those wins came at the tour level. Ramos went 34-31, on hard courts I have Darcis losing to Chung in the quarters though.

Bottom Half:

Roberto Bautista Agut will face Rogerio Dutra Silva or Dusan Lajovic and is a heavy favorite to reach the semis from his section. RBA went 46-23 in 2016, an improvement on his 2015 record, and should have no problems against Lajovic, or veteran Mikhail Youzhny in the quarters. Youzhny split his time between ATP and Challenger tennis in 2016 going 40-23 overall at age 34. 29 year old Indian Saketh Myneni made his ATP debut in 2016, after going 29-18 at the challenger level. Myneni is a great story, but should fall to Youzhny in round 1. Wild card Casper Ruud is just 18 years of age, and has great odds at being Norway’s best ever ATP player. Ruud went 54-17 in 2016, making his ATP main draw debut in the process. He’ll be the favorite against dirtballer Renzo Olivo, even though he prefers clay as well, and then he should fall to Youzhny in round 2. RBA over Youzhny is my pick in the quarters.

Martin Klizan, 19-17 in 2016, is seeking consistency in 2017, as is Benoit Paire, who went 26-33 in 2016. Presuming Klzian beats Guillermo Garcia-Lopez/Aljaz Bedene, and Paire defeats Konstantin Kravchuk and the Bhambri/Ramanathan winner, they will meet in the quarterfinals. On hard courts Bedene is the slight favorite over the veteran GGL, while Paire should beat Kravchuk, who had a great year on the challenger tour going 45-22 in 2016. Paire over Klizan is my pick for the semifinals, in a section featuring streaky players.

Dark Horse: Hyeon Chung

The qualifier Chung is perhaps the favorite to reach the semifinals from a weak section, and if he does that much he’ll have a punchers chance against the elite Cilic, where he will likely come up short.

Predictions

Semis
Cilic d. Chung
Bautista Agut d. Paire

Cilic and RBA are clear favorites to reach their first ATP finals this season.

Final
Cilic d. Bautista Agut

Cilic is the best player in the Chennai field, and on hard courts he should take home the title.

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

ATP Brisbane

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

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

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

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

ATP Doha

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

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

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

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

ATP Chennai

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

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

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

Steen Kirby (Marseille)

Somdev Devvarman creates home joy in Chennai Open Qualifying
Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic

There were casualties galore at the Chennai Open qualifying draw after five out of the six highest seed seeds failed to secure a place in the main draw.

Headlining the draw was Swedish youngster Elias Ymer. The world No.136 has been labelled as the most promising player in Swedish tennis, however, he has endured a mixed season last year. Besides clinching his first Challenger title in Italy, he lost in the first round at a tournament 10 times during 2015. Putting 2015 behind him, Ymer experienced a disappointing start to the new year after suffering a 7-5, 6-2, loss to Ante Pavic.

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Pavic was able to continue his winning start to the year after defeating India’s Sriram Balaji in two tiebreak sets to reach the main draw. The successful qualifying campaign is a boost to Pavic’s confidence after dealing with the effects of mononucleosis over the past year. At his lowest Pavic spent one-and-a-half months housebound as he tried to recover from the illness.

The highest ranked player to qualify for the main draw was Italian third seed Thomas Fabbiano. The world No.157 enjoyed a duo of straightforward wins to reach his first main draw on the ATP Tour since the Croatia Open last July. He won opening match after Russia’s Mikhail Elgin retired during the second set. Then in his following match, he faced 5th seed Saketh Myneni. Myneni is ranked 170th in the world and won one Challenger title last year in Ho Chi Minh City. The Indian was no match for Fabbiano as the Italian took the 6-4, 6-2 win after an hour and 16 minutes.

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The sole success for the home crowd occurred when Somdev Devvarman stunned British second seed James Ward 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. Both men reached the second round after producing straight sets wins over a duo of Indian players. Ward was on course to the victory after leading 6-2, 3-1, before he came unstuck at the hands of the Indian world No.177. Towards the end of the second set, Devvarman broke Ward for a chance to serve for the set. The task was easy for him as he opened up a 40-0 lead before converting his second set point to force the match into a decider. The momentum for the Indian continued into the final set as he claimed four consecutive games on his way to reaching the main draw.

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completing the four qualifiers is Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalík. Last year the 23-year-old failed to win a title on the challenger tour with his best result being runner-up at the Mestre Challenger in Italy. Kovalik opened up his Chennai mission with a 6-3, 6-0, win over little-known Indian player Prajnesh Gunneswaran. Following his easy opening win, he experienced a tougher encounter against Russian fourth seed Alexander Kudryavtsev. After dropping the first set, Kovalik battled back to win 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1, to reach his first main draw on the ATP World Tour.

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Main Draw matches for the qualifiers

Kovalik and Fabbiano will face off and one of them will earn their first ever ATP main draw win, Devvarman faces young wild card Andrey Rublev and Pavic will be opposite accomplished veteran Nicolas Almagro in a tough contest.

Adam Addicott TA Watermark

2016 ATP Chennai Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP World Tour’s only stop in India takes place in Chennai to start the season, it’s a 250 on hard courts.

