By a score of 6-4 6-4 Mischa Zverev, a 30 year old tour veteran and for many years an ATP Challenger Tour journeyman, stepped up and captured his first ATP title, defeating Lukas Lacko in the final. Zverev, contesting a third career final, edged Lacko after previously dropping just a set this week. In his opening match he needed 3 sets to defeat Nicolas Jarry but things got easier from there as his serve and volley game led him past Steve Johnson, Denis Shapovalov, and Mikhail Kukushkin to reach the final.
Lacko, normally a challenger player, found form at the ATP level to defeat Roberto Quiroz, Diego Schwartzman, Cam Norrie, and Marco Cecchinato, dropping just a set to Schwartzman prior to the final. Despite their success at this 250 level tournament, it would be surprise if Zverev or Lacko featured in a major way at Wimbledon.
British pairing Bambridge/O’Mara defeated the Skupski brothers in the doubles final.
#2 seed Damir Dzumhur won his third career ATP title, defeating Adrian Mannarino 6-1 1-6 6-1 in an hour and a half final on grass courts in Turkey. The 250 level title continues to confirm Dzumhur’s rise on tour as the Bosnian slipped past Marius Copil then eased past Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Jiri Vesely to reach the final.
Mannarino having never won an ATP title, was hungry but came up just short. The quirky Frenchman defeated Ricardas Berankis, Joao Sousa, and Gael Monfils, upsetting Monfils in three sets to reach the final.
Demoliner/Gonzalez defeated Dutch pairing Arends/Middelkoop in the doubles final.
Grigor Dimitrov, and French Stars Lucas Pouille and Richard Gasquet Lead Weakened Field at ATP Dubai Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The 2018 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships are a 500 level stop in Dubai on outdoor hard courts. Normally an event on the elite side of the 500 level, the field is relatively weak this year, opening up opportunities for ranking points and prize money for players outside of the top 10. Here is your full preview, with predictions.
Top Half:
Top seed Grigor Dimitrov has put together a solid season thus far. He should defeat local favorite Malek Jaziri, and either Robin Haase or Quentin Halys to reach the quarters. Philipp Kohlschreiber has an advantage to reach the quarters in his section. Kohli hasn’t had a great 2018, but Gleb Sakharov is his first opponent, then Mikhail Kukushkin or Stefanos Tsitsipas, both of whom are struggling. Kohli over the young Greek is my pick, with Dimitrov reaching the semis.
Roberto Bautista Agut is looking to get back on track against Florian Mayer first up, with Joao Sousa or Pierre-Hugues Herbert to follow. RBA should be good enough to reach the quarters. The section featuring Richard Gasquet vs. Borna Coric and Benoit Paire vs. Yoshihito Nishioka is the strongest of the draw. Paire and Gasquet have both been solid this year, and Coric has potential. I’ll go with Gasquet over Paire in round 2, with Gasquet knocking off RBA in the quarters.
Ernests Gulbis has qualified for two ATP tournaments this year. He’ll open with Marseille finalist Lucas Pouille. Given the fatigue factor, I’ll go with Gulbis to upset Pouille and also defeat Karen Khachanov, who is coming off a big title in Marseille. Khachanov opens with Denis Istomin. Yuichi Sugita or J.L. Struff should benefit big time in this section. Sugita opens with an in-form Ilya Ivashka, who reached his first ever ATP semi in Marseille. Struff faces a struggling Andreas Haider-Maurer. I’ll back Struff over Sugita and Gulbis in consecutive matches to reach the semis.
Yannick Maden is moving his way up the ATP rankings but Marseille quarterfinalist Damir Dzumhur should defeat him in the opening round. Evgeny Donskoy reached quarters in Delray Beach and should defeat Blaz Kavcic. I’ll back Dzumhur to reach the quarters from that section.
Filip Krajinovic faces Thomas Fabbiano, then Marcos Baghdatis or Viktor Troicki. The younger Serbian should get past Fabbiano and Baghdatis, then fall to Dzumhur in the quarters.
Predictions
Semis Dimitrov d. Gasquet
Dzumhur d. Struff
This should be Dimitrov’s week. Gasquet has a shot as well. The bottom half is relatively open, but I’ll back Dzumhur to get to the final before falling to Grisha.
Goffin, Dimitrov, and French Stars Finish the 2017 ATP Season Strong Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Goffin Makes a Big Run
Despite falling short in the Davis Cup final as a team, David Goffin had a great finish to 2017, as he won titles in Shenzhen and Tokyo, reached the semifinals in Basel, and then the final in the ATP World Tour Finals in London. After the US Open he scored wins over Richard Gasquet, Adrian Mannarino, Jack Sock, Dominic Thiem, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. In the Davis Cup final he defeated Lucas Pouille and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga but it still wasn’t enough.
