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2018 @MutuaMadridOpen @WTA Preview, Predictions

Posted by Admin on May 4, 2018
Posted in: Madrid, Niall Clarke, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Sharapova vs Kuznetsova Madrid Open 2015

Kuznetsova vs. Sharapova (photo credit: Niall Clarke)

2018 @MutuaMadridOpen @WTA Preview, Predictions
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

We hit Madrid for one of the biggest tournaments of the season at the Caja Magica. It is an event I have covered a few times over the years and it rarely disappoints.  Unfortunately, I can not make it this year, but there is still plenty to be excited about when it comes to the women’s draw, so let’s get to it.

Top Quarter:

The Mutua Madrid Open has been a kind tournament to Simona Halep who enters as the defending champion. The Romanian opens against dangerous lefty Ekaterina Makarova in the first round, who can be a tricky customer especially on the faster clay courts of Madrid. Young Belgian prospect Elise Mertens is a possible round two opponent with Madison Keys also in the mini section. The 13th seed has not done well here traditionally but her draw to the third round is very soft.

Karolina Pliskova has never been known as a traditional clay courter, but her win in Stuttgart may signal she is turning a corner on the surface.  She is the sixth seed and will face Elena Vesnina in the first round. The big story in the section, however, is the return of Victoria Azarenka, Pliskova’s potential second round opponent. The Belarusian faces Alexsandra Krunic in her opener and there will be plenty of eyes on that one. This section is quite stacked and Sloane Stephens could be waiting either Pliskova or Azarenka in the third round.

That said, I am picking Halep to continue her good form in Madrid and win this section over Pliskova in the quarter finals.

Prediction: Halep def. Pliskova

Second Quarter:

Despite this being her home tournament, Garbine Muguruza has a mental block in Madrid. Despite being one of the best clay courters on the tour, the Spaniard has never made it past the second round here and has meekly gone out on several occasions. She will be hoping to change her fortunes this year starting with Shaui Peng then the winner of Vekic vs. Garcia Perez. Daria Kasatkina is the potential third round opponent, but she has a tough draw against Qiang Wang who did well here last year.

Clay has never been Venus Williams’ territory and given the lack of playing time, it will be difficult to expect much of the American in this draw. Annett Kontaveit is a tough opener even if she has not been at her best so far this season. This could open the door even more to former champion Petra Kvitova, who might be the favourite to make the semi finals out of this section. The 10th seed had a good week in Prague and the quicker Madrid clay courts suit her power focused style of play.

Petra Kvitova (Photo: Tony Callaio)

Petra Kvitova (Photo: Tony Callaio)

Muguruza vs Kvitova would be a hard-hitting quarterfinal battle and one to really get excited for, but I give the edge to the Czech here. She is a former champion and Muguruza’s Mental Madrid Block has to be taken into consideration.

Prediction: Kvitova def. Muguruza

Third Quarter:

Elina Svitolina enters Madrid as the fourth seed and one of the tournament favourites, but Madrid has not been a kind tournament for the Ukrainian in the past. Alize Cornet is the first round opponent with Barbora Strycova or Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round. There are no big hitters there but plenty of solid players with variety to open the tournament for Svitolina. Madgalena Rybarikova is the other seed in this section and she faces Johanna Konta in the first round. The Brit struggles on clay so this could be a good opportunity for the 16th seed, who faces a qualifier if she gets by Konta.

Caroline Garcia made her first semi final in Stuttgart before losing to Coco Vandeweghe, so she will be hoping to build on that result in Madrid after a so-so start to the season. She faces Dominika Cibulkova, a player she threw a 6-0, 3-0 lead away to two years ago here in the first round. The tough draw continues with Svetlana Kuznetsova or Petra Martic in the second round, but things could get really interesting with big hitting Julia Goerges in the third round.

I expect Svitolina to make it to the quarter finals, but Garcia–not so much. The Frenchwoman might be the favourite in her section but she can lose to anyone at any time, so I am picking Svitolina to make the semi finals.

Prediction: Svitolina def. Garcia

Bottom Quarter:

Caroline Wozniacki heads to Madrid with the World number one ranking in her sights. Clay has not been her best surface however, despite her more defensive style of play. Daria Gavrilova is a difficult opener with Ash Barty completing the Aussie double in round two. Anastasija Sevastova is not an easy third round draw either with her solid game, so it is a tough road for Wozniacki as she aims to top the rankings once more.

Jelena Ostapenko (Photo: Tony Callaio)

Jelena Ostapenko (Photo: Tony Callaio)

Jelena Ostapenko is back on the clay as she aims to build form ahead of her French Open title defence. The Latvian’s game should suit Madrid so she could have a decent run here if she plays well. That said, a big match against Maria Sharapova is on the cards for the second round. Coco Vandeweghe heads into Madrid In good form after a surprising final run in Stuttgart, but she has a potentially tough opener against last year’s finalist Kristina Mladenovic. Naomi Osaka is also in this section.

This is a tough quarter to predict but an in-form Ostapenko might have enough to make it past Wozniacki in the last eight.

Prediction: Ostapenko def.  Wozniacki

Semi Finals/Finals Prediction:

Kvitova def. Halep
Svitolina def. Ostapenko

Kvitova def. Svitolina

Kvitova is a former champion here and of all the clay court tournaments, this will probably suit her the best. Add on top of that her good form, then you have the reason why I pick the Czech to win in Madrid

 

 

 

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Muguruza Claims First Premier Mandatory Crown

Posted by Admin on October 12, 2015
Posted in: Niall Clarke, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Muguruza Claims First Premier Mandatory Crown
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

Embed from Getty Images

A marvelous two weeks in China for Garbine Muguruza was capped off with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Timea Bacsinszky to claim the Beijing crown.