ATP Chennai

Aircel Chennai Open
ATP World Tour 250
Chennai, India
Surface: Hard
January 4-10, 2016
Prize Money: $425,535

Top 4 seeds (Who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Stan Wawrinka (4)
2: Kevin Anderson (12)
3: Benoit Paire (19)
4: Roberto Bautista Agut (25)

Three top 20 players in Chennai as it has the weakest field of the tournaments this week.

First round matchups to watch:

(WC)Andrey Rublev vs. (Q)Somdev Devvarman

The Russian teenager Rublev was a poor 6-11 in his first ATP matches last season, but he went a solid 20-12 below the ATP main draw level and has tremendous potential if he can get his game under control. We could see a breakthrough from him this season.

Devvarman qualified and remains the top Indian tennis player, the 30 year has struggled to get himself up to the ATP tour level and stay there, he’s a solid ball striker but lacks weapons, and when the wheels come off he has trouble winning matches. Playing on home soil should help him, but the more talented Rublev should be the favorite.

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(5)Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. Taro Daniel

GGL had his best year on tour in five years as the all-courter went 31-25 in 2015 and played quality tennis that threatened the best players when his shotmaking game was on point. Thus he’ll be the favorite in this one, but Taro Daniel, who finished 2015 strong with a challenger tour final, and title, could upset the apple cart.

Daniel remains talented but inconsistent, at 22 he’s in the top 100, but went just 1-5 at the ATP main tour level last year and 61-23 below that. The Japanese-American prefers clay, but he can hold his own on hard courts, and could test GGL if the Spaniard is rusty to start the season.

Luca Vanni vs. Jan-Lennard Struff

Vanni was one of the great stories of the 2015 season, at 30 years old the Italian journeyman reached the ATP level, and the top 100, for the first time, going 4-9, and 36-24 below that main draw level, a career year. Now Luca is expected to back that up with more main draw wins, and he could get one against J.L Struff who was a horrible 4-18 at the ATP main draw level last season, and struggles being mentally tough when it counts. Struff has plenty of talent, but until he works on his mind he’ll struggle.

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Top Half:

Three-time and defending Chennai champion Stan Wawrinka should blitz his way to the quarterfinals as the Swiss will open with the Rublev/Devvarman winner. Garcia-Lopez is his likely quarterfinal opponent, as the Spaniard will face Nicolas Almagro or qualfier Ante Pavic in round 2. Almagro is still fighting to get back to the top 20 player he was, and he went 18-20 at the main tour level last season, he should get past Pavic, a 26 year old journeyman. Almagro and GGL have a 5-5 h2h presently.

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Wawrinka is 4-0 on fast surfaces against Garcia-Lopez and his 55-18 record last year was his most ever wins on tour. Given his history in Chennai, look for the momentum to continue for Stan the man in a backhand battle with Garcia-Lopez as he’ll reach the semis.

The pressure is on Benoit Paire to maintain his top 20 ranking as the Frenchman broke out of a malaise and made good on his tremendous talent last season with a 64-27 mark in tournament matches. Paire remains erratic and exciting, should he continue to maintain his focus, look for him to defeat either Santiago Giraldo or Lukas Rosol in his first match. Rosol and Giraldo both underperformed on the ATP tour last year and need to show quick improvement to avoid an even worse decline in their rankings, which both sit outside of the top 50 now. Rosol should beat Giraldo, but fall to Paire.

#6 seed Gilles Muller poses a threat to burst through his draw section with big serving and crisp volleys. Muller went 34-25 in a great year at the tour level for the tall 32 year old. He should get past Russian teen Karen Khachanov in round 1 as Khachanov has talent but limited ATP experience (3-4 in his career). After that he should have no trouble with a qualifier, either Jozef Kovalik or Thomas Fabbiano. Kovalik is making his ATP main draw debut at 23, while Fabbiano has never won an ATP match at 26, someone will win their first ATP main draw match in that one.

Muller and Paire are 1-1 in the h2h, but Paire’s strong finish to last season and superior talent suggests to me he should have an edge to advance to the semifinals, though staying focused is important against a server of Muller’s caliber.

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Bottom Half:

Big serving South African Kevin Anderson had a career best 46-24 ATP mark last season and he’ll look to maintain his top 15 ranking with a good tournament result here. Anderson should have little trouble against his first opponent, either Ramkumar Ramanathan or Daniel Gimeno-Traver. DGT is poor off of clay, and Ramanathan is a talented 21 year old Indian still looking to make his ATP main draw move. He’s been a solid challenger level player, and I see him winning his round 1 match on home soil before falling to Anderson and his serve.

Anderson and fellow big server Vasek Pospisil are on a track to meet in the quarterfinals. Pospisil improved last season with a 28-25 mark overall and he’s better on hard courts than his first round opponent Aljaz Bedene, who fell to Pospisil in Valencia last fall. Vasek will face the Vanni/Struff winner in round 2, and he’s the best player talent wise in his section. Anderson should prove too much for Pospisil in the quarterfinals as I’d be surprised to see the lanky South African stumble before the semis.

