Open 13 Marseille

All posts tagged Open 13 Marseille

Stan Wawrinka Continues Comeback Tour at ATP Marseille 2018
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The 250 indoor hard court stop in Marseille continues the ATP World Tour’s early year tournaments in Europe. Here is your full preview, with predictions.

Top Half:

Roberto Bautista Agut and Karen Khachanov are heavy favorites to reach the quarters from the first section. RBA faces Malek Jaziri/Julien Benneteau, while Khachanov drew a qualifier and Mischa Zverev/Blaz Kavcic. RBA at his best should ease into the semis.

Embed from Getty Images

Tomas Berdych was unwell in Rotterdam but he could have a great week in Marseille. He’ll open with Hugo Gaston or a qualifier. Damir Dzumhur should beat Mikhail Kukushkin and Felix Auger-Aliassime/Thomas Fabbiano to reach the quarters opposite Berdych. Berdych is my pick for the semis. Rising young star Auger-Aliassime could rise up though.

Embed from Getty Images

Bottom Half:

Stan Wawrinka has struggled with is movement upon returning to the ATP Tour. He should beat Laslo Djere/qualifier to reach the quarters, but at that stage, I’ll back Daniil Medvedev to defeat him. The rising young Russian opens as the favorite against seed Gilles Muller, Stefanos Tsitsipas/Nicolas Mahut awaits in round 2. The winner of Medvedev/Tsitsipas has a great chance to reach the semis, and I’ll go with Medvedev to get the result.

Embed from Getty Images

Max Marterer has started 2018 in great form. On the back of a challenger title I’ll go with the German to upset home hero Gilles Simon in the opening round. Filip Krajinovic/Joao Sousa await. I’ll go with Marterer to reach the quarters opposite Lucas Pouille, the champion of Montpellier. Pouille over Marterer is my pick at that stage.

Embed from Getty Images

Predictions

Semis
Bautista Agut d. Berdych
Medvedev d. Pouille

Embed from Getty Images

It should be a good week for RBA and Pouille. Medvedev could take the title, but I’ll go with the steady Spaniard as my pick this week.

Final
Bautista Agut d. Medvedev

2017 ATP Marseille Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The second of five ATP Tour stops in France is the 250 in Marseille, where a host of Frenchmen, and a crop of talented young guns will take to the indoor hard courts looking to make their mark on a still young season.

Open 13 Marseille
ATP World Tour 250
Marseille, France
February 20-26, 2017
Surface: Indoor Hard
Prize Money: €620,660

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Gael Monfils (10)
2: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (14)
3: Nick Kyrgios (15)
4: Lucas Pouille (17)

Despite being a 250, Marseille boasts the strongest and most intriguing field on the ATP Tour this week.

First round matches to watch:

Embed from Getty Images

Mikhail Youzhny vs. (WC)Stefanos Tsitsipas

Having lost four straight, Greek teen Tsitsipas could be suffering from a crisis of confidence in his still young career. That said, Youzhny doesn’t seem fit, and this is a tremendous opportunity for the Greek to get his first ever ATP win. Tsitispas is a solid young gun, he had his chances against Tsonga in Rotterdam but failed to take them due to a lack of aggression. Youzhny may still win this unless Tsitsipas plays with confidence.

Daniil Medvedev vs. (8)Benoit Paire

Medvedev has a quarterfinal and an ATP final already this year, Paire has reached two semis and almost scored a big win against Marin Cilic in Rotterdam. Medvedev when healthy is a threat to Paire, but in addition to playing at home, Paire should be fitter and in better form, giving him an edge.

(7)Gilles Simon vs. Karen Khachanov

Twice a former champion, the 32 year old Simon badly needs to find some form in Marseille. Khachanov is a talented young gun but has struggled under the weight of expectations thus far in 2017, and is also looking to get back on track. Simon is likely to grind his way to a round 1 win.

