Joao Sousa

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ATP World Tour Continues Tour of China With 500 Stop in Beijing
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP 500 in Beijing is the third of four ATP stops in China this year, and features a stronger field than the previous two events combined. Here is your look at the action this week.

Top Half:

While he faces credible opposition, under no circumstances should Juan Martin Del Potro not be favored to reach the semifinals as his path of Albert Ramos, Sam Querrey/Karen Khachanov, and likely Borna Coric in the quarters is not incredibly burdensome. Coric opens with Feliciano Lopez, Filip Krajinovic or Mischa Zverev are set to follow. Del Potro is the best form player in this section and the most talented, so he should take it.

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Section 2 is weak and unpredictable, #4 seed Fabio Fognini is in good form but will likely be fatigued, meaning that qualifier Radu Albot has a genuine shot at an upset. Joao Sousa made a semifinal last week and should be favored against a struggling Andrey Rublev. I’ll back Sousa in this section defeating Albot in round 2. Marton Fucsovics should edge Andreas Seppi in round 1, while Marcos Baghdatis is better on hard courts than #8 seed Marco Cecchinato. Sousa over Fucsovics is my pick for the section after Fucsovics defeats Baghdatis.

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Bottom Half:

Section 4 of the draw should see some upsets as I’ll back Roberto Bautista Agut to upset Alexander Zverev in round 1, and Gael Monfils to upset Fernando Verdasco. Monfils should go on to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili/Jack Sock, while RBA will be favored against Malek Jaziri/Yibing Wu. RBA is better than his current unseeded ranking and Monfils has to make a run at some point. RBA over Monfils is my pick in this section.

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I’ll back Kyle Edmund to rebound from a recent slump and have a good tournament, Edmund has a path of Peter Gojowczyk, Matteo Berrettini/Leonardo Mayer, and probably Ryan Harrison/Grigor Dimitrov to reach the semis. I’m not sold on Dimitrov right now, and I’ll take Harrison in an upset. Dusan Lajovic faces fellow qualifier Vasek Pospisil in this section, with Edmund over Harrison my pick.

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Predictions

Semis
Del Potro d. Sousa
Bautista Agut d. Edmund

The Tower of Tandil’s strong season should continue, meanwhile the veteran RBA looks set to have a strong week, though he’ll be an underdog in the final.

Final
Del Potro d. Bautista Agut

Estoril Open 2018: João Sousa becomes first ever Portuguese champion
Manuel Traquete for Tennis Atlantic

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It was a historic day for Portuguese tennis with João Sousa becoming the first Portuguese player to ever win Portugal’s one and only ATP event, after Frederico Gil’s narrow miss back in 2010. This was Sousa’s 3^rd ATP title In 10 finals, first in 2018.

It was pretty much a Davis Cup atmosphere in Center Court, with a capacity crowd rowdily supporting Sousa and spurring him on to the biggest achievement of his career thus far. Tiafoe had been on fire in the last couple of days but he wasn’t even close to replicate that level in the final, perhaps a bit intimidated by the extremely pro-Sousa atmosphere on the court.

Sousa broke in the second Tiafoe service game, and although he was broken back he was able to break and then serve out the set despite finding himself in a 0-40 hole. After losing the first set, Tiafoe clearly lose confidence for a bit, frustrated by how many errors he was committing and how many balls Sousa was forcing him to hit in a lot of rallies. Tiafoe was still able to rally back from a double break down in the second and force Sousa to serve it out, but the truth is he could never find the right balance between aggression and consistency and Sousa’s more consistent and metronomic game proved to be too strong for Tiafoe in his first ever clay final.

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For Sousa, winning in Portugal has been the fulfillment of a long-held dream. Given how unlikely it is that he wins any bigger tournament, this title will most likely end up being the moment that will forever define Sousa’s career. He could hardly contain his emotion after winning, as shown by his winner’s speech and press conference, it was clear just how much this means to him. Tiafoe was magnanimous in defeat, congratulating Sousa for his victory on home soil and vowing to return to Estoril next year.