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Former Chennai finalist Roberto Bautista Agut is the highlight of a field that features five Spanish players in the main draw. RBA has had just over 40 wins his previous two ATP seasons and is a consistent competitor these days just below an elite level. He could be tested in his first match against the John Millman/Evgeny Donskoy winner, but his hard court ball striking is above their level. Millman is a talent but he was just 5-9 at the main tour level last year and hasn’t quite made his ATP move yet, and is running out of time at 26. Donskoy has struggled to get back to ATP main draws at 25 but the Russian also has talent.

RBA vs. Borna Coric is the likely quarterfinal matchup. The Croatian teenager had a solid 35-30 season, with a vast majority of his matches coming at the ATP main draw level. Coric is here to stay as a young talent and it will be interesting to see how his game will improve this season. Struggling veteran Marcel Granollers is his first opponent, Granollers isn’t at his best on hard courts. After that it will be either Rajeev Ram or Austin Krajicek. Both Krajicek and Ram experienced ATP success last year, and Krajicek made improving strides in 2015, however Ram, as an Indian, should have an edge at home soil with his serve and volley game.

Coric should test RBA but given this surface and a 2-0 h2h in favor of the Spaniard I have Bautista Agut reaching the semis.

Dark Horse: Gilles Muller

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If the veteran Muller serves well on this surface he could well win the entire tournament, Paire and Wawrinka is a challenging path to the final but both could be vulnerable to upsets. Wawrinka went 3-0 against Muller last season with every match featuring a tiebreak.

Predictions

Semis
Wawrinka d. Paire
Anderson d. Bautista Agut

Wawrinka is 5-1 against Paire and has won the last three meetings against his best friend on tour, it’s simply not a good matchup for the Frenchman, and Wawrinka should be focusing in on his game early in the season. RBA had a h2h win over Anderson in 2013, but the South African has established a gap between him and players like Bautista on this surface in that span of time, and he’s on pace to reach a hard court final.

Final
Wawrinka d. Anderson

Wawrinka is 4-3 on hard courts against Anderson and won their last meeting at the 2015 US Open. It’s a close matchup with a small margin of error, but given Wawrinka’s history in Chennai he’s the favorite to defend his title.

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Steen Kirby (Marseille)

Federer Wins 1000th Match & ATP Brisbane, Wawrinka Tunes Up AO Defense With Chennai Win

Posted by Admin on January 11, 2015

Posted in: ATP, Brisbane, Chennai. Tagged: atp, ATP Brisbane, ATP Chennai, roger federer, Stan Wawrinka, tennis.

Federer Wins 1000th Match & ATP Brisbane, Wawrinka Tunes Up AO Defense With Chennai Win
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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ATP Brisbane

Roger Federer survived an onslaught from Milos Raonic to win in 3 sets 6-4 6-7 6-4 and capture the Brisbane title for his 1000th career match victory. Fed saved five break points in the third set, after dropping the second set tiebreak, and broke when he needed for the victory.

Federer recorded wins over John Millman, an Aussie wild card, in 3 sets, along with James Duckworth and Grigor Dimitrov en route to the final. He got better as the tournament went on. Raonic beat Mikhail Kukushkin in straights, Sam Groth in 3 sets, winning a pair of tiebreaks and Kei Nishikori, who he upset by winning two out of three tiebreaks in a nail-biting match.

Jamie Murray and John Peers defeated Nishikori and Alex Dolgopolov in the doubles final.

ATP Chennai

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Stan Wawrinka won Chennai yet again, he defeated Borna Coric, Gilles Muller, David Goffin in straight sets before toppling qualifier Aljaz Bedene in the final. Wawrinka was the top player in the field this week and was barely tested.

Surprise finalist Bedene beat Lukas Lacko and upset Feliciano Lopez before scoring two big wins over Spaniards Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Roberto Bautista Agut. He saved multiple match points against RBA and won in three sets.

Rendy Lu and Jonathan Marray won the doubles title over Raven Klaasen and home favorite Leander Paes.

Tennis Atlantic 2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 1 (Brisbane, Doha, and Chennai)

Posted by Admin on January 4, 2015

Posted in: 2015 ATP Draw Challenge, Brisbane, Chennai, Chris De Waard, Courtney Massey, Doha, Jeff McMillan, Niall Clarke, Steen Kirby. Tagged: 2015 Aircel Chennai Open, 2015 ATP, 2015 ATP Brisbane, 2015 ATP Chennai, 2015 ATP Doha, 2015 ATP World Tour, 2015 ATP World Tour Predictions, 2015 ATP World Tour Preview, 2015 Brisbane International, 2015 Qatar Exxon Mobil Open, Aircel Chennai Open, atp, ATP 2015, ATP Bracket, ATP Brisbane, ATP Chennai, ATP Doha, ATP Draw, ATP Tennis Picks, ATP Tennis Predictions, ATP Tennis Preview, ATP World Tour, Brisbane International, Contest, david goffin, feliciano lopez, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Kei Nishikori, men's tennis, Mens Tennis Picks, Mens Tennis Prediction, Mens Tennis Tipping, novak djokovic, rafael nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, roger federer, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis Pick, Tennis Picks, Tennis Prediction, Tennis Predictions, Tennis Tipping, tomas berdych.