Hampered by an ankle problem in the Wuhan final loss to Venus Williams the previous week, Muguruza was doubtful to even make the tournament let alone win it.
The initial goal was to secure her place in Singapore beyond any doubt, which she successfully did against Mirjana Lucic Baroni in round three.
Seeing the top seeds fall around her and feeling the ankle was well enough to play on, Muguruza battled on to the final, beating Bethanie Mattek Sands and Agnieszka Radwanska en route.

Embed from Getty Images

Her opponent, Bacsinszky, had struggled post Wimbledon herself and was looking to rekindle her early season form. Wins over Carla Suarez Navarro, Sara Errani and Ana Ivanovic secured the Swiss’ place in Sundays final.

Muguruza had be a thorn in Bacsinszky’s side this season, winning their two previous meetings at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.

It would provide a fine appetiser for an action packed day of tennis in Beijing with both players exchanging backhands in the opening moments.

The Spaniard got off to a fast start with a break, but it was quickly overturned by Bacsinszky who raced to a 5-2 lead. The play was largely erratic with both players suffering physically after battling semi-finals.

But Muguruza found that extra gear she needed just in time, overturning the deficit to take the first set 7-5.

The Swiss responded with an early break in the second set, but the fifth seed quickly brought it back level. The margins were slim with neither seemingly able to run away with the set. The Wimbledon finalist, however, upped the pressure in the latter stages and earned a break at 4-4 to put herself within one service game of the title.
Muguruza had struggled to close out her semi-final against Radwanska after leading 5-1 in the third set, but she had no such trouble this time. A missed backhand by Bacsinszky spelled the end as Muguruza felt to the court in triumph.

Embed from Getty Images
It was her biggest title yet, and first crown since Hobart in 2014. The biggest win of her career has been topped off by a new career high ranking of four, with potential to finish the year as the world number three.

Another big effort from The Swiss has brought her into the world’s top ten for the first time in her career. Remarkable given she turned her back on the game a few years ago.

“I actually want to dedicate this tournament to someone. I came from really, really far away, I almost retired two years ago, and this man over there, my coach, Dimitri, thank you for helping me every day. You brought Stanislas to Top 10, and now you’ve brought me to Top 10. Thank you for every day.”

“I want to congratulate Timea of course – Top 10 is an amazing achievement,” Muguruza said.

“For me, to be able to come and win the tournament after losing in the finals of Wuhan last week is a great achievement. It’s amazing, and I can’t wait to come back and defend my title next year.”

The Spaniard is certainly a player to watch next year. Now amongst the elite, she will be amongst the favourites for Singapore and for the Grand slams next year. Sky is the limit. But for now she will celebrate a week in which she turned 22, secured a place in Singapore, achieved a career high ranking and won her biggest title to date.

It was a big week in the doubles too. Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza claimed their eighth title of the year with a three set victory over the Chan Sisters. The world number one doubles team came through 6-7(9), 6-1, 10-8 in a dramatic final.
The Chan sisters’ run secured their place in the Year End Championships. They joined the team of Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik who also confirmed their participation this week.

There is only one spot left in the doubles finals. Hingis/Mirza will be there with Lucie Safarova/Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Casey Dellacqua/Yaroslava Shvedova, Elena Vesnina/Ekaterina Makarova, Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, Garcia/Srebotnik and the Chan sisters.

Niall Clarke (Sofia)

Opening Wins for Nadal, Nishikori @CoupeRogers Montreal

Posted by Admin on August 13, 2015
Posted in: ATP, Canada, Guest Writer, Montreal, On Site, Rogers Cup. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Opening Wins for Nadal, Nishikori @CoupeRogers Montreal
Leich Sinha for Tennis Atlantic

Kei Nishikori (Photo: Christopher Levy @Tennis_Shots)

Kei Nishikori (Photo: Christopher Levy @Tennis_Shots)

MONTREAL, August 12, 2015– To the delight of the partisan crowd today and to the surprise of absolutely no one, Nadal won his match in straights. To anyone who’s been carefully attuned to his progression this year, today’s match did little to assuage doubts about his resurgence and raises further questions about his ability to perform against elite opposition.

The matchup was not an ideal one for the former nine-time French Open champion lest he needed to play himself into form, having only had a week to prepare for the hard court season after a successful title run on the clay courts of Hamburg. Stakhovsky, a purveyor of the serve and volley style, was not a foe likely to hang in long rallies and for most of the first set, both traded terse 2-3 shot blows. A double fault in the seventh game of the match allowed Nadal to serve for the set at 6-4 but as has uncharacteristically been his wont this year, he failed to close out the set and the match went into a tiebreak where Nadal hung onto an early mini break to earn the set.

Embed from Getty Images

The second set showed flashes of the old Nadal with blistering passing shot winners and an agreeable winner to error ratio, but again, match tightness reared its ugly head again and Nadal squandered an opportunity to close out the match on his serve after being up a two break lead. However, Stakhovsky was never an opponent who could trouble Nadal on this surface and Nadal is certainly good at this winning business. It was a good overall performance by the Spaniard, but certainly not a statement. He next faces Mikhail Youzhny who scored a shockingly lopsided victory against France’s Gilles Simon.

Nadal d. Stakhovsky 7-6(4), 6-3

Nishikori vs. Andujar

A late start on court caused by an onslaught of inclement weather did nothing to abate the haste with which the newly-minted World Number 4 would dispatch of this year’s Barcelona open finalist at Centre Court this afternoon. Employing his trademark compact swing and early ball striking to chop down Andujar’s baseline game, the match served as a near master study in clinical Euclidean ball placement. The afternoon started off precipitously enough for the Japanese star when a double fault in the first game handed him an early break lead. After consolidating the lead, he would commit an untimely double fault of his own on his second service game and gift back the break to Andujar. This proved to be the only minor blip of Kei’s afternoon, as Nishikori would thereafter go on to break Andujar’s serve twice more in the set, including in the final game when Andujar mistimed a backhand slice that never sailed past the net. Andujar, for his part, held his own in rallies, often matching Nishikori’s power and consistency, while hitting exquisite drop volleys when the situation arose. Andujar was mostly undone by a combination of weak serving and an inability to adapt to the pace imposed by Nishikori. Moreover, Nishikori’s second to none twitch muscle reflex and quick thinking caused constant fits to Andujar’s serve. The quality of his return game was best exemplified early in the 2nd set when he pummelled Andujar’s second serve with a deep return that would eventually find its way just short of the baseline giving him the early break, from which point he would never look back.