France Captures Davis Cup
France finally won the Davis Cup, after losing a multitude of finals Tsonga and Pouille defeated Steve Darcis twice, and Gasquet and Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeated Ruben Bemelmans and Joris De Loore in what turned out to be the critical doubles rubber. Pouille defeated his teammate Tsonga in the Vienna 500 final, while Tsonga won Antwerp.
Breakthrough for Sock
Jack Sock won the biggest title of his career at the Paris Masters, he won over a weakened field with wins over Kyle Edmund, Pouille, Fernando Verdasco, Julien Benneteau, and Filip Krajinovic. He qualified for the World Tour Finals by virtue of that victory and reached the semifinals after going 2-1 with wins over Alexander Zverev and Marin Cilic.
Dimitrov and Del Potro Looking Strong Heading Into 2018
Grigor Dimitrov finished the year with 49 wins and 4 titles as he reached the final in Stockholm, and the final at the World Tour Finals in London, beating Pablo Carreno Busta, Goffin twice, Dominic Thiem, and Sock.
Juan Martin Del Potro reached the semis in Shanghai, the final in Basel, took a title in Stockholm, and finished the year with a quarterfinal in Paris.
Nadal and Federer Finish 1-2
Damir Dzumhur has 2 ATP titles to end the year as he won in both St. Petersburg and Moscow, while Hyeon Chung won the Next-Gen finals over Andrey Rublev. Nadal won Beijing and lost the final in Shanghai, shutting down his season at the World Tour Finals due to injury concerns but still finishing year end world #1. Federer won Shanghai and Basel to finish year end #2.
Maiden ATP Titles for Gojowczyk and Dzumhur in Metz and St. Petersburg Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
ATP Metz
Qualifier Peter Gojowczyk came back from a set down in his opening match, and went on to win his maiden ATP title 7-5 6-2 over home favorite Benoit Paire in Metz. Gojowczyk beat Norbert Gombos, Gilles Simon, Marius Copil, and Mischa Zverev to reach the final, showcasing career best form. Paire beat Stefanos Tsitsipas, Marcel Granollers, David Goffin, and Nikoloz Basilashvili to reach the final, it was his first final since 2015. Frenchmen Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin defeated Koolhof/Sitak in the doubles final.
ATP St. Petersburg
Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur has been rapidly rising up the ATP rankings this season, and in his second ATP final of the season, he came away a victor over Fabio Fognini 3-6 6-4 6-2 to claim his maiden ATP title. Dzumhur dropped a set against Liam Broady in St. Petersburg, but eased past Paolo Lorenzi, Marcos Baghdatis, and Jan-Lennard Struff. Dzumhur is an undersized ball striker who seems to be getting closer to maximizing his potential.
Fognini reached his second final of the season by defeating Mikhail Youzhny, Ricardas Berankis, and Roberto Bautista Agut, two of those wins coming in three sets. Jebavy and Middelkoop won the doubles title over Peralta/Zeballos.
Bautista Agut Takes Second ATP Title of the Season in Winston-Salem Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut took his second title of 2017 with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Damir Dzumhur, where he twice took decisive leads in the match, only for Dzumhur to claw back from the dead and make each set competitive. The Spaniard is 39-15 on the season and has again matched his season high for ATP titles with 2 for the year, and there is still some tournaments left to go for him to get to #3.
Dzumhur, who won 20 matches at the tour level last year, is already at 18 match wins for the season (plus a solid challenger record). The 25 year old Bosnian is a rising competitor as he made his third final overall this season (first at the ATP level), Dzumhur is 12-3 over his last three tournaments. In Winston-Salem he defeated Denis Istomin, Gilles Simon, Horacio Zeballos, Hyeon Chung, and Kyle Edmund.
RBA defeated Dusan Lajovic, Marcos Baghdatis, Taylor Fritz, and J.L. Struff to reach the final . Rojer/Tecau beat Peralta/Zeballos in the doubles final.
Rosol, Dzumhur, and Groth Pencil Themselves in as ATP Qualifiers This Week in Geneva and Nice Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic
ATP Geneva
Following its 24-year absence from the ATP Tour, the Geneva Open in Switzerland will finally return to the main stage of the ATP Calendar this week. Headlined by one of their national sporting stars, Stan Wawrinka, the tournament will feature five top 50 players (Stan Wawrinka, Marin Čilić, Pablo Andújar, Benjamin Becker and Andreas Haider-Maurer).
