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2015 ATP Montpellier, Zagreb and Quito Previews/Predictions @OpenSuddeFrance @ATP_Zagreb @EcuadorOpenQui

Posted by Admin on January 31, 2015

2015 ATP Montpellier, Zagreb and Quito Previews/Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The traditional European indoor 250 level events in France and Croatia will be on the tennis calendar this week, with players fresh from the Australian swing. In addition, a new event in Ecuador is making its debut on the ATP 250 series this week. It starts off the South American clay court golden swing.

ATP Montpellier

2015 ATP Montpellier Preview

Open Sud de France
ATP World Tour 250
Montpellier, France
February 2-February 8, 2015

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

1: Gael Monfils (19)
2: Gilles Simon (20)
3: Philipp Kohlschreiber (24)
4: Richard Gasquet (28)

A balanced field that is made up almost entirely of Europeans, as is to be expected. The seed cutoff is inside the top 60.

First Round matchups to watch:

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(8)Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Jarkko Nieminen

Struff and Nieminen have both had success at the ATP level indoors, and this should be a quality contest between two great ball strikers. Nieminen reached the third round in Melbourne, and appears to be in slightly better form, so I’d give him an edge to advance, but either of these players is a dark horse threat in the tournament overall.

(6)Denis Istomin vs. Malek Jaziri

Istomin went 0-3 in January, though two of his losses came to in-form players Tomas Berdych and Andreas Seppi as he hasn’t had the best draws. Jaziri remarkably reached the third round in Melbourne, and he’s now working with Marin Cilic’s coach, former ATP great Goran Ivanisevic, on a part time basis. Ivanisevic recently discussed in this interview that Jaziri had previously not put in much effort in regards to practicing, having a coach, working on his fitness, and so forth. Ivanisevic believes Jaziri can move beyond journeyman status with renewed effort and focus, and it will be interesting what he can do here in Montpellier, I have him upsetting the seeded Istomin.

(5)Jerzy Janowicz vs. Dustin Brown

Brown has twice beaten Janowicz indoors (at the challenger level), and JJ reached the third round in Melbourne before falling to Feliciano Lopez (scoring a notable win over Gael Monfils en route). I would expect Janowicz to win this match indoors over the erratic highlight maker Brown, but it should be a quality contest, and perhaps go 3 sets.

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Top Half:

Defending champ Gael Monfils opens his title defense against Marsel Ilhan or Kenny De Schepper, I don’t expect Monfils to be bothered so he should slide into the quarterfinals against the Struff/Nieminen winner, with Tatsuma Ito or a qualifier also options in this section. I see Nieminen getting through to the quarters, and Monfils is 4-0 against him, including 2-0 in Montpellier, so he should be favored heavily to reach the semifinals.

Richard Gasquet appears to be on track for a huge clash with young Frenchman Lucas Pouille. Gasquet, who went 4-2 in January, and has a strong record with two titles and a final last year in Montpellier, could be ousted by the rising Pouille, who has started to come into his own after floating around with wild card status for a while on tour. Pouille has a gifted forehand, while Gasquet of course has that magical backhand, so the clash of styles should be quality. Pouille nearly took out Gael Monfils in Australia and he was a semifinalist in Auckland, still it’s a tough ask to pick him over the much more established Gasquet, who has such a good record here, so Gasquet into the quarters is the pick. Pouille opens with Alexander Kudryavtsev in round 1. Expect Gasquet against the Jaziri/Istomin winner in the quarters, with Dudi Sela, who reached the third round in Melbourne shockingly, and a qualifier also options in this open section. If Sela and Jaziri end up facing off in round 2, there could be some interesting political implications.

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Bottom Half:

Gilles Simon has reached the semis multiple times, but never the final here, and he’s yet another well known Frenchman playing on home soil after the AO. Simon had an up and down January, but he should have little trouble against Andreas Beck/Edouard Roger-Vasselin in round 2, and his first test should come against Janowicz in the quarters. Benoit Paire and a qualifier are also options, and the formerly promising Paire, failed to even qualify for the Aussie Open, as his career has taken a nose dive after knee problems. Janowicz is 1-0 indoors against Simon, but I see that result reversing itself if they meet again, Simon’s pushing should frustrate Janowicz into enough errors to gift him the match.

Philipp Kohlschreiber, who appeared to be playing much better in Melbourne than he has been for quite some time, opens with a qualifier or the veteran Paul-Henri Mathieu in round 2. I expect Kohli, barring a blast from the past for PHM, to reach the quarters, and then take out one of Joao Sousa/Laurent Lokoli/Tobias Kamke/Vincent Millot in the most open section of the draw. Kamke isn’t playing well right now, so Sousa, who has also had indoor success, and reached the third round in Melbourne, should reach the quarters but fall to the German at that stage.

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Dark Horse: Lucas Pouille

Pouille would need to defeat Gasquet, but the ceiling for this talented young Frenchman is quite high, as he seems to be the next great player hailing from that country to burst onto the ATP scene. Pouille has all the shots, it’s just going to be a matter of him gaining experience at the highest level, and working on things like his shot selection and fitness. Should he upset Gasquet, he certainly has a chance to get to the semis and play Monfils with a chance for revenge. He’s an enjoyable player to watch no matter how far he goes here.

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Predictions

Semis:
Monfils d. Gasquet
Kohlschreiber d. Simon

Monfils beat Gasquet three times last year, including in the Montpellier final, so he should have an advatage going into a possible semifinal encounter. By picking Kohli over Simon i’m going against the h2h by a sizeable margin (Simon 2-0 indoors, 4-0 on hard courts) and both have been known to be inconsistent at times, it’s a hard pick to make, and the reason why I’m going with Kohli is because he played well against Tomic in Australia and seems motivated to better himself.

Final:
Monfils d. Kohlschreiber

Monfils has had success here before, and additionally he’s 4-0 on indoor hard against Kohli, thus he has to be the favorite to take the title in Montpellier, though you never really know with his form.

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2015 ATP Zagreb Preview

ATP Zagreb

PBZ Zagreb Indoors
ATP World Tour 250
Zagreb, Croatia
February 2-February 8, 2015

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

1: Ivo Karlovic (27)
2: Adrian Mannarino (36)
3: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (37)
4: Gilles Muller (42)

One of the weaker fields for a tour event this year most likely, it’s truly wide open in Zagreb. Marin Cilic was supposed to headline but he pulled out of this tournament still recovering from injury.

First Round matchups to watch:

Borna Coric vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky

One of the home favorites who the crowd will be rallying behind in Zagreb, the young Croat Coric went just 1-3 in January, and will be looking to improve on his record this month, boosted by home cooking and home soil. If he is to have a 2015 season where he gets inside the top 50 and stays there, he will need to win matches like this one against Stakhovsky, he’s a better player than the Ukrainian number two who plays splotches of good tennis mixed in with a lot of journeyman results. To add to the intrigue, Stakhovsky won the title in 2008 here. That said, without weather being a factor, and with crowd support, Coric should rise to the occasion and win this one.

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Top Half:

Ivo Karlovic could get a tough test right off the bat against Marcos Baghdatis, who reached the third round in Melbourne shockingly, and is a former champion here. Baghdatis will need to beat wild card Toni Androic to get to round 2. Karlovic and Baghdatis split meetings in 2008, I’ve been impressed by Baghdatis over the past month, and I have him through to the quarterfinals. The Coric/Stakhovsky winner will have a shot at the quarters, with Blaz Kavcic and Mikhail Youzhny also in this section. Youzhny is a former champion in Zagreb as well, but he’s playing incredibly poorly right now, he’s 2-0 against Kavcic but both their meetings were competitive, so I have Kavcic through to round 2 in an upset, and then Coric over him for a spot in the quarters, with Baghdatis eventually making the semis.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who reached the second week of Melbourne, just his second week 2 appearance in singles in a slam, opens with Damir Dzumhur/qualifier. The dangerous name here is Sydney champion Viktor Troicki, who has been rising back up the rankings since returning to tour, and should be able to feast on a weak draw like this. GGL is good enough to reach the quarters, but Troicki should demolish a qualifier, then Go Soeda/qualifier to setup a meeting with him, and then I have Troicki winning that match to reach the semifinals.

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Bottom Half:

Auckland finalist Adrian Mannarino will face Igor Sijsling or a qualifier in round 2, that’s not going to be an impressive match, but Mannarino should reach the quarters to meet perhaps Croatian Ivan Dodig. Dodig seems to be improving and his first match against countryman Mate Delic is winnable. Likewise he’s better than Marcel Granollers or Jurgen Melzer presently on an indoor hard court, though Melzer did qualify in Melbourne surprisingly. Melzer is 2-0, with two 3 set wins in his career against Dodig, one of which came indoors. Dodig is my pick for the semis in this section as I have him taking out Mannarino.

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Gilles Muller, who reached the round of 16 in Melbourne, will open with Ricardas Berankis or Lukas Lacko, Lacko has had success here before but Muller is serving well right now so he should comfortably make the quarterfinals. Lurking in this section is Andreas Seppi, a quarterfinalist in Melbourne, and semifinalist in Doha who has really been hitting his shots well this past month. Seppi opens with a struggling Robin Haase, then has Antonio Veic or James Ward in his way, that shouldn’t be much of a contest, and I have Seppi, who is 2-1 indoors against Muller, through to the semifinals in a tight contest.

Dark Horse: Marcos Baghdatis

When it comes to an unseeded player who can have a surprising result, Baghdatis fits the bill, if he makes the semis, a match against Troicki will be difficult but winnable and likewise Muller/Seppi are beatable all be it tough in a potential final. Baghdatis is seeking a career resurgence in his later years and winning an ATP title would be a massive step towards that.