In general, both players were very successful on net approaches and it’s these approaches that produced the most entertaining moments of the match, including an exchange early in the second set which culminated in a sequence of volleys from Andujar that bore shades of Sampras. Nishikori would earn the victory on his third match point when a return was sent long and will face David Goffin next who won in straight sets against American Sam Querrey.

Nishikori d. Andujar 6-3, 6-3

France, Switzerland Reach Davis Cup Final; Canada, USA, Croatia to Feature in World Group

Posted by Admin on September 16, 2014
Posted in: ATP, Davis Cup. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

France, Switzerland Reach Davis Cup Final; Canada, USA, Croatia to Feature in World Group
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast

Davis Cup Official Site

Davis Cup Semifinals:

France d. Czech Republic 4-1
On clay in Paris, a star-studded French team crushed a normally solid Czech team. Richard Gasquet thrashed Tomas Berdych 6-3 6-2 6-3 in the opening singles rubber, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga followed that up with a 6-2 6-2 6-3 win over Lukas Rosol in the second Friday singles rubber. France clinched with a Saturday doubles victory by the in-form Gasquet and Tsonga over Berdych and Radek Stepanek in 4 sets.




The dead rubbers were won by Jiri Vesely against Julien Benneteau in straights, and Gael Monfils over Rosol in 3 sets. There was little drama in this tie as the Czech team was unprepared for a top tier French squad.

Switzerland d. Italy 3-2
This tie extended into Sunday, but it was in the books after four rubbers, and the dynamic Swiss duo of Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka earned a big achievement by reaching the Davis Cup final over Italy at home in Geneva. Federer beat Simone Bolelli 7-6 6-4 6-4 and Wawrinka beat Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-3 6-2 to give the Swiss an opening 2-0 lead on Friday. Bolelli and Fognini came back to win the doubles over Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli in 5 sets, but Fognini could not even get a set off of Federer in the fourth Sunday singles rubber. Federer clinched the Swiss a spot in the final 6-2 6-3 7-6 over the Italian number one.




Andreas Seppi won a consolation dead rubber over Swiss B-teamer Michael Lammer in 3 sets in the dead fifth rubber.
World Group Playoffs:

Serbia d. India 3-2
Serbia, minus Novak Djokovic, narrowly avoided being upset by India on the road, prevailing on a live fifth rubber win. Dusan Lajovic and Filip Krajinovic got the Serbian side off to a great start on Friday with a pair of singles wins over Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman, but Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes kept the tie alive with a doubles win over Ilija Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic. On Sunday, Devvarman continued the Indian comeback with a five set win over Lajovic. After a rain delay pushed the tie into Monday, Krajinovic slammed the door with a straight sets win over Bhambri. The Indian team played spirited tennis but it was not enough, as Serbia will stay in the World Group.

Brazil d. Spain 3-1
A massive upset, Spain went down to Sao Paulo and got themselves knocked out of the World Group by an underdog Brazilian team on clay. Thomaz Bellucci was the hero for Brazil as he won a 5 set singles rubber from 2 sets to love down against Pablo Andujar on Friday, after Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut had dispatched Rogerio Dutra Silva in straights in the previous Friday singles rubber. Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares, the Brazilian doubles specialists, beat Marc Lopez and David Marrero, the Spanish doubles team to take a 2-1 lead. On Sunday, Bellucci stuck a dagger in Spanish hearts with a 4 set upset win over Bautista Agut, who played poorly. Spanish captain Carlos Moya did not have any top Spanish players besides RBA on his roster, but this is still a massive embarrassment for Spanish tennis to lose so ignominiously to a non-tennis powerhouse like Brazil.

Argentina d. Israel 3-2
A tie that never really seemed in doubt, though it went to a live fifth rubber, Leonardo Mayer beat little-known Israeli futures player Bar Tzuf Botzer in the opening singles rubber on Friday. Israeli veteran Dudi Sela matched his feat with a win over Carlos Berlocq to leave the tie squared up going into Saturday. Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, the Israeli doubles specialist team, beat Federico Delbonis and Horacio Zeballos in 5 sets to give Israel a 2-1 lead, but after Sela meekly bowed out to Leo Mayer in the fourth singles rubber, Berlocq slammed the door, crushing Botzer with a third set bagel. The young Israeli showed signs of promise but the Argentine team was stronger top to bottom and won the day as a result.

Canada d. Colombia 3-2
Milos Raonic joined Bellucci as a Davis Cup star this week. The Canadian number one won a pair of singles rubbers in straight sets to clinch the tie at home in Halifax over an underdog Colombian team. His first win in singles came on Friday over Alejandro Gonzalez, after Vasek Pospisil had defeated Colombian number one Santiago Giraldo in straights. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah extended the tie into live Sunday play with a win over Daniel Nestor and Pospisil in doubles, but a Raonic win in the opening Sunday rubber over Giraldo finished the tie. Gonzalez beat Frank Dancevic in a dead fifth rubber. The Canadian team continues to gel well together and should be a threat in the World Group.



USA d. Slovakia 5-0
It was a comfortable white-washing for the USA in Chicago. John Isner and Sam Querrey combined to win six consecutive sets of tennis against Norbert Gombos and Martin Klizan on Friday, the Bryans clinched the tie on Saturday with a crushing doubles win over Gombos and Lukas Lacko, and then Isner and Querrey wiped up against Lacko and Gombos in the dead rubbers.