During the qualifying rounds of the event, 7 out of the 8 seeded players reached the final round of competition. The only exception to the solid run by the seeded players was 20-year-old Pedro Cachín (7) who was knocked out in round two by Swiss player Yann Marti. The world No:313 also produced a solid win over Filip Krajinovic (No:101) in the first round of the Aix en Provence Challenger in France earlier this month. In the final round the Swiss player faced second seed Lukas Rosol. Rosol’s route to the final consisted of a surprisingly tough three sets win over world No:465 Laurent Rochette and then a straight sets win over Gleb Alekseenko from Ukraine. In the final round the Czech player experienced little trouble against Marti as he eased his way to a 6-3, 6-2, win. So far during the clay court season this year Rosol has produced back to back ATP World Tour quarter-final appearances in Bucharest, Romania and Munich, Germany.
Adrian Mannarino enjoyed a straightforward run during his qualifying bid. After receiving a first round bye, the Frenchman produced a straight sets win over Miki Janković to face Somdev Devvarman in the final round. Mannarino, who has won at least one match at the last seven Grand Slams, encountered a tricky first set before he cruised to a 7-5, 6-1, win. During the first Set the world No:29 opened up a 4-2 lead before Devvarman battled back to level it up. The spirited fight back by the Indian was however short lived as he was broken once more as Mannarino took the first set. Then Into the second set the Frenchman was too strong as he won four consecutive games on his way to booking his place into the main draw.
2009 Wimbledon boys champion Andrey Kuznetsov produced an impressive performance throughout the entire qualifying competition as he dropped only 14 games in three matches. After beating Tobias Simon and Philip Oswald in the first two matches, the Russian set up a final showdown against third seed Donald Young. Young has recently been experiencing back issues and was forced to retire during his first round match against Grigor Dimitrov in the Madrid Masters last week. The American beat two unseeded Swiss players on the way to his meeting against Kuznetsov. Unfortunately for American tennis fans Young suffered an annihilation as the Russian stormed to a 6-2, 6-0, victory in only 50 minutes. This is Young’s most lopsided defeat on clay since the 2012 Monte Carlo Masters. On that occasion he lost 6-1, 6-1, to Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round.
Grabbing the fourth and last spot in the main draw is Bosnia’s Damir Džumhur. Recently the 22-year-old has experienced back to back losses to players ranked outside the top 200 (Antonio Veic and Andrey Rublev). Fortunately, he has now managed to regain some of his form back with a 7-6 (6), 6-3, win against Italy’s Matteo Donati. Dzumhur already has one clay court title this year. He won the ATP Santo Domingo Challenger in February without dropping a set during the tournament.
Lukas Rosol vs. Rendy Lu (Head to head of 1-1)
Andrey Kuznetsov vs. Andreas Haider-Maurer (Head to head of 1-1)
Adrian Mannarino vs Carlos Berlocq (first meeting)
Damir Dzumhur vs. Jurgen Melzer (first meeting)
All of the qualifiers have winnable matches to start their main draw journey, and Rosol and Dzumhur should both be favored to advance.
ATP Nice
As the build up to Roland Garros nears, the competition has already begun in France but at a different tournament. The main draw of the 31st Open de Nice Côte d’Azur will commence today with six out of the world’s top 30 players taking part. After a 13-year absence from the ATP Calendar, the tournament returned in 2010. Since then the winners of the tournament have included players such as Richard Gasquet (2010) and Ernests Gulbis (2014).
Action at the tournament has already got underway with the qualifying rounds featuring 24 men battling it out for four main draw spots. Leading them into the main draw is top seed Sam Groth. Like the seven other seeded players, Groth received a bye in the first round. During the second round the Australian overcame a challenging first set to beat Maxime Teixeira 7-6 (3), 6-2 after an hour and 21 minutes. Then in the final round of qualifying, Groth was only on the court for three points before his opponent, Quentin Halys, retired due to illness. There wasn’t any clarification of what the Frenchman was suffering with however the on court doctor took his blood pressure before he left the court.
The most anticipated final round match was between 17-year-old Frances Tiafoe and second seed Ruben Bemelmans. Tiafoe, a former world No:2 in the juniors, grabbed the American Wildcard into the French Open following his win at the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge. The player dubbed as ‘the future of American tennis’ eased his way into the final round with a straight sets win over world No:477 Daniil Medvedev whilst Bemelmans endured a marathon three sets battle against fellow countryman Yannik Reuter. The build up to the match unfortunately didn’t materialized into a competitive match on court as the Belgian raced to a 6-3, 6-3, win against Tiafoe.
Home joy for the French crowd came with Gianni Mina. The Frenchman is currently ranked 271st in the world and has won 5 Future titles. So far in his career, Mina has played at the French Open once which was in 2010 where he lost in the first round to the formidable Rafael Nadal. During the qualifying rounds the third seed came from a set down to beat Mate Pavić. In the final round, he faced Philipp Davydenko, the nephew of former world No:3 Nikolay Davydenko. Going into the draw the Russian has suffered five consecutive first round losses before he finally ended his losing streak against Wang Chieh-fu. The Russian continued his sudden burst of form at the start of his match against Mina by taking the first set. Despite the first set lead by Davydenko, he failed to maintain it as Mina battled back to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, in front of his home crowd. This is the first time that Mina has qualified for the main draw of a main ATP event since Gstaad in July last year.