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Predictions

Semis:
Troicki d. Baghdatis
Seppi d. Dodig

Baghdatis is 4-1 in his career, and 3-1 on indoor hard against Troicki, that said I feel the Serbian has been the better player, and playing better tennis as of late, so I still have him through.

Seppi is 4-1 against Dodig on hard courts in his career, and with how well he played in January, signs are good that he will reach the final. He just beat Dodig in Doha.

Final:
Seppi d. Troicki

Seppi beat Troicki once on hard courts, and this is a difficult match to predict, however I have the Italian winning the ATP title here off of his good momentum and balanced approach over the past month.

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2015 ATP Quito Preview

ATP Quito

Ecuador Open Quito
ATP World Tour 250
Quito, Ecuador
February 2-February 8, 2015

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

1: Feliciano Lopez (14)
2: Santiago Giraldo (32)
3: Fernando Verdasco (33)
4: Martin Klizan (34)

Just one top 20 player in the field for this tournament, but it’s full of an interesting set of clay courters really and lots of Latin American flair at this maiden event.

Top Half:

Feliciano Lopez, who did well in Melbourne is the marquee name here, he had a poor January before the AO and had to drag himself into the second week, but he appears to be playing better tennis at the moment, and will shift onto clay against Alejandro Gonzalez or Facundo Bagnis. I have Lopez over Gonzalez (who beat Bagnis twice on clay last year) for a spot in the quarters, with 7 seed Dusan Lajovic in line to take the other spot. Lajovic will need to avoid upsets against Luca Vanni, and qualifier/Gonzalo Escobar but he’s got a really lucky seedline here with no serious competition. Expect Lopez over Lajovic in the quarters.

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Fernando Verdasco, who reached the third round in Melbourne, will also be shifting his powerful game to clay, his first match will come against either a qualifier or Andreas Haider-Maurer, and then veteran clay courters are in the section below him competing to meet him in the quarterfinals. Joao Souza will face Alejandro Falla in R1, and Paolo Lorenzi will face Adrian Menendez Maceiras. Souza is 3-1 on clay against Falla, and Falla has been struggling so I have Souza into round 2, I have Lorenzi over AMM (3-0 including 2 wins last year in the h2h). Then I have the Brazilian into the quarterfinals, Lorenzi has won their last three meetings, but Souza has won twice on clay against him and appears to be playing slightly better right now. Verdasco should take out Souza and reach the semis.

Bottom Half:

Santiago Giraldo, who got off to a rough start in 2015, will face veteran Spaniard Albert Montanes or young Argentine Facundo Arguello in round 2. Even with Giraldo just 1-2 in 2015, he beat an aging Montanes last year on clay, and twice overall, and he’s 4-1 in the career H2H so he should be heavily favored to reach the quarterfinals here (Arguello has only played one tournament match this year and it was a bad loss in a clay court challenger). Awaiting Giraldo should be Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, Bellucci will face formerly established Ecuadorian player Giovanni Lapentti in round 1, and then the Horacio Zeballos/Austin Krajicek winner. Though Zeballos capable of random bursts of form, Bellucci is the relatively more accomplished name and he should get to the quarters here. Bellucci bested Giraldo twice last year, and hasa a 4-1 clay h2h against him, so he may be the favorite, but I feel this pair have careers going in the opposite direction right now, with Giraldo having a breakthrough 2014, and Bellucci seemingly stagnated around the top 100. In my own bracket I have Giraldo in the semis.

Martin Klizan opens with Daniel Gimeno-Traver or wild card Marton Fuscovics in round 2. Klizan is one of the rare European players that isn’t playing in Europe this week, and instead prefers his tennis South American style. Klizan should reach the quarters, and the inspiring veteran story Victor Estrella should await him. The unsung grinder Estrella faces a qualifier, then stagnated Russian Evgeny Donskoy, or a qualifier in round 2. Klizan is more accomplished and skilled than Estrella, but in these conditions Estrella will certainly have a shot at the semis, I put Klizan through in my own bracket though.

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Dark Horse: Thomaz Bellucci

Bellucci is the type of player who could acquire a burst of form, and streak his way into perhaps an ATP title. He has an easy path before Giraldo in the quarters, and Giraldo is in a beatable condition right now, especially given the favorable H2H. Likewise Klizan/Estrella are beatable opponents on a good day for him and this entire field is beatable given it’s not that strong.

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Predictions

Semis:
Verdasco d. Lopez
Giraldo d. Klizan

Verdasco and Lopez have pretty much split h2h meetings and it could go either way, that said, Lopez gives me the feeling that he’s setup to not win the title here, and Verdasco has the game to be able to take him out.

Giraldo has won clay win against Klizan, and the altitude should help him, it could go either way but Giraldo should be slightly favored.

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Final:
Verdasco d. Giraldo

This would be a big hitting final, Verdasco beat Giraldo last year on clay in Houston, and given current form, I back the Spaniard to do the same here.

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2014 ATP Basel, Valencia Previews & Picks

Posted by Admin on October 20, 2014

Posted in: ATP, Basel, Valencia. Tagged: 2014, atp, basel, mens, open, picks, predictions, preview, rafael nadal, roger federer, Swiss Indoors, tennis, valencia.

2014 ATP Basel, Valencia Previews & Picks
By Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast

The ATP 500 series of tournaments will conclude for the year with a pair of indoor hard court tournaments in Switzerland and Spain as the fight for ranking points, prize money and the final two World Tour Final Spots continues. Both tournaments offer very enticing entry lists and possible matchups.

ATP Basel
Swiss Indoors Basel
ATP World Tour 500
Basel, Switzerland
October 20-October 26, 2014
Prize Money: € 1,458,610

Top 8 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Roger Federer (2)
2: Rafael Nadal (3)
3: Stan Wawrinka (4)
4: Milos Raonic (9)
5: Grigor Dimitrov (11)
6: Ernests Gulbis (13)
7: David Goffin (28)
8: Ivo Karlovic (30)

Basel boasts 3 of the top 5, 4 of the top 10, and 6 of the top 20 ATP players in the field this week, it’s a stellar field for a 500 level event.

First Round matchups to watch:

Jarkko Nieminen vs. Vasek Pospisil
A former finalist in Basel, Nieminen is likely to have trouble getting out of the first round this year because his opponent is the in-form Vasek Pospisil. It’s a battle between a young power baseliner and a speedy, defensively adept, veteran shotmaker. Nemo and Vashy have never met before and neither are playing poorly at the moment. In an unseeded contest that I see going to 3 sets, Pospisil should survive.

(3)Stan Wawrinka vs. Mikhail Kukushkin
Stan the Man is a home favorite and one of the stars headlining Basel, but he will need to be on upset alert against the in-form Kukushkin. Kuku reached the semifinals in Moscow and pushed top 10 player Marin Cilic to 3 sets. He also has wins over solid ATP competitors Tommy Robredo, Kevin Anderson, Fabio Fognini and Mikhail Youzhny in recent weeks, and he pushed Novak Djokovic to 3 sets in Shanghai. He may be a bit fatigued, but Wawrinka is entering Basel on a 3 match losing streak. I doubt motivation will be an issue for him as a home player, but if Kuku can provide some pressure against Stan here, he may well fold up shop early.

(7)David Goffin vs. Dominic Thiem
Goffin has already beaten Thiem three times this season on three different surfaces, and he is currently on a 10 match winning streak. Thiem, by contrast, has lost 4 of his last 5 matches, including most recently in the first round of Vienna. That said, Thiem is still a rising young gun with a lot of talent and two of the three previous head-to-head meetings went to a decisive third set. Goffin is a player on a tear right now, and should win this contest against a competitive opponent.

(6)Ernests Gulbis vs. Borna Coric
Another seed who should be on upset alert: Gulbis made the semis in Moscow, but his shoulder injury continues to be suspect, and it will be a quick turnaround physically for him in Basel. Coric is a driven, hungry, young player who is looking for marquee wins to make a name for himself, and taking out a top player like Gulbis would be huge for his confidence. The teenager is on a two match losing streak and he hasn’t exactly been winning a lot of matches against top competition, but with Gulbis being in suspect physical condition, anything is possible.

(2)Rafael Nadal vs. (Q)Simone Bolelli
It befuddles me why Rafa is still playing right now. He needs appendix surgery and has opted to put it off until the end of the year. Perhaps he really wants the appearance fee he will make for playing Basel. All that said, he is clearly in precarious physical condition, and he lost to Feliciano Lopez in Shanghai, his last match. Feli is an opponent he has dominated before, and I believe if Bolelli can put up any sort of competitive resistance, Nadal may be weakened enough for him to win this. Nadal has a 3-0 lead in the h2h, but Bolelli did grab a set off the Spaniard indoors in Rotterdam, and though it’s an iffy pick I have Bolelli winning this one, having come through the qualifying rounds with a pair of wins. Bolelli is a feisty enough player to not be intimidated by Nadal, and he has talent, so it seems like a reasonable pick.

Top Half:

Roger Federer begins his quest for a sixth title in Basel against Gilles Muller, who will likely give him a test but I do not see much upset potential there given how well Federer played in Shanghai, and the fact he leads the h2h 4-0. Denis Istomin or Jerzy Janowicz awaits the world number 2 in the second round. Both can be dangerous at times, but Fed is 5-0 against Istomin and has a h2h win over Janowicz on clay, so again he should advance into the quarterfinals.

Look for another Federer vs. Grigor Dimitrov match in Basel, this time in the quarterfinals. The Stockholm finalist opens with the young gun Alex Zverev, who is not as skilled indoors as he is on clay, and then will get the Pospisil/Nieminen winner. Vashy or Nemo could test a possibly fatigued Dimitrov, but I’m going to stick with the favorite through to the quarters. After that, it’s Federer over Baby Fed given it’s Basel, and Dimitrov would have put in a lot of matches in consecutive weeks by that point.

