Ernests Gulbis Continues Resurgence By Triumphing In Qualifying At Halle; Sugita Qualifies Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic
Ernests Gulbis has continued his recent spike in form with a successful qualifying campaign at the 24th Gerry Weber Open.
The Latvian entered Halle with a fresh burst of confidence after reaching the fourth round of the French Open, his best grand slam performance for two years. Following his run in Paris, Gulbis returned to the top-60 for the first time since May 2015. Opening up his German campaign against home player Michael Berrer, Gulbis eased to a 6-4, 6-4, victory without being broken.
Next in Gulbis’ qualifying draw was another German, Peter Gojowczyk. The 26-year-old enjoyed a promising start to his grass season by reaching the semifinals at last week’s Manchester Challenger before succumbing to Dustin Brown. In what was a roller coaster meeting between both players, Gulbis overcame a second set blip to win 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. The victory elevates the world No.59 to his 13th ATP main draw of the year.
Gulbis was one out of only two seeded players to triumph in qualifying. The other was seventh seed Sergiy Stakhovsky. Since being troubled by a back injury earlier in the year, the 30-year-old won his first Challenger title in two years in South Korea last month. In his most recent tournament Stakhovsky reached the quarter-finals at the Manchester Challenger. Starting his Halle campaign with a 52-minute 6-3, 6-1, win over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, Stakhovsky faced tough opposition against fourth seed Rajeev Ram. 32-year-old Ram has won two ATP titles in his career, both of which were on grass (Newport 2009 and 2015). Despite converting only 3/11 break points, the world No.100 took the win 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2, to book his place in the main draw in Halle for the fourth time in his career. Stakhovsky is yet to win a main draw match at the tournament.
The only home sucess story was for unseeded Benjamin Becker, a former top-40 player. Facing second seed Denis Istomin in the first round, the 34-year-old edged past the Uzbek player 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. It was only the second time that Becker has defeated Istomin in their eight encounters on the tour. The shock win set Becker up with a showdown against Robin Haase, a player who has reached two ATP quarter-finals this year. Despite being ranked 34 places lower, Becker sealed a main draw place by dismissing the Dutch player 6-3, 6-3, in less than an hour.
Finally, Japanese player Yuichi Sugita was the only player able to progress to the main draw without dropping a set. Kicking-off his Halle campaign with a 6-3, 6-1, win over Nikoloz Basilashvili, he faced compatriot Tatsuma Ito in the final round. Ito knocked out third seed Lukas Rosol in his opening match. Winning 74% of his service points, Sugita eased past Ito 6-2, 6-4. Focusing mainly on the Challenger tour this year, Halle will be Sugita’s first appearance in the main draw of an ATP event since the Australian Open.
American Talents Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul March on at Miami Qualifying Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic
Embed from Getty Images
Taylor Fritz justified his position as the top ranked player in the men’s qualifying draw at the Miami Open by reaching his second successive Masters 1000 main draw.
The US Open Boys’ champion is currently ranked 81st in the world and reached his first ATP final in Memphis last month. Opening his Miami campaign against Argentina’s Nicolas Kicker, a player who achieved a ranking high of 155 two weeks ago, the American eased his way to a 6-4, 6-3, victory. Following his straightforward first round win, Fritz encountered a much tougher meeting against wildcard Alex Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov recently ended his three-year title drought by winning a Futures tournament in Canada. Fritz dropped the first set against the world No.422 before clawing his way back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, to seal his place in the main draw at Miami for the first time.
Fritz’s triumph in Miami was one of a series for American players. Five American men qualified for the main draw for the first time since 2009. Bjorn Fratangelo was another to delight the home crowd. At the BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells, the 22-year-old became the fifth player this year to take a set off world No.1 Novak Djokovic. The impressive display by Frantangelo in California continued in Miami with two solid qualifying wins. Facing French 18th seed Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round, the American saved two match points in the second set to upset the Frenchman 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. After surviving the scare in the opening round, Frantangelo was more convincing in his second round win over Great Britain’s James Ward. Winning 78% of his first serves and successfully saving 7/7 break points, he eased to a 6-3, 6-3, victory after only 65 minutes of play.
Dennis Novikov’s first experience of the Miami Open is already one that he will remember. The American has a poor record in Masters 1000 tournaments after failing to qualify in three out of his past four attempts since 2012. On his route to his maiden Miami main draw, Novikov started proceedings by defeating 18th seed Ruben Bemelmans 6-4, 6-4. The Belgian player was playing in his first match after being sidelined from action due to back injury. He rounded off his successful qualifying campaign with a 6-1, 7-6(7), win over Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti.
Tommy Paul was the only player in the draw to produce back-to-back wins over seeded players to reach the main draw. Paul is the current french Open Boys’ champion and has won two Futures titles at the start of the year in the Florida cities of Plantation and Sunrise. After a straight sets win over 24th seed Carlos Berlocq, the 18-year-old played 10th seed Rogerio Dutra Silva. At the start of March Silva reached the final of the ATP Cachantun Cup, a Challenger tournament in Chile. The Brazilian was no match for Paul as the teen cruised to a 6-2, 6-3, win.
Completing the American contingent of qualifiers is the experienced Tim Smyczek. Since reaching the quarterfinals at the Delray Beach Open, the American hasn’t won a main draw match after losing to Juan Martin Del Potro in Indian Wells and Jared Donaldson at the Irving Challenger. He will now have an opportunity to end this losing streak following a straight sets win over Christian Harrison and Grega Zemlja in Miami. Since 2011 Smyczek has played three main draw matches at the event, winning just one (first round against Adrian Menendez-Maceiras in 2015).
Apart from the group of American victors, seven players from other countries also booked their place on the main stage of the Masters 1000 tournament. Mikhail Kukushkin, who was the second seed at the tournament, moved to the main draw after overcoming Brazil’s Joao Souza 6-4,7-6(4). The Kazakh player won 81% of his first serves compared to just 38% of his second against Souza. Kukushkin, who has fallen from 46th to 90th in the rankings since October, has only won five main draw matches this year. His best tournament so far this year was the Memphis Open when he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Kei Nishikori.
Marcel Granollers dropped only 11 games to book his place amongst the best in Miami. The Spaniard is currently on a seven match winning streak after winning the BMW Of Dallas Irving Tennis Classic, crushing Aljaz Bedene 6-1, 6-1, in the final, Granollers won his first title on hardcourts since the 2011 Valencia Open. He faced little resistance in Miami after easing his way past Vincent Millot and Alexander Sarkissian during qualifying. He will play in the main draw at Miami for the sixth time in his career.
34-year-old Benjamin Becker is edging closer towards a return back into the top 100. The world No. 102 has reached the quarterfinals at two ATP tournaments this year (Memphis and Delray Beach) as well as the semifinals at a Challenger tournament in Mexico. Seeded seventh in Miami, he endured a mammoth battle in the first round against Czech veteran Radek Stepanek. With the help of 11 aces, the German edged past Stepanek 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Becker also experienced a bumpy ride in his second round match against Italy’s Andrea Arnaboldi. The Italian has had a slow start to the year, winning only two main draw matches. Despite being broken three times in the match, the world No. 100 closed the match out 7-6(4), 6-2.
France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert crushed 2014 US Open Boys’ champion, Omar Jasika, 6-1, 6-0, in his opening match in Miami. Herbert is climbing up the rankings after a good start to 2016 by reaching the third round of the Australian Open before winning the ATP Bergamo Challenger. For a place in the main draw he faced Germany’s Mischa Zverev. Saving 6/10 breakpoints, Herbert sealed a 7-5, 6-2, win after 71 minutes on the court.
Nishioka (Photo: S. Kirby)
Yoshihito Nishioka survived a second round scare to progress to his first ever Masters main draw. After defeating Jozef Kovalik in straight sets during the first round, the 20-year-old faced 9th seed Horacio Zeballos. Zeballos has reached three semifinals so far this year this year on the Challenger circuit. The Japanese player was on the verge of going out as he trailed 4-6, 0-2. He managed to turn the momentum around to upset the higher ranked player 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in a match that lasted four minutes shy of the two hour mark.
Another Japanese success story occurred for 12th seed Tatsuma Ito. Starting his Miami campaign against Casper Ruud, who is currently ranked No.11 in the junior rankings, he outlasted the 17-year-old 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-1. Next up for Ito was Noah Rubin. Rubin has just broken the top 200 for the first time in his career after qualifying for the main draw in Indian Wells. Ito put a halt to Rubin’s current momentum by taking the encounter 6-4, 6-4.
Completing the 12 qualifying players is Colombia’s Alejandro Gonzalez. In February he reached his first final of the year at the Morelos Challenger in Mexico, where he lost to Gerald Melzer. Facing American talent Jared Donaldson for a chance to qualify, he took the match 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. In his career, Gonzalez has only won one main draw match in Miami which was against Malek Jaziri at the 2014 tournament.