The final man to make the main draw was New Zeland’s Michael Venus, who played his college tennis at LSU, after a shock three sets win over 4th seed Ante Pavić. Venus also produced wins over Gianluca Mager and Fabrice Martin during the qualifying tournament. The win is a big boost Venus and his camp as he has so far only achieved a main draw win-loss of 3-1 in 2015. He is currently ranked 514 in the world, but has been as high as 274 back in 2011. Nice will be the second time that Venus has played in the main draw of an ATP 250 event in 2015 after Auckland back in January. At that tournament he played one of the matches of the year against Alejandro Gonzalez, triumphing.
Rublev, Dodig win Tuesday at ATP Istanbul 2015, Turkish Players Crash Out Ahmet Fevzi Guclu for Tennis Atlantic
Rublev scores another ATP md win (photo credit: Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)
Today at the Istanbul Open, was a day of minor upsets. Mikhail Kukushkin routined his opponent in all Kazakh battle as expected 6-3 6-4, despite coming back from the break down in the second. Alexandr Nedovyesov has nothing to trouble the 6th seed. Turkish WC Cem Ilkel played an okay match, especially in the second. Though, his volleys were poor and his second serves were not working at all. With the home crowd on his side, he kept the score close against a solid clay courter, No:62 Daniel Gimeno-Traver. The Spaniard dominated the first set, but crowd started to push kid, at least to get the second set. Ilkel did well for a time, until he was serving 4-5 down, where he got broken again and lost the match. It was Ilkel’s first ever ATP tour match, so it was still a good showing, with DGT advancing 6-1 7-5.
DGT beat one of the Turkish MD players (photo credit: Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)
Turkish No:1 Marsel Ilhan played a miserable match later in the day, unforced errors were flying off his racket, and he was very impatient with his play, likely partially influenced by the immense pressure of being the home favorite. The Turk was everything but clutch, missing 8 break points in 3 different games. On the other hand, Jarkko Nieminen was not special today, the lefty used his BH slices very well, Ilhan never responded well to these shots. The Flying Finn played deep balls, with a limited number of UEs. His serves were weak, but it was enough for Nieminen to keep the ball in play and wait for an error from Ilhan. A crowd of about 1,000 watched the home favorite slump to a 6-3 6-4 defeat.
The night match on Center Court, was between Andreas Haider-Maurer and Ivan Dodig. TheCroatian revenged his loss in Bucharest, in a meeting where he served extremely well, and took his chances in the key moment of the match. The 5th seed AHM, lacked intensity, and lost fighting spirit after dropping the first set. Dodig played a really solid match and pleased remaining crowd which was reduced after Ilhan lost. The scoreline was 7-5 6-3
Dodig pushed past AHM (photo credit: Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)
On the outside courts, Andrey Rublev was on top of his game against Damir Dzumhur 6-3 6-3, the young Russian executed his game well, with using wonderful forehands as his main weapon. Rublev dominated the match in straight sets, which resulted in Dzumhur grumbling and cursing at himself for its entirety. The Bosnian Dzumhur whined about the court size to chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani, asking his opinion whether could Rafael Nadal play here or not. It was a high tension match with both players exchanging unkind words after a net point. Overall, Rublev was the one who focused on his job, and impressed the crowd with his great performance. The only hiccup he faced, was getting broken after Dzumhur’s Medical timeout, but he answered well in the following game with breaking back. He seemed so promising on clay, though his net game needs improvement.
Other results from today
[8] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) d [Q] Blaz Kavcic (SLO) 62 61
Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d Steve Darcis (BEL) 52 Retired
Denis Istomin (UZB) d Benoit Paire (FRA) 63 64
[Q] Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) d Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) 76(1) 64
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) d [Q] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 64 75
We have yet to see a 3 setter in the main draw at the Istanbul Open.
Tomorrow, Day 3 starts with second round matches on Center Court. Mikhail Kukushkin and Gimeno-Traver will face early in the day, which will be also their second meeting this year on clay. The Kazakh will be looking to get the win this time, and even the their H2H. Additionally Austria’s Jurgen Melzer will take on Diego Schwartzman, who beat woeful Blaz Kavcic. The Argentine dirtballer should be the favorite.