The Wawrinka/Kukushkin winner is likely to face Benjamin Becker in round 2, assuming the veteran German defeats qualifier Gastao Elias. Becker comes off quarters in Vienna and like Kukushkin, he is playing well. I see Becker beating Wawrinka if he emerges from that round 1 match with Kukushkin, and a Becker-Kuku match is a toss-up for me, giving a very slight edge to Becker, who I have making another quarterfinal this week. He made the quarters in Kuala Lumpur and the semis in Tokyo this Fall as well.

A weak quarter of the draw exists below the Wawrinka section, headlined by 8 seed Ivo Karlovic, who opens with a struggling Lukas Rosol. Karlovic comes off quarters in Vienna, while Rosol has lost four of his last five matches. Karlovic should be favored to reach the quarters, because his round 2 opponent will be either Federico Delbonis or Kenny De Schepper, a qualifier. De Schepper is in many ways a poor man’s Karlovic, relying almost exclusively on his powerful serve, but less effectively, and Delbonis was just defeated by Karlovic in Vienna. The Argentine clay courter has not proven himself to be a viable competitor indoors. Becker/Kukushkin should topple Karlovic to reach the semifinals, though Ivo has a 6-1 h2h edge over Becker. Becker beat him this year in Cincy, and I feel form favors him to advance.

Bottom Half:

The Nadal/Bolelli winner will face qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert or Edouard Roger-Vasselin. ERV is saddled with a five match losing streak at the moment and he’s been poorly for a while. Herbert, on the other hand, has done very well in the fall indoor events in Europe even while having to play the qualifying rounds. He qualified here in Basel and in Stockholm, where he won a match. If Bolelli gets through, I’d put Herbert into the quarterfinals by virtue of the fact he’s at his best indoors and mainly has struggled to live up to his potential throughout his career thus far.

If Nadal is notably weakened and loses early, this section will open up for the Coric/Gulbis winner, given Teymuraz Gabashvili, and Andrey Golubev, their possible round 2 opponents, are far from imposing. I have Gulbis into the quarterfinals, and then defeating Herbert just given the ranking discrepancy, but this is an incredibly hard section to predict and I could see it breaking a multitude of ways. Coric, Bolelli and of course Nadal could all make cases for why they should be the semifinalist in this section of the draw. It’s a shaky toss-up section and quarter based upon the health of Gulbis and Nadal, and the form of Herbert, Coric and Bolelli.

Goffin/Thiem will be in the drivers seat in the section above Gulbis. The winner of that match is likely to face Ivan Dodig, assuming he dispatches Marco Chiudinelli, and either Goffin or Thiem should be favored to reach the quarterfinals over the inconsistent Dodig, who can play really well at times, but then quite poorly in his next match. Look for Goffin to reach the quarterfinals here and continue his winning streak.

Milos Raonic lost his first match in Moscow, but he was likely still recovering from being ill, and he ought to be in good enough condition to beat Steve Johnson and Carlos Berlocq/Donald Young to reach the quarters. Johnson has a dark horse chance at being a quarterfinalist if Raonic is not up to par, but Raonic has a h2h edge. Given how well Goffin has played since Wimbledon, I have him in the semis over Raonic. Raonic is one of the four players left competing for the final two World Tour Final Spots. He’s on the outside looking in, though and he is the only one of the four (Berdych, Murray, and Ferrer) who is playing Basel this week, losing early in Moscow while Murray, Berdych and Ferrer all gained ground with a pair of titles and a final respectively, really hurting the Canadian’s chances.

Dark Horse: Benjamin Becker
It is quite possible that two non-seeds will reach the semifinals, and Becker is my pick to be one of them. The German has been consistent this fall and he plays well indoors on quicker surfaces. His late career resurgence should set him on a path to the semifinals to face Federer, who he is very unlikely to defeat.

Predictions

Semis:
Federer d. Becker
Goffin d. Gulbis

Fed and Goffin have to be favorites this week, unless Nadal, Dimitrov, Raonic or others like Becker, Pospisil or Kukushkin can exceed expectations and rise to the occasion. Both have been two of the most consistent performers this fall and they would be well-deserved to make the final.

Final:
Federer d. Goffin

It’s hard to pick against Federer in Basel. Goffin might be playing out his socks right now but Fed is a whole different level and he is also playing well right now.

Chris De Waard’s picks

Semis:
Federer d. Kukushkin
Nadal d. Goffin

Final:
Nadal d. Federer

ATP Valencia
Valencia Open 500
ATP World Tour 500
Valencia, Spain
October 20-October 26, 2014
Prize Money: € 1,496,095

Top 8 seeds (ATP Ranking in parentheses)
1: David Ferrer (5)
2: Tomas Berdych (7)
3: Andy Murray (10)
4: Feliciano Lopez (14)
5: John Isner (15)
6: Roberto Bautista Agut (16)
7: Kevin Anderson (17)
8: Gilles Simon (18)

Valencia has three of the current top 10, and all of the tournament seeds are top 20 players. This tournament is not as star-studded as Basel, but it is more balanced and competitive.

First Round matchups to watch:

Mikhail Youzhny vs. (Q)Thomas Bellucci
The defending champion, who also has another final in Valencia on his resume, is in danger of failing to advance out of the first round against an in-form Bellucci. Normally known for his prowess on clay, the veteran Brazilian has surprisingly found some late season form indoors and he has now won four of his last five matches, including a quality three set win over Feliciano Lopez in Vienna, where he made the quarterfinals. Youzhny was likewise a quarterfinalist in Moscow but he has had few impressive wins this season and didn’t have a difficult path to the quarters. Youzhny is 2-0 against Bellucci on hard courts in his career, but I’m going to go out on a limb and pick Bellucci to get an upset win over the seemingly fading Russian in a battle of the veterans.

(6)Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Santiago Giraldo
RBA, a finalist in Moscow, should be a heavy favorite over Giraldo, who has lost three straight matches. That said, both players are gifted shotmakers with strong forehands, and they tend to play well in a streaky manner. Both have had career years in many respects and I expect this to be an entertaining and underrated encounter, even if RBA gets through comfortably.

(8)Gilles Simon vs. Alex Dolgopolov
Simon is 8-3 since the US Open, and he of course made the Masters final in Shanghai, where he lost to Federer in a pair of tiebreaks. After struggling all season, the Frenchman has suddenly found a run of excellent play. Dolgo, by contrast, had a hot start to his season but since injuring his knee he has lost 3 straight matches to equal or inferior opponents in terms of talent and ranking, most recently to Adrian Mannarino in Stockholm. This has the potential to be a fantastic match because both guys bring a lot to the table, and the defensive grinding of Simon contrasts with the quick aggressive play of Dolgopolov. Dolgo leads the h2h, all on hard courts, 2-1, but Simon is playing much better right now and should advance, evening up the h2h in the process.

Top Half:

Hometown hero David Ferrer, who has won his local ATP tournament 3 times previously, opens with the veteran Italian Andreas Seppi in round 1. Ferrer played well and reached the final in Vienna last week, keeping up with his fellow competitors for one of the final two World Tour Finals spots. Assuming Ferrer doesn’t suffer another shockingly underwhelming result, he should get into round 2 to face his countryman Fernando Verdasco, who will take on Leo Mayer in round 1. Verdasco made the quarters in Stockholm and the two Spaniards have had contrasting careers of over and underachievement in many respects. Ferrer is 4-1 on hard court in his career against Verdasco and with the World Tour Finals and hometown pride at stake, he should reach the quarterfinals with RBA/Giraldo or Youzhny/Bellucci awaiting him. Assuming RBA is not overly fatigued, he is most likely to reach the quarters. Ferrer is 2-0 career against RBA, and I’d give him a very slight edge to reach the semis, though RBA has a case as well and it’s not cut and dried.

Shenzen and Vienna champ Andy Murray will open with a slumping Jurgen Melzer. Melzer is still capable of good tennis, but I don’t see him troubling Murray currently, given how well the Scot is playing this fall. Murray should also crush Albert Ramos or a tanking Fabio Fognini without any trouble as he pursues one of the final two World Tour Final spots available. The former Valencia champ could find himself in the quarters against Philipp Kohlschreiber, a semifinalist in Vienna. Kohli opens with a struggling Kevin Anderson, who appears ready for the season to be over, and then should face Martin Klizan in round 2, assuming Klizan defeats young American wild card Stefan Kozlov. Klizan pulled out of Vienna, but he was, of course, a semifinalist In Beijing, where he beat Nadal and Gulbis, and he could make a streaky run in Valencia as well. I’ll go out on a limb with my own bracket and put Klizan into the quarters over Kohlschreiber, but falling to Murray at that stage.

Bottom Half:

Stockholm champ Tomas Berdych, who has been playing very well this fall, should roll past Pablo Andujar and Joao Sousa/Dusan Lajovic before colliding with John Isner/Tommy Robredo in the quarters. Robredo made the quarters in Moscow, but Isner is 3-0 career against him, including 2-0 on hard courts, so he should be favored to win that round 1 battle. Isner/Robredo will face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Rendy Lu in round 2, both streaky players who are unlikely to put up much resistance. Berdych has won his last four meetings against Isner, including most recently in the Beijing quarterfinals. The Czech tends to do everything the American does as a strength, only better, and with more variety to his game. Look for Berdych to make another semifinal or better this week.

