Paolo Lorenzi

All posts tagged Paolo Lorenzi

Favorites Advance in Tuesday @NewYorkOpen Action

Posted by Admin on February 11, 2020
Posted in: ATP, New York, New York Open, Steve Fogleman. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Kyle Edmund, 2020 New York Open (Photo: TennisAtlantic.com)

Favorites Advance in Tuesday @NewYorkOpen Action
Steve Fogleman at the Ancestral Home of the New York Islanders

A second day of rain did nothing but make you feel better about yourself for coming out to watch indoor tennis. And the weather outside did nothing to dampen the confidence of today’s winners.

Jordan Thompson, 2020 New York Open (Photo: TennisAtlantic.com)

Borat Sagdiyev

Jordan Thompson played Ivo Karlovic’s game and beat him at it in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(2). While serving only 6 aces to Karlovic’s 11, the mustachioed Australian won an amazing 86% of his first service points and was never broken. From one big man to another, Thompson moves on to face American John Isner.

Soonwoo Kwon, 2020 New York Open (Photo: TennisAtlantic.com)

Soonwoo Kwon doused the hopes of qualifier Go Soeda, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, after Soeda snuck up and took the second set tiebreak. Kwon nailed six aces in the third set after only four aces in the first two stanzas. Kwon’s service game will next have to match up against the tournament’s #2 seed Milos Raonic.

Paolo

Paolo “Houdini” Lorenzo

Paolo Lorenzi pulled a Pure Houdini today. He was down a set and a break to World #159 Danilo Petrovic, the lowest ranked player in the main draw. Petrovic, who was two games away from winning his first ATP Tour main draw match, disputed a call in the 8th game and continued to argue through the break and into the third set, where he was destroyed by Lorenzi, 6-0. Someone on twitter accused him of match-fixing, but I saw a guy out there who desperately wanted to win his first (at 28 years old) and he simply unraveled. Lorenzi, a quarterfinalist last year, faces Kecmanovic for a chance to return to New York’s Elite Eight.

You know that one match that you see on an Order of Play and you say, “that’s my match?” Me too. Yesterday, that match was Kecmanovic-Paul. And it disappointed. Today was no different. Today’s “my match” was Dominik Koepfer and Brayden Schnur. Schnur, a finalist at last year’s New York Open, clearly had the weight of history on his racket. He could not deliver a repeat performance of his 2019 run, and although the chants of “Let’s go, Canada” were louder in the second set, they did little to raise his game. For his part, Koepfer was consistent throughout the 6-3, 6-4 win. Earlier, Kyle Edmund eased past Yasatuka Uchiyama and will play Dominik Koepfer in the second round. That’s all for me until the quarterfinals on Friday here at NYCB Live, home of the Nassau Coliseum. See you on Valentine’s Day from the Guy-land.

Advertisement

Qualifiers Placed, @NewYorkOpen Main Draw Underway Monday

Posted by Admin on February 10, 2020
Posted in: ATP, New York, New York Open. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
New York Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

A Day for Ducks and Qualifiers

Qualifiers Placed, @NewYorkOpen Main Draw Underway Monday
Steve Fogleman on the G’Island

On a rainy Monday on Long Island, Noah Rubin left the New York Open with a scowl on his face after winning just 37% of the points in a qualifying final loss. His conqueror was the 38-year-young Paolo Lorenzi, who advanced to the main draw at the New Yorker’s expense, 6-3, 6-1. And Lorenzi’s smile was Rubin’s frown turned upside down. The Roman citizen never has a poker face and is easily the Steve Buscemi of tennis.

Paolo Lorenzi, New York Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

This Old Man

Jason Jung also dispatched Mitchell Kruger, 6-2, 6-4, at about the same time that Lorenzi finished off Rubin. Jung draws 2018 tournament champion Kevin Anderson in the main draw. 35-year-old Go Soeda destroyed Bernie Tomic in a stunning 39 minutes to take the third qualifying spot in the draw. Soeda’s first round opponent is Soonwoo Kwon. The last qualifying final, between Bradley Klahn and Danilo Petrovic, was a close affair for most of the first set before the Serb pulled away, 6-3, 6-2. Petrovic is the lowest ranked player (#159) to qualify for the main draw. He’ll square off against Old Roman Lorenzi in the first round.