In the night session, 4th seed and Sao Paolo semi finalist Santiago Giraldo will be up against Andrey Rublev. This will be the best match of the day, one could say. Given form and ability, that is fair to say Russian has a great chance to make the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, I’d expect an entertaining match which goes to 3rd set. In the last match of the night session, world No:2 Roger Federer will face Jarkko Nieminen, whom he has a clear match-up advantage, as well as the game superiority. Beside their 14-0 H2H, the Finnish never got more than 5 games, in any of their clay meetings. Also Nieminen played really a mediocre match today, which declined the expectations even lower. Federer, though, coming off the shock loss to Monfils in Monte Carlo, will not be tested here until semi finals, if not the final, it seems.
2015 ATP Istanbul Preview Steen Kirby and Ahmet Fevzi Guclu, Tennis Atlantic
Tennis Atlantic is pleased to have credentialed media coverage of the inaugural ATP Istanbul tournament, held in the suburbs of diverse, and modern city of Istanbul, Turkey. For years, Turkey has done the tennis world a service by having a variety of futures and challenger tour events, and now they have the ATP event they deserve, and this one of course is on clay, part of the European spring clay court season. We will have daily reports and interviews from the tournament all week long.
2015 ATP Istanbul Preview
TEB BNP Paribas Open
ATP World Tour 250
Istanbul, Turkey
April 27-May 3, 2015
Prize Money: € 439,405
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Roger Federer (2)
2: Grigor Dimitrov (11)
3: Pablo Cuevas (23)
4: Santiago Giraldo (31)
Istanbul has two top players, and the seed cutoff is 61, not bad for a maiden ATP event.
Ilhan, the top Turkish ATP player, who reached a career high ranking this year inside the top 80, has a chance to score a win against Nieminen, an accomplished but struggling veteran at the moment. Ilhan reached a clay court final at a challenger in Turkey, and also won a round in Barcelona before losing to Feliciano Lopez in a third set tiebreak. He has a positive record on clay at a lower level than ATP, and also reached the quarters in Dubai this year on hard court. Nieminen has lost two straight, and has yet to win consecutive matches since the AO. Given his experience, Nieminen is a slight favorite, but he’s not at his best on clay, and Ilhan should have home support that should be a boost to him.
Damir Dzumhur vs. (WC)Andrey Rublev
A battle of young guns, the 22 year old Dzumhur was a semifinalist in Casablanca, and also has a challenger title on clay this year. Rublev shocked Fernando Verdasco as a qualifier in Barcelona and is in good form, he also pushed Fabio Fognini to 3 sets in the next round. This year, the 17 year old already has 3 ATP main draw wins, and he’s rising up the ranks. Dzumhur has more experience, but Rublev has a higher ceiling, and I see him advancing from this matchup.
AHM just beat Dodig in 3 sets in Bucharest (6-4 in the third), and they will get a rematch a few days later. As expected, their matchup in Bucharest was quite the battle, and both guys should be itching to go at it again. AHM has seen some of the best results of his career this season, while Dodig continues to struggle, though he’s foguth hard in most of his matches this season. AHM should be the fave but I again expect it to be close.
Top Half:
Roger Federer is a strong favorite here, even though he lost in Monte Carlo to Monfils, and he will open with the Ilhan/Nieminen winner. If Ilhan wins, our on-site reporter Ahmet Fevzi Guclu expects the crowd to be split between the home favorite Turk and the fan favorite Federer, that said, Federer should ease into the quarters, and also dispatch most likely Daniel Gimeno-Traver to reach the semis.
DGT opens with 19 year old Turkish wild card Cem Ilkel, and similar to the journeyman Haider-Maurer, he’s had a surprise career year, late in his career. He reached the final in Casablanca, and the semis in Bucharest, and has wins over Jiri Vesely, Viktor Troicki, and Gilles Simon in the past few weeks. After Ilkel, his opponent will be either Mikhail Kukushkin, or a qualifier, and Thanasi Kokkinakis is lurking in the qualifying draw. Kukushkin is just 2-3 in his last five matches on clay, so he’s vulnerable to a defeat, DGT has won their last two meetings on clay, and hence he’s the favorite for the quarters, in this weak section.
4 seed Santiago Giraldo will be vulnerable to defeat against the Dzumhur/Rublev winner, after a career year last year, he’s been average at best this season, even on clay. I still have him going through in my own bracket, but that round 2 match should be competitive. 8 seed Diego Schwartzman will open with a qualifier, and then the Steve Darcis/Jurgen Melzer winner. Neither Melzer nor Darcis are in good form, Darcis may have the slightest of edges though as Melzer has struggled for quite a while. Schwartzman qualified in Monte Carlo but has been forgettable on clay this year, with just 1 main draw win on the surface (1-6), again he may be vulnerable to being upset by a qualifier. Giraldo may well make the semis if he can survive his round 2 match, simply because the section below is so unreliable, thus I have him in the semis over Darcis.