Full list of qualifiers
Taylor Fritz
Mikhail Kukushkin
Marcel Granollers
Bjorn Fratangelo
Dennis Novikov
Benjamin Becker
Alejandro González
Pierre-Hugues Herbert
Yoshihito Nishioka
Tommy Paul
Tim Smyczek
Tatsuma Ito
The qualifying competition for the men’s ASB Classic encountered a problem before proceedings got underway. Last week the organizers admitted that they was short of participants for the 16-player draw. Fortunately the crisis was resolved with the additional of five alternate players.
Headlining the field was world No.66 Robin Haase. 2016 is the fifth year that Haase has competed at the tournament but he has only been able to win one main draw match at the event (2011 against John Isner). In the first round of qualifying he faced American doubles specialist Eric Butorac. Despite playing in his first singles match since May, Butorac started the match well with a 3-1 lead before Haase battled back to win 6-4, 7-5 in less than an hour.
In the final round Haase faced fifth seed Duck-hee Lee. The South Korean enjoyed a easy first round encounter against Colombian doubles specialist Robert Farah Maksoud, winning 6-1, 6-2. Last year Hee claimed five Futures titles. Haase proved too strong for Lee as he won 6-1, 6-3, after only 45 minutes on the court.
Another Dutch triumph in Auckland occurred for Thiemo de Bakker. De Bakker opened up his campaign with a 6-2, 6-2, win over Australia’s Greg Jones. After grabbing his opening win, Bakker faced Croatian seventh seed Mate Pavic. Pavic defeated 2011 French Open doubles finalist Juan Sebastián Cabal (6-2, 6-4) in his opening match. It was a tough start to his final match after Bakker dropped the first set in exactly 30 minutes. Despite the slow start, the Dutchman battled back to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Bakker, who is a regular feature on the Challenger tour, will now be bidding to win his first main draw match on the ATP World Tour since the Rio Open in February last year.
World No.299 Matthew Barton will play in his first ATP World Tour main draw after his duo of triumphs. In the opening round Barton played Australian compatriot Artem Sitak. Sitak is a doubles specialist ranked 43rd in the world. Sitak proved troublesome for Barton during the first set before he dominated the second set to win 7-6(8), 6-0. It was expected that Barton would experience a tricky second match against second seed Denis Kudla. Kudla defeated Trey Huey in straight sets during his first match. Incredibly Barton trailed 2-0 at the start of the match before winning 12 consecutive games top stun the second seed 6-2, 6-0.
Finally Germany’s Benjamin Becker dropped only seven games during his qualifying campaign. In the first round, he dismissed alternative entrant Scott Lipsky 6-3, 6-1. Lipsky is best known for winning the 2011 French Open mixed doubles title with Casey Dellacqua. Then in the second round he played South African-born Brit Cameron Norrie. Norrie achieved a career ranking high of 637th in 2014. The inexperienced Brit was no match for Becker as the German took the match 6-1, 6-2, in under an hour.
Barton opens against American Steve Johnson, Haase has a winnable match against dirtballer Pablo Andujar, De Bakker faces another Spaniard, Albert Ramos, and Becker will face his countryman and Davis Cup teammate Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Becker and Edmund progress in ATP Doha Qualifying Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic
The ExxonMobil Open will see world No.1 Novak Djokovic start his 2016 campaign. Prior to the main draw, 16 players battled against each during the qualifying tournament for four places in the main draw.
Spearheading the field was Spanish world No.72 Inigo Cervantes. The Spaniard ended 2015 on a high after winning the ATP Challenger Tour finals in Brazil. Despite the positive end to last year, Cervantes suffered a first round upset at the hands of Bosnia’s Mirza Basic.
After dropping the opening set, the former junior world No.6 battled back to upset the top seed 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. Basic’s reward was an encounter with German 7th seed Dustin Brown, who defeated Czech Republic’s Marek Michalicka in his opening match. Brown, who defeated Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon last year, edged his way past the Bosnian in two close sets (6-4,7-5) to reach the main draw.
Brown wasn’t the only German success in the qualifying tournament. Second seed Benjamin Becker overcame two close matches to progress to the main draw. After a slow start to his campaign, Becker defeated former world No.70 Flávio Cipolla 3-6,6-3,6-1, in his first match. In the following round he played veteran player Michael Berrer. Last year at the Qatar tournament Berrer stunned Rafael Nadal in the first round. Becker ensured that there was no chance that Berrer would create another shock in the tournament after he defeated the 35-year-old 5-7,7-5,7-5.
British tennis star Kyle Edmund booked his place in the main draw without dropping a set. The 20-year-old is currently ranked #102 in the world, three places below his career high. Last year he won three Challenger titles and was part of the winning Davis Cup team. Edmund booked a final showdown with Moldova’s Radu Albot after defeating Italy’s Andrea Arnaboldi in his opening match. During the 74-minute encounter, Edmund held eight of his nine service games during his 6-2, 6-4 win over Albot.
Finally Russian world No.195 Aslan Karatsev produced wins over the fourth and fifth seed to reach the main draw. In the first round he stunned Belgium Ruben Bemelmans 6-3, 6-3, to book a second round meeting with Lukas Lacko. After an early stumble in the match where he went down 0-3 to Lacko, the Russian maneuvered his way back to win 6-4, 6-4. The 22-year-old is yet to play in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, however, last year he won his first challenger title in Kazan (Russia) at the age of 21.
Main draw matches for the qualifiers
(Q) Dustin Brown vs. (1) Novak Djokovic
(Q) Benjamin Becker vs. (8) Leonardo Mayer
(Q) Kyle Edmund vs. Martin Klizan
(Q) Aslan Karatsev vs. Robin Haase
All of the qualifiers have winnable opening round matches except for Brown, who will need to produce a long highlight reel to stun Djokovic in his first match of the season.
2015 ATP Vienna, Stockholm, and Moscow Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
A trio of European indoor hard court tournaments take place this week on the ATP tour as the season enters its final weeks.
ATP Vienna
Erste Bank Open
ATP World Tour 500
Vienna, Austria
October 19-October 25, 2015
Prize Money: €1,745,040
8 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: David Ferrer (8)
2: Kevin Anderson (10)
3: John Isner (13)
4: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (15)
5: Dominic Thiem (18)
6: Gael Monfils (19)
7: Ivo Karlovic (21)
8: Fabio Fognini (26)
Two top 10, and six top 20 players are in Vienna for its first edition as a 500 level tournament.
First round matchups to watch:
(1)David Ferrer vs. Albert Ramos
Ferrer has a 4-0 h2h record against his countryman and should be a solid favorite after posting a 7-2 record over his last 9 matches. Ramos is in great form though, he qualified in Shanghai and shocked Roger Federer for the biggest win of his career, going on to push eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to three sets in the round of 16. Ferrer is a better player, and far better indoors, but Ramos may be able to notch another top 10 win in this one if Ferrer plays as poorly as he did in Shanghai.
(8)Fabio Fognini vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu
Fognini leads the h2h 2-1 with Mathieu but they haven’t played since 2009. The French veteran isn’t a clutch player but he has a solid ballstriking game indoors and could trouble Fognini if the Italian loses his cool. Fabio reached the semis in Beijing and his form has been good since the US Open though, so I have him avoiding the upset and winning this one.
Janowicz has a h2h win over Thiem and recently reached a challenger final on indoor hard. JJ has a great game for this venue, though he’s struggled to maintain ATP level tennis this season, and Thiem faces the pressure of being the home favorite. Both player are about equal in talent level, but Thiem’s consistency should help him prevail.
The defending finalist David Ferrer should draw another Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, in the second round after facing Ramos. GGL has lost three straight matches, and his round 1 opponent Santiago Giraldo is struggling mightily as well. Though GGL is good indoors, Ferrer leads the h2h 7-1 and he should reach the quarterfinals.
Fabio Fognini should be able to reach the quarterfinals as well, as he’ll face either Austrian journeyman Dennis Novak or Radek Stepanek in round 2, after his match with PHM. Stepanek hasn’t played well in quite some time and I don’t expect him to challenge Fognini. Ferrer leads the h2h with Fognini 8-0 and with the World Tour Finals on the line, look for Ferrer to make the semifinals in Austria.
Shanghai finalist, and former Vienna champion, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga may be exhausted from his exploits at the Masters level but his round 1 opponent Tommy Haas, a loser of four straight matches, isn’t likely to defeat him. After Haas I also give Lukas Rosol or qualifier Yuichi Sugita a limited chance to upset Tsonga. Rosol has a big enough game to pull it off, but Tsonga is an excellent indoors player and the Czech has been out of tune for some time.
Gael Monfils is the biggest threat to Tsonga reaching the semifinals, The high flying Frenchman will look to extend his h2h over a struggling Thomaz Bellucci to 3-0 in his first match since the US Open. Monfils has struggled to stay healthy, but Bellucci, and likely Rajeev Ram in round 2 are both opponents he should be favored against. Ram opens with dirtballer Paolo Lorenzi in round 1.
Monfils beat Tsonga in Miami this year, but Tsonga has an edge in the overall h2h, and I look for Jo to bite him back if they meet in the quarterfinals. Fatigue is a factor, but so is rust with Monfils.