Joao Sousa Becomes Second Ever Portugese Finalist in Estoril
Manuel Traquete for Tennis Atlantic

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It was a day of upsets in Estoril as home crowd favorite João Sousa and emerging American Frances Tiafoe made their way into the final of the Estoril Open, knocking out Stefanos Tsitsipas and last year’s champion Pablo Carreno Busta.

The first semifinal was the one everyone in Estoril was eagerly awaiting and it certainly didn’t disappoint. After a titanic two hour tussle, João Sousa defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 3^rd set tiebreak to book his 1^st ever final at his home tournament, making it the second time a Portuguese player reaches that stage in Estoril after Frederico Gil in 2010 (lost to Montanes). Tsitsipas breadsticked the Portuguese in the second set, but he visibly ran out of gas in the third set after all the tennis he’s been playing lately and the home crowd pushed Sousa past the finish line.

The second semifinal saw a relatively empty court, with a lot of people having left after the emotional high of Sousa’s win. Tiafoe didn’t let that bother him at all though and produced an incredible performance to easily dispatch Carreno Busta. The American didn’t face a single break point and applied pressure in basically every return game, hitting one great winner after another to reach his first ever ATP final on clay. Carreno Busta’s famed consistency was just no match to the brilliance of Tiafoe on the day.

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Going into the final, it’s hard to predict a winner. If he repeats today’s performance, Tiafoe will definitely be lifting the trophy, but it will be a completely different situation with a boisterous home crowd spurring on Sousa on his quest to become the first ever Portuguese winner in Portugal’s only ATP 250 event. It’s certainly a very intriguing matchup to wrap up this year’s edition of the tournament, especially considering the overall lack of strength of the field. It could very well turn out to be a historic day for Portuguese tennis if Sousa manages to pull yet another win.

Stan Wawrinka The Star at ATP Sofia 2018
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Here is your look at the 2018 Diema Xtra Sofia Open, an ATP 250 indoor hard court tournament in Bulgaria, one of the few ATP tour stops in Eastern Europe.

Top Half

Despite struggling on his return to the tour from injury in Melbourne, Stan Wawrinka is very much the man in Sofia. Wawrinka, presuming he’s fit, should be able to fire past wild card Alexander Donski or a qualifier, and then Denis Istomin/Viktor Troicki in the quarters (wild card Adrian Andreev and a qualifier are also options).

Max Marterer reached the third round in Melbourne, Malek Jaziri and Joao Sousa/Dimitar Kuzmanov isn’t the easiest path, but I’ll still back him to reach the quarters opposite his countryman Philipp Kohlschreiber. Kohli takes on Sergiy Stakhovsky or a qualifier in round 2 after struggling to start the season. Marterer over Kohlschreiber is my upset pick for the tournament.

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Bottom Half

A couple of Davis Cup participants could reprise their matchup in the semifinals if things go according to plan. Adrian Mannarino takes on Marcos Baghdatis or Mikhail Kukushkin, who also played DC this weekend. From there he would face either Evgeny Donskoy or Lukas Lacko in the quarters. I have Lacko beating Donskoy and Radu Albot/qualifier before falling to Mannarino.

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Robin Haase fell to Mannarino in the Davis Cup on the weekend, he faces Marius Copil, Blaz Kavcic/Laslo Djere will follow. He should reach the quarters but I’ll back Gilles Muller to beat Andreas Seppi/Mikhail Youzhny and Haase to reach the semis.

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Predictions

Semis
Wawrinka d. Marterer
Muller d. Mannarino

Muller has a great shot to take the title, but Wawrinka is the best player in the field, even at 80% of his abilities. Presuming he’s gotten enough practice in since losing in Melbourne, Wawrinka is the favorite.

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Final
Wawrinka d. Muller

2017 ATP Chengdu and Shenzhen Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP Asian swing kicks off this week with two ATP 250 level stops in China, here is your full previews with predictions.

ATP Chengdu

Dominic Thiem highlights the field in Chengdu, coming off the Laver Cup exo, Thiem should be tested by Borna Coric in round 2, and either Nikoloz Basilashvili or Viktor Troicki in the quarterfinals. Basilashvili reached the semis in Metz, and his promising form means he should push Thiem in the quarters, presuming the Austrian is fit, he should reach the semifinals.