Australia d. Uzbekistan 5-0
A fast grass court in Perth helped Lleyton Hewitt and company dominate Uzbekistan. The young Nick Kyrgios and Hewitt combined to win six consecutive sets of tennis on Friday over Denis Istomin and Farrukh Dustov respectively, then Chris Guccione and Hewitt beat Dustov/Istomin to clinch the tie with a doubles victory. Sam Groth and Kyrgios won dead rubbers over Temur Ismailov and Sanjar Fayziev as the Uzbek team went 0-13 on sets in this tie.

Croatia d. Netherlands 3-2
Marin Cilic carried his team into the World Group, coming off his career best US Open victory. In Friday action, Mate Delic, who primarily plays on the challenger circuit, upset ATP regular Igor Sijsling in 4 sets to give Croatia a 1-0 lead. Robin Haase countered for the Dutch over young Croat Borna Coric in straights to make it 1-1. Cilic and Marin Draganja won the doubles rubber over Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer to make it 2-1 in favor of Croatia. Robin Haase forced a live fifth rubber with a 5 set win over Delic, coming back from 2 sets down, but Cilic stepped into the breach and beat Thiemo De Bakker in 4 sets to clinch the tie, a massive result for Croatian tennis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oivi4bN-NF4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bapl9y_zRAo

Belgium d. Ukraine 3-2
This tie was moved from Ukraine due to the military conflict situation there and played in Estonia on indoor hard. An in-form Belgium team rolled off three straight victories after outspoken Ukranian Sergiy Stakhovsky beat Steve Darcis in the opening Friday singles rubber. David Goffin beat Illya Marchenko in straights, Ruben Bemelmans and Oliver Rochus beat Stakhovsky and Sergei Bubka in the doubles rubber, and Goffin beat Stako in straights on Sunday to clinch the tie. The dead rubber was won by Marchenko over Darcis. If Goffin continues to play well, Belgium may be a dangerous dark horse opponent in the world group.

UPDATED: 2014 ATP Madrid Open Preview, Picks

Posted by Admin on May 4, 2014
Posted in: ATP, French Open, Madrid. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

2014 ATP Madrid Open Preview
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
mutuamadrilenaopen
It’s time for the next clay court masters tournament of the season, the Mutua Madrid Open from the Magic Box in Madrid, where players are looking to either continue their run of good form or find some form as the clay court season continues on.

ATP Madrid
Mutua Madrid Open
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Madrid, Spain
May 4-May 11, 2014
Prize Money: €3,671,405

Top 8 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Rafael Nadal (1)
2: Novak Djokovic (2)* Djokovic withdrew and will be replaced by a lucky loser
3: Stanislas Wawrinka (3)
4: Roger Federer (4)
5: David Ferrer (5)
6: Tomas Berdych (6)
7: Andy Murray (8)
8: Milos Raonic (9)

Along with the late withdraw of Djokovic, only the injured Richard Gasquet is notably missing in terms of top 10 players, and only Gael Monfils and Vasek Pospisil are absent in terms of the top 30.

First round matchups to watch:

Jurgen Melzer vs. Juan Monaco
Melzer is 0-4 against Monaco on clay and just 1-6 overall against him, but they haven’t met on clay since 2007. Melzer, though still working his way back from injury, might be in slightly better form, having played the last two weeks, while Monaco hasn’t been in action since Houston where he lost in round 2. Melzer is 3-2 in his last five on clay and in decent form, seemingly improving. This is a hard prediction, but I’ll go against the h2h and say Melzer advances.

(16)Tommy Robredo vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
Robredo and RBA have met twice overall with a split h2h, and Robredo won the only clay meeting in 2012 but it went three sets, as did their hard court meetings. Both these players seem equally matched and competitive. RBA is 2-2 in his last four, while Robredo is 3-2, all of those matches taking place on clay. Robredo probably has a very slight edge here, but RBA winning this Spanish duel wouldn’t surprise me.

(13)Fabio Fognini vs. Alex Dolgopolov
Fognini should be a favorite given this is clay and he’s the higher ranked player, along with being in an ATP final this week in Munich, but Dolgopolov is 2-1 career on clay against him, including a clay win in Rio this year (where Fognini was admittedly exhausted) and a 4-1 overall H2H. Thus, the matchup style seems to favor Dolgopolov between these two talented shotmakers who sometimes have wavering focus. Dolgo has lost two straight, however, and he’s looking to return to form, as he has played some fine matches this year but hasn’t been so great most recently. Depending on how Fognini plays in the Munich final, he could be favored or a slight underdog here.

Ernests Gulbis vs. Jerzy Janowicz
Janowicz won their only clay meeting, but Gulbis has an overall 3-2 advantage in the h2h and he’s in better form, simply because Janowicz has been beyond abysmal this season. He has a 7-match losing streak and is below .500 on the year. Gulbis had lost three straight, but he surprisingly made the semis in Barcelona on clay, albeit without facing a seeded player and he should have the edge to reach round 2.

Top Half:
Defending and 3-time Madrid Champion Rafael Nadal will try yet again to at least reach a clay court final, something he has to the shock of nearly everyone failed to do in two straight tournaments. He was bounced by David Ferrer in Monte Carlo and Nicolas Almagro in Barcelona, both times before reaching the final in what were poor losses.

Something is awry with Nadal, but he’s so good on clay he still should be untroubled by Melzer/Monaco. His first test could come against Tommy Haas, who lost in the semis of Munich and is still finding his form after returning to the tour. Haas must beat a qualifier and Jarkko Nieminen/Robin Haase to reach the third round.

Current Portugal Open finalist Tomas Berdych, who has taken advantage of the weak field there and is looking solid, faces Kevin Anderson or Radek Stepanek in his first match. Then, he should get a really tough test against Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16. The Bucharest champion must beat Pablo Carreno Busta, which he has done once before on clay 4 years ago, and then Marcel Granollers or Marius Copil. Dimitrov just beat Granollers, a Portugal Open quarterfinalist, in Monte Carlo. Grisha is 2-1 career against Tomas and this would be their first clay court meeting. Given the context, I think Dimitrov will go through to the quarterfinals from this section.