Bottom Half:
Kevin Anderson should cruise to the quarterfinals past Austria’s Andreas Haider-Maurer, and Jiri Vesely, presuming Vesely beats Austrian wild card Gerald Melzer in round 1. Vesely reached the quarterfinals in Shenzen and he’s a streaky player. The h2h between Kev and Jiri is 1-1, with Vesely beating him early this season in Auckland. Indoors with Anderson’s serve the result should swing to his favor. Anderson comes off the quarterfinals in Shanghai and solid wins over Fognini and Kei Nishikori.
I look for Dominic Thiem to beat Janowicz and then the winner of Alex Dolgopolov/Steve Johnson to reach the quarterfinals in front of the home fans. Dolgo has lost five straight matches, but he was solid enough in Shanghai and he has a higher peak than Johnson who won a round in Shanghai and went out in round 2. Thiem and Dolgo is a tough matchup, but consistency and venue should give Thiem the advantage.
Anderson is 3-0 in the h2h against Thiem and beat him at the US Open this year, it could be close, but big Kev should gain some ranking points and reach the semis.
The final semifinal spot should come down to a battle of big servers in the quarterfinals. Ivo Karlovic faces the all-courter Andreas Seppi in round 1 and he should be able to find consistency and serve past him, and Jan-Lennard Struff or Sergiy Stakhovsky in his first two matches. Struff qualified and has two challenger titles and a semifinal as of late, so his form has been excellent at a lower level. JL has always been a good challenger tour player but hasn’t quite made the jump to ATP tennis on a regular basis, the Karlovic serve should prove to be too much.
Look for John Isner to join Karlovic in the quarters by ousting the in-form Kenny De Schepper and then the struggling Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis should get his first match win in months by defeating ATP main draw débutante Lucas Miedler, a 19 year old Austrian who hasn’t even reached the challenger tour level yet, but came through qualifying.
Isner is 7-3 in his last 10 matches, and those three losses all came at the hands of top 10 players. The match with Karlovic should come down to just a few points, but I give him the edge to reach the semis.
Struff is just 4-17 at the main tour level this year but he’s 16-2 since the US Open and in fantastic form at the Challenger Tour level. JL reached the quarterfinals in Vienna last year and posted two ATP semifinals indoors as well (Marseille and Metz). He’s got all the shotmaking ability needed to excel, but his mental game is rather weak. Should Ivo Karlovic and Isner slip up, Struff could find his way to the semifinals of an ATP tournament for the third time in his career.
Predictions
semis Ferrer d. Tsonga
Isner d. Anderson
Ferrer leads the h2h with Tsonga 3-1 and should be fresher than his rival in this semifinal. Ferru already took the title indoors in Kuala Lumpur, and he should reach another final this Fall in Vienna, reprising his result last year.
Isner tends to have the matchup edge with Anderson and his form has been good.
final Ferrer d. Isner
Ferrer is 5-1 in the h2h against Isner and should be highly motivated to capture another ATP title.
ATP Stockholm
IF Stockholm Open
ATP World Tour 250
Stockholm, Sweden
October 19-October 25, 2015
Prize Money: €537,050
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Tomas Berdych (5)
2: Richard Gasquet (11)
3: Gilles Simon (14)
4: Bernard Tomic (20)
Stockholm boasts a quality field for an ATP 250 tournament with four top 20 names.
First round matchups to watch:
Benjamin Becker vs. John Millman
Becker has caught fire this Fall on indoor hard, the offensive baseliner reached the final of the Mons challenger and the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur for an overall 9-3 record since the US Open. Previously in a cold slump, he’s back playing crafty tennis and could be a threat in Stockholm. John Millman qualified for Beijing and upset Tommy Robredo, the Australian has the talent to be an ATP level player but he’s still seeking a breakthrough, and winning this match would help. Look for Becker to advance and maintain his hot streak.
Fernando Verdasco vs. Denis Kudla
Fernando Verdasco has lost three straight and could be in for an upset defeat at the hands of the dynamic ball striker Denis Kudla. Kudla went 7-2 on the USTA Pro Circuit after the US Open and is now returning to the ATP main draw level in Stockholm. It’s been a career year for Kudla, and look for him to add to that with a win over the declining Verdasco.
(6)Jeremy Chardy vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis
The talented young gun Kokkinakis is seeking his 12th ATP tour level win this season and could break out of a cold slump with a win over Chardy, a big hitter who is capable of playing well indoors. Chardy lost to Kokkinakis on grass earlier this season and has lost two straight matches himself. I have Kokkinakis pulling off the upset.
The defending and two-time Stockholm champion Tomas Berdych will open with the Alex Zverev/Mikael Ymer winner. Ymer is the younger brother of the better known Elias Ymer and gets a main draw wild card. His ATP debut will take place against a fellow young gun who is seeking to snap a four match losing streak. Zverev should fall to the Shenzen champion and Shanghai quarterfinalist Berdych in round 2.
Look for Berdych to face another former Stockholm champion, Grigor Dimitrov, in the quarterfinals. A struggling Dimitrov opens with a qualifier, and then is likely to face the retiring Jarkko Nieminen. Nieminen gets a wild card and is ending his ATP career in Stockholm after a solid career as Finland’s #1 tennis player. The speedy defensively minded veteran opens with Daniel Munoz-De La Nava, who has been on fire on the clay court challenger tour. Nemo has lost four straight, and Dimitrov is far better at this point in their careers.
Berdych beat Dimitrov in the Stockholm final last year and given Dimitrov’s poor form this season the Czech has the edge to reach the semifinals.
Shanghai quarterfinalist Bernard Tomic will open with either Sam Querrey or Marcos Baghdatis. Querrey leads the h2h 3-0 over Baghdatis, and Tomic should have the edge in his section to reach another ATP quarterfinal. Trouble should await at that stage though, as Becker/Millman or Gilles Muller/qualifier are the options. Muller has an ATP quarterfinal and a semifinal this Fall and is a solid indoor player, as is Becker. The pair of veterans have met just once before and Becker came out on top. I have that result repeating itself and a Tomic vs. Becker quarterfinal, in which Tomic should have the edge.
Bottom Half:
Richard Gasquet should cruise through his section of the draw and power his way to the semifinals. Neither Steve Darcis, or a struggling Adrian Mannarino, look to be threatening in his first match and he’ll have a decided edge over the Chardy/Kokkinakis winner in the quarters. The other option in this section is the winner of Federico Delbonis/qualifier, and Delbonis much prefers clay.
Gilles Simon could make it an all-French semifinal against Gasquet if he can beat Leo Mayer/qualifier and likely the winner of Jack Sock vs. Denis Kudla in the quarterfinals. Sock faces dirtballer Pablo Carreno Busta first up, and then the Verdasco/Kudla winner. On Simon’s end, Mayer is struggling, and Kudla beat Sock the last time they played. Simon is 7-3 in his last 10 matches and should beat Kudla in the quarters.
Either Becker or Gilles Muller could get through to the semifinals over Tomic and possibly give Berdych/Dimitrov problems as well in the semifinals. Becker, even at his age, still has a quality serve and plays smart, aggressive tennis indoors. His back injury seems to have sorted itself out and he’s back cranking on the ball from both wings.
Predictions
semis Berdych d. Tomic
Gasquet d. Simon
Berdych is 4-0 in the h2h against Tomic and has beaten him twice this season. Given his good record in Stockholm, he should prevail once more. Gasquet is 6-1 in the h2h against Simon and won a pair of matches in Shanghai to show form.
final Berdych d. Gasquet
Berdych is 2-1 against Gasquet this year, and was 1-1 against him last season. It’s a close h2h and a difficult match to predict, but Berdych’s better form gives him the advantage.
ATP Moscow
Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow
ATP World Tour 250
Moscow, Russia
October 19-October 25, 2015
Prize Money: $698,325
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Marin Cilic (12)
2: Roberto Bautista Agut (23)
3: Viktor Troicki (24)
4: Philipp Kohlschreiber (31)
With just one top 20 player, Moscow has the weakest field of the tournaments this week.
Kukushkin has had success in Moscow before and he posted a quarterfinal in Kuala Lumpur. Rublev by contrast has lost three straight, but the teenager is the great white hope for Russian men’s tennis and will have all eyes on him at a home tournament. Rublev is plenty talented, but with his recent run of poor form, I have Kukushkin winning this match and schooling the youngster.
Simone Bolelli vs. Lucas Pouille
Bolelli leads the h2h against the young gun Pouille 3-0 and he’s 8-4 since the US Open. Pouille by contrast has lost three straight matches since reaching the quarterfinals in St. Petersburg. Pouille has a great forehand and the ability to notch a win in this one, but a wiser Bolelli should defeat him.
Top Half:
Defending champion Marin Cilic should blaze through to the semifinals. Cilic opens with the winner of Aljaz Bedene/Denis Istomin, and then should face Rublev/Kukushkin in the quarters, as Radu Albot/Andrey Kuznetsov is the only player that stands in their way. Istomin just won a challenger title and should beat Bedene, but Cilic is 6-3 since the US Open and should move that to 8-3 with wins over Istomin and Kukushkin. He’s by far the best player in his section and just beat Kukushkin at the US Open.