Go Soeda, New York Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

Go Soeda Advances

The players on the Grandstand Court are at the mercy of their noisy, partying neighbors next door on Stadium. At the commencement of today’s matches, the lights went down as Noah Rubin was introduced on the main court. That meant lights out for Jung and Krueger, who had unceremoniously already begun warm-ups. C’est la vie for them.

New York Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

I cannot play in the dark.

The tournament has an impressive multi-media display system. The only problem is that without a lot of fans filling up the arena, it’s full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. On the other hand, there’s nothing like hearing the tossed coin hit the black courts from 300 feet away so loudly that you think that you dropped some change.

2018 ATP Marrakech Preview and Predictions: Clay Court Action Returns With @GPHassan2

Posted by Admin on April 8, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Casablanca, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2018 ATP Marrakech Preview and Predictions: Clay Court Action Returns With the Grand Prix Hassan II
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP 250 tournament in Morocco heralds the return of clay on the ATP tour as the race for the French Open begins anew. Here is your full preview with predictions for Africa’s only ATP stop.

Top Half:

Embed from Getty Images

Top seed Albert Ramos should be skilled enough on clay to defeat Amine Ahouda and J.L. Struff/qualifier to reach the quarters. At that point he should meet either his countryman Pablo Andujar, who comes off a challenger title, or Alexandr Dolgopolov. Both Dolgo and Andjuar are returning from injuries, and they open with qualifiers. I’ll go with Ramos over Andujar in the quarters.

Philipp Kohlschreiber is in good form as he takes on out of shape shotmaker Lamine Ouahab. Nikoloz Basilashvili takes on Matteo Berrettini in the other contest in this section. Kohlschreiber, presuming he’s fresh enough, should win it over Berrettini to reach the quarters. Robin Haase and Joao Sousa are options in the quarters, I’ll back Sousa over a qualifier and Haase/Mirza Basic before falling to Kohli.

Embed from Getty Images

Bottom Half:

Embed from Getty Images

Kyle Edmund has struggled in his return from injury thus I have him losing to Jiri Vesely in the opening round. I’ll back Andreas Seppi over Radu Albot and Vesely to reach the quarters coming off of Davis Cup. Paolo Lorenzi is my dark horse this week, he feasts on 250’s on clay like this and his path of Mischa Zverev, and Marton Fucsovics/Malek Jaziri is not overly imposing. Lorenzi over Seppi is my pick in the quarters.

Embed from Getty Images

The strongest section of the draw features Benoit Paire vs. Gilles Simon, with Paire as my choice. Roberto Carballes Baena vs. Max Marterer, Thomas Fabbiano vs. Richard Gasquet, and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. a qualifier. Gasquet has struggled badly as of late but I’ll stick with him against Fabbiano and Garcia-Lopez. Paire should beat Marterer and Gasquet to reach the semis.

Predictions

Semis
Ramos d. Kohlschreiber
Paire d. Lorenzi

I’ll go with Paire this week in a really open field. Kohlschreiber should be facing fatigue, while Ramos and Lorenzi may not be sharp enough.


Final
Paire d. Ramos

Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta and Albert Ramos Top Seeds @EcuadorOpen250

Posted by Admin on February 5, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Quito, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta and Albert Ramos Top Seeds at ATP Quito
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP Golden Swing kicks off with a 250 on clay in Quito, Ecuador, Spanish players feature heavily in the field. Here is your full preview, with predictions.

Top Half:

Fresh off success in Davis Cup, Pablo Carreno Busta should be able to defeat Rogerio Dutra Silva/qualifier. PCB is in a weak section with Ivo Karlovic/Ernesto Escobedo/Corentin Moutet/Adrian Menendez-Maceiras awaiting in the quarters. None of those players have performed well on clay at the tour level, and PCB should roll into the semis.

Embed from Getty Images

Paolo Lorenzi looks good in his section, he faces a qualifier, Nicolas Jarry/Tommy Robredo or Stefano Travaglia/Pablo Andujar to follow. Andujar is returning from injury so Travaglia should be favored, Robredo could find form as a wild card, but Lorenzi over his countryman Travaglia is my pick for the quarters.