Feliciano Lopez was upset in Vienna, but he should get past round 1 on home soil against qualifier Norbert Gombos, and I’d also favor him over one of his countryman in round 2. Pablo Carreno Busta or Marcel Granollers. That said, Gilles Simon should be able to roll to the semifinals if he can defeat Dolgopolov, Jeremy Chardy or qualifier Malek Jaziri, who might put up some resistance, but Simon should be in the right form right now to get himself to the semis.

Dark Horse: Martin Klizan
Klizan seems to the non-seeded player who is in the right kind of form to make noise while having a good spot in the draw. If the Slovak can get past Kohli/Anderson in round 2, he would almost assuredly face Murray, who appears to be a very tough out right now, but he’s still more beatable than he’s been on previous occasions. I don’t see Klizan getting past the quarters, but the possibly is there if something goes wrong with Murray.

Predictions

Semis:
Murray d. Ferrer
Simon d. Berdych

Murray just beat Ferrer in Vienna. It was a close match, but still the result is likely to be the same a week later. Simon likewise just defeated Berdych recently in Shanghai and he’s 2-1 on indoor hard against the Czech in what has been a pretty even h2h history. Simon should be fresher than Berdych and that is why I give him the edge.

Final:
Murray d. Simon

Murray won a great 3 setter with Simon in Acapulco this year when both players were struggling to find their form. He’s totally dominated the h2h with the Frenchman, including a 7-0 record on hard courts because he’s a superior counterpuncher and returner compared to Simon, and has more weapons than the Frenchman when it gets down to it. Murray wants to play in front of the home crowd in London at the World Tour Finals and a title in Valencia would go a long way towards clinching him a spot.

Chris De Waard’s picks

Semis:
Murray d. Ferrer
Simon d. Berdych

Final:
Murray d. Simon

Janowicz, Querrey, Rosol, and Lu are semifinalists at @WSOpen 2014

Posted by Admin on August 22, 2014

Posted in: ATP, Winston-Salem Open. Tagged: 2014, atp, Jerzy Janowicz, mens, North Carolina, open, recap, salem, tennis, us open, Wednesday, Winston, winston salem, WS, Yen-Hsun Lu.

Janowicz, Querrey, Rosol, and Lu are semifinalists at Winston-Salem Open 2014
Eric Logan, Tennis East Coast

Quarterfinal day, my final day at the Winston-Salem Open, was an eventful if disappointing one as the four semifinalists were decided. Spectators arrived to Center Court for four singles matches and one doubles match for the honor of playing on Friday in the semifinals.

The first quarterfinal was played between Taiwanese number one Yen-Hsun Lu and Italian Andreas Seppi. While the two are ranked closely and were both seeded in the 9-16 range at the event, their form could not have been more polar opposite coming into the Wake Forest event. Lu has been in superb form, beating Berdych in Cincinnati and nearing his career high rank. Seppi, on the other hand, has a negative win-loss record this year and seems on the downswing.

Their respective forms were telling as Lu broke early. Seppi had chances to break back, but repeatedly missed returns. In fact, the return seemed to be the source of the vast majority of the Italian’s woes, as it repeatedly found the net and the point was over before it had begun.

Lu reaches the semis and continues his career year

Lu reaches the semis and continues a career best year for him

The second set began with a poor Seppi service game, where Lu broke to cheers from his coaching camp. It was around that time that the announcement was made that defined the day for many fans: 2012 champion John Isner had withdrawn from his clash with the big-hitting Czech, seventh seed Lukas Rosol. The marquee match of the day now canceled, the crowd seemed almost to will themselves into emotionally investing in the match at hand.

That task proved difficult as Seppi continued to play woefully- at one point getting a chance to get back on even terms at 15-40 only to miss four consecutive returns. The 6-4 6-4 final score was generous to the fourteenth seed as he struggled to ever make any headway on the Lu serve. The match ended with almost two hours before the next match, which while doubtless a boon to the concession vendors, was unkind to the fans who had to wait in the heat for David Goffin and Jerzy Janowicz to play the only other day session semifinal.

After the match finally began, Janowicz quickly broke. The Belgian’s serve proved an enormous liability, and although throughout the first set Goffin seemed the better player off the ground, the Pole’s potent returns coupled with his own huge serve (which was more reliable than normal) allowed for Janowicz to take the set 6-4 after a game in which the net and the side of the racquet favored him on more than one occasion. In the second set, the confident and aggressive baseline play coupled with excellent retrieval that led Goffin to win 25 straight matches was nowhere to be seen as he was broken twice to lose the match 6-4 6-2. Janowicz would advance to the semifinal to play the winner of the day’s night match.

Janowicz snaps Goffin’s win streak

With Rosol getting the walkover into the semifinals, the only other quarterfinal was contested between Sam Querrey and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Querrey had his serve and forehand working and he prevailed 6-7 6-2 6-4 as GGL faded late. In the only doubles match contested yesterday, Jamie Murray and John Peers beat Mariusz Frystenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-3 6-4.

Sanity Finally Prevails @WSOpen R16 #WSOpen

Posted by Admin on August 21, 2014

Posted in: ATP, Winston-Salem Open. Tagged: 2014, atp, mens, North Carolina, open, recap, salem, tennis, us open, Wednesday, Winston, winston salem, WS.

Sanity Finally Prevails @WSOpen R16 #WSOpen
Eric Logan, Tennis East Coast

Groth=147 mph serve

The seeds met in the R16 today at the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina. The day produced some great drama, a wide variety of quality, and in the end, the majority of favored players advanced.

Action began on center court (and only center court, given the small number of matches on courts two and three) with twelfth seed Edouard Roger-Vasselin considered the underdog against Jerzy Janowicz despite his higher rank. Fresh off a controversial win over Joao Sousa, the Pole came back from a set down to win in a rather messy three set-match. The quality of tennis was low, but there was great drama at the end as Janowicz faced break point from 40-0 up serving for the match before serving out a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win.

Janowicz’s victory was followed by what would be considered the match of the day by most present, where fifth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez faced eleventh seeded American Donald Young. A tight first set was decided in a tiebreak in which, after a great effort earlier in the set to save a number of set points, the Spaniard crumbled at 4-5 in the tiebreak, losing both service points. Garcia-Lopez rebounded by breaking twice in the second set by prevailing in numerous beautiful rallies.

In the third, Garcia-Lopez captured the break and looked poised to win when he held two match points serving at 5-4. Young brought the crowd to its feet, however, by saving them with a return winner and a smash off a smash before Garcia-Lopez broke himself on a double fault. After drawing the set to a tiebreak, Young then held two match points at 6-4. Garcia-Lopez saved the first with a forehand winner before Young threw the second away with a double fault of his own. Garcia-Lopez then hit another of his countless forehand winners to set up a third match point on his serve, which he took at last.

The third match on Center court was another low-quality affair, where Sam Querrey dispatched an out-of-sorts Kevin Anderson in a match defined by countless Anderson unforced errors by a score of 7-6(4) 6-4. This match brought an end to the day session on center court, and left the tournament without three of its top four seeds after Robredo and Mayer’s losses in the previous round.

On the outer courts, eight players attempted to punch their tickets into the quarterfinals. Marcel Granollers arrived late to his match against Yen-Hsun Lu and looked thoroughly unprepared to play tennis. The eighth seed fell to the ninth 6-1 6-2 in a match in which he sliced the vast majority of groundstrokes, was kept on the defense constantly, and won only two return points in the second set.

David Goffin continued his win streak with a 6-4 4-6 6-4 score against an unexpectedly game Jarkko Nieminen. Nieminen has been in very poor form in contrast to Goffin’s 24 (now 25) straight victories. In the end, however, Goffin’s game proved more solid than the Finn’s. Lukas Rosol defeated Pablo Andujar 1-6 6-2 6-2 in an up-and-down match that seemed to end with words between the players. Nicolas Mahut was unable to back up his win against Tommy Robredo as he fell 6-4 7-6(7) to Andreas Seppi.

In the night match, top seeded John Isner took on thirteenth seed Mikhail Kukushkin. The Kazakhstani player began
the match extremely poorly, surrendering the first set 6-1 in a flurry of unforced errors amid some good returning by Isner. Kukushkin raised his game in the second to make the match competitive, but was unable to return Isner’s huge serve in critical moments and in the end surrendered 6-1 7-6(3).

The day’s most dramatic match in doubles ended the same way the most dramatic match in singles had: heartbreak for Donald Young. Young and Nicolas Monroe lost the first set to Florin Mergea and Joao Sousa 6-2 before roaring back to win 5 games in a row and send the match to a supertiebreak at 2-6 6-1. Here, the American team led 7-1 amid a number of bad calls against the Europeans that had even the North Carolina crowd calling out in dismay and had to have Sousa wondering if the officials had a pact against him. Things then began to turn, and it was a tighter 6-9 when Young and Monroe arrived at match point.

On the first match point, Sousa served an ace. The second was dealt with routinely as well. The third, however, was the shot of the tournament thus far. Off of a big Young serve that looked to have the point won, Mergea hit a stunning full stretch backhand return winner that seemed a good deal faster than the aggressive serve. Mergea backed up the shot with a big forehand, and a point later Mergea and Sousa clinched an incredible
comeback win.

In the final match of the day, Sam Groth showed off his enormous serve as he hit 147 miles per hour in the first game of his doubles effort partnership with Chris Guccione. The Australians faced two losers from the singles draw, Marcel Granollers and Pablo Andujar. Some clutch Granollers net play saved four break points, including a set point. Chris Guccione then tightened up to lose all three service points in the first set tiebreak to allow the Spaniards to steal a set in which they were clearly not the better team. In the second, however, they stepped it up a notch to break twice for a 7-6(4) 7-5 win.