3 time Madrid champion Roger Federer, who is 35-7 in his career in Madrid, will face a Frenchman in round 2, Benoit Paire or Gilles Simon, with both players struggling. Fed should face RBA/Robredo in the round of 16, as the winner of that match meets Andreas Seppi/Fernando Verdasco in round 2. Seppi comes off quarterfinals in Munich, but has just been so-so this season. I expect Federer to reach the quarterfinals regardless of who emerges as his round of 16 opponent.

Andy Murray is playing his first clay court tournament of the season (he has played 4 DC rubbers on clay this year), and he will get a very tough test in round 2 against Nicolas Almagro. Almagro just has to get past a qualifier. Almagro won their only clay meeting in 4 sets at the French in 2008 and Murray has won the other two meetings off of clay, with Almagro 7-2 in his last 9 matches on clay. He seems to be in form as long as his foot his healthy. He’s had a nagging injury with that for a couple of tournaments. I expect an Almagro vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga round of 16 match, as the Monte Carlo quarterfinalist Tsonga, who has not had a great season thus far, only has to get past Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Lleyton Hewitt or a qualifier to reach that stage of the tournament.

Tsonga is 3-0 on clay against Nico and 6-0 overall, but if Nico is healthy, I still think he will advance to the quarterfinals, because Tsonga has simply been forgettable this season.

Bottom Half:
With Djokovic out, a lucky loser will will face Marin Cilic or Joao Sousa in round 2. Sousa is struggling, having lost 4 straight, while Cilic reached quarterfinals in Barcelona but has cooled down somewhat from his strong early start. I expect Cilic to get through and face Fognini/Dolgopolov or Janowicz/Gulbis. Cilic and Gulbis have the best chance at the quarterfinals from this section, but Dolgopolov just defeated Gulbis in Monte Carlo. Ernie is 2-0 against Fognini in their careers on clay, thus the round of 16 participant is a toss-up here.

Monte Carlo semifinalist David Ferrer has never played that well in Madrid, holding just a 14-11 career record. He arrives off an opening round loss in Barcelona and will face his countryman Albert Ramos or Nicolas Mahut in his first match. Ramos qualified and reached round 2 in Munich, but got destroyed by Ferrer in Buenos Aires this year on clay, and thus Ferrer should reach the third round where one of John Isner/Philipp Kohlschreiber/qualifier awaits. Isner and Kohli face qualifiers first and will probably renew their rivalry in round 2. Isner won their only meeting on clay in 2012 in Rome and also won their meeting in Auckland this year. He lost his only match on clay this season in Houston, though, and Kohschreiber also comes off a bad opening round loss in Munich. Neither player is particularly in great shape and the qualifier has a chance to reach the third round, but if not, I’m slightly favoring Isner to meet Ferrer. Given the h2h in favor of Ferrer (4-1 overall and 1-0 on clay), it should be Ferrer in the quarters, as he has a draw that should please him.


Monte Carlo champ Stan Wawrinka faces Dmitry Tursunov or a qualifier in round 2, and with Mikhail Youzhny/Federico Delbonis/qualifier/Feliciano Lopez awaiting in round 3, I expect Stan to reach the quarterfinals without dropping a set. Tursunov just got bageled in Portugal, Youzhny has been atrocious this season and lost early in Munich, and Lopez did the same, while Delbonis has been disappointing on clay this year for the most part.

Milos Raonic, who lost his second match in Portugal to Carlos Berlocq and didn’t look that good there, faces Lukas Rosol or Jeremy Chardy in his first match. Rosol comes off the final in Bucharest and though he is 0-1 against Raonic, that was a hard court meeting. On clay, things should be more competitive and Rosol over Raonic is one of my upset specials this week. Rosol/Raonic/Chardy should get a tough round 3 opponent as Barcelona champ Kei Nisihkori, who looked great on clay at that tournament, has Ivan Dodig up first and then Guillermo Garcia-Lopez/Pablo Andujar. GGL gets a wild card and he’s had a good clay season, but Nishikori should reach round 3 and also the quarterfinals.

Dark Horses: Nicolas Almagro and Lukas Rosol
Almagro should reach the quarterfinals this week as a non-seeded player given his lucky draw, and Rosol will need to upset Nishikori (and Raonic), but feasibly could also make the quarterfinals as a non-seed.

Predictions:
Quarters:
Dimitrov d. Nadal
Federer d. Almagro
Wawrinka d. Nishikori
Ferrer d. Cilic
The rule of thumb is never pick against Nadal on clay, but he’s clearly out of sorts and he has dropped a set to Dimitrov in all four of their career head to head meetings, including the meeting on clay in Monte Carlo in 2013. And in 2013, Rafa was playing quite well. With something being off, and Dimitrov having beaten Djokovic in Madrid last year, proving he can win here against a big name, plus the fact he comes off a title and should be full of confidence, I’ll go with the upset and say Grisha gets through against a below 100% Nadal.

He’s been close every time including a competitive match at the AO this year where he lost in 4 with 2 of Rafa’s sets won in tiebreaks. I think he gets over the hump this time.

Federer is 3-0 on clay and 5-0 overall against Almagro, though they haven’t played in 7 years. With his positive history in Madrid, he should get through easily enough. Wawrinka is 2-0 by the same token against Nishikori, including a win on clay 4 and 2 a couple of seasons ago. Assuming Stan plays like he did in Monte Carlo, that one should also be an expected result.


Djokovic-Ferrer is interesting in that Daveed is 3-1 against the Serb on clay, but Novak won the last clay meeting in 2011 in Madrid. With Ferrer not looking that sharp, he should advance and get closer to evening up that h2h.

Semis:
Federer d. Dimitrov
Wawrinka d. Ferrer
Big Fed and baby Fed have only met once in their careers, with Federer winning last year indoors in Basel, but Dimitrov continues to improve, and could pull it off, but with Federer continuing to have a nice comeback season from the struggles in 2013, and his record in Madrid standing head and shoulders above everyone else, he should reach the final.