Former champion Viktor Troicki is just 2-3 since the US Open, but wild card Cem Ilkel, or a struggling Teymuraz Gabashvili are unlikely to oust him in the opening round. Gabashvili is a streaky player with talent, but like Troicki he seems to have lost his way right now. I have Troicki going out to Borna Coric in the quarterfinals, after Coric defeats Evgeny Donskoy and Ricardas Berankis (Berankis opens with Malek Jaziri). Coric has the most talent in this section and has been battling at the ATP level while Donkoy, Berankis, and Jaziri have all been on the challenger tour (and done well at that level). Berankis is a potential dark horse in this section if his solid ball striking pays off.
Bottom Half:
St. Petersburg semifinalist Roberto Bautista Agut plays well in Russia, and he should use his forehand to once more excel indoors and defeat Marsel Ilhan/qualifier, and then setup a meeting with either Joao Sousa or the Bolelli/Pouille winner in the quarters. Sousa is one of the better indoor specialists in the game and after Daniel Gimeno-Traver he’ll face Bolelli/Pouille. I have the St. Petersburg finalist Sousa snapping a losing streak and beating Bolelli (who he beat in St. Petersburg), and Bautista Agut for a spot in the semifinals. His game is well suited for this venue.
Philipp Kohlschreiber opens with Mikhail Youzhny/qualifier. Youzhny is a horrific 9-23 at the ATP level this year while Kohlschreiber was a semifinalist in Metz and should at least make a quarterfinal in this one. A qualifier has a fantastic chance to make the quarterfinals opposite Kohli. Pablo Cuevas opens with a qualifier, as does Robin Haase, and they both prefer a surface other than indoor hard. I have the qualifiers winning those round 1 matches, and then Kohlschreiber beating a qualifier for a spot in the semis.
Berankis has the talented needed to get through Coric and his weak early section, and then give Cilic a test in the semifinals. The former top junior is undersized for the ATP game but he’s a solid ball striker, and still has a lot of intangible talent, even though his pro career has been a disappointment thus far.
Predictions
semis Cilic d. Coric
Kohlschreiber d. Sousa
Cilic and Kohlschreiber should be strong favorites to meet each other in the final.
final Cilic d. Kohlschreiber
Kohli leads the h2h with Cilic 5-3, but I feel Cilic is the better player right now and will find a way to win and repeat as champion.
2015 ATP Shenzen and Kuala Lumpur Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The 2015 ATP Asian Swing starts with a pair of 250 tournaments, an indoor hard court tournament in Malaysia, and an outdoor hard court tournament in China.
ATP Shenzen
Shenzen Open
ATP World Tour 250
Shenzen, China
September 28-October 4, 2015
Prize Money: $607,940
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Tomas Berdych (5)
2: Marin Cilic (14)
3: Tommy Robredo (30)
4: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (29)
Shenzen four top 30 players in the field as the opening ATP tournament in China has a solid field.
First round matchups to watch:
(5)Adrian Mannarino vs. Lucas Pouille
Mannarino beat Pouille at the start of the season in Auckland in what turned out to be a sign of things to come or both players. They battled for three sets, and Mannarino went on to capture the title and post a solid season overall, while Pouille has dabbled with the ATP level and shown signs of a breakthrough. The younger Frenchman Pouille with his fantastic forehand comes off of the St. Petersburg quarterfinals and I have him upsetting Mannarino, as Adrian is just 2-5 since reaching the Bogota final this summer.
Top Half:
Tomas Berdych, the #1 seed, is struggling but he’ll have a winnable opening match with Austin Krajicek, after Krajicek beat James Duckworth in the opening round. Berdych has lost two straight and struggled over the Summer compared to his ranking but I’d still expect him to oust Krajicek and Jiri Vesely to reach the semifinals. Vesely faces Chinese wild card Ze Zhang in his opening match and then most likely Go Soeda, presuming Soeda defeats Zhizhen Zhang, an 18 year old Chinese wild card. The Czech has been in good form with a recent challenger semifinal, but his big hitting Davis Cup teammate Berdych is a superior player.
Tommy Robredo put together a great run in Shenzen last year and he comes off of the quarterfinals in St. Petersburg. The veteran Spaniard could be troubled and perhaps fall to Ricardas Berankis in round 2, but Berankis is just 1-3 in his last four matches. The Lithuanian opens with Hiroki Moriya in his opening match. Robredo was poor in his St. Petersburg semifinal match but I still give him an edge over Berankis, who is talented but streaky. Simone Bolelli should await Robredo/Berankis in the quarterfinals. The Italian upset Berdych to make the St. Petersburg quarterfinals and he’s in a weak section with Andreas Haider-Maurer, and Matt Ebden/Victor Estrella. Ebden, who plays well in Asia, has a shot at upsetting Estrella, but I have Bolelli getting through regardless.
Robredo is 2-0 on hard courts against Bolelli and his recent form has been slightly better, that should be a close and entertaining match, but look for Tommy to continue his success at this tournament and reach the semifinals.
US Open semifinalist Marin Cilic will open with John Millman after Ernests Gulbis retired against Millman in round 1. Cilic should be the favorite for this tournament and I expect him to dominate Millman, and then Aljaz Bedene or Hyeon Chung to reach the semifinals in a very weak section. Bedene opens with Mikhail Youzhny, while Chung opens with Di Wu, another of the Chinese locals. None of those players except for Chung have been in good form but Youzhny has been horrible most of this season. Chung comes off of a challenger title and may be fatigued. With that said, I have him defeating Wu and Bedene before falling to Cilic. Cilic beat Chung in Washington this year in straight sets.
Metz quarterfinalist Guillermo Garcia-Lopez could go out in his first match against Denis Istomin, presuming the St. Petersburg quarterfinalist Istomin defeats a struggling Lukas Rosol in round 1. Istomin and GGL are both good shotmakers and I have Istomin notching a solid win before going up against the Mannarino/Pouille winner. First Mannarino or Pouille will need to be Yan Bai or qualifier Takuto Niki, both of whom are lowly ranked. I have Pouille over Istomin in a breakthrough showing to reach the semifinals and face Cilic.
The talented Pouille already made a run in Auckland this year and in a weak section, presuming he knocks off Mannarino, he should take advantage once more in an ATP 250 hard court event and reach the semifinals. He’s talented, though he’s disappointed at times, and this is a great chance for him to make a run.
Predictions
Semis Berdych d. Robredo
Cilic d. Pouille
Berdych should simply outplay Robredo on this surface, Cilic is by far the strongest player in the bottom section.
Final Cilic d. Berdych
Cilic is in better form than Berdych, and thus I have him taking the title in Shenzen.
ATP Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur
ATP World Tour 250
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
September 28-October 4, 2015
Prize Money: $937,835
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: David Ferrer (8)
2: Feliciano Lopez (17)
3: Ivo Karlovic (18)
4: Grigor Dimitrov (19)
The top 4 seeds are all top 20 players as KL has a strong field for a 250 event.
The young Zverev has lost two straight while Chardy is playing his first match since reaching the second week of the US Open. This is an interesting style contrast as Chardy hits with power on the forehand side while Zverev prefers to rally. On indoor hard Chardy should be a slight favorite, but Zverev is seeking an ATP breakthrough to get into the top 50 and it could come this Fall.
Joao Sousa vs. (Q)Michal Przysiezny
Sousa comes off the St. Petersburg final and the former champion could be fatigued for this one, Przysiezny is a former top 100 player who is 4-1 in his last five matches. Sousa will be favored but Przysiezny has an upset chance.
Almagro is 8-1 on the challenger tour level since the US Open, but he’s struggled at returning his game up to an ATP main draw caliber this season, not to mention he’s done better on clay than hard courts. Baghdatis, a fellow big hitting veteran, is just 1-3 since reaching the Atlanta final, and could use a win to help boost his form. This match could also go either way but I favor Baghdatis who seems to be more consistent.
Top Half:
David Ferrer should have a relatively free and clear path to the semifinals as the top seed. Ferrer is 38-10 this season and I’d expect him to ease past either Yuichi Sugita or Radek Stepanek in his first match, then beat Viktor Troicki in the quarterfinals, presuming Troicki defeats Radu Albot and the winner of Ramkumar Ramanathan/Mikhail Kukushkin. Kukushkin can find form in tournaments like this but he lost in the openig round of St. Petersburg. Troicki is 4-1 in the h2h against Kukushkin and beat him in the Sydney final this year. Ferrer is 3-1 against Troicki though he lost to him last year on hard courts in Shenzen. This 250 is a great chance for Ferrer to capture a title after an elbow injury limited him at the US Open.