2 seed Grigor Dimitrov has not had a good season in 2015, but he still should be good enough to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili or Andrey Golubev in his opening match. Golubev is on a three match losing streak, and Basilashvili, who won his first ATP match earlier this year, has lost two straight, he’s primarily a challenger player though he’s been rising onto the fringe of the ATP level. Golubev is a slight fave to win that match, but should have little chance against Dimitrov. Look for Andreas Haider-Maurer to reach the quarters, with wins over Dodig and Dusan Lajovic/qualifier. Lajovic is 5-5 on clay this season, but he’s just 1-2 in his last three matches on the surface. AHM and Dimitrov have never played before, but the Monte Carlo quarterfinalist Dimitrov should advance to the semis given the talent discrepancy.
Pablo Cuevas will face Andrey Kuznetsov or a qualifier in round 2, he lost in round 2 of Barcelona, as did Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov, who qualified in Monte Carlo as well, should beat the qualifier, but Cuevas will be the favorite in their first head-to-head meaning, again given the difference in ranking and ability. In the quarters, Cuevas could face a difficult opponent, either Thomaz Bellucci or Benoit Paire. Bellucci will open with Mikhail Youzhny, who won a match in Bucharest before falling in round 2. Bellucci has won their last two meetings, and given how poor Youzhny has been this season, I expect him to do so for a third consecutive time. The Brazilian also won a round in Barcelona. Benoit Paire, who qualified in Monte Carlo, won a round, and then won two matches in Barcelona as well, will open against the struggling Denis Istomin. Bellucci and Paire have never met, but given current form, I have Paire winning to reach the quarters, and then upsetting Cuevas to reach the semis. They have never met before.
Dark Horse: Benoit Paire
Paire has always had the talent, and he’s reached two previous ATP finals (former top 30), however his mental side has been what is unreliable, along with a poor forehand. He’s rounding back into form this year and is nearly back in the top 70, with recent improvement in results, this 250 level event is where he can finally shine and announce his return to the main tour spotlight. Istomin, Bellucci, and Cuevas are all beatable in order, and Dimitrov is a weaker seed than Federer, in the bottom half. That would be a monumental upset ranking wise, but Paire has beaten Dimitrov twice before (2-1 h2h), giving him a dark horse shot at an ATP final.
Predictions
Semis: Federer d. Giraldo
Dimitrov d. Paire
Federer is 2-0 against Giraldo, though they have never met on clay, and as mentioned, Dimitrov has a negative h2h against Paire, but still has to be the favorite to prevail, as he’s developed better in the past couple of years.
Final: Federer d. Dimitrov
Fed routined Dimitrov in Brisbane this year, and is 3-0 against him, Dimitrov has never taken a set against a more accomplished player of a similar style, and thus he should take this 250 title.
Double German joy as Zverev and Berrer lead 2015 Miami Open Men’s Qualifiers Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic
The final day of qualification took place at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami. Out of the 24 seeded player’s in the 48-strong field, only six player’s managed to reach the main stage on a day which consisted of both the expected and the unexpected.
Alexander Zverev rounded off his impressive display during the qualifying event with a hard fought three sets win over 24th seed Thiemo de Bakker. Zverev, who stunned top seed Joao Sousa in the first round, was made to come from a set down to beat Bakker 6-7 (2-7), 6-4,6-3, in a match which lasted nearly two and a half hours. The win has given the 17-year-old German his first ever place in a main draw of an ATP Masters event. Last week at the ATP Irving Challenger Zverev produced his best win of the year by beating world number 48 Jerzy Janowicz to reach the quarterfinal.
Zverev will be joined in the main draw by another German, Michael Berrer. 34-year-old Berrer was pushed all the way by 22nd seed Kenny de Schepper as he edged the Frenchman out in a deciding match tiebreak. Throughout the match the former world number 42 was solid on his serve as he was broken only twice during the two hour and 45 minute match as he won 6-3,4-6,7-6 (7-3). Berrer has played at the Miami Masters five previous times before this year with his best result being the second round of the tournament in 2008 and 2010. After qualifying in Indian Wells last week, where he reached the third round, his result in Miami moves his number of qualifications for ATP events in 2015 to 4 (Doha, Zagreb, IW, and Miami).
Third seed Benoit Paire suffered a disappointing straight sets loss to Alejandro Falla. In the lead up to the tournament, Paire appeared to be loving the Miami life when he posted a picture on his Instagram account on March 21st of a pool party that he attended. Unfortunately is seems like the Frenchman had much more fun there than on court today as Falla cruised to a 6-4,6-1, victory. The Colombian has only dropped eight games during the qualifying rounds.
Steve Darcis is the highest ranked player to qualify for the main draw as he produced a straight forward 6-4,6-3, win against Norbert Gombos of Slovakia. The Belgian remained unbroken on his serve throughout the match. He will now be bidding to win his first main draw match in an ATP Masters tournament since the 2012 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He joins Berrer as another veteran serve and volleyer in the draw.