Wawrinka just beat Ferrer in Monte Carlo and has won their last two meetings on clay. Given form also favors him, he should get through if they meet.

Final:
Federer d. Wawrinka

Wawrinka outlasted Federer in Monte Carlo, overcoming a h2h that strongly tilts to Federer including a 4-2 overall h2h on clay which includes a win in Madrid in 2010 in straights. All that said, given this is Madrid clay and the Magic Box, I think Federer will get him back if they renew their rivalry. Wawrinka is now the Swiss number 1 in ranking, but for Swiss fans, Federer will be number 1 in their hearts and minds until he retires.

He’s looking to show he’s not too long in the tooth to bounce back here in Madrid.

Day 3 Review, Day 4 Preview @PortugalOpen

Posted by Admin on May 1, 2014
Posted in: ATP, Portugal Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Portugal Open – Day 3 Review, Day 4 Preview
Manuel Traquete, Tennis East Coast

DSC00265

Day 3 at the Portugal Open saw the conclusion of the women’s round of 16 and only three men’s matches.

Due to Gastão Elias’s final in a Brazilian challenger last week, his first round matchup with Volandri was postponed until yesterday afternoon. Despite all the tennis he has played lately though, Gastão looked quite sharp in this match and had break points in all but one of Volandri’s service games (where he still got to deuce). He was aggressive all match long and got it done 6-4 6-3 despite some of his usual choking in some points, including an excruciatingly long and possibly deciding game at 4*-3 in the second set. In order to repeat his quarterfinal performance from last year, Elias will now have to beat #4 seed Guilhermo Garcia Lopez on the same stage Frederico Gil did in 2010 during his dream run: the Centralito. Garcia-Lopez is the obvious favorite, but Gastão is showing some good form and he will have nothing to lose so an upset might potentially be in the cards if the factors align.

The second round of matches started yesterday, with Granollers prevailing over Montanes in a very tight 3-setter, where the 2009/2010 champion had a lot of opportunities to close things out but ended up missing another opportunity to go deep again at the Portugal Open. The other player already through to the quarterfinals is another Spaniard, Daniel Gimeno-Traver, who beat Rui Machado 6-3 7-6. DGT’s serve and forehand were more often than not too much for Machado to handle; by the time he seemed to finally adapt to Gimeno-Traver’s game somewhat it was already too late to do something in the match, although he was relatively close to taking the second set and forcing a third set.

Round 2 of the men’s draw will be concluded today; Berdych is the massive favorite to triumph over Devvarman at Center Court for obvious reasons and he should really win. Berdych has made a habit of shocking losses vs far inferior players, but Devvarman on clay is hardly a threat at all. Berdych won their only matchup 3 & 1 on a Harcourt on Chennai.

Portugal Open

Raonic should have more trouble against the talented but frequently injured and inconsistent Pablo Cuevas, but his serve and power should grant him a relatively safe passage to the quarterfinals.

On court 1, Victor Hanescu and Andrey Golubev will lock horns in the first match of the day; the names might not sound too appealing, but both can play incredible tennis on clay when inspired and could produce a very nice spectacle if they’re on their day.

Finally, Golubev and Mayer will face each other in a match that will be everything bar a classical clay-court match. Mayer is the favorite to outhit Golubev and reach the QFs on this surface, but with two players like these, consistency isn’t really something to be taken into account. It will all depend on what level they show on the day as both are capable of breathtaking hitting performances but equally of absolute shockers when they’re off. If you’re a betting man, you should really stay away from this match!

On the women’s side, only two of the seeds are missing the quarterfinals. Samantha Stosur and Lucie Safarova – defeated today in 3 sets by Polona Hercog in a match filled with unforced errors and poor serving throughout – and Kaia Kanepi – shockingly sent packing by the Romanian Begu. In the other matches of the day, logic prevailed with the #1 seed even delivering a double bagel to her opponent.

The quarterfinals promise to be really interesting, especially the first one and only on center court that will fit the seasoned veteran Kuznetsova to Canadian upstart Eugenie Bouchard. Can the Canadian make another breakthrough or will the Old Guard prevail even while not at their best? Suarez Navarro and Vinci are also clear favorites over Polona Hercog and Elena Vesnina, although both are playing pretty well so far and have a shot at going even further on current form. Finally, what should be on paper the tightest match of the round will be played on Court 2 and pit Timea Bacsinszky against Irina-Camelia Begu. The Romanian maybe emerges as an ever so slight favorite, but the match should be great and well contested throughout.

2013 ATP Valencia, Basel Previews and Predictions

Posted by Admin on October 21, 2013
Posted in: ATP, Basel, Valencia. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

2013 ATP Valencia, Basel Previews and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast

ATP 500

The final three weeks of the ATP season are upon us, and two of the last three full field events are this week, both indoors in Europe, World Tour Final spots are still up for grabs and both events are worth 500 points, meaning there is still much to play for.

Valencia

ATP Valencia
Valencia Open 500
ATP World Tour 500
Valencia, Spain
October 21-October 27, 2013
Prize Money: € 1,496,095

Top 8 seeds
1: David Ferrer
2: Tommy Haas
3: Nicolas Almagro
4: John Isner
5: Jerzy Janowicz
6: Gilles Simon
7: Fabio Fognini
8: Kevin Anderson

First round Matchups to watch:

(1)David Ferrer vs. Gael Monfils

Ferrer

Stockholm finalist Ferrer will seek to defend his title in Valencia and though he did make the final in Stockholm, his form is well below its normal level. Monfils, meanwhile, was shocked by veteran journeyman Jaroslav Pospisil in the first round of Vienna and his inconsistent play continues.

This could either be a thrilling match or a blowout, and a lot of that depends on Monfils, who could pull off the upset or could get double bageled. The h2h is 3-1 in favor of the Frenchman, though Ferrer demolished Monfils at the beginning of this year on hard courts.