Grigor Dimitrov is 26-17 on the year and has had his share of struggles, that said his indoor record historically is solid enough and he should have the edge over the Sousa/Przysiezny winner. Chardy/Zverev or Benjamin Becker (who dumped Sam Groth in round 1) could pose trouble in the quarterfinals, as Chardy/Becker are both relatively big servers and clean ballstrikers. Dimitrov is 2-1 against Chardy in the h2h and he should be motivated enough to try to finish the season strong with at least a semifinal showing in KL.
Bottom Half:
Feliciano Lopez was in fantastic form over his final two events of the North American hard court summer, the Cincy and US Open quarterfinalist opens his fall campaign against the winner of Mischa Zverev/Rajeev Ram. The elder Zverev is in good form and should defeat Ram, but the superior serve and volleyer Lopez (compared to Ram), should rech the quarterfinals. Almagro/Baghdatis is almost certain to play big server Vasek Pospisil in round 2, as Vasek opens with Yasutaka Uchiyama. Baghdatis could well beat Pospisil, but I have it Lopez over Pospisil in the quarterfinals.
Ivo Karlovic has served his way to a 31-19 record on the year and on this fast surface he should be lethal against Nikoloz Basilashvili or a struggling Aleksandr Nedovyesov. In the quarters he should face Nick Kyrgios, who has a Malaysian mother and is somewhat of a home player in this one. Kyrgios beat Santiago Giraldo with ease in the opening round and the talented young gun should be motivated and focused enough to reach the semifinals over Karlovic. He’ll face Tatsuma Ito or the retiring Jarkko Nieminen in round 2.
Becker is just 8-18 at the ATP main draw level this year, and the veteran has struggled to stay healthy, but he’s a big server with a solid forehand and he moves well indoors, along with being a crafty shotmaker at his best. He’s 2-1 in his last three matches and the seeds Chardy and Dimitrov in his section are beatable.
Predictions
Semis Ferrer d. Dimitrov
Lopez d. Kyrgios
Ferrer has lost indoors to Dimitrov but he leads the h2h otherwise and he’s had a far better season. Lopez is 1-0 in the h2h over Kyrgios, and he’s in better form, so he should serve his way to the final.
Final Lopez d. Ferrer
Lopez leads the hard court h2h 5-4 and his fantastic form at the US Open bodes well for him to win this title. Ferrer still should have some rust on his game.
Undersized Berankis and Sela Pull off Big 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open Victories (Thursday Recap) Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Two of the smallest players on the ATP World Tour, Ricardas Berankis and Dudi Sela pulled off big wins on Thursday at the 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open.
Berankis reached just his second ATP quarterfinal of the season with a surprisingly dominant upset of world #48 Steve Johnson 6-4 6-2 in just over an hour. The first set was cagey and close with two early breaks of serve but Johnson was the one who blinked in a crucial moment at the end of the first set, as he was broken to go down 5-4 and the tenacious Lithuanian ball striker followed that break up with a love hold to take the first set.
Berankis in action
There was a rain delay that last less than a half hour in between sets, and Johnson cmae out struggling in the second, as he promptly went down a double break and 4-0, and looked entirely rattled, firing errors off his forehand side and failing to do damage with his serve. By contrast Berankis was moving well, striking the ball with both speed and slice, and his serve was a tough customer as Johnson shanked a lot of returns. The American failed to recover from a slow restart and slumped to a 6-2 second set loss.
Defending finalist Dudi Sela of Israel reached his first ATP quarterfinal of 2015 as he scored a quality win over fellow veteran Benjamin Becker for the second year in a row in Atlanta. Played on the sunbaked grandstand Sela prevailed 7-5 6-3.
Sela
The match began with consistent and routine holds of serve by both players, Becker had the stronger serve and was untroubled through three games, while Sela did well with is one handed backhand and mixed in variety 3-3. At 3-4 Sela had to save a break point in what was a long and tough deuce game with the first set hanging in the balance. Becker simply lacked consistency on his groundstrokes and wasn’t rallying well on the day, as he failed to break, and broken in his own right at 5-5, eventually dropping the first set 7-5.
In the second Sela continued to battle away and keep the pressure on Becker, as the German’s level dropped considerably. Becker got broken for 2-1, had to save 5 break points from 0-40 down at 2-4, and then was broken one final time to drop the second set 6-3. His back didn’t seen to be bothering him, but Sela showed superior fight and had a more interesting game. In the final game of the match he approached the net on a netcord and hit a no look volley. The Israeli, who has a full team this with him this week, clearly enjoys playing in Atlanta as he stays alive in the quest to defend his final points from 2014.
Sela with fans in Atlanta
Two Americans also advanced in singles, John Isner edged out two tough tiebreaks against Radek Stepanek 7-6(3) 7-6(7) in two hours of play. The first set featured multiple rain drop interruptions as Stepanek couldn’t hold onto an early break. Stepanek had to save two break points at 5-5, and had a half chance at a break up 6-5 but he couldn’t convert and Isner played a more consistent and superior tiebreak.
Isner on serve
The Czech’s first serve was lacking, and he had more double faults than aces. Given Isner applies a lot of pressure on his opponents by holding serve nearly every time, Stepanek was consistently under the gun when he had to serve up so many second serves. Additionally Stepanek, who normally plays an aggressive brand of tennis and enjoys coming to net, was pushed back, and kept back to the baseline by Isner’s imposing size. Stepanek, who hasn’t played a lot of matches this year, didn’t seem comfortable in his rallying abilities side to side and thumped more groundstroke errors than you’d normally see from him. Forced back, and facing a serve that kicked and spun at or above his head on a constant basis, he appeared frustrated and searching for answers, answers that he never found as he was clearly out of sorts.
Stepanek vs Isner as fans watch on
Stepanek, as in the first set, went up an early break in the second and was 4-2 up, with two chances at a 5-2 double break lead, however Isner beared down and with the fans behind him kept fighting in the set. He broke on his third break point chance in the game for 4-4, then with the momentum swinging in his favor forced Stepanek to save two match points serving 4-5.
Going into the tiebreak it seemed likely Stepanek’s inconsistent serve would let him down, and that it did as the only minibreak went to Isner, and he went on to serve out the tiebreak 9-7, his match win boosted by 33 aces. The twice defending champion remains not only a fan favorite, but a top talent in this tournament, and a difficult opponent to get past.
#3 seed Jack sock proved to not be a difficult opponent to get past for his countryman Denis Kudla. Kudla may well be in the best form of his career as he upset Sock 7-6(6) 6-3. The match began with the players trading breaks, and they would do that handoff once more as it went to 5-5. From there Kudla had to save three break points to prevent Sock from being able to serve from the set, and then it went to a tiebreak. The baseline battler Kudla was hitting the ball with flat pace, while Sock appeared rushed for time on his returns, and his forehand especially was posting uncharacteristic errors and shanks.
Sock vs. Kudla
Both players had weak serves and the tiebreak was all about rallying and return, Kudla had to save a set point, but he did so comfortably and took a lead over Sock he wouldn’t relinquish.
In the second Kudla went up an early break, and held easily to 4-3. Sock had two break point chances to dig himself back into the match there but oncemore he couldn’t convert, and with the unforced errors piling up Sock lost his fighting spirit and collapse out of the tournament in straight sets. For such a rising young talent, Sock has to be aiming for more in the rest of the Emirates US Open Series tournaments.
In doubles Fleming/Muller beat Baghdatis/Jaziri 7-6(8) 6-2, as Muller continues his winning ways. Additionally the Bryan brothers had a surprisingly tough 7-6(5) 7-6(4) win over Huey/Johnson. The Bryans started off on fire and clicking, 5-1 up, but Huey/Johnson fought their way back and had a legitimate chance at a shocking upset, however the chemistry and consistency of the brothers resulted in them winning the pair of tiebreaks.
Baghdatis-Pospisil Marquee Friday Match
Baghdatis
Four singles quarterfinals, and two doubles matches will take place on Friday. In doubles Eubanks/Young will face Krajicek/Monroe, and Fish/Roddick will look to continue their winning partnership over Butorac/Sitak.
The four singles quarterfinal matches are headlined by the first ever meeting between former top 15 veteran Marcos Baghdatis, and the tenacious Vasek Pospisil, who survived cramps to get this far. Pospisil is a battler with a big serve, and Baghdatis has been in excellent form this tournament, upsetting the big serving Sam Groth in the previous round.
Additionally the big serving Gilles Muller will look to move to 5-0 against defensive baseliner Go Soeda in a match that should be a style clash. Kudla will face the undersized Sela in a match that should feature variety ball striking, and Berankis will try to topple John Isner after a three set loss against him in Houston 2013.
Americans Kudla, Johnson, and Donaldson Reach 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open Round 2 (Tuesday Recap) Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Kudla advances over Harrison
Tuesday at the 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open saw three American men book their spots into round 2, while four more in total were sent packing on a day in which all but one singles match featured at least one American player.
Denis Kudla narrowly survived Ryan Harrison 3-6 6-4 7-6(5), but all the same he continues his good form from Wimbledon and appeared happy to get the win coming from behind. Harrison got off to a strong start in the first set and was winning the baseline rallies with pace going 5-1 up before Kudla could start playing himself into the match.