Damir Džumhur booked his place in the main draw with a 6-4,6-2, win against unseeded Croatian Mate Delic. The Bosnian, who created history for his country by reaching the third round of the 2014 Australian Open, will now play in his first ever Masters main draw. Dzumhur is just the second Bosnian to ever play in Masters series main draw.
Australian tennis fans may be gutted that Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of Miami however James Duckworth has given a smile back on their faces as he knocked out 6th seed Alejandro Gonzarlez 6-2,7-5 (7-5). The success in qualification by Duckworth follows an impressive run at Indian Wells. The 23-year-old came through qualifying and knocked out Dominic Thiem in the first round before being knocked out by Fernando Verdasco. Duckworth took part in “ATP University” recently, and looks to be ready to enjoy the ATP lifestyle.
One of the biggest surprises of the entire qualification draw came in the form of Adrián Menéndez-Maceiras. Before this week, Menéndez-Maceiras hasn’t won a match in the qualification rounds for a Masters event nevermind the main draw. He ended his dismal losing streak in the first round when he knocked out Tobias Kamke. Today the Spanish world number 126 made it two wins in a roll as he recovered from a first set hammering to beat Taro Daniel 1-6,6-3,6-3 for a place in his first ever Masters main draw.
Robin Haase enjoyed a 7-5,6-4, win against Lukas Lacko. It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Dutch player, however, as Lacko began the match in dominating form as he stormed to a 4-1 lead. Unfortunately, he was unable to hold on to the lead as Haase triumphantly battled back. The turning point occurred when Lacko lost his serve whilst 4-1 up in a game which consisted of 12 deuces. Haase level things up at 5-5 before taking the first set 7-5. Then in the second set Lacko faltered on his serve twice which guided Haase to the win.
Édouard Roger-Vasselin reached the main draw for the fourth consecutive year after a 6-2,6-3, victory over former junior world number six Chase Buchanan. Roger-Vasselin has so far throughout his career only won five matches in a main draw of a Masters tournament of which two were in Miami. He previously had a good week in Indian Wells, just like Haase and Berrer.
Dustin Brown failed to keep hold of his first set lead after being knocked out by Ruben Bemelmans. After losing the first set in a close tiebreak, the Belgian battled to a 6-7 (4-7), 6-4,6-2, win to make his first Masters main draw since 2012. The win against Brown will be a massive confidence boost to the Belgian after he recently suffered two consecutive losses at the start of this month to player’s ranked outside of the top 250 (Henri Laaksonen, 344 and Dimitar Kutrovsky, 296).
Tough learning curve for the teenagers
Two of the last matches in qualification featured upcoming talents Elias Ymer and Omar Jasika.
Ymer faced world number 146 Austin Krajicek of the USA. The Swedish teenager looked on course to make his Masters main draw debut as he lead his rival by a set and a break. Things then started to unravel for Ymer as Krajicek broke back and took the second set to force it into a deciding set. The momentum generated by the teenager was rapidly disappearing as the American surged to a 3-0 lead in the final set to have a strong hold of the proceedings for the first time in the match. Ymer had no resolution to combat the Americans final set surge as Krajicek took it 3-6,6-4,6-3.
Meanwhile 2014 US Open boy’s champion Jasika put up a brave battle against Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic but was knocked out 6-4,4-6,6-3. Both Krajicek and Krajinovic qualified for third ATP events on the season.
2015 Indian Wells ATP Qualifying Headliners Include Young Guns Coric, Nishioka, Veterans Melzer, Mathieu, and Sela Adam Addicott and Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Whilst the top stars of the ATP World Tour will make their final preparations for the first Masters event of 2015 at Indian Wells on the practice courts. The competitive action in the men’s draw will begin today with the start of the qualifying event. 48 players will battle against each other on court during two rounds in order to win one of the 12 qualification slots in the main draw. The 12 qualifiers will also get a guaranteed $10,485 for playing in the first round.
Heading the seeds will be teenage sensation Borna Coric. The 18-year-old comes into the event will a huge amount of confidence following his impressive run at the ATP Dubai Open where he beat Andy Murray to reach the semi final of the tournament. His Dubai performance has elevated him to a career ranking high of 60 in the world. In the first round, he will play Artem Smirnov from the Ukraine and could potentially face Gastão Elias in the next round if all goes to plan. If the Croatian qualifies for the main draw, it will be the first Master event that he has participated in. Look for Coric, if he can avoid a hangover from Davis Cup in Europe, to qualify as he’s the strongest player in his section by far.
