2015 Guadalajara, Santos, Savannah and Vercelli Challenger Previews & Picks
Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic

Zurich Jalisco Open presentado por Aeromexico y Lacoste

ATP Challenger Tour
Guadalajara, Mexico
20-26 April 2015
Hardcourt
Prize Money: $100,000

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (115)
2: Austin Krajicek (121)
3: Ryan Harrison (126)
4: Michal Przysiezny (142)
5: Denis Kudla (150)
6: John-Patrick Smith (155)
7: Rajeev Ram (185)
8: Brydan Klein (204)

The last direct acceptance is Adam El Mihdawy, ranked 339th.

First round match-up to watch

(3) Ryan Harrison – Juan Ignacio Londero

Harrison comes off a very tough loss in QR1 of Houston, where he lost to world #453 Thiago Monteiro. Naturally, this match against Londero is another one he should win, but nothing is sure with Harrison these days. Londero had a good showing at Leon, where he pushed the eventual finalist Adrian Menendez-Maceiras to three sets in the first round. Nevertheless, Londero’s experience on hardcourts is minimal, while it’s Harrison’s best surface by a large margin, having played matches on the surface at tournaments and against players Londero can only dream of.

Top Half

29-year-old top seed Menendez-Maceiras is playing the tennis of his career, already having reached two Challenger finals this year, together with qualifying for his first ever Masters event at Miami. He is hoping to improve on his record in Challenger finals here, which sits at a poor 1-7. He should be able to put himself in a position to do that, landing an easy draw, which includes a potential semi-final encounter against fourth seed Michal Przysiezny, who is far from his best form.

Bottom Half

Harrison Signing Busted Racquet for the Fan who Snagged It.

If Harrison can pick up his game after the disappointing loss in Houston, he will be the favorite to not only reach the final, but to win the entire tournament. Opposition in this half will come from countryman Denis Kudla, who did well at Monte Carlo to qualify into the main draw. However, this event is on the other side of the world and played on a different surface, so he may struggle to adapt. John-Patrick Smith has also been in very good form this year, but under normal circumstances shouldn’t be able to threaten Harrison.

Predictions

Semis:

Menendez-Maceiras d. Ram
Harrison d. Smith

Final:

Harrison d. Menendez-Maceiras

Campeonato Internacional de Tenis de Santos

ATP Challenger Tour
Santos, Brazil
20-26 April 2015
Red Clay
Prize Money: $50,000

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Maximo Gonzalez (94)
2: Blaz Rola (103)
3: Andre Ghem (151)
4: Guido Pella (156)
5: Chase Buchanan (168)
6: Guilherme Clezar (182)
7: Nicolas Jarry (196)
8: Guido Andreozzi (201)

The last direct acceptance is Martin Alund, ranked 302nd.

First round match-up to watch

(Q) Agustin Velotti – Christian Lindell

At one point in 2013, Velotti was close to reaching the top 150, but his ranking took a hit after he struggled with injury for a long time, now being ranked outside of the top 400. Despite all his struggles, he beat Lindell in straight sets at a Challenger in Colombia last September, so this is a good opportunity for him to get his ranking back on track.

Top Half

Third seed Andre Ghem has a good opportunity to rise to the occasion in his home country and make a deep run. His section includes fifth seed Chase Buchanan, who isn’t all that comfortable on red clay. Ghem beat Buchanan in a truly epic match last year at Chitre on hardcourt, when he won 7-6(6) 6-7(7) 7-6(5). Top seed Maximo Gonzalez hasn’t been all that impressive this year, including a loss against Ghem in the second round of Le Gousier a couple of weeks ago.

Bottom Half

Fourth seed Guido Pella impressed at San Luis Potosi a couple of weeks ago, where he convincingly took down the title. If he keeps up that form he will surely be a contender again here, with Guilherme Clezar and Blaz Rola being his main rivals. While Rola has been in dire form in his last couple of tournaments, Clezar can be very dangerous while playing in his home country. He showed this in Sao Paulo at the Challenger Tour Finals last year, where he surprised everyone by reaching the final, beating three top 100 players in the process.