Embed from Getty Images

(WC)Julien Benneteau vs. (WC)Denis Shapovalov

Playing at home, the veteran Benneteau is a clear favorite. Benneteau has flirted with returning to the ATP level after injuries, and has mostly played on the challenger tour. Shapovalov is still lacking in ATP experience, and became infamous after sending a chair umpire to the hospital due to an errant ball he hit in frustration during the Davis Cup. Shapovalov is talented, and it will be interesting to see where his head is against a crafty veteran in Benneteau.

Top Half:

Gael Monfils has played just one tournament in 2017, and it’s hard to predict what form the French flyer will show up in. He should defeat a pedestrian Jiri Vesely or a qualifier in round 2 though, to setup a match with his countryman Richard Gasquet. Gasquet will look to stave off an upset bid by Robin Haase, then teach the young Tsitsipas a lesson, presuming the Greek defeats Youzhny. Monfils leads the h2h with Gasquet 7-5, but Gasquet won their last meeting. Gasquet has been playing more this season and reached the final in Montpellier, I have him finding continued success in France and defeating Monfils in the quarters.

Lucas Pouille has been struggling mightily, and thus I have him falling to his experienced countryman Paul-Henri Mathieu in round 2, after PHM puts away Aljaz Bedene. Paire will face Jeremy Chardy (or J.L. Struff) in round 2 meanwhile, look for Paire over Mathieu in the quarterfinals to break a 1-1 h2h, as long as Paire is focused.

Bottom Half:

I have a third all French quarterfinal in my bracket, as Rotterdam champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, twice a champion in Marseille, should ease past Illya Marchenko/Qualifier, while Gilles Simon should defeat Khachanov and Benneteau/Shapovalov to reach the quarterfinals. Tsonga leads Simon 8-3 in the h2h, and with the bye giving him some rest, Tsonga should make the semifinals this week.

Defending champion Nick Kyrgios will serve it up against Andrey Kuznetsov or Malek Jaziri, with a matchup against fellow young gun Alexander Zverev looming in the quarterfinals. Kyrgios hasn’t played much in 2017, but neither Kuznetsov or more Jaziri are a threat to his serve. Zverev opens with home favorite Nicolas Mahut, with a qualifier to follow. The extra match should be enough to boost Zverev’s form enough to defeat Kyrgios and reach the semifinals. He’d love a second ATP title in France already in 2017. The pair have never met at the pro level before but are players full of promise.

Dark Horse: Paul-Henri Mathieu

A four-time ATP champion, PHM reached a tour final as recently as last year. The veteran is a shell of the player he once was, but he’s still a solid enough ballstriker to make a run at least once or twice a year in a tour level event. His focus has always failed him in tight moments though, and he’ll need to defeat Pouille and Paire to reach the semifinals, two opponents with more weapons than he possesses.

Predictions

Semis
Gasquet d. Paire
Zverev d. Tsonga

Gasquet leads Paire 4-0 in the h2h, Zverev just beat Tsonga in Montpellier and should be fresher. If these are the semis, it will be a complete repeat of 2017 Montpellier a couple of weeks ago.

Final
Zverev d. Gasquet

It would be a reprisal of the other French ATP final this year, Zverev won that one, and I don’t see any particular reason why he can’t win himself another title in this 250.

Unseeded Kyrgios, Cuevas, and Querrey Capture ATP Titles
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Marseille

Embed from Getty Images

Nick Kyrgios became one of the youngest ATP champions of all-time when he captured the title in Marseille at the age of 20. Kyrgios dominated a tough field and didn’t drop a set, as he concluded his tournament triumph with a 6-2 7-6(3) victory over Marin Cilic.

Kyrgios’s serve and return of serve were both clicking this week as he defeated Vasek Pospisil and Teymuraz Gabashvili 4 and 4, Richard Gasquet 6-0 6-4 and the powerful Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-2. Gasquet was still nursing a back injury, but nobody could stop NK from rising this week. The young Aussie has already demonstrated his ability to win big matches and do well in slams, but his ranking should rapidly improve if he can win more ATP titles and compete on a weekly basis. Kyrgios lost his only previous ATP final last year.