Tennis Atlantic 2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 1 (Brisbane, Doha, and Chennai)
Staff, Tennis Atlantic

Now that we have a bevy of ATP World Tour experts on staff at Tennis Atlantic, we will be having a weekly ATP pick em draw challenge, with a prize going to the winner at the end of the year. Each of our experts, Steen Kirby, Jeff McMillan, Chris de Waard, Courtney Massey, and Niall Clarke will be submitting their predictions for each ATP tournament draw and once the tournaments conclude we will review how they did compared to the actual results.

Points will be awarded for correct picks with 2 points for first round winners, 4 points for second round winners, and so on, doubling for each round. This week with three 250 level tournaments, the points system will go 2 points for correct first round picks, 4 points for correct quarterfinalists, 8 points for correct semifinalists, 16 points for correct finalists, and 32 points for selecting the correct tournament champion. Best of luck to all of our experts with their picks this week!

Brisbane (draw)

2015 Brisbane International Presented by Suncorp ATP picks

Three of our five experts picked Nishikori as champion, while two have Federer, and four of the five predict a Nishikori vs. Federer final. Only one expert has the semifinalists as anything other than Federer, Dimitrov, Raonic, and Nishikori, this week down under.

Steen Kirby’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Millman, Nieminen vs. Simon, Dimitrov vs. Chardy, Klizan vs. Dolgopolov, Anderson vs. Hewitt, Kukushkin vs. Raonic, Benneteau vs. Tomic, Johnson vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Simon, Dimitrov vs. Klizan, Anderson vs. Raonic, Nishikori vs. Tomic
Semifinals: Federer vs. Dimitrov, Raonic vs. Nishikori
Final: Federer vs. Nishikori
Champion: Nishikori

Jeff McMillan’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Qualifier, Nieminen vs. Simon, Dimitrov vs. Chardy, Klizan vs. Dolgopolov, Anderson vs. Hewitt, Kukushkin vs. Raonic, Kokkinakis vs. Tomic, Johnson vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Simon, Dimitrov vs. Klizan, Anderson vs. Raonic, Nishikori vs. Tomic
Semifinals: Simon vs. Dimitrov, Raonic vs. Nishikori
Final: Dimitrov vs. Nishikori
Champion: Nishikori

Chris de Waard’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Millman, Nieminen vs. Simon, Dimitrov vs. Chardy, Klizan vs. Dolgopolov, Anderson vs. Groth, Kukushkin vs. Raonic, Kokkinakis vs. Tomic, Johnson vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Simon, Dimitrov vs. Dolgopolov, Anderson vs. Raonic, Nishikori vs. Tomic
Semifinals: Federer vs. Dimitrov, Raonic vs. Nishikori
Final: Federer vs. Nishikori
Champion: Federer

Courtney Massey’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Qualifier, Nieminen vs. Duckworth, Dimitrov vs. Chardy, Klizan vs. Dolgopolov, Anderson vs. Hewitt, Qualifier vs. Raonic, Benneteau vs. Tomic, Johnson vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Nieminen, Dimitrov vs. Klizan, Anderson vs. Raonic, Nishikori vs. Benneteau
Semifinals: Federer vs. Dimitrov, Raonic vs. Nishikori
Final: Federer vs. Nishikori
Champion: Federer

Niall Clarke’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Qualifier, Nieminen vs. Simon, Dimitrov vs. Chardy, Klizan vs. Dolgopolov, Anderson vs. Hewitt, Kukushkin vs. Raonic, Benneteau vs. Tomic, Matosevic vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Simon, Dimitrov vs. Klizan, Hewitt vs. Raonic, Nishikori vs. Tomic
Semifinals: Federer vs. Dimitrov, Raonic vs. Nishikori
Final: Federer vs. Nishikori
Champion: Nishikori

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Doha (draw)

2015 Qatar Exxonmobil Open Picks

There is a full consensus on Djokovic taking the Doha title in his tournament debut this week, while our experts are divided 3-2 on whether he will face Berdych or Nadal in that final. When it comes to the semis, there is also a split decision between whether Djokovic will face Kohlschreiber or Ferrer, while everyone seems to agree the 2 and 3 seeds Nadal and Berdych will reach the semis.

Steen Kirby’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Djokovic vs. Stakhovsky, Youzhny vs. Karlovic, Ferrer vs. Verdasco, Brown vs. Kohlschreiber, Gasquet vs. Becker, Berdych vs. Qualifier, Jaziri vs. Mayer, Dodig vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals: Djokovic vs. Karlovic, Ferrer vs. Kohlschreiber, Gasquet vs. Berdych, Mayer vs. Nadal
Semifinals: Djokovic vs. Ferrer, Nadal vs. Berdych
Final: Djokovic vs. Berdych
Champion: Djokovic

Jeff McMillan’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Djokovic vs. Stakhovsky, Youzhny vs. Rosol, Ferrer vs. Verdasco, Brown vs. Kohlschreiber, Gasquet vs. Bolelli, Berdych vs. Monaco, Jaziri vs. Seppi, Dodig vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals: Djokovic vs. Rosol, Ferrer vs. Kohlschreiber, Bolelli vs. Berdych, Seppi vs. Nadal
Semifinals: Djokovic vs. Kohlschreiber, Nadal vs. Berdych
Final: Djokovic vs. Berdych
Champion: Djokovic