(8)Kevin Anderson vs (WC)Roberto Bautista Agut

Kevin Anderson is seeded here, but he is dragging his way into Valencia on fumes, not having won consecutive matches at any tournament since the summer. RBA is playing at home in Spain and has gotten a bit of time off to refocus his game and try to make a run here. Given the bad form of Anderson at the moment, the upset seems to be in play.

(4)John Isner vs. Ernests Gulbis

Ernests Gulbis, 2012 ATP Cincinnati/Courtney Massey

Gulbis is 2-0 career against Isner. They have never met on a hard court surface, and the Latavian comes off semifinals in Stockholm, where he got 3 good wins but suffered a tough loss with the lead against David Ferrer. Isner lost somewhat early in both Beijing and Shanghai, and will be playing what should be his second to last tournament of the year. This match could also go either way, but I think Gulbis will pull off the slight upset over the American.

Jarkko Nieminen vs. Benoit Paire

An interesting matchup of players who tend to have good results indoors, the road runner Nieminen and the mercurial Paire will face off. Paire comes off semis in Stockholm but his form is always unpredictable, while Nieminen is mainly treading water at the moment. Paire should be the favorite but I call this a match to watch because he is susceptible to being upset here.

(2)Tommy Haas vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber

Vienna champion Haas should be a big favorite over his countryman, the struggling Kohlschreiber, who lost to Ruben Bemelmans in Vienna. However, Haas was not playing well coming into Vienna and he has played a lot of tennis this year making him at least somewhat susceptible to a loss. He leads the h2h 3-2, but this is their first meeting on any sort of hard surface, much less indoors, and though I still expect him to win, just like Paire he is vulnerable here with such a tough field.

Top Half:

Ferrer/Monfils will face Julien Benneteau/Feliciano Lopez in round 2. All four of those players are very capable of great play indoors when at their best but none are predictable right now. The quarterfinalist from this section should face Jerzy Janowicz as the Pole gears up to defend all those points in Paris next week, and he played decently in Stockholm the preceding week.

Janowicz opens with qualifier Pablo Carreno-Busta and then faces Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Joao Sousa, both of whom have made recent deep runs at indoor fall events (St. Petersburg final and Kuala Lumpur champion). This is a very tough section of the draw.

3 seed and Spaniard Nicolas Almagro is back after good play on the Asian swing. He’s also a two time former champion here. Nico opens with the hapless Pablo Andujar, as Fernando Verdasco or Michal Przysiezny wait on deck. Verdasco withdrew from Stockholm midway through the event and his form is questionable. I expect it to be Almagro vs one of Fabio Fognini/Martin Klizan/Janko Tipsarevic/Marcel Granollers in the quarterfinals. That section is much weaker and none of the players are in the best form. Tipsarevic continues to get good draws but perform incredibly poorly, and thus Fognini should get through.

Bottom Half:

Haas/Kohlschreiber will face Bernard Tomic/Mikhail Youzhny. As Haas is the only in-form player of those 4, he should advance to face Paire/Nieminen or Gilles Simon in the quarters. Simon opens with qualifier Alejandro Falla, and any of those round 2 matches would be a treat. Paire beat Simon in Shanghai recently.

Isner/Gulbis will face Jeremy Chardy/Florian Mayer, with one of Anderson/Bautista Agut Albert Montanes/Dmitry Tursunov awaiting in the quarters. This is a very winnable and open section for anyone who wants to seize the moment.

Dark Horse: Julien Benneteau

Benneteau

Benny has had indoor success and with both his first round opponent Feliciano Lopez and Monfils/Ferrer being out of form, he has a good chance to at least make the quarters in such a tough field.

Predictions

Semis:

Almagro d. Janowicz
Haas d. Gulbis

Almagro and JJ have met twice this year with a split decision. Gulbis has won every hard court meeting against Haas (2-0), but form wise I give Tommy a slight edge. All of their matches have gone the distance.

Final:

Almagro d. Haas

Haas is 3-0 career against Almagro, including a win this year on hard courts, but the two hard court matches have played have gone the distance. I think Almagro will finally claim victory here.

Basel Final

ATP Basel
Swiss Indoors Basel
ATP World Tour 500
Basel, Switzerland
October 21-October 27, 2013
Prize Money: € 1,988,835

Top 8 seeds
1: Juan Martin Del Potro
2: Tomas Berdych
3: Roger Federer
4: Stanislas Wawrinka
5: Richard Gasquet
6: Kei Nishikori
7: Andreas Seppi
8: Grigor Dimitrov


First round Matchups to watch:

(8)Grigor Dimitrov vs. Radek Stepanek

This match is mainly interesting to watch in order to see how Dimitrov performs coming off his first ATP title in Stockholm. The veteran Stepanek made the quarters in Vienna and can do well on this surface, making him a respectable opponent who could pull of the upset.

Vasek Pospisil vs. Robin Haase

A reprisal of their match in Vienna last week in round 2, which was won by Haase in nail biting fashion. The Dutchman would go on to make the final in that event and he will look to keep the momentum going. This match is a toss-up to me.

(2)Tomas Berdych vs. Ivo Karlovic

This match could be a tricky test for Berdych, who is in unpredictable form heading into this event as the 2 seed. Karlovic made the semis in Moscow and the h2h is an even 2-2. I expect the Czech to win, but Ivo could work his way to a victory.

Top Half:

Defending champ Juan Martin Del Potro opens with Henri Laaksonen, while Benjamin Becker or Marcos Baghdatis await for him. In the quarters, it should be JMDP vs. Moscow champ Richard Gasquet in a huge clash. Gasquet is also in the hunt to qualify for the World Tour finals, and wins against Michael Llodra and Paul-Henri Mathieu/Denis Kudla would keep the momentum going.