Kudla started steadily improving as both players, but especially Kudla, who at times was rolling in 70 mph second serves, were leaving points to be won on rallies. The American rivals slapped the ball back and forth on the baseline, with Harrison mixing in the occasional 130+ mph plus serve when he could. Harrison was a fantastic counterpuncher on his best points of the match, lulling Kudla to sleep with his defensive slice and then delivering a stunning accelerating winner, but unfortunately he couldn’t maintain that level and had issues with his shot selection.
Given the difficult conditions it seemed both players were content to let their rival hold serve if they didn’t win the opening point of the service game as a returner. A pair of breaks in set 2 saw it go to 5-4 Kudla, and then Harrison was promptly broken under pressure to be forced into a third set 6-3 4-6.
The third set remained competitive and close, and though it went by quickly, Kudla had to save a break point and Harrison had to save two, as Kudla had a point to go 5-3 up in the third and serve for the match, but was quite unclutch in that moment. Eventually the match ground itself to a third set tiebreak and it was Kudla who was slightly steadier from the ground who won it.
Harrison’s footwork tended to be lacking and he slapped an easy forehand into the net on a crucial point as Kudla needed just 1 match point to close things out. All in both both players showed a relative lack of inventive shotmaking, and Harrison with his footwork troubles demonstrated why his ranking has slipped from where it used to be.
Steve Johnson played a sloppy second set tiebreak, but otherwise had the better of Lukas Lacko as he advanced 6-1 6-7(3) 6-2 in close to 2 hours. Johnson, who was effective with his serve, dominated a slow starting Lacko in the first set, going up 5-0 with minimal effort required before Lukas even woke up from his slumber. The talented but underachieving Lacko did wake up though, holding it together in set 2 after saving four break point chances at 2-2, and one more at 3-3 to eventually force a second set tiebreak. Johnson was tight and tense in that tiebreak, and Lacko forced a third set 7-3, after the tiebreak went to 3-3 even, the Slovak railed off four straight points.
Johnson serving against Lacko
Lacko, who hit some nice forehand winners, showed the ability to hit through and past Johnson, but Johnson was simply more consistent from both wings, as Lacko would hit a nice winner followed by multiple errors. The wheels really came off for Lacko at 2-3 in the third set, and he failed to win another game (though he had one more break point), as Johnson escaped what could have been a longer and more competitive battle.
Though pushed to three sets Kudla and Johnson both survived and advanced and appear to be in solid shape going into the next round.
This can also be said of Jared Donaldson, as the American teen moved his win streak to four matches in a row with a main draw win over Somdev Devvarman 6-1 3-6 6-4. Donaldson played incredible tennis in the first set against the steady but relatively weaponless Devvarman. The wheels came off for the Taylor Dent coached Californian in set 2, and he was dealing with cramping in the hot conditions, but in the end the fans seemed to pull him through. In the third set after a bunch of routine holds Donaldson had two match points from 15-40, Devvarman got lucky and saved one of them in incredible fashion with a defense to offense running forehand winner, but Donaldson won the next point, and earned a big win for his new career.
The composure that Donaldson showed in an ATP main draw match was not demonstrated by his fellow American teenager Frances Tiafoe, to the chagrin of Tiafoe’s many fans at Atlantic Station. Tiafoe fell to Sam Groth 7-6(3) 6-4 in a little under an hour and a half. As is to be expected Groth’s massive serve was present from the beginning of the match, and since it never left him, Tiafoe found himself frustrated and neutralized when returning. The D.C. area resident was solid on his own serve as Groth lacked much of a ground stroke game and moved poorly, but when it came down to crunch time Groth saved the only break point he faced serving 5-5 in the first set, and then slipped through the tiebreak.
Groth rocketed first serves past a stunned Tiafoe, while he used kick on his second serve to either finish points at the net, or force Tiafoe to concede an ace or reply with an error of a return. The 17 year old’s body language was awful, especially after losing the first set, he was slumping and moping about, and it was visible to everyone that his inability to mount any sort of a return game had infected his mind with doubts.
Tiafoe checked out in the second as he quickly went down 7-6 2-0 to Groth. He did avoid the double break and stayed in touch with Groth the rest of the match, but Groth appeared content to just hold serve like a silent assassin while Tiafoe, with his lost focus, slammed his racquet late in the second, and before you knew it it was Groth who was into round 2.
Groth vs. Tiafoe
Tiafoe showed promise with his abilities but he still has a lot to learn and improve upon in coming years, hopefully the challenger tour will help mold his game, including self-belief, and the mentality side of the pro game. His shot selection, with questionable drop shots, and his ability to pass a net-rusher like Groth also came accross as holes in his game.
Veterans Baghdatis, Sela Earn Wins
The match performance of the day goes to Marcos Baghdatis, the Cypriot veteran was given a noon time match, and it was clear he had little interest in staying on court for an extended period of time. Baghdatis comfortably went about his business dispatching qualifier Austin Krajicek 6-4 6-0. Krajicek simply lacked the weaponry to deal with a creative and aggressive shotmaker in Baghdatis. Marcos broke in the opening game with crafty play, and then held serve through the first set without facing a break point, even though he missed a chance to go up two breaks.
In the second Krajicek was broken in the opening game again, but had two break points to even things back up, he failed to do so, and from there it was routine one-way traffic for Baggy who had some great angles on his forehand and also played some quality drop shots.
Krajicek was forced to hit weak slices well behind the baseline as Baghdatis appears to be in great form for his next match. It’s also worth noting he appears to be fit, after previously lacking fitness in recent years, and he seems serious about playing tennis these days.
Baghdatis was in good spirits
Joining Baghdatis in round 2 is fellow veteran Benjamin Becker, Becker won the first set over Michael Berrer and then Berrer, who had spent the week in Bogota the week prior, retired 7-5 down. It appears that Becker is past the back injuries that were ailing him in recent weeks.
Last but certainly not least in Tuesday singles, Dudi Sela and Mardy Fish played the night session singles match, a match that would prove to be Fish’s final singles match in Atlanta as he lost 6-4 6-4. The defending finalist Sela was shaky at times in what was a sloppy error-strewn match from both players, but at the end of the day Fish, who hadn’t played an ATP match since March, was the rusty one.
Fish vs. Sela
The fan-favorite Fish found himself broken to go down 3-1 at the start, he broke back for 4-4, but then got broken once more as Sela held on to take the first 6-4. Very few rallies went longer than five shots as it was a serve+ short rally type of match with break points peppered throughout, as neither player featured a particularly strong serve, Fish simply rusty with his first serves, and Sela lacking weaponry.
Sela saved four break points in the second set in clutch fashion, while Fish saved two before again being broken late for 5-4 and then surrendering the match as he couldn’t break Sela in his final service game. Both players got ovations from the crowd post match, while Sela mused he wasn’t a big fan of the court conditions. It’s also worth noting Fish showed spark, even on his farewell tour, as he had a rather lengthy argument with the chair umpire during the second set.
Fish exchanged words with the chair
Pospisil/Sock Shocked in Doubles
In doubles, surprising results were the norm, the #4 seeds Pavic/Venus fell to Atlanta’s Young/Eubanks 6-2 3-6 10-5, Mannarino/Ebden were run out of the building by Butorac/Sitak 6-2 6-0, and the defending champion team of Pospisil/Sock were stunned by Fleming/Muller 6-4 4-6 10-6 as the draw opens up for that interesting pairing.
Pospisil to Feature on Wednesday in Singles, Big Servers Groth, Muller Return to Court
Matches on Wednesday include Vasek Pospisil against Rendy Lu in their first head to head meeting, Baghdatis against Groth in a battle of baseline attack against serve and volley, Ricardas Berankis and Tim Smyczek in a first round match, Chris Eubanks against Radek Stepanek in the other remaining round 1 match, Go Soeda, who appears to be rounding into form, against Adrian Mannarino, who may struggle in these conditions, and an in-form Gilles Muller against Jared Donaldson who may lack the ability to recover after four matches in four days this week.
A whole host of doubles matches will also take place as the first round gets going in earnest with the doubles draw as well.
2015 ATP Atlanta (@BBTAtlantaOpen) Preview and Prediction Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Tennis Atlantic is pleased to have live coverage all week from the BB&T Atlanta Open, the first stop on the Emirates Airlines US Open Series, and an ATP 250 hard court event located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia at the live/work/play community of Atlantic Station. This American heavy field features young guns, and a variety of accomplished veterans all looking for an ATP title, ranking points, and prize money. Here is a preview
2015 BB&T Atlanta Open Preview
BB&T Atlanta Open
ATP World Tour 250
Atlanta, GA, USA
July 27-August 2, 2015
Prize Money: $585,870
Top 4 seeds (who all recieve first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: John Isner (19)
2: Vasek Pospisil (29)
3: Adrian Mannarino (27)
4: Jack Sock (35)
One top 20 player in what should be a rather wide open week with a lot of hard court specialists in the draw.