Chris de Waard’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Djokovic vs. Stakhovsky, Youzhny vs. Karlovic, Ferrer vs. Gabashvili, Brown vs. Kohlschreiber, Gasquet vs. Bolelli, Berdych vs. Monaco, Souza vs. Mayer, Dodig vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals: Djokovic vs. Karlovic, Ferrer vs. Kohlschreiber, Gasquet vs. Berdych, Mayer vs. Nadal
Semifinals: Djokovic vs. Ferrer, Nadal vs. Berdych
Final: Djokovic vs. Nadal
Champion: Djokovic

Courtney Massey’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Djokovic vs. Stakhovsky, Youzhny vs. Karlovic, Ferrer vs. Verdasco, Brown vs. Kohlschreiber, Andujar vs. Becker, Berdych vs. Qualifier, Seppi vs. Jaziri, Dodig vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals: Djokovic vs. Youzhny, Ferrer vs. Kohlschreiber, Becker vs. Berdych, Seppi vs. Nadal
Semifinals: Djokovic vs. Ferrer, Nadal vs. Berdych
Final: Djokovic vs. Nadal
Champion: Djokovic

Niall Clarke’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Djokovic vs. Stakhovsky, Youzhny vs. Rosol, Ferrer vs. Verdasco, Brown vs. Kohlschreiber, Gasquet vs. Bolelli, Berdych vs. Qualifier, Souza vs. Mayer, Dodig vs. Nadal
Quarterfinals: Djokovic vs. Youzhny, Ferrer vs. Kohlschreiber, Gasquet vs. Berdych, Mayer vs. Nadal
Semifinals: Djokovic vs. Kohlschreiber, Nadal vs. Berdych
Final: Djokovic vs. Nadal
Champion: Djokovic

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Chennai (draw)

2015 Aircel Chennai Open Picks

There are a variety of picks for champion this week among our experts, Goffin and Wawrinka are picked by two experts each, and Bautista Agut was also selected. Three of the five experts have Goffin, and Bautista Agut in the final, while only two have defending champion and top seed Stan Wawrinka. Lu, Garcia-Lopez and Lopez are all picks to reach the semifinals while Chris is predicting a run to the quarterfinals from wild card Ramkumar Ramanathan, and Courtney has some unseeded players reaching the quarterfinals.

Steen Kirby’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Wawrinka vs. Coric, Sijsling vs. Muller, Goffin vs. Berankis, Vesely vs. Granollers, Lu vs. Gonzalez, Gojowcyzk vs. Bautista Agut, Garcia-Lopez vs. Ito, Lacko vs. Lopez
Quarterfinals: Wawrinka vs. Muller, Goffin vs. Vesely, Lu vs. Bautista Agut, Garcia-Lopez vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Wawrinka vs. Goffin, Bautista Agut vs. Lopez
Final: Goffin vs. Bautista Agut
Champion: Bautista Agut

Jeff McMillan’s predictions:

Round 2 Matches: Wawrinka vs. Haase, Ymer vs. Roger-Vasselin, Goffin vs. Berankis, Vesely vs. Granollers, Devvarman vs. Carreno Busta, Falla vs. Bautista Agut, Garcia-Lopez vs. Ito, Lacko vs. Lopez
Quarterfinals: Wawrinka vs. Roger-Vasselin, Goffin vs. Granollers, Devvarman vs. Bautista Agut, Garcia-Lopez vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Wawrinka vs. Goffin, Bautista Agut vs. Garcia-Lopez
Final: Goffin vs. Garcia-Lopez
Champion: Goffin

Chris de Waard’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Wawrinka vs. Coric, Ymer vs. Roger-Vasselin, Goffin vs. Berankis, Vesely vs. Granollers, Lu vs. Carreno Busta, Gojowczyk vs. Bautista Agut, Qualifier vs. Ramanathan, Lacko vs. Lopez
Quarterfinals: Wawrinka vs. Roger-Vasselin, Goffin vs. Granollers, Lu vs. Bautista Agut, Ramanathan vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Wawrinka vs. Goffin, Bautista Agut vs. Lopez
Final: Goffin vs. Bautista Agut
Champion: Goffin

Courtney Massey’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Wawrinka vs. Coric, Sijsling vs. Roger-Vasselin, Goffin vs. Qualifier, Vesely vs. Granollers, Lu vs. Gonzalez, Falla vs. Bautista Agut, Ito vs. Qualifier, Lacko vs. Lopez
Quarterfinals: Wawrinka vs. Sijsling, Goffin vs. Vesely, Gonzalez vs. Bautista Agut, Ito vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Wawrinka vs. Goffin, Bautista Agut vs. Lopez
Final: Wawrinka vs. Lopez
Champion: Wawrinka