Tomorrow’s schedule includes one doubles match, Jamie Murray and John Peers against the veteran Polish team of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski. It also includes four appealing men’s singles quarterfinal matches: John Isner against Lukas Rosol, Andreas Seppi against Yen-Hsun Lu, Jerzy Janowicz against David Goffin, and Sam Querrey against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Until then, all eight players should still feel they have a fighting shot at the title in Winston-Salem.

Dramatic Tuesday at @WSOpen Portends An Exciting Wednesday

Posted by Admin on August 20, 2014

Posted in: ATP, US Open, Winston-Salem Open. Tagged: 2014, atp, Bradley, Jerzy Janowicz, Joao Sousa, John Isner, Kevin Anderson, Klahn, mens, open, recap, Round of 16, Round of 32, sam querrey, winston salem.

Dramatic Tuesday at @WSOpen Portends An Exciting Wednesday
Eric Logan, Tennis East Coast

A dramatic round of 32 finished last night at the Winston-Salem open, with 14 of the 16 seeds in action. Top seeded John Isner played for the first time in the night session, attracting a huge crowd in his home state, and for many, announcing the arrival of the critical stages of the event.

Second seeded Kevin Anderson opened play on center court against erratic Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. Anderson played a bit of a sloppy match, but Mannarino’s tendency to throw in very poor service games from nowhere cost him dearly against the big server in a 6-3 2-6 6-4 loss. The match was followed by third seed Tommy Robredo against Nicolas Mahut. Mahut defeated the Cincinnati quarterfinalist 6-1 7-6(0) in a match where Robredo seemed not to give his full effort.

While Anderson’s match unfolded, the most truly dramatic match of the day was being played on Court 2 between Joao Sousa and Jerzy Janowicz. After a very easy first set win for Janowicz, Sousa recovered to even the match at 1-6 6-3. Sousa broke in the third, and served for the match at 5-4. After saving break point at 30-40, Sousa once again found himself facing break point at Ad-Out. Here, Sousa hit a pass that Janowicz clearly touched but was not called by the umpire. While the crowd yelled out to the umpire that the Pole had touched the ball, Janowicz appeared to confess to Sousa he had touched it without conceding the point. A long argument ensued which seemed in danger of becoming physical at times. Janowicz would go on to win the match 6-1 3-6 7-6(5). The two continued to argue even after the match ended, and it seems likely both will be fined for the spectacle.

A pair of matches went an extraordinary distance in the blazing heat. Aleksandr Nedovyesov put up a good effort against twelfth seed Edouard Roger-Vasselin, but fell 7-6(9) 6-7(5) 6-4 in 2 hours and 43 minutes. In a shorter (and rather low quality) but physical match, slumping fourteenth seed Andreas Seppi struggled past Argentine clay specialist Federico Delbonis 7-5 6-7(5) 6-2. Another lengthy but rather high quality match was one between Mikhail Kukushkin and Robin Haase, with the thirteenth seed prevailing 5-7 7-6(2) 6-4.

An all-American match between Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson saw Querrey prevail 6-4 6-3. It was a poor showing by Johnson from 4-2 up in the first set, with the higher-ranked of the two making a number of routine unforced errors. Querrey has now defended at least some of last year’s semifinal points, saving his ranking from dipping even further.

In the night session, John Isner dispatched Bradley Klahn 7-6(5) 6-2. Klahn was the better player in the first set, winning more points than the top seed, but as he so often does, Isner found a way to win in in a tiebreak. Afterwards, Klahn’s resistance crumbled as he played two abysmal games to go down 0-4 and winning only two return points in the second set.

Elsewhere around the grounds, Yen-Hsun Lu dispatched Blaz Rola 6-4 7-5, with Rola’s serve not good enough to compensate for his failure to win rallies. Fourth seed Leonardo Mayer bowed out meekly 6-3 6-1 to David Goffin to worsen his poor hard court record. Pablo Andujar defeated Igor Sijsling 6-4 6-3.

In perhaps the disappointment of the day, Ryan Harrison retired leading an extremely poor Lukas Rosol 6-3 1-2. Harrison had been up a set and a break. Marcel Granollers easily dismissed Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3 6-3, and Frank Dancevic fared even worse in a 6-1 6-3 loss to Donald Young. It is worth noting that for all the criticism Berlocq and Granollers get for their grunts, for my money, Sousa’s is louder.

In doubles action, the exodus of seeds continued. Fourth seeded Huey and Inglot’s withdrew and were replaced with Florin Mergea and Joao Sousa. Top seeded pair Leander Paes and David Marrero’s campaign was cut short as a back injury forced Marrero to retire to the huge-serving team of Sam Groth and Chris Guccione. The first quarterfinal saw Cabal and Farah defeat Mahut and Haase, while Mergea and Sousa, Fyrstenburg and Matkowski, and third seeds Murray and Peers advanced to that round. Sousa’s effort was commendable given the manner of his loss earlier.

Today’s action sees the seeds meet in the round of sixteen. Top seed John Isner will take on Mikhail Kukushkin in what is sure to be an entertaining night match. Other match-ups include Anderson-Querrey, Janowicz-Roger Vasselin, Lu-Granollers, and Garcia Lopez-Young. The final eight will be decided by tonight on what promises to be another exciting day from North Carolina.

Mladenovic Withdraws @ConnecticutOpen; Results, Monday OOP

Posted by Admin on August 17, 2014

Posted in: Connecticut Open, US Open, US Open National Playoffs, WTA. Tagged: Connecticut Open, draw, Kristina Mladenovic, monday, new haven, oop, open, results, Schedule, Withdraw, wta.

Kiki Mladenovic (Photo: Christopher Levy for TennisEastCoast.com)

Following the withdrawal of Kristina Mladenovic (playing with Timea Babos) due to lumbar spine injury, prior to the commencement of the Main Draw Doubles, the team of Medina Garrigues/Shvedova become Seed #5 moving to line 5.

Alternate team of Riske/Vandeweghe move into the draw on line 9.

CONNECTICUT OPEN PRESENTED BY UNITED TECHNOLOGIES – NEW HAVEN, USA
$ 710,000.00
17-23 AUGUST 2014

RESULTS – AUGUST 17, 2014
Women’s Singles – First Round

[6] F Pennetta (ITA) d K Koukalova (CZE) 61 63
A Riske (USA) d C Dellacqua (AUS) 61 64
C Giorgi (ITA) d C Vandeweghe (USA) 63 61
E Makarova (RUS) d R Vinci (ITA) 63 63

Women’s Doubles – First Round
A Klepac (SLO) / S Soler-Espinosa (ESP) d [2] K Peschke (CZE) / K Srebotnik (SLO) 76(2) 64
D Jurak (CRO) / M Moulton-Levy (USA) d [4] H Chan (TPE) / J Zheng (CHN) 61 75

Women’s Qualifying Singles – Third Round
Qualifying – S Peng (CHN) d K Knapp (ITA) 63 63
Qualifying – I Begu (ROU) d [WC] C Garcia (FRA) 64 57 76(5)
Qualifying – B Bencic (SUI) d M Barthel (GER) 63 76(6)
Qualifying – S Soler-Espinosa (ESP) d K Kanepi (EST) 64 62
Qualifying – M Doi (JPN) d A Beck (GER) 76(4) 26 76(3)
Qualifying – T Bacsinszky (SUI) d F Schiavone (ITA) 62 75

USONP Men’s Singles Championship – Semifinals
[1] S Singh (IND) d [4] R Schneider (USA) 76(4) 61
[2] J Dadamo (USA) d [3] J Witten (USA) 63 36 63

USONP Women’s Singles Championship – Semifinals
C Whoriskey (USA) d [4] A Weinhold (USA) 64 61
M Gordon (USA) d [5] J Cako (USA) 61 62

CONNECTICUT OPEN PRESENTED BY UNITED TECHNOLOGIES – NEW HAVEN, USA
$ 710,000.00
17-23 AUGUST 2014

ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2014
STADIUM start 12:00 noon
WTA – [Q] S Peng (CHN) vs E Svitolina (UKR)
WTA – [WC] S Stosur (AUS) vs K Nara (JPN)

Not Before 3:30 pm
WTA – B Jovanovski (SRB) vs [3] E Bouchard (CAN)

Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – [4] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [Q] T Bacsinszky (SUI)
WTA – [5] [WC] D Cibulkova (SVK) vs [WC] A Petkovic (GER)

GRANDSTAND start 12:00 noon
WTA – G Muguruza (ESP) vs [7] S Errani (ITA)
WTA – [8] C Suárez Navarro (ESP) vs [Q] I Begu (ROU)
WTA – [WC] K Flipkens (BEL) vs [Q] M Doi (JPN)
WTA – [5] A Medina Garrigues (ESP) / Y Shvedova (KAZ) vs S Peer (ISR) / K Piter (POL)

COURT 1 start 12:00 noon
WTA – B Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) vs [Q] B Bencic (SUI)
WTA – M Rybarikova (SVK) vs [Q] S Soler-Espinosa (ESP)
WTA – O Kalashnikova (GEO) / A Rosolska (POL) vs C Dellacqua (AUS) / S Voegele (SUI)
WTA – C Garcia (FRA) / M Niculescu (ROU) vs A Groenefeld (GER) / K Koukalova (CZE)

COURT 2 start 12:00 noon
USONP Women – M Gordon (USA) vs C Whoriskey (USA)
USONP Men – [1] S Singh (IND) vs [2] J Dadamo (USA)

—M. Van Tuinen, CT Open

2014 ATP Winston-Salem (@WSOpen) Preview

Posted by Admin on August 16, 2014

Posted in: ATP, Winston-Salem Open. Tagged: 2014, atp, John Isner, Kevin Anderson, North Carolina, open, picks, predictions, preview, Series, us open, winston salem.