Mardy Fish has officially announced he will retire at the 2015 US Open after a lengthy absence from the ATP tour due to both a heart condition and anxiety disorder. Atlanta is the first tournament on his summer goodbye to American fans on US soil, and his first match in Atlanta, where he won the first two titles (2010 and 2011) will come against defending finalist Dudi Sela, a fellow veteran.
Fish played an exciting and long three setter in Indian Wells, losing to Ryan Harrison in a third set tiebreak, but otherwise hasn’t played an ATP singles match since 2013. Sela qualified for ATP Nottingham and won a challenger some time ago, but otherwise has been playing a light schedule, and may be rusty. Both players are comfortable here, and Fish will certainly have a shot to get out of the first round if Sela comes into this match unprepared.
(8)Benjamin Becker vs. Michael Berrer
Two Germans will battle, and both are well past 30 and nearing the end of their careers. Becker, 34, has a 2-1 h2h edge over his 35 year old rival though he’s in poor form since injuring his back at Roland Garros (where he reached the third round). Besides third round results at the AO and French, Becker has had a rough season, as his powerful serve and forehand baseline game may well be declining with age after having a great 2014, which included a semifinal in Atlanta.
Berrer is retiring at the end of the year but has had a great send off season. The German is 33-16 in tournament matches and comes off the semifinals in Bogota where he played great serve and volley tennis. He also upset Rafael Nadal in Doha this year, the win of his life, and appears to be playing with joy and passion in his final season. Berrer should be the favorite, pending Becker’s health, but he had to put in effort in Bogota and given the altitude difference and condition changes, he may be dealing with fatigue.
(7)Gilles Muller vs. Donald Young
Former Atlanta finalist Gilles Muller will face Atlanta native Donald Young in what should prove to be an interesting Monday evening match. Muller has had a solid season at 32 years of age. The big serving veteran has two ATP semis (Sydney and Den Bosch) along with four ATP quarterfinals on his resume this year, and has proven himself across the surfaces, though his serve and volley game excels on quick ones. This is his first tournament since Wimbledon, but he seems to enjoy Atlanta and I expect his form to be good entering the tournament.
Young is in poor form as he returns home, the European portion of the season was tough on his spirits and he hasn’t won an ATP main draw match since Indian Wells. The talent has always been there for DY, but I’m not sure playing at home particularly improves his game, and thus Muller is a strong favorite to advance into round 2.
Sam Groth vs. (WC)Frances Tiafoe
Formerly top junior, and now an ATP young gun on future star watch, Frances Tiafoe gets a deserved wild card on US soil for a hard court tournament. Tiafoe turned pro in the spring at 17 and promptly went on to earn the USTA French Open Wild card. Since his stint on clay he hasn’t played a ton of matches and his form hasn’t been great, but he should be pumped up and have his game face on for a match against big serving ATP regular Sam Groth.
Groth has risen into the top 70 and has had a fantastic ATP season, he has helped Australia reach the Davis Cup semis, has two ATP quarterfinals on his record, and also a solid challenger tour record with a couple of titles. His serve is massive and he’s improved other parts of his game as he’s still a serve and volleyer by style. Tiafoe has a lot of talent and has a bright future ahead, but Groth’s rocket of a serve should dent his hopes of winning this match, as the more experienced Aussie is likely to get through.
Tiafoe prepping for Atlanta weather early
Top Half:
2x defending champion John Isner gets a bye, and he’ll face the winner of Christopher Eubanks/Radek Stepanek in round 2. Eubanks is a star on the Georgia Tech tennis team and gets a wild card for his local ATP event. He’s a big player size wise and may well have an ATP future ahead of him while Stepanek comes off the quarterfinals in Bogota (and doubles final) but has struggled since returning from injury this year. The Czech veteran plays an effective serve and volley style, and he likely gets past Eubanks, but Isner should prove to be too much for him in the next round. He had a decent grass court season (quarterfinal at Queens and Wimbledon third round) and always enjoys coming back to the US to play on hard courts. He’s had some bad losses this year but he’s still a top 20 player.
An All-American quarterfinal is likely for Isner, as #6 seed Steve Johnson is in a section that slates him to face Lukas Lacko round 1, and Ricardas Berankis/Tim Smyczek round 2 Johnson beat Lacko at Wimbledon as the Slovak is in poor form, and Stevie J is clearly happy to be back on North American hard courts, his best surface where he has posted three ATP quarterfinals already this season. Smyczek who had a good start to the year has been in awful form as of late and will be looking to improve his play here, Berankis comes off of a challenger final, and may be fatigued, thus this section plays into Johnson’s racquet.
Stevie J on the move
#3 seed Jack Sock gets a bye and will face Ryan Harrison or a qualifier in round 2, Sock with his big forehand captured the ATP title in Houston this year and also comes off the semis in Newport. He’s excelled since returning from hip surgery this season and will have a solid chance to repeat his run to the semifinals. Harrison has been stuck in the challenger trap most of this season though he had a rare run of form to the semis in Acapulco back in the spring. He recently reached a challenger semifinal in Winnetka, but Sock will be a clear favorite against the former young gun American, as their careers have diverged in recent years.
Sela/Fish and Berrer/Becker is the section below Sock, Berrer is likely a slight favorite unless fatigue gets him down, Becker’s health remains a question, and Sela/Fish will have rust, but Fish with his talent level could actually reach the quarters. Regardless Sock is a strong favorite to reach the semis out of his section, as his abilities far outweight any of the alternatives.
Wimbledon quarterfinalist Vasek Pospisil is playing his first tournament since his shocking run there, as the Canadian with his big serve and aggressive game hasn’t had a particularly strong season, but Wimbledon was a revitalization for his career, and we may be seeing Vasek 2.0 in Atlanta, The Canadian will open with the Malek Jaziri/Rendy Lu winner as those two streaky baseliners will battle. Jaziri reached the quarters in Bogota while Lu reached the quarters in Nottingham for his best result as of late. Lu will likely deal better with the hot, difficult conditions, and if he catches form he could also trouble Pospisil, though Vasek is the favorite.
Groth/Tiafoe, likely Groth, will face Marcos Baghdatis or a qualifier in round 2. The 30 year old Baghdatis has been fighting hard to stay in shape and build up his game back to what was top 15 level tennis with his quick strike offensive baselining. That said, he struggled in a loss in Bogota to an unknown Colombia and hasn’t posted good results on hard courts as of late, though he greatly enjoyed the short grass court season. Baghdatis could struggle in these conditions and don’t count a qualifier out, I have Groth upsetting him in round 2 with his steady serve to fill another quarterfinal sport.
Bogota finalist Adrian Mannarino is in terrific form (19-8 on hard courts in 2015), and hasn’t lost an opening round match since London Queens, that said the Bogota matches likely wore him down with his finesse game and he’s extremely vulnerable to an upset by Go Soeda, a defensive Japanese baseliner, or more likely the talented shotmaker and speedy magician Alexandr Dolgopolov. Soeda isn’t in great form, while Dolgopolov has two quarterfinals, and one ATP semifinal this year, as he continues to demonstrate his streaky talent. A fresh Mannarino could well take this title, but on paper Dolgopolov has the advantage, pending his fitness and acclimation to the sport at its top levels. His ranking of 76 severely undersells his ability to play top 20 tennis at its peak.
Muller/Young or a qualifier will await Dolgopolov/Mannarino in the quarters, Muller have a great shot at reaching the semis as either opponent looks beatable and Dolgo is vulnerable to big servers who can match his aggression.
Predictions
Quarters:
Isner d. Johnson
Sock d. Berrer
Muller d. Dolgopolov
Pospisil d. Groth
Isner is 3-1 against Johnson and all of their meetings have come since 2014, both have been in only somewhat decent form but Isner in Atlanta tends to rise up to some of his best tennis, and thus I have him through
A fresher Sock should advantage over a tired Berrer, and Muller likely has an edge consistency wise with his serve against Dolgopolov, who can lose momentum quickly. Overall it’s an open field but experienced and steady seeds will have the advantage to go deep into the week.
Isner beat Sock in Atlanta last year and has a 4-1 overall h2h edge, both have talent, and Sock is likely the future American #1, but h2h Isner’s huge serve and consistent blows seem to bother Sock and throw him off his game.
Muller is 2-0 against Pospisil in the h2h and won a great match against him this year on grass in Den Bosch, it went to a third set tiebreak, but Muller held his nerve, and given his previous Atlanta results I have a feeling he will do the same to setup an all big serving final.
If this is the final we get, there is some h2h history as Isner beat Muller Twice in Atlanta, both times in three sets, and one more time in Memphis before Muller beat Isner this year at the AO (3-1 h2h). Atlanta tends to favor big servers, and tall players normally feature in the final, thus former champ and defending champ Isner, and former finalist Muller are realistic picks. Isner simply loves Atlanta and always finds the energy to do well during the key summer hard court season, with that in mind I’m going with him to win his third tournament in a row in Atlanta.