Niall Clarke’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Wawrinka, Coric, Sijsling, Roger-Vasselin, Goffin, Berankis, Qualifier, Granollers, Lu, Carreno Busta, Falla, Bautista Agut, Garcia-Lopez, Ito, Lacko, Lopez
Quarterfinals: Wawrinka vs. Roger-Vasselin, Goffin vs. Granollers, Lu vs. Bautista Agut, Garcia-Lopez vs. Lopez
Semifinals: Wawrinka vs. Lu, Bautista Agut vs. Lopez
Final:Wawrinka vs. Bautista Agut
Champion: Wawrinka

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2015 ATP Doha and Chennai Preview and Predictions

Posted by Admin on January 4, 2015

Posted in: ATP, Chennai, Doha, Steen Kirby. Tagged: Aircel Open, Alejandro Falla, atp, ATP 250, ATP 250 World Tour, ATP Chennai, ATP Doha, ATP World Tour, benjamin becker, Borna Coric, chennai, Chennai Aircel Open, Chennai Open, Chennai Tennis, david ferrer, david goffin, doha, Doha Open, Doha Tennis, Exxon Mobil Open, ExxonMobil Open, feliciano lopez, fernando verdasco, Indian Tennis, Jan-Lennard Struff, men's tennis, Mens Tennis Prediction, Mens Tennis Preview, novak djokovic, Peter Gojowczyk, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Prediction, preview, Qatar Exxon Mobil Open, Qatar Tennis, rafael nadal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Roberto Bautista Agut, Robin Haase, Simone Bolelli, Stan Wawrinka, tatsuma ito, tennis, Tennis Prediction, Tennis Preview, Teymuraz Gabashvili, tomas berdych.

2015 ATP Doha and Chennai Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Two other events in Qatar and India will be part of the ATP World Tour’s 2015 debut, both are 250 level events on hard courts as the worlds best players prepare for the Australian Open

ATP Doha

2015 ATP Doha Preview

Qatar ExxonMobil Open
ATP World Tour 250
Doha, Qatar
January 5-January 11, 2015

Top 4 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Novak Djokovic (1)
2: Rafael Nadal (3)
3: Tomas Berdych (7)
4: David Ferrer (10)

Doha again features a stacked field of four top 10 players, and all the seeds ranked in the top 30 in the world.

First Round matchups to watch:

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Fernando Verdasco vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili

Gabashvili shocked Verdasco at the Aussie Open last year and the Spaniard will be looking to avenge that loss in the opening round of Doha. Gabashvili reached a career high ranking in 2014 at 52 in the world but he still finished a sub .500 19-25 on the season at the ATP level with his best results being a trio of ATP quarterfinals. Gaba has always been a journeyman and is far less accomplished than Verdasco who went 26-20 on the year with one ATP title and a pair of ATP semifinals his most notable results in 2014. Even with that h2h upset, Verdasco is favored to advance and I expect him to do so.

(5)Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Jan-Lennard Struff

Kohli finished the year 37-25 with one ATP title in 2014. It wasn’t his best season on tour, but the German veteran held his own and finished the year in the top 25 yet again. Struff broke into the top 50 for part of 2014, and the German who is seven years younger than his countryman reached three ATP semifinals in 2014. Struff is talented across surfaces, but has yet to reach the consistency level needed to keep himself as a full time competitor on the main tour. He will have a shot at upsetting Kohli here, and this is a toss-up match for me.

Simone Bolelli vs. Benjamin Becker

Bolelli had a resurgent season in 2014, finishing up in the top 60, which was powered by four challenger titles. The Italian found himself last season after starting the year outside the top 300 and is back to being a full time ATP competitor. Becker is another veteran who had a resurgent season in 2014. He peaked at a career high of 35 in the world, and finished ranked inside the top 40. He went 27-26 at the ATP level last year reaching an ATP final and two ATP semifinals. He finished the year strong with semis in Tokyo and a trio of quarterfinal appearances in Kuala Lumpur, Basel, and Vienna. The two veterans have never met, and this match could go either way. I’m picking the powerful ball striker Becker myself.

Top Half:

Doha paid big bucks to convince the world number one Djokovic to start his 2015 ATP campaign off in the Middle Eastern nation. Novak will be making his debut in Qatar and faces his countryman Dusan Lajovic first up. Given Lajovic and Novak are Davis Cup teammates, they should be very familiar with each others games. I don’t expect the top Serb to have any trouble with his countryman, and he also should ease past Sergiy Stakhovsky in round 2, assuming Stako avoids a shock defeat to Qatari wild card Jabor Mohammed Ali Mutawa, who doesn’t even have an ATP ranking. In the quarters, Novak should cruise past the big serving Ivo Karlovic, with the hard hitting Lukas Rosol, or the crafty veteran Mikhail Youzhny, who opens with a qualifier, also options to reach the quarters. Youzhny had a very poor 2014 that saw him drop out of the top 40 with an 18-23 record. Rosol peaked inside the top 30 in 2014 but finished the year just 1-9, Karlovic has beaten him twice before including last fall in Basel. Karlovic and Djokovic haven’t met since 2008, and surprisingly Karlovic has won both hard court meetings, but that was quite some time ago.