Embed from Getty Images

Bottom Half:

Albert Ramos should beat Roberto Quiroz/Yannick Hanfmann in the second round. Victor Estrella plays great in Quito, and I have him upsetting Thomaz Bellucci, and then Marco Cecchinato/Gerald Melzer to reach the quarters. VEB has beaten Bellucci three previous times in Quito. VEB should beat Melzer in the second round, and then I have him upsetting Ramos.

Embed from Getty Images

Gael Monfils takes on young gun Casper Ruud (or Carlos Berlocq) in round 2. Horacio Zeballos faces Thiago Monteiro, Peter Polansky or a qualifier will follow. I have Monfils beating Monteiro (and Ruud) to reach the semis.

Embed from Getty Images

Predictions

Semis
Estrella d. Monfils
Carreno Busta d. Lorenzi

Estrella plays so well in Quito he should upset Monfils. PCB is the tournament favorite for a reason though, he’s really risen in the past 12 months.

Final
Carreno Busta d. Estrella

2017 ATP Kitzbuhel Preview and Predictions

Posted by Admin on July 31, 2017
Posted in: ATP, Kitzbuhel, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2017 ATP Kitzbuhel Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Kitzbuhel is on the calendar once again, and it’s a 250 level opportunity for some of the best dirtballers in tennis.

Generali Open
ATP World Tour 250
Kitzbuhel, Austria
July 31-August 5, 2017
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €482,060

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP rankings in parentheses)
1: Pablo Cuevas (26)
2: Fabio Fognini (31)
3: Paolo Lorenzi (36)
4: Gilles Simon (39)

Kitzbuhel attracts a solid group of dirtballers this year.

Top Half:

Pablo Cuevas, 14-9 on clay this year, is on a three match losing streak that he should break against either Nikoloz Basilashvili or Sebastian Ofner. With Basilashvili playing poorly, I have Ofner pulling an upset at home before falling to Cuevas. Hamburg semifinalist Federico Delbonis should defeat Renzo Olivo. Horacio Zeballos or Rogerio Dutra Silva will follow, presuming Delbonis isn’t fatigued, he should reach the quarters before falling to Cuevas.

Paolo Lorenzi reached the final in Umag, he should beat Joao Sousa or Mikhail Youzhny in round 2. Sousa found a bit of form last week in Gstaad, but Lorenzi is the best player on clay in his section. Wild card Gerald Melzer should defeat a struggling Carlos Berlocq. Melzer comes off a challenger final, Gstaad semifinalist Robin Haase has never beaten qualifier Santiago Giraldo, but he should reach the quarterfinal with wins over Giraldo and Melzer, before falling to Lorenzi.

Bottom Half:

Gstaad champion Fabio Fognini should beat either Andrey Kuznetsov or Milijan Zekic. Kuznetsov is a dark horse, but I’ll back Fognini’s form. Jan-Lennard Struff faces a struggling Tommy Haas, Alexandr Dolgopolov could catch fire and beat him round 2, after defeating a struggling Thomaz Bellucci, but I have Struff falling to Fognini in the quarterfinals.

Gilles Simon is struggling, but he’s the favorite against Dusan Lajovic or the steadily improving Max Marterer. Jiri Vesely has reached consecutive ATP quarterfinals. Vesely opens with Gstaad finalist Yannick Hanfmann, who should be out of gas. Philipp Kohlschreiber or Facundo Bagnis await in round 2, Kohlschreiber’s health is in question, thus Vesely is my favorite to go as far as the semifinals, upsetting Simon in the quarters.

Dark Horse: Andrey Kuznetsov

Kuznetsov is talented enough to upset a tired Fognini and make a run all the way to the final, I don’t predict it, but he’s the most dangerous non-seeded player in the draw this week.

Predictions

Semis
Lorenzi d. Cuevas
Vesely d. Fognini

It’s anyone’s title in Kitzbuhel this week, but I favor the Italian dirtballer Lorenzi to grab a key title.