Tomic Back in the Groove, Coric Shelled Tuesday at ATP Stuttgart 2015 Andreas Thiele for Tennis Atlantic
Tomic back in the groove (photo credit: Andreas Thiele)
It was the fourth day of this year’s ATP Stuttgart tournament and it was the coldest and windiest day yet. It’s always the worst what can happen here in Germany in terms of weather, with dark clouds, strong winds, and no rain: A winter day during summer. Many players had problems today, especially muscular problems. We witnessed the first retirement in a main draw match and many tennis players moving poorly. Conditions were a challenge today, but matches were completed in full.
Difficult wind created the highest amount of unforced errors per match today, yet very beautiful winners which were powered by the wind. Even in the press centre it was quite cold. In the cold, fans gathered around Rafael Nadal, Gael Monfils and Dustin Brown seeking an interaction with their favorites. Nadal had to call the security team to get through the crowds, when he played doubles with Feliciano Lopez.
Main Draw Round 1
The schedule looked promising on Tuesday, especially for the German crowd. as German was featured in 8 out of 11 matches. Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki led off the day.
Borna Coric’s father was quite optimistic this could be the day he wins his first match on grass, before the match began. With Croatian journalists in the stands Borna just absolutely disappointed his countrymen and couldn’t end his negative run of four losses in a row on grass (0-4 career record). His first service game looked promising, though he had problems holding it. He still doesn’t know how to move on grass and gets too passive during rallies. Troicki was the way more aggressive player and hit some great winners, but some funny unforced errors. While the beginning of the first set was competitive, Borna lost his second serve with a fight, it seemed he wasn’t up for the match entirely. The second serve game he lost was on him and Troicki didn’t even have to play well.
The second set was just pathetic, Coric only won nine points out of 36 and just won a lone return point during the whole set. I stopped watching it after the first break which was very hard-fought (three times deuce) and Troicki won it a few minutes later. Troicki’s forehand didn’t look that bad at all, in contrary to Coric’s which can’t be even called a weapon. Given he’s a young gun, Coric will have the time to develop his game on grass, but in the present day Troicki rolled 6-2 6-0 in a blowout.
Jan-Lennard Struff struggled on the day, though he offered some great forehand-shots and even nicer volleys. Bernard Tomic was out of his league, he offered up great variation in his serve and delivered what he needed, to win, throwing in some great winners. The first set was very one-sided, Tomic won the very first game which was a break to love and broke him at the end of the first set again. However, like is often the case with his matches. Bernie wasn’t consistent enough to close out the match routinely, leading a set and a break ahead.
Struff started to hit one good return after another, and dictate the rallies – He almost always won the point at the net and almost always lost the points on longer rallies, as he hit many forehand unforced errors under pressure. After Tomic broke his serve with a fantastic forehand down-the-line winner, he immediately was broken bakc after serving two double faults and committing a very easy backhand ue after a poor return. The set built up its tension because of the fact both served very well till the second set breaker, when the Borussia Dortmund-fan suddenly led 3-0. Two long forehands later, and Tomic took a decisive advantage, eventually closing out the breaker 7-5 for a 6-3 7-6 victory. Tomic’s game looked quite sharp today, although there was room for improvement. Bernie has to face now another German he lost to in Halle three years ago, Tommy Haas.
Another German moving on here is Mischa Zverev who’s showing great grass tennis as a veteran. The underrated grass specialist had many problems at the beginning against Dominic Thiem and lost even his serve, but he managed to catch himself and rebroke, converting his first break point of the match. As the match progressed, both started to serve better and the breaker had to decide the set. After three consecutive mini-breaks Zverev held his serve to get set point and Thiem failed to save another set point, as he didn’t serve well under pressure. Zverev looked fresher, though he played every day in the last three days, and could break him again. Thiem broke himself with a lot of unnecessary errors. The German served well in set 2, broke Thiem again returning and moving very well to hit one forehand after another in his last service game to close the match 7-6 6-2.
Marcos Baghdatis vs. Lukas Rosol looked like a great match on paper, but Rosol played poorly on the outer court. Baghdatis lost the first game and his serve, but Rosol couldn’t maintain the advantage and ended up losing the first set with a double break. Rosol moved poorly and showed signs of rust. He didn’t have the fortune to trust in his first serve, it was either too long or into the net in big moments and Baghdatis even started to return well when given the chance. The veteran Baghdatis had very good and strong groundstrokes, made Rosol run, and in this way the Cypriot hit many winners. His form looked excellent, throwback in a way and could have some great results in the next week overall like today where he won 6-3 6-4. Depending on Rafael Nadal’s form on the day he could come even through in their match.
Baghdatis was smooth in Stuttgart (photo credit: Andreas Thiele)
Benjamin Becker came back to Germany in good form after some wins at Roland Garros, and was excited to start the grass court season, his best surface, but unfortunately the shoulder-problem he had in Paris discomforted him again and he was in pain. Therefore he slumped in defeat against Andreas Seppi. After the first set he asked for a medical timeout and it went better afterwards. He held twice his serve, and he had signs of a comeback, but after Seppi served again his should flaired up once more. The German let the match slide and wants to focus now on getting completely recovered again. Wish you all the best, Benjamin, and a speedy recovery! Seppi defeated injured Becker 6-1, 6-2.
Similar to Becker Sergiy Stakhovsky had medical problems against Sam Groth. The first set Stakhovsky won with a classic grass court serve and volley game, often chipping and charging with brilliant volley winners. Groth, famous for his fastest serve ever recorded at a Challenger in South Korea, served again very well, but was too slow to reach Stakhovsky’s volleys. Especially the second serves were attacked by Stako, till the Australian let off steam and yelled
“he always gets my 2nd serve” after 0-30, *3-5 in the first set. Bit by bit Stakhovsky started to play more passively and gave Groth some opportunities at the net that he could approach.
Groth and Stakhovsky volleyed away (photo credit: Andreas Thiele)
Nothing changed in the second set and Stakhovsky’s serve lessened in effectiveness, he had to save seven break points in the second set alone, as Groth wasn’t always attentive at his chances. On the eight break point chance in set 2, a set point as well, Groth finally won it. Stako lost his serve at the beginning of the third set, and then retired 5-3 down in the third. At the end his serves were a shadow of the his serving in the 1st set, so Groth won it 4-6, 7-5, 5-3. Wish you a speedy recovery as well, Stako!
Matthias Bachinger again displayed great tennis against Peter Gojowczyk. Gojo dictated with his forehand in very good rallies and the Bavarian Bachinger ran left and right to get the balls. Both were serve-and-volleying very well and little things decided this match. One of these things was Bachinger’s fighting spirit, and his poison slices which were a hazard for Gojowczyk. He committed unforced errors and many forehands landed at the net after Bachinger’s slices.
Bachinger was very clutch on important points and didn’t give up any game. Gojowczyk was leading in his last service game in before a theoretical breaker 40-0, but many forehand unforced errors and an incredible forehand smash into the net after a long slice-rally and a well played lob gave Bachinger a break. The Bavarian served the match out, just like in the first set he did after winning the break and will face #2 seed Marin Cilic. Bachingers win was 7-5 7-5.
Alexander Zverev was the better player against Mate Pavic and deservedly won after losing the first set 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. It was a bad start at the beginning facing a break point, and he eventually got broken and lost the first set. In the second set the young German improved his serve on break points, and his forehand was very sharp against Pavic, who likes to attack at the net with his backhand volley. Zverev was aware of that and could read his serve-and-volleys, as he stood meters behind the baseline and didn’t give Pavic many free points.. All in all Zverev played with a very good strategy and kept his head cool, against a nervous Pavic. He finally won the match with a very strong forehand triggering a Pavic error.
Both Zverev brothers advanced on the day (photo credit: Andreas Thiele)
The old German master Tommy Haas returned finally to the tour! His win over Mikhail Kukushkin was a graet match, based on good serve and offensive forehands. Kukushkin didn’t have any clue how to react and it says a lot about his tennis on grass when he gets dominated by the rusty Haas. In the second set Haas lost his rhythm and started to gift Kukushkin games he never would have been able to win. Giving that Kukushkin at the end couldn’t hold the break and Haas was able to raise his level again to finished it in two 6-4 7-5.
The last German who played today, Dustin Brown lost in three to Jerzy Janowicz. Both were rock solid on serve, and Brown lost some points due to easy unforced errors he hit. The first set went quickly as Dreddy took it in a tiebreak but Janowicz was able to break him in the second and third sets, while Brown wasn’t able to convert break points. Janowicz completed the comeback 6-7 6-4 6-3. It was still a successful tournament for Brown as he qualified for an ATP event for the first time since Munich.
Janowicz vs. Brown was a quick match (photo credit: Andreas Thiele)
In the other singles match on the day, Andreas Haider-Maurer dashed the hopes of young German wild card Max Marterer 7-6 6-3.
Tuesday Doubles Scores
Lopez/Nadal d. Junaid/Shamasdin 7-6 6-2
Cabal/Farah d. Rosol/Thiem 7-6 7-6
Matkowski/Zimonjic d. Monfils/Simon 6-3 6-4
Tennis Atlantic 