Second seed Go Soeda has so far experienced a very average start to 2015. He reached the second round of the Australian Open after beating Elias Ymer in the first round and also reached the second round of the ATP Zagreb Open. Despite being ranked 84 in the world, the Japanese player is yet to beat a top 100 played in 2015. The highest ranked player he has beaten so far this year was Matthias Bachinger (119) last month. In the first round, he will player world 164 Alex Bolt. Soeda comes off Davis Cup for Japan, and may be fatigued, giving Bolt a decent shot an upset, however the Aussie is 1-2 with a retirement in his last four matches, and that does not bode well for his chances. I expect Alejandro Falla to be the round 2 opponent for Soeda, as the veteran ball striker is in better form than James McGee, even though he’s struggled all year himself. McGee has lost four straight, while Falla has at least managed some wins at a lower level. I also favor Falla over Soeda to qualify.
Jurgen Melzer (3) is bidding to play in the Indian Wells main draw for the 12th consecutive year. Melzer, who reached the fourth round of the tournament back in 2010, is hoping to regain some solid form in his game after a poor month. The former world number 8 has lost 5 out of his last 6 matches played. The veteran player will open up his qualifying campaign against another veteran player Danai Udomchoke. 33-year-old Udomchoke is currently ranked 326 in the world, however he has been ranked high as 77 back in 2007. On paper this sound be a straight forward encounter for Melzer and could potentially face 2014 Australian Open junior champion Alexander Zverev in the final round.Given his poor showing in Davis Cup, I see Melzer winning his round 2 match but losing to either the young gun Zverev, or American veteran Michael Russell, who always plays his best on home soil.
Completing the top five seeds are Damir Džumhur and Spainiard Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Dzumhur, who rose to media spotlight last year where he reached the third round as a qualifier at the Australian Open, will play Frank Dancevic in their first ever meeting. Meanwhile Gimeno-Trove will play Jason Jung from America in what will also be their first ever meeting. Dzumhur played well in Davis Cup, so he should be able to defeat Dancevic and veteran Philipp Petzschner or Marco Cecchinato thereafter to qualify.
As for DGT, if he wins his first match over Jung, he will not be favored, given he much prefers clay, against Aljaz Bedene who has had a strong 2015 thus far. Bedene has American Dennis Novikov as his first opponent.
6 seed Tobias Kamke has an interesting round 1 match against Nikoloz Basilashvili of the Republic of Georgia. Basilashvili started the year off strong and won his first ever ATP main draw match, but he’s cooled off since then with three straight ATP qualifying losses. Kamke is to some extent a declining veteran so I have him falling to Basilashvili, and then the Georgian regaining form and qualifying with a win over either Alex Kuznetsov or Victor Hanescu, both steady veterans.
7 seed Farrukh Dustov, who has a challenger title this season, should defeat struggling young American Mackenzie McDonald, but he’s not the favorite in his section, that title goes to the retiring serve and volleyer Michael Berrer, who will face young gun Taro Daniel (who he beat this year in AO qualies). Berrer should qualify given his good form this year, that included a win over Rafael Nadal in Doha, though this is an unpredictable section.
Look for Aussie J.P. Smith to upset Filip Krajinovic, the 8 seed. Krajinovic played Davis Cup this weekend and he’s not as formidable on hard courts, while Smith is perhaps nearing a major breakthrough. Either Smith or Polish veteran Lukasz Kubot are most likely to qualify in this section, as Kubot also comes off DC duty and faces another Aussie, Luke Saville in round 1.
9 seed James Duckworth does not have an easy matchup with rapidly improving American Jared Donaldson who will have the home fans behind him. I believe in Donaldson this time around to qualify on home soil, with wins over Duckworth and American Rajeev Ram, who faces Marco Trungelliti in round 1.
10 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu, who has been up and down this season, faces USC standout Yannick Hanfmann, a wild card, and then he is likely to face his struggling countryman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in round 2 (ERV faces dirtballer Guido Andreozzi in round 1). ERV has plenty of talent but he’s been poor for quite some time, and PHM should be the one to qualify.
Davis Cup Hero James Ward also has a good shot at qualifying as he continues his quest to break into the top 100, Ward Faces Mitchell Krueger of the USA in round 1, and then the winner of Yoshito Nishioka vs. the veteran Mischa Zverev (the older brother of Alex), in round 1. I have Nishioka qualifying, as he did in Delray, but Ward is also playing well so it’s a tough call.
12 seed Dudi Sela struggled in Davis Cup action for Israel, but he’s still favored to beat young American Taylor Harry Fritz. Look for a relatively in-form Thiemo De Bakker to beat Emilio Gomez and then Sela to qualify, as he could pose a threat to the main draw entrants if he does qualify. De Bakker has always had the talent, but his effort and desire has been lacking at times.
The action should be quite exciting from Indian Wells, and Adam will have a recap of the qualifying results once the qualifying tournament concludes on Wednesday.
Tennis Atlantic 