Final
Lorenzi d. Vesely

Veterans Ferrer and Isner, Young Gun Rublev Claim ATP Titles

Posted by Admin on July 23, 2017
Posted in: ATP, Bastad, Newport, Steen Kirby, Umag. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Veterans Ferrer and Isner, Young Gun Rublev Claim ATP Titles
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Bastad

David Ferrer grinded his way to his first ATP title in two years, claiming a third career Bastad title 6-4 6-4 over Alexandr Dolgopolov, who also sorely needed the ranking boost gained from reaching an ATP final, even at the 250 level. Ferrer’s record turned positive this year overall after wins against Federico Delbonis, Dustin Brown, Henri Laaksonen and Fernando Verdasco, as since reaching the third round of Wimbledon he’s looking much better in terms of form.

Dolgopolov also went above .500 this season overall, he defeated Leonardo Mayer, Horacio Zeballos, Karen Khachanov, and Andrey Kuznetsov, looking healthy in the process.

Julian Knowle and Philipp Petzschner defeated Sander Arends and Matwe Middelkoop in the doubles final.

ATP Newport

Overall, John Isner would have preferred more from his grass court season, but the 32 year old won Newport, and in the process gained his first ATP title in two years. His victims at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships were Sam Groth, Dennis Novikov, Bjorn Fratangelo, and surprise finalist Matt Ebden 6-3 7-6.

Ebden, a 29 year old qualifier, reached his first ever ATP final, Rajeev Ram, Lukas Lacko, Tobias Kamke, and Peter Gojowczky were the players he defeated en route, as Newport has a habit of generating interesting upsets. Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi and Rajeev Ram beat Matt Reid and J.P. Smith in the doubles final.

ATP Umag

Andrey Rublev was much more than a lucky loser in Umag, he now wears the title of champion, as he won his maiden ATP title over Paolo Lorenzi  6-4 6-2. Rublev defeated Carlos Berlocq, Andrej Martin, Fabio Fognini, and Ivan Dodig as well last week. Lorenzi beat Aljaz Bedene, Jiri Vesely, and Alessandro Giannessi, it was his second ATP final this season, although he’s lost both.

Guillermo Durán and Andres Molteni defeated Tomislav Draganja and Marin Draganja in the doubles final.

2017 ATP Istanbul Preview and Predictions (@Istanbulopen)

Posted by Admin on April 30, 2017
Posted in: ATP, Istanbul, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2017 ATP Istanbul Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The third year in a row the ATP has a tournament in Istanbul on clay, here is your preview with predictions for Turkey’s only ATP tournament.

TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open
ATP World Tour 250
Istanbul, Turkey
May 1-7, 2017
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €439,005

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Milos Raonic (6)
2: Marin Cilic (8)
3: Diego Schwartzman (34)
4: Paolo Lorenzi (38)

Istanbul has a solid top 2 but it drops off from there into the parity of the ATP’s top 40.

First round matchups to watch:

Embed from Getty Images

Nikoloz Basilashvili vs. Karen Khachanov

Basilashvili leads Khachanov 2-1 in the h2h but on clay the Russian will be favored.  A quarterfinalist in Barcelona, Khachanov’s form is also slightly better, although Basilashvili has had a great season overall. Both of these players are rising, and this is an interesting test as to who is the better player right now.

Damir Dzumhur vs. (Q)Stefanos Tsitsipas

Greek young gun Tsitispas will get his third shot at a maiden ATP main draw win against Dzumhur who is in average form at best. Tsitsipas came through qualifying, and he has enough of a game to win this, Dzumhur can be a tough customer but I’ll back the young gun to get it done.

Top Half

A winner of sixteen of his last seventeen matches, Aljaz Bedene should ease past Marton Fucsovics and then get a big match with top seed Milos Raonic. Raonic, 11-2 this year, hasn’t played since Miami, but is usually competitive on clay, although not elite. Presuming Raonic is healthy he should put away Budapest finalist Bedene and then defeat Rogerio Dutra Silva in the quarters. RDS opens with Riccardo Bellotti and neither Radu Albo or Bernard Tomic, one of whom will await in round 2, are great on clay or in good form. Raonic has a pretty easy path to the semis excluding Bedene.

Budapest semifinalist Laslo Djere should beat Daniel Brands before falling to Paolo Lorenzi, who is 9-6 on clay this year and makes his living grinding away in 250’s like this. Marcos Baghdatis is not great on clay, and Viktor Troicki should win his round 1 match against a fellow veteran and then beat the winner Basilashvili/Khachanov winner. Lorenzi is the favorite to reach the semis in this section.