2014 ATP Winston-Salem Preview

Tennis East Coast is happy to announce we will have live coverage from the early rounds of the Winston-Salem Open this year thanks to our on site correspondent Zephyr Logan. His reports will begin tomorrow from the grounds at Wake Forest University. Until then, here is a preview of the tournament, which serves as the end of the Emirates Airlines US Open Series, and the final tune-up before the US Open for all participants.

ATP Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem Open
ATP World Tour 250
Winston-Salem NC, USA
August 17-August 23, 2014
Prize Money: $598,260

Top 8 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: John Isner (14)
2: Kevin Anderson (17)
3: Tommy Robredo (20)
4: Leonardo Mayer (26)
5: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (32)
6: Joao Sousa (37)
7: Lukas Rosol (38)
8: Marcel Granollers (39)

The top 16 seeds get first round byes, and for a pre-slam 250, Winston-Salem has an excellent field.

First round matchups to watch:

Noah Rubin (Photo: Cynthia Lum / USTA)

Bradley Klahn vs. (WC)Noah Rubin
Klahn is taking part in his first tournament in quite some time after injuries further derailed his season. He will take on the Kalamazoo and Wimbledon junior champ Noah Rubin, who already has a US Open main draw wild card in his back pocket and will be playing this match in preparation for his grand slam debut.

It has been a miserable debut season on the ATP tour for Klahn, who has seen his one-dimensional game exposed by many an ATP opponent. His lone ATP win over Daniel Brands was back in January in Auckland and he has lost nine straight ATP level tilts since then. Overall, he is just 3-16 at the ATP level in his career since 2010.

Rubin, meanwhile, is making his ATP debut here in Winston-Salem and he is yet to win a match at the challenger or qualifying level (0-4 overall outside of junior play). With Klahn coming off of an injury he is, at best, a slight favorite, but Rubin has a great shot to get the win.

Robin Haase vs. Benoit Paire

Haase hasn’t been anything but a journeyman so far this season and will be playing his first hard court match since Miami. Paire was struggling and has fallen out of the top 100, but he has experienced a boost in form in the past two weeks, perhaps spurred on by the fact he was able to push Stan Wawrinka to a third set tiebreak in Toronto before coming up short. After having to go through qualies in both Toronto and Cincy, Paire is 5-2 in his last 7 matches and has beaten reasonable ATP level opponents like Alejandro Falla and Blaz Rola in that stretch. With everything to gain, Paire has a chance to excel this week but he first must dispatch Haase, who will likely play poorly.

Jerzy Janowicz vs. Carlos Berlocq

Another player who returned to form after a poor 2014 is Jerzy Janowicz. He upset Grigor Dimitrov en route to a third round showing in Cincy and he may finally have found a spark to kick-start his abysmal 2014 season.

Berlocq is returning from injury and has not played on a hard court in a while, so he should make easy fodder for the big hitting Janowicz, who defeated him once before indoors in 2012. Berlocq usually puts a lot of balls back in play though, and Janowicz must keep his errors down to grab the win.

Top Half:

John Isner has never lost in Winston-Salem, as he was the champion in both 2011 and 2012, while skipping the tournament last year. While he seems to love Winston-Salem, his form has been poor the past two weeks as he exited in the third round of Cincy and the first round of Toronto and Washington (overall 2-3 in his last five matches after winning in Atlanta).

Something appears to be up with Isner and his game right now, but it is unlikely he will have any trouble with Klahn/Rubin. His first test may come against Paire in the third round, assuming Paire beats Mikhail Kukushkin after beating Robin Haase. Kukushkin has proven to be a more formidable competitor at the challenger level than at the ATP level, and Isner against either Paire or Kukushkin is still likely to be safe from defeat.

Lukas Rosol will be playing his first tournament of the US Open Series in Winston-Salem. The Czech will take on Ryan Harrison or JL Struff for his first match, and he is likely to go through to face either Pablo Andujar or Igor Sijsling/Andrey Golubev in the third round. Harrison is struggling and Struff isn’t a top hard court performer, meanwhile Sijsling, Golubev and Andujar are playing on hard courts for the first time in a while. Rosol over Andujar is my pick to reach the quarterfinals.

Cincy quarterfinalist Tommy Robredo, who upset Novak Djokovic in Cincy in a week that has to be the highlight of his 2014 season, will take on Blaz Kavcic or Nicolas Mahut, and unless he tanks he should be through to face Andreas Seppi/Martin Klizan/Federico Delbonis in round 3. With Seppi being primarily a clay courter who has not been in top form all season, Klizan has a chance to sneak into the third round or perhaps do even better than that, given his streaky talent. Seppi has a 2-0 h2h with Klizan and both players come off early losses in Cincy. Given this is not a difficult section, Robredo should extend his record of 5-2 in his last 7 matches to 7-2 in his last 9 matches and reach the quarterfinals.

Marcel Granollers could have trouble against Paul-Henri Mathieu/Robby Ginepri in his first match. The Spaniard is 3-1 against Mathieu but he has lost three straight matches. These three players are all unpredictable and fragile veterans and though Ginepri upset Dominic Thiem as I predicted he might in Cincy, he was crushed by Milos Raonic in the next round. Ginepri has a slight h2h edge over Mathieu though Mathieu won their last meeting in Indian Wells this year, and Ginepri also has a 2009 win over Granollers indoors, so I have Ginepri through to the third round in my own bracket as a bit of a surprise. I’d expect Ginepri to be sent home by Rendy Lu in the third round, though. Lu beat Berdych in Cincy and is 2-2 in his last four matches, a good mark for the Taiwanese ball striker who does his best on hard courts. Lu is likely to face Blaz Rola in his first match unless Rola falls to a qualifier. Rola was a lucky loser in Cincy and lost in the first round to eventual semifinalist Julien Benneteau in a nail-biting third set tiebreak. Also, David Goffin is in the qualifying draw and is one to watch out for if he qualifies and is placed in a section such as this.

Bottom Half:

A hugely anticipated third round clash could occur between Kevin Anderson and Steve Johnson. Anderson lost to Isner in Cincy and may still be mentally struggling while Johnson had good runs in both DC and Cincy, losing to Milos Raonic both times after wins over top names Isner and Ernests Gulbis. Anderson must defeat Adrian Mannarino/qualifier to reach round 3, and Johnson must defeat Pere Riba/Sam Querrey to do the same. I don’t see Querrey spoiling things and I favor Johnson reaching the quarterfinals over Anderson.

Garcia-Lopez, who has lost his last five, could very well have trouble with Dustin Brown in round 2, assuming the big serving German can defeat Alejandro Gonzalez. Brown hasn’t played on hard courts in a while and he is on a three match losing streak, while Gonzalez is a competent hard court competitor. That one is a hard match to call, but I have GGL falling to the winner simply because he’s a streaky player and right now his form is way down.

Donald Young (Photo: Chris Levy @Tennis_Shots for TennisEastCoast.com)

Donald Young has a great chance in this section, as his first match will be against Frank Dancevic/Thomaz Bellucci, neither of whom are likely to be a threat. Young, who played well in DC, and lost in the second round of Toronto, just beat Dancevic on home soil in Canada and I have him through to the quarterfinals against Johnson in an all-American battle.

Breakthrough veteran Leo Mayer will open with Jurgen Melzer, the defending champion, or a qualifier. Given he much prefers clay, even an out of form Melzer or the qualifier, should reach the third round. Melzer/qualifier could meet Jarkko Nieminen or Benjamin Becker/Pablo Carreno Busta at that stage. Becker, who made the second round in Cincy as a qualifier, has been in far superior form compared to any other player in this section but he has lost his four meetings with Nieminen, who is playing for the first time since Kitzbuhel. I see a qualifier/Melzer falling to Becker, who is the most likely quarterfinalist in this section once the dust settles.

Last but not least, Joao Sousa will take on the winner of Janowicz/Berlocq, and Janowicz is probably a small favorite to reach the third round. Sousa has been struggling for a while and is unlikely to capitalize on his seeding. Look for a Janowicz vs. Edouard-Roger-Vasselin or Aleksandr Nedovyesov/qualifier third round meeting. ERV is also struggling, having lost three straight, including a third set tiebreak loss to Fabio Fognini in Cincy. This is another section where a qualifier like Goffin could capitalize and make a deep run. As it stands, Janowicz is the most likely quarterfinalist.

Dark Horse: Jerzy Janowicz
The Pole has a favorable draw that should allow him to get past Berlocq, Sousa, and ERV/qualifier, then dispatch Becker in the quarterfinals to reach the semis. With his likely opponents Johnson/Young/Anderson, I’d have him, if he’s in form, favored in any of those semifinal matchups. I have JJ as a finalist this week and a potential champion.

Predictions
Semis:
Isner d. Lu
Janowicz d. Johnson

It’s hard to pick against Isner in W-S when the draw gives me no reason to do so. Rosol may resist, but I don’t think he has the game to win that matchup on an outdoor hard court. Likewise, Lu will probably be overpowered like he has been in all three previous meetings, including two this season, with the American number one. All of those matches took place on outdoor hard courts. As for how Lu got the semis, Robredo is formidable but he is likely to want to conserve his energy for the US Open. By the time he is slated to play Lu, he is unlikely to give the match all his passion.

I’m favoring Janowicz to make the final as previously stated, and Johnson should have a form edge over Young after defeating Anderson. Johnson is also a possible finalist though.

Final:
Isner d. Janowicz

They have never met before, but Isner’s higher ranking and home-cooking should make him the favorite to win a third W-S title and stay undefeated at the Wake Forest venue.