Andrey Rublev and Metz champion Peter Gojowczyk look to be on a collision course for the quarterfinals. Rublev’s form should help him past Taiwan’s Rendy Lu, and either Gojowczyk or Leonardo Mayer in the quarters.

Japan’s Yuichi Sugita has had a career best year, Sugita should find his way past Albert Ramos or Dusan Lajovic in the quarterfinals and has a chance to be champion this week.

Kyle Edmund and Karen Khachanov could face off in the quarters, but the in-form Jan-Lennard Struff could disrupt the apple cart. Khachanov isn’t in the best of form, Struff should beat Denis Istomin and Khachanov. Edmund will line up opposite the struggling Bernard Tomic, Jared Donaldson or Stefanos Tsitsipas will follow. Donaldson is dangerous, but presuming Edmund is fit he should have the edge all the way into the semis.

Predictions

Semis
Thiem d. Rublev
Edmund d. Sugita

Thiem and Edmund should be favorites to reach the final, with Thiem a likely champion in this competitive tournament.

Final
Thiem d. Edmund

ATP Shenzhen

The Zverev brothers lead the Shenzhen field. Alexander, the top seed, opens with Davis Cup hero Steve Darcis or wild card Ze Zhang, Damir Dzumhur, the St. Petersburg champion, will face John Millman to open, I have Millman finding form and beating Lukas Lacko or Marcel Granollers after beating Dzumhur, and then falling to Zverev in the quarters.

Mischa Zverev opens with Dudi Sela or Matthew Ebden, Alexandr Dolgopolov should overcome his countryman Sergiy Stakhovsky, (and Lloyd Harris in the first round), I have Dolgopolov beating Zverev on account of Zverev not being 100% fit.

David Goffin should get past Evgeny Donskoy or Akira Santillan, with Donald Young or newly married Jeremy Chardy up in the quarters. Unless Goffin is in poor form he should be safe to reach the semis.

Joao Sousa is a strong favorite to emerge from his section, he opens with Henri Laaksonen, Marius Copil or Malek Jaziri will follow, with Paolo Lorenzi or Rogerio Dutra Silva likely in the quarters.

Predictions

Semis
A. Zverev d. Dolgopolov
Goffin d. Sousa

Alexander Zverev and David Goffin are the co-favorites to take home the title in Shenzhen, and I give the slightest edge to Zverev by virtue of his tremendous season.

Final
A. Zverev d. Goffin

Kohlschreiber Caps Off Clay Season With Kitzbuhel Title, Querrey Doubles Up in Mexico
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Kitzbuhel

Philipp Kohlschreiber won ATP title #8, and Kitzbuhel title #2 6-3 6-4 over Joao Sousa in the final. The veteran German dropped sets against Facundo Bagnis and Dusan Lajovic, scraping past Lajovic in a third set tiebreak. He defeated Jiri Vesely and semifinalist Fabio Fognini in straights though to finish the season 12-6 on clay, and hoping for a bit more on summer hard courts coming up.

Sousa continues his reputation as a streaky player, he’s lost two 250 level finals this season, but had a remarkable week just to reach the final. He was on the ropes in every match, as he dropped the first set against Mikhail Youzhny, Paolo Lorenzi, and Gerald Melzer before narrowly defeating Sebastian Ofner in straight sets. Ofner is a rising player and should be on the ATP level soon given his ability.

Pablo Cuevas and Guillermo Duran saved a match point to defeat Hans Podlipnik-Castillo and Andrei Vasilevski in the doubles final.

ATP Los Cabos

It was another special week down in Mexico for Sam Querrey, as he took both of the ATP titles on offer in the country this season. Querrey served past Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3 3-6 6-2. The result puts Querrey on the edge of reaching his wins title from last season with months to go on in the season. Querrey beat Evan King, Vincent Millot, and Damir Dzumhur as well this week, coming from a set down against Dzumhur, and beating King in three sets. Kokkinakis looked great finally after a long time off of the tour with injury. The talented young Aussie beat Frances Tiafoe, Peter Polansky, Taylor Fritz, and Tomas Berdych, his wins over Polansky and Berdych coming from a set down, as he showed a ton of heart and fight on the week.