Bottom Half

Marin Cilic has struggled this year but on clay he should be good enough to reach the quarters past Tsitsipas or Dzumhur. Cilic should then run into Jiri Vesely, as Vesely is the clear favorite over Marcel Granollers, and the winner of Steve Darcis/Dudi Sela. Vesely will have a punchers chance against Cilic, but Marin is the veteran favorite for a reason.

Monte Carlo quarterfinalist Diego Schwartzman, the defending champion, looks set to defeat either qualifier Adrian Menendez-Maceiras or young gun Jordan Thompson, then edge past Borna Coric in the quarters, presuming Coric defeats Dusan Lajovic and Mikhail Youzhny or local favorite Cem Ilkel. It’s a tough call between DSS and Coric, but I back Schwartzman’s form barely right now.

Dark Horse: Jiri Vesely

Embed from Getty Images

If Cilic puts up another poor performance Vesely should be the player to take advantage, he has a great shot to reach at least the semifinals, and could perhaps take this title. The Czech has underperformed in his young career after entering the main tour with promise, but it’s not too late to turn that around.

Predictions

Semis
Raonic d. Lorenzi
Cilic d. Schwartzman

The top 2 seeds should be favorites over dirtballing specialists in the semifinals.

Final
Cilic d. Raonic

On clay I give Cilic the slightest edge to take this title.

Embed from Getty Images

Dimitrov Completes Memorable Run in Sofia, Estrella wins third straight Quito Title

Posted by Admin on February 13, 2017
Posted in: ATP, Montpellier, Quito, Sofia, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Dimitrov Completes Memorable Run in Sofia, Estrella wins third straight Quito Title
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Sofia

Grigor Dimitrov is now 14-1 in 2017, and after two ATP titles already this season, he’s on the cusp of a top 10 ranking. The Bulgarian #1 had a memorable run in Sofia, playing in his nation’s only ATP tournament for the first time. With home fans united behind him, Dimitrov continued his aggressive ball striking and in-form serving en route to a 7-5 6-4 victory over an overwhelmed David Goffin in the final. The title is number six in Dimitrov’s still young career, and by far the most special for him. Having found his focus, the Bulgarian looks sure to do damage on bigger stages in the weeks to come, such as the two ATP spring Masters tournaments in North America.

Dimitrov got off to a shaky start against Jerzy Janowicz and was in danger of making an early exit, but he won that match in three sets, and proceeded to buzzsaw past Viktor Troicki and surprise semifinalist Nikolosz Basilashvili, a rising Georgian player who lost every game of the first set, and a couple of games into the second set before winning his quarterfinal match over Martin Klizan in three sets .

Goffin dropped sets against Radu Albot and Roberto Bautista Agut, with a straight set win against countryman Steve Darcis inbetween them, however he showed some great tenacity this week and is also flirting with a top 10 ranking. Should the Belgian continue to win the matches he’s supposed to win, he’ll be in the top 10 again.

Serbians Viktor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic beat Mikhail Elgin and Andrey Kuznetsov in the doubles final.

ATP Quito

Victor Estrella hails from the Dominican Republic, but when he’s found a second home in Quito, Ecuador, where he has taken all three of his career ATP titles, and won all three editions of the Ecuador Open. His third triumph at altitude came in a nip and tuck final against fellow veteran Paolo Lorenzi, that he finally won in a third set tiebreak 6-7 7-5 7-6, saving a match point in that tiebreak. Lorenzi had his chances at a second career tour level title at age 35, but the Italian faltered from a set and a break ahead. Estrella saw a chance to get back into the match, and took it, looking fit and fresh even after three close sets at 36 years old.

Estrella’s other difficult match in Quito came against Ivo Karlovic, as he won two out of three tiebreaks to prevail. He got off to a slow start in the tournament, dropping a set to Andrej Martin, but after getting past Martin and Karlovic, he slipped past Federico Gaio and big hitter Thomaz Bellucci, defeating Bellucci in two tiebreaks. Lorenzi looked more solid all week until midway into the second set of the final. The Italian challenger legend scored ATP wins over Matt Ebden, Rajeev Ram, and Albert Ramos without dropping a set.