Chris De Waard’s Picks

Semis:
Isner d. Robredo
Johnson d. Roger-Vasselin

Final:
Isner d. Johnson

.@KeiNishikori Hits With Citi Kids @CitiOpen & Press Conference Video

Posted by Admin on July 29, 2014

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: 2014, atp, Citi, dc, Education, Foundation, japan, Kei Nishikori, kid's, mens, open, tennis, washington.

.@KeiNishikori Hits With Citi Kids @CitiOpen & Press Conference Video

Kei and Citi Kids
(Photo: Susan Hornyak)

Today, Citi, title sponsor of the 2014 Citi Open® Tournament, hosted a fun-filled Citi Kids program in collaboration with the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF), a premier educational and tennis organization for underserved children in Washington, D.C. The event featured the World Ranked No. 11 ATP Star of Japan, Kei Nishikori, who was joined by 50 children from the WTEF.

Later, at his press conference, Nishikori described the improvements to his game, his pride at the induction of mentor Nick Bollettieri into the Tennis Hall of Fame and where he wants to go from top 10.

Kei and Citi Kids
(Photo: Susan Hornyak)

Kei Nishikori is the only Japanese tennis player to be ranked inside the top 10 in ATP Singles Rankings. This year, Nishikori made it to the final of the Madrid Open, his first masters-level championship final, and the fourth round of Wimbledon. Kei Nishikori shared his inspirational experiences on Tour, as well as advice on staying focused while pursuing both academic and athletic success, with the children from the WTEF.

Developed by Citi, Citi Kids is an educational and motivational community-based initiative for students located in the Washington, D.C. area. As the tournament’s benefactor, the WTEF is instrumental in identifying ways to ensure the continual athletic and educational success of its members, and Citi strives to aid to these efforts throughout the year.

—Dana Suss

2014 ATP @BBTAtlantaOpen, @CroatiaOpenUmag, @OpenGstaad Previews & Picks

Posted by Admin on July 20, 2014

Posted in: Atlanta, ATP, BB&T Atlanta Open. Tagged: 2014, atlanta, atp, bb&t, gstaad, open, picks, predictions, preview, Series, Umag, us open.

2014 ATP Atlanta, Umag and Gstaad Previews & Picks
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast

A trio of 250 events are on tap for the ATP world tour this week: two on Europe in clay, and of course, the start of the summer US Open Series in Atlanta on outdoor hard courts. Since I no longer live in Atlanta, we unfortunately do not have onsite coverage from the tournament this year like we have had the previous two years.

BB&T Atlanta Open
ATP World Tour 250
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
July 21-July 27, 2014
Prize Money: $568,805

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: John Isner (12)
2: Kevin Anderson (17)
3: Gael Monfils (23)
4: Vasek Pospisil (34)

Richard Gasquet pulled out of Atlanta, so the tournament now has two top 20 players in the field, both of whom met in the final last year.

First round matchups to watch:

(8)Marinko Matosevic vs. Victor Estrella
Matosevic is playing his first tournament since Wimbledon with a strong grass court season overall. His recent performances have very nearly propelled him into the top 50. Estrella reached his first career ATP semifinal in Bogota at the age of 33 and he played some great tennis in the Colombian capital, including a straight sets upset victory over Richard Gasquet. Matosevic has a stronger career record and is better on hard courts, but Estrella has the mojo. This match will be interesting, but I don’t see Estrella being able to rebound so quickly, so Matosevic should advance.

(9)Sam Querrey vs. Steve Johnson
Surprisingly, the two top 70 ranked Americans have never met before, but they will meet in the opening tournament of the US Open series. Querrey has not played since Wimbledon, while Johnson has had a career year so far. They both do their best on faster surfaces, and the form advantage favors Stevie J. He should get past Sam here.

Lukas Lacko vs. (WC)Nathan Pasha
ATP journeyman Lukas Lacko will take on UGA tennis star Nate Pasha in what should be an intriguing match. Pasha got a wild card into qualies here the last two years, and both times he pushed his opponent to three sets before losing both matches. Lacko will be a heavy favorite, but he comes off a very poor showing in the Granby Challenger and he has always been known as an inconsistent player. I give Pasha a puncher’s chance to pull off a great upset victory here, and it is worth watching to see what the NCAA player can accomplish.

Top Half:

Local boy John Isner, the top seed, who has never played poorly in Atlanta, will face Robby Ginepri/Sergiy Stakhovsky in round 2. After that, he will get one of Matosevic/Burgos/Ryan Harrison/Tim Smyczek in the quarters.

Harrison will be under some pressure here, as he is defending semifinal points that he can’t afford to lose given his ranking already outside the top 140. Remember that he had to take a wild card to get main draw entry here. Harrison beat Matosevic in Atlanta last year, but I think that result will flip this time and we will see an Isner vs. Matosevic quarterfinal.

Gael Monfils, making his Hotlanta debut, will face Jack Sock or Alejandro Gonzalez. Sock played well in Newport where he reached the semis, and he has a bit of a dark horse shot here. Yet Monfils, who is playing for the first time since Wimbledon, beat him at the AO this year in straights and will likely reach the quarterfinals. Monfils should face Denis Istomin at that stage. Denis the Menace has a qualifier and Pasha/Lacko as his first two opponents. That’s a very easy route to quarterfinal points. Monfils has two indoor victories against Istomin including one this year, but Istomin had a good grass court season, so it should be a high quality match.

Bottom Half:

Kevin Anderson came up just short of taking the title last year and should be thirsty for continued success here. He faces a qualifier in his first match, and then one of Rendy Lu/qualifier/Matt Ebden/Benjamin Becker in the quarterfinals. That’s an easy-breezy route for the top South African player to get to the semifinals and he may not drop a set along the way. Both Lu and Becker have had patches of success this season and Lu likely has the best chance at the quarterfinals.

Vasek Pospisil still cannot find his form since returning from his back injury, and he is in serious trouble of taking a big tumble down the rankings soon. He still has that bye seed line for this tournament and his first opponent will be a qualifier and then Querrey/Johnson in the quarters.

Atlantan Donald Young could spoil the party though. He faces Dudi Sela first. Vashy and Stevie J are very similar players in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, but Steve is playing better right now and has a 2-0 h2h edge, so I have Johnson through to the semis.

Dark Horse: Jack Sock
Steve Johnson is also an unseeded dark horse this week, but Sock gets the designation. Gonzalez, his first opponent, isn’t known to be a particularly gifted hard court player and Monfils has always struggled with consistency. Should he upset the Flying Frenchman, Istomin in the quarters and then Isner/Matosevic in the semis would be his next two opponents. He just upset Isner in Newport after losing three previous meetings, including a meeting in Atlanta in 2012. Sock has the momentum right now.

Predictions
Semis:
Isner d. Monfils
Anderson d. Johnson

Isner and Monfils have a lengthy history against each other, and Isner comes out on top in the hard court h2h 4-2. Atlanta is one of the few places that Isner will have more crowd support than Monfils and that should pull him through a potential semifinal meeting.

Anderson and Johnson have met in Auckland and Delray this season already and the h2h record is split. This match could go either way, but Anderson played well here last year and the courts and hot temps seem to suit him well.

I have him going through, probably by winning a pair of tiebreaks.

Final:
Isner d. Anderson

They met last year, and played three nail biting tiebreaks before Isner finally prevailed in the heat. Overall, he has beaten the South African twice in Atlanta and 6 times overall, while Anderson has 4 wins out of their ten meetings. This match would again be all about breaking serve and tiebreaks. A single break of serve or a tiebreak victory likely will swing the needle one way or another if they meet. I’m going with a repeat of last year and Isner to get the title.

ATP Umag
Vegeta Croatia Open Umag
ATP World Tour 250
Umag, Croatia
July 21-July 27, 2014
Prize Money: € 426,605

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Fabio Fognini (15)
2: Tommy Robredo (20)
3: Marin Cilic (22)
4: Joao Sousa (35)

The clay 250 in Umag boasts two top 20 players and a solid-enough overall field.

First round matchups to watch:

Albert Montanes vs. (SE)Alex Zverev
Montanes has been in awful form as of late, and that makes this match prime pickings for Zverev, who reached his first career ATP semifinal in Hamburg at the age of 17. After being dealt baked goods by David Ferrer in that semi, the young German may be fatigued. It’s hard to predict how he will do. If he’s fresh, he should win this match. Zverev showed excellent skill and mental fortitude in Hamburg, well beyond his years.

(7)Edouard Roger-Vasselin vs. (WC)Borna Coric
ERV is playing his first tournament since Wimbledon, and he faces another great young player, Coric, who is seeking his first career ATP win after three previous 3 set losses between this season and last. Coric hasn’t had quite the rise that Kyrgios and Zverev have had, but he is due for a breakthrough as well, because he is just as gifted of a player. This week, he has a chance to announce his arrival on the main stage.

Top Half:

Fabio Fognini is struggling and he was upset early by Filip Krajinovic in Hamburg. The defending finalist could face a strong opening test with Zverev (or Montanes) but he is still my pick to get through to the quarterfinals to face one of Roger-Vasselin/Coric/Ante Pavic/qualifier. A hypothetical Zverev vs. Coric quarterfinal would be a battle of the young guns. Pavic/qualifier is not that imposing for Coric/ERV.

I am intrigued to see who will survive this section.

Joao Sousa will face Dusan Lajovic/Teymuraz Gabashvili in his first match. Sousa beat Lajovic recently in Bastad and both players have had good seasons overall. Lajovic comes off the quarters in Hamburg and a Sousa-Lajovic round 2 meeting is an absolute toss-up.