David Ferrer had a down season in 2014, though he still won an ATP title and finished 54-24 on the season. Ferrer is in danger of dropping out of the top 10 for the first time in almost five years. At 32 he may be slowing down but I still expect the hard working Spaniard to beat a qualifier, and then Verdasco or Gabashvili. He has won the last seven meetings against Verdasco including both meetings in the fall of 2014 without dropping a set. He was upset by Gabashvili on clay last year but that would once again be a very unlikely result. Look for a Ferrer vs. Kohlschreiber or Struff quarterfinal, as one of the Germans just needs to be the exciting but inconsistent Dustin Brown, or dirtballer Paolo Lorenzi in round 2. Ferrer is 6-0 against Kohli since 2009, so I tip him to reach the semis, Struff could also challenge but Ferrer would have to be favored.

Bottom Half:

2014 Doha champ Rafa Nadal will be defending his title with the cloud of his appendix surgery in the off-season hanging over him. Nadal was dominated by Andy Murray in the Abu Dhabi exhibition a couple of days ago, looking to be in very poor form, but still he won’t have to face an opponent the caliber of Murray in his route to the semifinals. He opens against a qualifier, then will face Ivan Dodig or wild card Mohamed Safwat of Egypt in round 2, Dodig is looking to get himself back to a consistent ATP level, but it is still unlikely he has enough game to get past even a rusty Nadal. In the quarterfinals, the toughest opponent for Nadal would be either 8 seed Leo Mayer, who plays his best on clay, or the Italian veteran Andreas Seppi who declined in 2014, posting a sub .500 24-30 record. Joao Souza, another clay courter, and Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri are also options. Jaziri plays some of his most inspired tennis when in the Middle East, but he’s still a career journeyman. Look for Mayer, who had a breakthrough 2014, and reached the top 30 in the rankings with an ATP title and a 28-20 record, to reach the quarterfinals before falling to Nadal who is 4-0 in his career against him.

Tomas Berdych, who won an exhibition in Thailand to start off his 2015, opens with Denis Istomin in round 1. Istomin is a tough opponent for the number 3 seed in a 250 level event, but that said Berdych is 3-0 in his career against the Uzbek number one, and has a superior skillset, so he should advance. Look for Berdy to also cruise past Juan Monaco or a qualifier in round 2, before facing off with Bolelli/Becker or Richard Gasquet/Pablo Andujar in the quarterfinals. Gasquet fell from the top 20 in 2014, while Andujar finished inside the top 45 and took an ATP title. I expect the 2013 Doha champion Gasquet to defeat Andujar. Bolelli or Becker could give him trouble, but he’s 5-0 in his career against Bolelli, and 2-0 against Becker, so past results are very much in his favor. Berdych won his only meeting against Gasquet in 2014, but they have split their last four hard court meetings 2-2. Given Berdych performed better last year, and recently, I expect the Czech to get through to the semifinals.

Dark Horse: Benjamin Becker

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Becker will have a tough path if he is going to put up a good result to start the year in Doha, given his first match is against Bolelli, who could be a dark horse in his own right, and then Gasuet/Andujar and almost certainly Berdych. That said if he can pull off three big wins, he would be in the semis against Nadal or a weaker opponent with a punchers chance to reach the final. I’d also consider JL Struff a dark horse this week.

Predictions

Semis:
Djokovic d. Ferrer
Berdych d. Nadal

Djokovic has won seven consecutive meetings against Ferrer, including both meetings last year, and I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t win the matchup again.

Berdych hasn’t beaten Nadal since 2006, and has been dominated by the Spaniard in almost every head to head meeting, that said I have a hunch Rafa still has some ailments and may not even want to play all the way through to the final.

Final:
Djokovic d. Berdych

Djokovic beat Berdych both times last year and the total set score in those meetings was 24-6, thus Novak has to be a heavy favorite to win the Doha title in his debut.

ATP Chennai

2015 ATP Chennai Preview

Aircel Chennai Open
ATP World Tour 250
Chennai, India
January 5-January 11, 2015

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Stan Wawrinka (4)
2: Feliciano Lopez (14)
3: Roberto Bautista Agut (15)
4: David Goffin (22)

Three top 20 players highlight the Chennai field, as all of the seeds are ranked within the top 50 in the world. Chennai isn’t near as star studded as the other two events on tour this week, but it’s far from a weak tournament.

First Round matchups to watch:

Borna Coric vs. Robin Haase

The 18 year old Coric reached the top 100 in 2014 and after primarily posting great results on the challenger tour, he qualified for the US Open, reaching the second round, and upset Ernests Gulbis and Rafael Nadal in Basel, en route to the semifinals. Haase finished 2014 strong with a challenger title, but he still finished ranked outside the top 80, and Coric will have a great shot at an upset win over an ATP regular. The match could go either way but I’m going with Coric to rise to the challenge and get himself to round 2.

Peter Gojowczyk vs. Alejandro Falla

Falla beat Gojowczyk in Halle last year, but the 31 year old Colombian appears to be in a decline as he finished 2014 ranked outside the top 80, and went just 11-17 at the ATP level. Gojo meanwhile is rising, at 25, he’s at a career high ranking of 79 and he will be looking to play more ATP main draw level matches in 2015. The German won 2 challenger titles, posted an ATP semifinal in Doha, and qualified for the USO and AO. His best results have been on hard courts, and he appears poised for a breakthrough. I favor him to dispatch the Colombian veteran to reach round 2.