Cilic reached his first ATP final of the season as he slipped past Robin Haase in three sets, Andrey Kuznetsov in straights, and Benoit Paire in a close three setter. Paire upset Stan Wawrinka in the previous round. The former Grand Slam winner is showing signs of improvement, but still hasn’t reached the same level that he was once at and remains outside the top 10.

Mate Pavic and Michael Venus combined to win their third ATP doubles title of the season over Colin Fleming and Jonathan Erlich in a routine doubles final.

ATP Rio

Embed from Getty Images

Pablo Cuevas won his fourth career ATP title, and his first ever at the 500 level in a tight three setter over surprise first-time ATP finalist Guido Pella 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4. The Rio tournament was plagued by both rain and upsets this week, but the dirtballer Cuevas was a true warrior and had the week of his life in Rio.

Cuevas dominated Facundo Bagnis in his opening match, then fended off a challenge from upstart wild card Thiago Monteiro, and beat Federico Delbonis in straights. He faced Rafael Nadal in the semis and stunned the king of clay in three sets, with two tiebreaks. The match against Nadal was his first ever top 10 win on clay, as Nadal continues to struggle and decline. Nadal wasn’t the only big name to lose in Rio this week, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was stunned by the ATP débutante Monteiro. The Brazilian has a bright future ahead.

Pella was down match point in round 1 against a cramping John Isner, but won a third set tiebreak to survive and advance. The Argentine built on that big win and beat Santiago Giraldo and Daniel Gimeno-Traver, the latter in three sets, to reach the semis. Dominic Thiem was playing and doubles and singles this week and suffered from exhaustion as he was rolled over by Pella in a semifinal upset.

Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah won the doubles title for the second week in a row on the Golden Swing. The Colombian duo defeated David Marrero and Pablo Carreno Busta.

Embed from Getty Images

ATP Delray Beach

Embed from Getty Images

Sam Querrey won his eighth career ATP title and his first in four years in Delray Beach. The American has had his best success on home soil and his latest triumph came over countryman Rajeev Ram 6-4 7-6(6). Ram was playing in his third career ATP final, as the journeyman has made surprising success with his serve and volley game.

Querrey, who was coming off the semis in Memphis, has been in great form as he recovered from dropping the first set to Thiemo de Bakker to win in three sets, going on to defeat Austin Krajicek, Tim Smyczek in a tight three sets, and surprise semifinalist Juan Martin Del Potro in a close two sets.

Del Potro lacks a solid backhand, but his trademark forehand was looking sharp in his first ATP comeback tournament. The Argentine successfully won three ATP matches this week, and his fans can hope for more going forward. His serve also seems improved.

The 31 year old Ram took advantage of Bernard Tomic’s tank, and won three setters over Illya Marchenko and Benjamin Becker before shocking Grigor Dimitrov in the semis. Ram didn’t play out of the ordinary, but Dimitrov was reckless and erratic.

Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin survived being down match point six times to defeat the legendary Bryan brothers for the Delray Beach doubles title.

Steen Kirby (Marseille)

Tennis Atlantic 2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 7 (Rio, Marseille, Delray Beach)

Posted by Admin on February 16, 2015

Posted in: 2015 ATP Draw Challenge, Chris De Waard, Courtney Massey, Delray Beach, Jeff McMillan, Marseille, Niall Clarke, Rio, Steen Kirby. Tagged: 2015 ATP Picks, 2015 ATP Rio, 2015 Delray Beach Open, 2015 Delray Beach Open Picks, 2015 Open 13, 2015 Open 13 Marseille, 2015 Open 13 Marseille Picks, 2015 Rio Open, 2015 Rio Open Picks, atp, ATP 250, ATP 500, ATP Delray, ATP Delray Beach, ATP Marseille, ATP Picks, ATP Predictions, ATP Rio, ATP Tennis, ATP World Tour, ATP World Tour 250, ATP World Tour 500, Delray Beach Open, Delray Beach Open picks, open 13, Open 13 Marseille, Open 13 Marseille Picks, Open 13 Picks, Rio Open, Rio Open Picks, Rio Open Predictions, Rio Open Presented by Claro, Tennis Picks, Tennis Predictions, Tennis Tipping.