In the doubles Juan Sebastian Cabal and Treat Huey beat Sergio Galdos and Roberto Maytin,

2017 ATP Sao Paulo Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP Golden Swing wraps up this week with a 250 stop in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the country’s second ATP World Tour stop.

Brasil Open
ATP World Tour 250
Sao Paulo, Brazil
February 27-March 5, 2017
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: $455,565

Top 4 seeds (Who all receive first round byes) (ATP rankings in parentheses)
1: Pablo Carreno Busta (24)
2: Albert Ramos (25)
3: Pablo Cuevas (30)
4: Joao Sousa (39)

A lack of top 20 players will dampen enthusiasm for the Sao Paulo clay court tournament.

First round matches to watch:

Gerald Melzer vs. Victor Estrella

Melzer isn’t in bad form, but Estrella is a difficult opponent. The veteran won Quito and badly needs to finish the Golden Swing with momentum. This is a battle of steady dirtballers that is likely to go three sets.

(6)Diego Sebastian Schwartzman vs. Thomaz Bellucci

Schwartzman reached the semis in Rio, but trails Bellucci in the h2h, and the Brazilian is playing at home. The big hitting Bellucci could overpower DSS, but Schwartzman should be able to find his focus and reach the second round.

Top Half:

Rio finalist Pablo Carreno Busta is 6-2 on clay in 2017 and should ease past either a struggling Horacio Zeballos or Joao Souza to reach the quarterfinals. Italy’s Fabio Fognini should beat his countryman, qualifier Marco Cecchinato, while Italian Alessandro Giannessi should defeat Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva to reach round 2. Fognini has a great opportunity to upset Carreno Busta to reach the semifinals, however PCB has a 3-0 h2h advantage, making him the favorite to reach the semis.

Pablo Cuevas has won two straight titles in Sao Paulo, he’ll go for a third straight with an opening match against Facundo Bagnis or Dusan Lajovic. The winner of Melzer/Estrella has a shot at the quarterfinals, but the Bellucci/Schwartzman winner should be the one in the quarters opposite Cuevas. Cuevas has been struggling, and DSS has a 3-1 h2h edge, Schwartzman should reach the semifinals from this section, ending Cuevas title bid.

Bottom Half:

7-3 on clay in 2017, Albert Ramos is in good form and should defeat Gastao Elias/Orlando Luz, and then face Thiago Monteiro in the quarterfinals. Monteiro has made two straight quarterfinals, and is playing at home in Brazil. He’ll open against Carlos Berlocq, a semifinalist in Buenos Aires. Monteiro’s round 2 opponent will be Guido Pella or qualifier Guilherme Clezar. Both players are struggling, as are Elias and Luz. Ramos will be the favorite over Monteiro and has a great shot at the title.

Federico Delbonis should defeat qualifier Jozef Kovalik, then face Rio semifinalist Casper Ruud. The young Ruud opens with fellow teenager Akira Santillan, despite his possible fatigue he should win that clay court match, then fall to Delbonis. Joao Sousa should defeat the winner of Inigo Cervantes/Renzo Olivo to reach the quarters as well. Sousa and Delbonis have split meetings, I give Sousa a slight edge to reach the semis.

Dark Horse: Thiago Monteiro

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Brazil’s Monteiro has a great shot at winning a title on home soil. He’s posted solid results on clay this year, and has a reasonable draw, with Ramos and Sousa/Delbonis in his path to the final. Look for this young gun to make a run this week.

Predictions:

Semis
Carreno Busta d. Schwartzman
Ramos d. Sousa

PCB is in better form than Schwartzman, Ramos has a slight h2h edge over Sousa despite Sousa’s h2h win this season in Auckland. On clay Ramos is the favorite.

Final
Carreno Busta d. Ramos

PCB has a 2-0 h2h against Ramos and has a great shot at a third career ATP title after losing the final in Rio last week.