Predictions

Semis:

Gonzalez d. Ghem
Pella d. Clezar

Final:

Pella d. Gonzalez

St. Joseph’s/Candler Savannah Challenger

ATP Challenger Tour
Savannah, GA, USA
20-26 April 2015
Green Clay, Har-Tru
Prize Money: $50,000

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Tim Smyczek (69)
2: Ruben Bemelmans (99)
3: Facundo Bagnis (102)
4: Hyeon Chung (112)
5: Gastao Elias (125)
6: Frank Dancevic (139)
7: Horacio Zeballos (141)
8: Yoshihito Nishioka (154)

The last direct acceptance is Robby Ginepri, ranked 255th.

First round match-ups to watch

(Q) Julio Peralta – Dennis Novikov

Peralta is quite a sight to behold and may very well be the greatest player you have never heard of. The 33-year-old Chilean only plays a handful of tournaments every year, but can win Futures without dropping a set while doing so. Here he beat two top 400 players in qualifying and has a good chance of continuing his run against Novikov.

(7) Horacio Zeballos – Facundo Arguello

Two Argentinians facing off in a match which seems to be a guarantee for a three set encounter. Zeballos has obviously gone a long way since winning an ATP title on clay by beating Nadal in the final, as he is now close to being ranked outside of the top 150, incapable of finding any kind of decent form. Arguello arguably struggles similarly in the consistency department, as he showed last week in Sarasota, easily beating top seed and world #69 Tim Smyczek 6-4 6-2 in the first round, before losing to James McGee in the second.

Top Half

Tim Smyczek

Despite his surprising first round exit last week, top seed Smyczek should still be marked the favorite to come through here. Third seed Facundo Bagnis will be confident after reaching the final of Savannah last week, but as we saw in his first round match there against Alexander Zverev, where he saved five match points, he can just as easily go out early. Nevertheless, if he faces Smyczek in the semi-final he should be confident, as he beat him in straight sets during their first round encounter here last year.

Bottom Half

A half that is very tough to predict. I feel like giving fourth seed Hyeon Chung the edge, despite his comfortable loss against Zeballos last week. Second seed Ruben Bemelmans admitted he doesn’t feel confident on this surface, so with that mindset it’s hard to see him making a deep run here. The winner of Zeballos – Arguello in the first round may well go deep here, perhaps all the way to the final.

Predictions

Semis:

Bagnis d. Smyczek
Chung d. Arguello

Final:

Chung d. Bagnis

Citta Di Vercelli-Trofeo Multimed

ATP Challenger Tour
Vercelli, Italy
20-26 April 2015
Red Clay
Prize Money: €42,500

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Filip Krajinovic (92)
2: Dustin Brown (105)
3: Igor Sijsling (128)
4: Kyle Edmund (129)
5: Kimmer Coppejans (146)
6: Marco Cecchinato (149)
7: Mate Delic (162)
8: Andrea Arnaboldi (177)

The last direct acceptance is Antonio Veic, 239th.

Top Half

Taro Daniel

With top seed Filip Krajinovic withdrawing, he is replaced by lucky loser Omar Giacalone, this is a great opportunity for a non-seed to make a deep run. Taro Daniel seems the best pick to do so. He sits in the top section, coming off two good weeks on clay at Casablanca and Mersin. Antonio Veic is another player with a decent chance, but he is highly unpredictable. Fourth seed Kyle Edmund is a good pick to reach the semi-final from the bottom half. Even though his clay résumé is practically non-existent, the talented 20-year-old is the best player in the section and may well be able to adapt to the surface.

Bottom Half

It will be interesting to see how Kimmer Coppejans holds up after taking the title in Mersin last week. Here he will have another excellent opportunity to make a deep run and even win another title. He has a late start, playing his first round on Wednesday, so he has extra time to rest. Last week’s Mersin semi-finalist Inigo Cervantes, who lost to Coppejans, is also placed in this half, in a section which is headed by Marco Cecchinato.

Predictions

Semis:

Daniel d. Edmund
Coppejans d. Cecchinato

Final:

Coppejans d. Daniel