Tennis Atlantic 2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 7 (Rio, Marseille, Delray Beach)
Staff, Tennis Atlantic

Another 500 pointer is at stake this week with Rio, and 250 points each are up for grabs in Marseille and Delray.

Rio (draw)

2015 Rio Open Presented by Claro Picks

Steen Kirby’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Montanes vs. Almagro, Fognini vs. Andujar, Schwartzman vs. Lajovic, Mayer vs. Souza, Ramos vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Nieminen, de Bakker vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Fognini vs. Lajovic, Mayer vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Lajovic, Mayer vs. Ferrer
Final: Nadal vs. Ferrer
Champion: Nadal

Courtney Massey’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Montanes vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Lorenzi, Schwartzman vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Souza, Haider-Maurer vs. Robredo, Monaco vs. Nieminen, Clezar vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Schwartzman, Mayer vs. Robredo, Monaco vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Vesely, Robredo vs. Ferrer
Final: Nadal vs. Robredo
Champion: Nadal

Chris de Waard’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Gonzalez vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Andujar, Schwartzman vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Souza, Ramos vs. Ymer, Giraldo vs. Cecchinato, de Bakker vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Schwartzman, Mayer vs. Ramos, Giraldo vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Vesely, Mayer vs. Ferrer
Final: Nadal vs. Ferrer
Champion: Ferrer

Jeff McMillan’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Gonzalez vs. Almagro, Fognini vs. Lorenzi, Delbonis vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Souza, Ramos vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Nieminen, Clezar vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Fognini vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Fognini, Robredo vs. Ferrer
Final: Nadal vs. Ferrer
Champion: Ferrer

Niall Clarke’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Montanes vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Andujar, Schwartzman vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Souza, Ramos vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Nieminen, de Bakker vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Klizan, Souza vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Klizan, Robredo vs. Ferrer
Final: Klizan vs. Ferrer
Champion: Klizan

A variety of possible champions this week, but general consensus is on Rafael Nadal or David Ferrer winning the title, with a variety of semifinalists possible

Embed from Getty Images

Marseille (draw)

2015 Open 13 Marseille Picks

Steen Kirby’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Bolelli, Kuznetsov vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Sousa vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Istomin, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Struff, Mathieu vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Chardy, Struff vs. Wawrinka
Semifinals: Raonic vs. Bautista Agut, Simon vs. Wawrinka
Final: Raonic vs. Simon
Champion: Raonic

Courtney Massey’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Vanni, Golubev vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Thiem vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Coric, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Qualifier, Paire vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Thiem, Simon vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Wawrinka
Semifinals: Raonic vs. Bautista Agut, Simon vs. Wawrinka
Final: Raonic vs. Wawrinka
Champion: Wawrinka

Chris de Waard’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Bolelli, Kuznetsov vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Thiem vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Coric, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Struff, Paire vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Chardy, Stakhovsky vs. Wawrinka
Semifinals: Raonic vs. Bautista Agut, Simon vs. Wawrinka
Final: Raonic vs. Simon
Champion: Raonic

Jeff McMillan’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Bolelli, Golubev vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Thiem vs. Goffin, Simon vs. Istomin, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Qualifier, Paire vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Pospisil vs. Goffin, Simon vs. Gulbis, Qualifier vs. Wawrinka
Semifinals: Monfils vs. Goffin, Simon vs. Wawrinka
Final: Monfils vs. Simon
Champion: Simon

Niall Clarke’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Bolelli, Golubev vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Thiem vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Istomin, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Struff, Paire vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Chardy, Stakhovsky vs. Paire
Semifinals: Monfils vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Paire
Final: Monfils vs. Simon
Champion: Simon

Gilles Simon, or Milos Raonic are picked as champions this week, Gael Monfils is also expected to do well, and opinions are mixed on how Stan Wawrinka will fare after winning Rotterdam.