James Cerretani and Philipp Oswald beat Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos by virtue of a retirement in the second set to take the doubles title.

ATP Montpellier

Coming off a disappointing result in Davis Cup, not much was expected from the young Alexander Zverev, but the German triumphed against a host of accomplished ATP veterans to claim his second career ATP title at the age of 19. Zverev had to battle all week in Montpellier, as his only straight set victory came in the final against veteran Richard Gasquet 7-6 6-3. Zverev dropped sets against Aljaz Bedene, Jeremy Chardy, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before winning the third set in all of those matches to reach the final.

Gasquet played well in wins against Malek Jaziri and Benoit Paire, Kenny De Schepper tested him in between those matches, but in the end the Frenchman with the magical backhand reached yet another ATP final in his accomplished career. After a run to the final on home soil, Gasquet looks set to return to the top 20 soon.

The Zverev brothers claimed double joy in Montpellier, taking home the doubles title over France’s Fabrice Martin and Daniel Nestor. Along with it being rare to claim an ATP singles and doubles title on the same day, the Zverev brothers are the first brother pairing in a while to take a doubles title, besides the Bryan twins.

2017 ATP Quito Preview and Predictions (@EcuadorOpen250)

Posted by Admin on February 6, 2017
Posted in: ATP, Quito, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2017 ATP Quito Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP Golden Swing on South American clay kicks off on the high altitude courts of Quito, Ecuador for a 250 stop drawing a good number of the ATP’s clay court specialists. Here is a preview, with predictions for the Ecuador Open.

Ecuador Open
ATP World Tour 250
Quito, Ecuador
February 6-12, 2017
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: $482,060

Top 4 Seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Ivo Karlovic (19)
2: Albert Ramos (30)
3: Paolo Lorenzi (43)
4: Thomaz Bellucci (67)

Just one top 20 player is playing in Quito, making this quite an open field early in the season.

First round matches to watch:

Daniel Gimeno-Traver vs. (WC)Janko Tipsarevic

The 32 year old Tipsarevic has started the season in red hot form, going 10-0 at the Challenger tour level. After being awarded a wild card in Quito, he’ll face fellow veteran Gimeno-Traver, who also used to be ranked higher than he is now. Tipsarevic isn’t as solid on clay usually as the dirtballer DGT, but given his great  form, he should win this match, and perhaps make a deeper run in this 250.

Top Half:

Veteran Victor Estrella looks set to reach the quarterfinals, given his first two opponents will be a struggling Andrej Martin, and Ivo Karlovic, who is poor on clay, given the red dirt absorbs his powerful serves. Four dirtballers are in the section below VEB, Joao Souza faces qualifier Federico Gaio, while Gerald Melzer will face #6 Horacio Zeballos. None of these players are in great form, but Zeballos over Gaio is my pick to reach the quarters. Given Estrella leads Zeballos in the h2h, the Dominican #1 is my pick to reach the semifinals.

Embed from Getty Images

Thomaz Bellucci has struggled to start the season, this gives Janko Tipsarevic a great opportunity to defeat him and DGT to reach the quarterfinals. Santiago Giraldo should defeat Benjamin Becker, who is poor on clay, and then I have him defeating Renzo Olivo, after Olivo dispatches Emilio Gomez. Olivo has been solid below the tour level, but Giraldo is more experienced in ATP matches, and should play better at a high altitude. I have Tipsarevic defeating Giraldo to reach the semifinals.

Bottom Half:

A solid clay courter at the ATP level, Albert Ramos should be good enough to defeat qualifier Alejandro Falla or Alessandro Giannessi in his first match. 22 year old Thiago Monteiro has a favorable draw, opening with wild card Giovanni Lapentti, followed by either qualifier Roberto Carballes Baena, or Rogerio Dutra Silva. The matchup between RCB and RDS is a toss-up, but Monteiro is my pick for the quarterfinals, before falling to Ramos.