Sock and Muller Claim Rare ATP Titles in Run Up to Melbourne
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Auckland

Jack Sock rose to a career high top 20 ranking with his second career ATP title. The 24 year old American continued his red hot start to the 2017 season by claiming the championship in Auckland, where he reached the final last year. Sock’s win over Joao Sousa was a thrilling contest ending 6-3 5-7 6-3. Sock went up a set thanks to great returning and looked set to win in straights, but Sousa fought back for a late break with some tremendous shotmaking. Sousa would then go up a break in the third, but he surrendered two further breaks in the third set to hand Sock the hard fought trophy.

Sousa beat Albert Ramos, Brydan Klein, Robin Haase, and Marcos Baghdatis to reach his eight career ATP final, dropping to a 2-6 career record in those finals.

Sock moved to a 2-5 career ATP final record thanks to wins over Ryan Harrison, Jeremy Chardy, and Steve Johnson. Three of his four match wins this week came in three sets, as the Auckland crowd certainly enjoyed watching him battle.

Marcin Matkowski and Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi defeated Jonathan Erlich and Scott Lipsky in the doubles final.

ATP Sydney

Gilles Muller won his first ever ATP title at 33 years of age with a 7-6 6-2 victory over Britain’s Daniel Evans. Muller started the Sydney tournament as one of the best players to never win a title, and ended it as a very happy ATP champion. Muller was 0-5 in previous ATP finals, but Evans, playing in his first ever ATP title at age 26, wasn’t up to the task of dismantling his effective serves.

Muller dropped sets against Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Matthew Barton before going on to defeat Pablo Cuevas, and Viktor Troicki in straight sets. Evans had three set contests all week, defeating Thiago Monteiro, Marcel Granollers, Dominic Thiem, and Andrey Kuznetsov. His one hand backhand continues to improve and he appears set to secure his place on the ATP stage in 2017. His win over Thiem was one of the best of his career, as he outlasted the Austrian late in the match.

Dutch pairing Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop defeated Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the doubles final.

2016 ATP Bastad Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP tour returns to clay with a 250 level stop in Sweden. Here is your preview with predictions.

Skistar Swedish Open
ATP World Tour 250
Bastad, Sweden
July 11-17, 2016
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €463,520

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: David Ferrer
2: Joao Sousa
3: Albert Ramos
4: Marcel Granollers

First round matchups to watch:

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Albert Montanes vs. Elias Ymer

The Swedish home favorite will face the battling Spanish veteran in a match that could go either way. Both have had shown decent form at the challenger level, but have been poor in ATP play. I favor Ymer, a rising talent, because he’s playing at home.

Top Half:

David Ferrer is the top seed. After facing a qualifier, he should get either Aljaz Bedene or Dustin Brown in a routine quarterfinal matchup. Bedene opens with wild card Isak Arvidsson, while Brown faces a struggling Daniel Munoz De La Nava. Given this is clay, Ferrer over Bedene is my pick. Although Ferrer struggled at Wimbledon, he’s set to improve on clay against this weak Bastad field.

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Albert Ramos, an RG quarterfinalist, looks set to reach the quarterfinals, although Roberto Carballes Baena could trouble him in round 2, presuming he defeats Michael Berrer in round 1. Both are dirtballers, though Ramos has a better resume. Karen Khachanov/Evgeny Donskoy and Andrea Arnaboldi/Marco Trungelliti are also in this section for the quarterfinals. Based off recent challenger form, Trungelliti over Khachanov in round 2 is my pick before Ramos beats one of them for the semifinal spot.

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Bottom Half:

A decent clay courter, Joao Sousa should defeat either Swedish wild card Fred Simonsson or Carl Soderlund to reach the quarterfinals. Horacio Zeballos is likely to be opposite him at that stage, as Zeballos opens with Taro Daniel, with Gastao Elias or a qualifier in round 2. Zeballos just won the Bastad challenger and is in good form, thus I have him reaching the quarterfinals, but falling to Sousa to fatigue at that stage.

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The Montanes/Ymer winner will face Fernando Verdasco or a qualifier, with Verdasco favored to win that match and end up opposite Facundo Bagnis or Marcel Granollers in the quarterfinals. Bagnis will need to defeat a struggling Jurgen Zopp in round 1. I have Granollers over Verdasco, after he defeats Bagnis. The Spaniard has been in better recent form than his countryman, and Verdasco could even lose to Montanes or Ymer in round 2.