Sousa/Lajovic are likely to face Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinals, as Seppi, who has not had a good season, has a weak section featuring a pair of a qualifiers and wild card Mate Delic with whom to do battle. As a three-time semifinalist and a reliable clay court player throughout his career, the Italian number 2 should reach the quarters.

Bottom Half:

Tommy Robredo has continued to struggle. He’s just 1-2 in his last three matches, but with Benoit Paire/Albert Ramos as his first slated opponent, the defending champion should still be able to reach the quarterfinals. Ramos and Robredo have a 1-1 split h2h with both meetings on clay, and Ramos has qualified for both Bastad and Hamburg in consecutive weeks. Robredo/Ramos are likely to meet Carlos Berlocq in the quarters.

The Argentine has had a solid season, but has lost two straight matches. He opens with a qualifier and should be able to snap his losing streak before facing Pablo Carreno Busta/Paolo Lorenzi. PCB has a chance to sneak in the quarterfinals as well, but form is not in his favor after having lost two straight matches.

2012 champion and local favorite Marin Cilic will face Igor Sijsling/Julian Reister in his first match and then likely Lukas Rosol, who is in great form right now, in the quarterfinals. Rosol must first beat Diego Sebastian Schwartzman and Pere Riba/Jiri Vesely. Rosol made the final in Stuttgart and the quarters in Hamburg, but Cilic, who is playing for the first time since Wimbledon, has beaten him three previous times without dropping a set.

Rosol and Vesely are Davis Cup teammates, so if they meet in round 2, they will know each other’s games very well.

Dark Horse: Dusan Lajovic
Coric, Zverev and Ramos could all make solid runs this week, but Lajovic likely has the best chance at doing the improbable. The in-form Serbian must first get past Gabashvili and Sousa, but after that, with Seppi and one of Fognini/Zverev/Coric/ERV awaiting in the semis, he could find himself in the final this week in what would be his first career ATP final.

Predictions
Semis:
Fognini d. Lajovic
Cilic d. Berlocq

Fognini is an incredibly inconsistent player right now and he very well could crash out with a double bagel in his first match, but if can play anywhere near up to par, the quality of his opponents should allow him to reach the final. Cilic is a local favorite and a strong player overall who should be able to get through to the final, with Berlocq having a slight edge to advance to the semis.

Final:
Cilic d. Fognini

Cilic and Fabio have a 1-1 clay h2h and Cilic beat Fognini in the Umag semis in 2011. With Fognini being terribly inconsistent, Cilic should take another ATP title this week.

Gstaad Official Site (Photo: Valeriano Di Domenico)

ATP Gstaad
Credit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad
ATP World Tour 250
Gstaad, Switzerland
July 21-July 27, 2014
Prize Money: € 426,605

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Mikhail Youzhny (19)
2: Marcel Granollers (28)
3: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (31)
4: Fernando Verdasco (33)

Gstaad has the strong traveling Spanish Armada contingent but just one top 25 player, making it the weakest tournament this week.

First round matchups to watch:

Thomaz Bellucci vs. (Q)Gerald Melzer
The younger Melzer is seeking his first career ATP main draw victory, as he qualified here. Melzer has had a hard time breaking through to this level but he will have a chance against Bellucci, who hasn’t been a good player in a while and has continued to struggle recently. He’s lost two straight on clay and hasn’t had a good result since before the French Open. Melzer should get that elusive first career ATP win in this one.

(8)Dominic Thiem vs. (WC)Viktor Troicki

Usually, the young Dominic Thiem is the focal point of his featured matches, but this time it is Troicki, who is returning from a very contentious doping suspension 12 months later. Troicki has been practicing with his compatriot Novak Djokovic among others to stay in shape. He is playing his first tournament match in a year and he starts from scratch in terms of ranking. There was some contention about whether he would get a wild card here. Gstaad did finally award him one, but Thiem is a tough opponent in any return to the tour. This week, he is seeded for the first time in his career at the ATP level and he has had an excellent season. He won a pair of matches in Hamburg last week and he should give Troicki a good workout as the Serbian seeks to return to his former level, with a serious chip on his shoulder this time.

Top Half:

Mikhail Youzhny will face Filippo Volandri/Kenny De Schepper in his first match. The defending champion has not had a good season and he lost to Zverev in Hamburg, but he should reach the quarters given king Kenny and Super Pippo are in even worse form right now. Youzhny vs. Robin Haase is the expected quarterfinal. That would be a rematch of last year’s final here, though the Dutchman Haase is also struggling and hasn’t had a good season. He faces Aleksandr Nedovyesov first, then one of Gianni Mina or Henri Laaksonen. The Swiss Laaksonen will have a dark horse chance at the quarters, but Youzhny may well reach the semifinals by default this week, thanks to a lucky draw.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez will face Juan Monaco/Victor Hanescu first up, then one of Melzer/Bellucci/Dustin Brown/Frederico Delbonis in the quarters. Both Delbo and GGL have lost two straight matches, but they are still likely to be quarterfinalists here, with Hanescu and Monaco both in awful form and Brown too inconsistent to be the pick. I would favor GGL through to the semifinals.

Bottom Half:

Marcel Granollers lost to Thiem in Hamburg and he’s had a poor season overall. However, with his first match against Yann Marti/Daniel Gimeno-Traver, he still should reach the quarters. Gilles Simon is the seed above Granollers. He faces Pablo Andujar first before Blaz Rola/Fabiano De Paula.

This section is likely to be the most competitive: Andujar has a win on clay against Simon and he won three matches in Hamburg, while Simon won just one and has had a poor season. The Spaniard will have a chance at the upset. Rola is the player to watch here however. He’s been rising up the rankings, mostly under the radar, and he just had a good result in a clay challenger in Poland. This is the type of draw he could take advantage of and reach the quarterfinals or better.

Fernando Verdasco will face Andreas Haider-Maurer or JL Struff in round 2, then one of Thiem/Troicki/Andrey Golubev/Inigo Cervantes in the quarters. Verdasco has lost two straight matches where he was a strong favorite, and it’s Thiem who should get through all that and reach the semis over the Spaniard.

Dark Horse: Blaz Rola
As mentioned above, Rola has a realistic path to the semifinals this week, with Simon/Andujar and Granollers both struggling veterans. These small 250 events tend to produce interesting results and Rola could be another player with a breakthrough this year.

Predictions
Semis:
Garcia-Lopez d. Youzhny
Thiem d. Rola

GGL has never lost to Youzhny on clay (4-0) and he has had a better season than the Russian. Thiem-Rola would be a young gun semi, and I like the Austrian to continue his career year and reach his first career ATP final this week in Gstaad.

Final:
Thiem d. Garcia-Lopez

They have never met before, but I’m tipping Thiem to win his maiden ATP title this week. He’s due for one and it should be the first of many, especially on clay.

It’s @Gibbsyyyy over Oudin @USTAProCircuit Carson CA

Posted by Admin on July 20, 2014

Posted in: USTA, WTA. Tagged: 2014, atlanta, CA, california, carson, georgia, melanie oudin, nicole gibbs, open, stanford, us, usa, usta, wild card, wta.

NICOLE GIBBS DEFEATS MELANIE OUDIN TO CAPTURE USTA PLAYER DEVELOPMENT WOMEN’S $50,000 CLASSIC IN CARSON

CARSON, July 20, 2014 – Nicole Gibbs moved another step closer to playing in her third consecutive US Open main draw, capturing the USTA Player Development Women’s $50,000 Classic with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Melanie Oudin on Sunday at the USTA Training Center – West at StubHub Center.

Gibbs, 21, is a two-time NCAA singles winner at Stanford and earned wild-card entry into the season’s final Grand Slam the past two years by way of those wins.

With one event remaining in the US Open Wild Card Challenge, Gibbs now leads in the standings with 88 points. She is followed by Julia Boserup (63 points), Oudin (48), Louisa Chirico (44) and Sanaz Marand (30).
The final of the three-event US Open Wild Card Challenge is the Lexington, Ky., $50,000 Challenger to be played this week.

It was a tight battle throughout in the final on Sunday with Gibbs holding a 4-2 lead in the second set, before the sole of her shoe came partially off. Admitting she started to “panic,” Gibbs fell down 4-all, 40-love with Oudin serving. Gibbs then played a solid point, was aided by an untimely Oudin double fault and ultimately broke back to serve for the match.

“Tennis is like that sometimes,” said Gibbs, who won this event last year when it was held in Yakima, Wash. Without a spare pair of tennis shoes, Gibbs contemplated wearing running shoes, but opted for a tape job instead, which seemed to do the trick.

Oudin’s first-round loss in US Open qualifying last year to Elena Baltacha ended a streak of five consecutive main draw appearances at the US Open, which of course included her quarterfinal run there in 2009.
“It’s one tournament,” said Oudin, who did not play in Sacramento last week but will play Lexington, of the US Open. “I’m not worrying about this wild card. It’s the last thing on my mind. If I play well I can qualify on my own. But if I do win this wild card that’s just an added bonus.”

Gibbs, a nearby Marina Del Rey resident, said she loved playing so close to home. “Just the title of the tournament, ‘Carson $50,000,’ ” she said. “It’s so exciting to be at the place I train and have my community supporting me.”

USTA Player Development Women’s $50,000 Classic
A USTA Pro Circuit Event
Sunday, July 20
USTA Training Center – West at StubHub Center
Carson, Calif.
Purse: $50,000
Surface: Hard-Outdoor

Sunday, July 20 – RESULT
Singles – Final
(2) Nicole Gibbs (USA) def. (4) Melanie Oudin (USA), 6-4, 6-4

—S. Pratt, USTA

Tennis Atlantic

Because Matches Are Never Played in the Media Tent

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