Embed from Getty Images

Delray Beach (draw)

2015 Delray Beach Open by the Venetian Las Vegas Picks

Steen Kirby’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Groth, Kudla vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Qualifier, Sela vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Young, Smyczek vs. Dolgopolov, Troicki vs. Tomic, Sijsling vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Kudla, Brown vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Smyczek, Troicki vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Troicki
Final: Anderson vs. Troicki
Champion: Troicki

Courtney Massey’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Lu, Kudla vs. Mannarino, Karlovic vs. Qualifier, Rublev vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Dodig, Smyczek vs. Gabashvili, Troicki vs. Jaziri, Sijsling vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Kudla, Karlovic vs. Johnson, Dodig vs. Smyczek, Troicki vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Karlovic, Smyczek vs. Troicki
Final: Karlovic vs. Smyczek
Champion: Karlovic

Chris de Waard’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Groth, Kudla vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Krajnovic, Rublev vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Dodig, Smyczek vs. Dolgopolov, Troicki vs. Tomic, Qualifier vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Smyczek, Troicki vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Troicki
Final: Anderson vs. Troicki
Champion: Troicki

Jeff McMillan’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Groth, Lacko vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Qualifier, Rublev vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Young, Smyczek vs. Dolgopolov, Troicki vs. Tomic, Qualifier vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Johnson, Young vs. Smyczek, Tomic vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Johnson, Young vs. Isner
Final: Johnson vs. Isner
Champion: Isner

Niall Clarke’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Groth, Kudla vs. Mannarino, Karlovic vs. Qualifier, Rublev vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Young, Smyczek vs. Gabashvili, Troicki vs. Tomic, Qualifier vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Kudla, Karlovic vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Smyczek, Troicki vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Isner
Final: Anderson vs. Isner
Champion: Isner

Troicki or Isner are the favorites seemingly in this very open field, Jeff has believes in American Steve Johnson to reach his maiden ATP final, while Courtney is backing the unseeded Tim Smyczek to do the same.

Embed from Getty Images

Week 6 standings

Rotterdam
1: Courtney (122 points) (+500 points overall)
2: Niall (114 points) (+300 points)
3: Steen (78 points) (+180 points)
4: Jeff (66 points) (+180 points)
5: Chris (58 points) (+90 points)

Courtney wins thanks to having Wawrinka as champ, and Niall did slightly poorer earlier in the tournament, though he also correctly predicted Wawrinka, and credit to both of them for a good showing in the highest point value tournament this week.

Memphis
1: Chris (104 points) (+250 points)
2: Niall (102 points) (+150 points)
3: Courtney (102 points) (+90 points)
4: Jeff (100 points) (+90 points)
5: Steen (94 points) (+45 points)

Everyone had Nishikori as champion this week and thus the point values were all closely clustered, Chris was most accurate early on though and takes the title.

Sao Paulo
1: Steen (56 points) (+250 points)
2: Chris (54 points) (+150 points)
3: Courtney (50 points) (+90 points)
4: Jeff (28 points) (+90 points)
5: Niall (16 points) (+45 points)

Steen had Pablo Cuevas, the champion, in the final, which was enough to get him the title with this unpredictable tournament.

Overall standings (after week 6)

1: Steen: 3795 ranking points (+475 points overall)
2: Courtney: 2415 points (+680 points overall)
3: Chris: 2270 points (+490 points overall)
4: Jeff: 2200 points (+360 points overall)
5: Niall: 1850 points (+495 points overall)

Courtney experiences a big rise to second place, and Chris jumps ahead of Jeff, with Steen still in the outright lead and Niall bringing up the pack.