Tatsuma Ito vs. (WC)Ramkumar Ramanathan

The 20 year old Indian Ramanathan, who (almost) exclusively played challengers and futures in 2014, shocked the tennis world last year by qualifying in Chennai and defeating his higher ranked, and more accomplished countryman Somdev Devvarman to reach the second round. This year he gets a wild card, and he’ll have another chance to surprise against Tatsuma Ito, who is ranked just inside the top 100. Ito finished the year with a challenger final and he’s had most of his success at that level. Ito shocked Stan Wawrinka in Tokyo last year, for the best win of his career, but he rarely plays up to that level, I expect Ito win but Ramanathan will certainly have the crowd behind him.

Top Half:

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Defending and two time champ Stan Wawrinka will take the first step to trying to retaining his top 5 ranking in Chennai, where he will start his 2015 campaign after a breakthrough 2014 that saw him win a Grand Slam and a Masters Title, along with reach the top 5 for the first time in his career. He will have a target on his back, most likely against Coric, in round 2, but barring another shocking upset, he should get through to the quarterfinals where 8 seed Gilles Muller, or perhaps Igor Sijsling/Edouard Roger-Vasselin/Elias Ymer, a wild card, await. Muller had a resurgent 2014 that saw him return to the top 50 after winning five challenger titles. Sijsling and ERV had pedestrian years in 2014, and Ymer has yet to emerge, even though he’s a young talent, so I expect a Wawrinka over Muller quarterfinal. ERV is a defending finalist, and he faced Wawrinka in that final, he has a lot of points to defend this week.

David Goffin reached the top 25 for the first time in his career in 2014, going on an incredible tear in the second half of the season to finish the year 25-15 with two ATP titles. He also reached the final in Basel and won four challenger titles. Goffin won’t be near as much of an underdog this season, and will be taking on a full time ATP schedule one would expect. His first match should be a win against a qualifier or Ricardas Berankis, a formerly promising young star who has yet to live up to his potential. After that, I expect Goffin to cruise to the semis, whether he faces fellow young gun Jiri Vesely, who opens with a qualifier, or Marcel Granollers/Andreas Haider-Maurer. Granollers went just 19-28 at the ATP level last year, and along with AHM, he plays his best tennis on clay. Vesely is at a career high ranking of 66, and went 16-17 at the ATP level last year. The 21 year old hasn’t done as well for himself as Goffin has though so I expect the Belgian to win their first career meeting.

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Bottom Half:

Feliciano Lopez, burst into the top 15 in 2014, and at 32 years old, going on 33, he posted a 39-26 record with 1 ATP title, an ATP final and two Masters semifinals. The left handed Spaniard, whose tennis lived up to his popular appearance in 2014, will open against Lukas Lacko, or a qualifier in round 1, and I expect him to get through to the quarters and dispatch most likely Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the five seed, at that stage. GGL will need to beat the Ramanathan/Ito winner, along with a qualifier in round 1. GGL finished 25-26 in 2014, with an ATP title but he slumped hard at the end of the year, finishing 0-5 after the US Open. He has the ability to play skillful, and exciting tennis, but he struggles with consistency. He should be good enough to win his first couple of matches but I favor Lopez to reach the semis.

Roberto Bautista Agut broke through to the top 15 in 2014, and will now be gunning for the top 10 in 2015. He went 45-23 with 2 ATP titles last year and performed well across surfaces. He’s a former finalist in Chennai and assuming he can beat Gojowczyk/Falla for a winning start in 2015, he should be able to ease through to a semifinal against Lopez by defeating Rendy Lu, the six seed. Lu opens with Indian favorite Somdev Devvarman, a wild card, and assuming he wins, will face the Pablo Carreno Busta/Alejandro Gonzalez winner.

Dark Horse: Borna Coric

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Coric has the talent to make a breakthrough, and if Wawrinka wilts under the pressure of expectations, as happened at times last year, he could pull off another top 5 upset. If he does that, Goffin, who he lost to in Basel, would be a tough semifinal opponent (and that’s if he wins the quarterfinal match), but even the semis would be a great result for the teenager.

Predictions

Semis:
Goffin d. Wawrinka
Bautista Agut d. Lopez

I’m projecting an upset in the semifinals, as I feel Goffin will shock Wawrinka, it’s just a hunch but I have a feeling Stan won’t be able to live up to expectations as the biggest star at this tournament, while Goffin will have a less stressful tournament.

Lopez beat RBA in Toronto last year, but I feel RBA is a slightly better player, and given he’s had success in Chennai before, I put him through to the final my bracket.

Final:
Bautista Agut d. Goffin

Any of the top four seeds could take the title in Chennai, but I’m going with RBA because he’s 2-0 in his career against Goffin, and has the forehand to deal with the crafty Belgian. Goffin is also likely to be more fatigued at this stage, and no matter who wins, Chennai looks to be a very interesting way to start off the 2015 season.

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