Paolo Lorenzi is coming off of Davis Cup duty and should face qualifier Agustin Velotti in round 2, presuming Velotti defeats Matthew Ebden, who is poor on clay. Fatigue could play a factor for Lorenzi, but otherwise he should reach the quarterfinals and face an Argentine, either Nicolas Kicker or Guido Andreozzi. Alexandr Dolgopolov is also in this section, but he’s been struggling for a while, and a win over serve and volleyer Rajeev Ram in round 1 likely isn’t enough to give him a boost on clay, a surface he’s hit and miss on. Lorenzi over Andreozzi is my pick in the quarters.

Embed from Getty Images

Dark Horse: Janko Tipsarevic

Embed from Getty Images

The formerly top 10 Tipsarevic has endured a rash of injuries, but is on the cusp of returning to the top 100. He has a shot at reaching 300 career tour wins this season, after posting seven last season. The draw in Quito makes the title ripe for the taking, and if the Serbian can find his form on clay, he could leave the tournament as champion.

Prediction

Semis
Tipsarevic d. Estrella
Ramos d. Lorenzi

Ramos should be fresher than Lorenzi, while Tipsarevic’s form gives him a slight edge over Estrella despite having lost their only h2h match. Ramos has won his last two matches against Lorenzi (2-2 h2h). Estrella is bidding for a third straight title in Quito, and that adds yet another wrinkle to a potential semifinal clash with Tipsarevic.

Final
Ramos d. Tipsarevic

It’s hard to predict a champion in Quito, but on clay, Ramos is as good of a pick as any from this field of 28.

Embed from Getty Images

2016 ATP Clay Season Wraps Up With Veteran Champions

Posted by Admin on July 25, 2016
Posted in: ATP, Gstaad, Kitzbuhel, Steen Kirby, Umag. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2016 ATP Clay Season Wraps Up With Veteran Champions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Embed from Getty Images

The 2016 ATP clay court season wrapped up with a trio of 250 tournaments that saw veteran presences on the tour capture coveted titles and boost their confidence.

ATP Umag

Fabio Fognini won just his third career ATP title, as he did one better than his previous finalist result in Umag and defeated Andrej Martin 6-4 6-1. Martin was playing his first ever ATP final, and has just now broken into the top 100. Fognini dominated all week in Umag, as he was one of the better clay courters in the field.

Fognini defeated Renzo Olivo, Damir Dzumhur, and surprise semifinalist Gastao Elias, the match against Dzumhur going three sets, last week. Martin had to battle past Sergiy Stakhovsky, Martin Klizan, Joao Sousa, and Carlos Berlocq to reach the final.

In doubles, Klizan and David Marrero defeated Antonio Sancic and Nikola Mektic to capture the 250 level title.

ATP Gstaad

Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez was a surprising champion on clay as he defeated Robin Haase, who was playing in his first ATP title since 2013, 6-4 7-5. It’s the fifth ATP title for Lopez and his first on clay. He defeated Jan Mertl, Elias Ymer, and fellow serve and volleyer Dustin Brown to reach the final. With such a weak draw, Lopez seemed to be at the right tournament, at the right time.

Haase best result of the season came with wins over Thiemo de Bakker, Horacio Zeballos, the young gun Thiago Monteiro, and Paul-Henri Mathieu to reach the final. Despite struggles this week, he showed strong play on clay for most of the tournament.

Peralta and Zeballos beat Pavic/Venus for the clay doubles title.

ATP Kitzbuhel

34 year old Paolo Lorenzi claimed his first ever ATP title, as his dirtballing specialty came through, and with his new found form this year, he’s making his move up the rankings. Lorenzi won in convincing fashion against Niko Basilashvili 6-3 6-4 in the final, as Niko was contesting his first ever ATP final.

Lorenzi beat Roberto Carballes Baena, J.L. Struff, and Gerald Melzer in matches earlier this week. Melzer’s brother Jurgen lost to him in a close match, but did stun top seed Dominic Thiem in one of the upsets of the season. The top 10 Thiem fell to a quickly fading Melzer, who was once a top ATP player. Lorenzi is the first ATP winner this season, to also have a challenger title in 2016.

Lukas Rosol, Igor Sijsling, Adam Pavlasek and Dusan Lajovic were Basilashvili’s path to the final as he had to battle in some matches, showing his mettle, and potential to be an ATP tour regular.

Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop took the doubles title over Novak/Thiem, as the Austrian #1 went home empty handed this week, and may be tiring out.