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Dark Horse: Horacio Zeballos

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Given his recent success in Bastad’s challenger, he could get through his section and upset Sousa, the weakest top 4 seed on clay, to reach the semifinals. The Argentine has shown flashes of talent and promise, but has failed to cement himself as a regular on the ATP tour through the years.

Predictions

Semis:
Ferrer d. Ramos
Granollers d. Sousa

Ramos has never defeated Ferrer, while Sousa has a win over Granollers this year on clay, but I feel Marcel is the stronger player at the moment, this pair have a heated history.

Final:
Ferrer d. Granollers

Despite Ferrer’s recent poor play, he’s still the tournament favorite for this small 250. He desperately needs some confidence boosting wins.

Dark Horse:

Predictions

Semis

Final

2016 ATP Estoril Midweek Update (@EstorilOpen)

Posted by Admin on April 28, 2016

Posted in: ATP, Estoril, On Site. Tagged: 2016 ATP Estoril, 2016 Estoril Open, ATP Estoril, ATP Portugal, Estoril Open, Gilles Simon, Joao Sousa, leonardo mayer, Pablo Carreno-Busta. Leave a comment

ATP Estoril Midweek Update
Manuel Traquete, Tennis Atlantic

The 2016 edition of the Portugal Open has been relatively upset free so far. 4 quarterfinalists are already know and they were all seeded: #3 seed Benoit Paire, fresh off a Barcelona semifinal showing, will take on 3-time Estoril semifinalist and #5 seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for a place in the final weekend of the tournament, while the 2015 finalist and #2 seed Nick Kyrgios will take on the #6 seed Borna Coric, in an eagerly anticipated duel between the two young guns which is expected to be only the first of a long future rivalry. In fact, Kyrgios turned 21yo in the day of his round 2 match against Inigo Cervantes and was surprised with a cake and a video prepared by the tournament with several players and even his parents wishing him a happy birthday.

The #1 seed Gilles Simon (plays Mathieu), the #8 seed Carreno Busta (plays Taro Daniel), the #7 seed Leonardo Mayer (plays Lorenzi) and the #4 seed João Sousa (plays Almagro) will be looking to make it an all-seed quarter final lineup and all are solid favorites to do so except Sousa, whose opponent Almagro has scooped 12 clay titles during his illustrious career and has to be considered a favorite despite his decline.

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Sousa will be under a lot of pressure, not only because, despite being clearly the best Portuguese player of all-time, he has underperformed in this tournament (R1 losses to Leonardo Mayer in 2014 and countryman Rui Machado last year) but because he’s the last Portuguese player alive in this year’s tournament. His brother Pedro Sousa was predictably routine by Mayer in the first round, the same having happened to the youngster Frederico Silva against Sousa’s R16 opponent Almagro. Gastão Elias got to Estoril fresh off winning the Turin Challenger and fulfilling his career ambition of reaching the top 100 in the rankings and he admitted to be physically and emotionally spent after his R1 loss to Paul-Henri Mathieu. Only Sousa is left to represent Portugal in the country’s only ATP tournament and it’s very probable that after tomorrow even he will be headed to Madrid.

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Speaking of players coming off great weeks, Verdasco won the 6th title of his career in Bucharest winning a rain-delayed final on Monday. The organization did their best to give their last wildcard the maximum rest possible but even with a Wednesday start Verdasco clearly didn’t have much left in the tank and lost 1 and 3 to the two time Estoril semifinalist Carreno Busta.

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With no top player featuring in the tournament (#18 Simon is the first seed) one could think we’d be in store for a very unpredictable tournament, but that has not been the case so far. Bizarrely, not a single round 1 match went into a decider and all the 4 round of 16 matches played so far were won by the seeds, with the only two deciding sets played having been very one-sided. Still, even with the predictability that has been dominating so far, it’s hard to predict who will be hoisting the trophy on Sunday afternoon as pretty much every player still left in the draw has reason to fancy their chances.

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