Stan Wawrinka will also seek to solidify a WTF berth. The Swissman has returned home to play after a career year for him and he will open with Edouard Roger-Vasselin followed by Victor Hanescu/Tobias Kamke. One of Andreas Seppi/Daniel Brands/Dani Gimeno-Traver/Lukasz Kubot await in the semis, probably Brands or Seppi in what is a weak section.

Bottom Half:

Berdych/Karlovic will face Pospisil/Haase in round 2. The Quarterfinalist there will most likely face either 6 seed Kei Nishikori, or Ivan Dodig. Nishikori opens with Marco Chiudinelli, while Dodig plays Carlos Berlocq.

Roger Federer is also under pressure to make the World Tour Finals after his “worst” year of tennis in a long time. The Swiss favorite and dominator of Basel opens with Adrian Mannarino, who he took apart at the US Open in their last meeting, and should get Denis Istomin in round 2. Istomin just needs to be Horacio Zeballos.

Federer doesn’t have that hard of a draw as Dimitrov/Stepanek or Kenny De Schepper/Alex Dolgopolov will be his quarterfinal opponent. Dimitrov should be tired, Stepanek could capitalize as De Schepper is inconsistent and Dolgopolov has had good draws but is slumping and has all year.

Dark Horse: Kenny De Schepper

I don’t expect that much from the young Frenchman, but he can play well indoors when his game is on, and though he has poor movement, he’s got a very good serve. Dolgopolov, his first opponent, is in poor form. De Schepper’s second opponent? Either Dimitrov or Stepanek who are beatable, as Dimitrov should be tired and Stepanek is inconsistent. In the quarters, a match against Federer is most likely. You just never know these days.

Predictions

Semis:

Del Potro d. Wawrinka
Federer d. Berdych

Del Po and Stan have never met on hard courts, but JMDP controls the h2h and I think he will win this one, given his form on the Asian swing.

Berdych has won the last two meetings against Fed but his form doesn’t seem that great. You have to think that Fed will be super-motivated at home, trying to qualify for the WTF and working with a new coaching team after dropping Paul Annacone.


Final:

Del Potro d. Federer

A rematch of the Basel final last year. I expect the same result.

A healthy Del Potro should dictate things and win the big points to take the title here and maintain his ranking points.

Your 2013 @Longines Future Tennis Ace Du Monde: Germany’s Rudolf Molleker #LonginesFTA

Posted by Admin on June 5, 2013
Posted in: French Open, Junior Tennis, Paris, Roland Garros. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Your 2013 @Longines Future Tennis Ace Du Monde: Germany’s Rudolf Molleker

Longines Future Aces Site

LONGINES FUTURE TENNIS ACES TITLE GOES TO

GERMANY’S MOLLEKER IN CONVINCING FASHION

 

Germany’s Rudolf Molleker captured the Longines Future Tennis Aces title in Paris last weekend (Photo: Longines)

Germany’s Rudolf Molleker captured the Longines Future Tennis Aces title in Paris last weekend (Photo: Longines)

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. (June 3, 2013) – Sixteen of the world’s top boys’ 12-and-under players battled for the title of 2013 Longines Future Tennis Aces champion last week, with Germany’s Rudolf Molleker finally taking home the championship in a dominating performance. For the first time, the tournament was played in front of the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) in the center of Paris.

Final Longines Future Tennis Aces 2013 - Award ceremony (Photo: Lomgines)

Final Longines Future Tennis Aces 2013 – Award ceremony (Photo: Longines)

Molleker defeated Carlos Sanchez Jover of Spain 4-1, 4-0 in the final in the fourth annual tournament. Following the final match, the two had the opportunity to meet Longines Rising Tennis Stars Ryan Harrison and Sabine Lisicki and teamed with Fabrice Santoro, patron of the 2013 edition of the Longines Future Tennis Aces, and former ATP star Arnaud Clément of France, friend of Longines, in an exhibition doubles match.

Molleker dropped just five games in four matches en route to the title. Both finalists won a Longines watch and will receive tennis equipment courtesy of Longines until their 16th birthday. Countries participating in Future Tennis Aces program included Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the U.S. The United States representative at the event was Adam Neff of Bradenton, Fla., who faced Molleker in the first round.

—S. Pratt

Davis Cup World Group First Round Preview

Posted by Admin on January 30, 2013
Posted in: ATP, Davis Cup, USTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Davis Cup Official Site
Davis Cup World Group First Round Preview

Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com

The stars of men’s tennis, along with some of the lesser known players, will put on the national colors once again. The opening round of the Davis Cup begins its 2013 edition this weekend. Here is a preview of all the world group weekend action.

Canada vs. Spain

The defending finalists and normally DC dominant Spanish will have a much weaker armada and will have to head to Vancouver to take on a strong-looking Canuck team in a tie ripe for a surprise. The Spanish had Nicolas Almagro withdraw from the tie this week, replaced by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. He will be complemented by Marcel Granollers, Albert Ramos and doubles specialist Marc Lopez, with the M&M’s Granollers and Lopez forming the core of the doubles team.

The Canadians counter with AO quarterfinalist Milos Raonic (who was nursing a bit of an injury from AO but should be ready to go), Vasek Pospisil (who hasn’t played any since last year and withdrew from a couple of January events), Frank Dancevic, (who made the quarters of the competitive Heilbronn Challenger, an event also on indoor hard courts), and doubles specialist Daniel Nestor.

The Spanish still have the rankings advantage, but the Canadians get home court advantage and home surface advantage on indoor hard. Ramos is slumping, and Pospisil hasn’t played. Seriously, this tie could come down to the doubles rubber.

The Pick: Spain

Italy vs. Croatia

Italy gets home advantage on indoor clay in Turin as AO 4th rounder Andreas Seppi, along with Fabio Fognini, Paolo Lorenzi and Simone Bolelli, all top 80 players, will take on the Croats. Croatia is led by Marin Cilic and his teammates Ivan Dodig, Antonio Veic and Mate Pavic.

Italy will have not only home advantage, but also performance advantage as all of their players are solid consistent clay courters and Seppi just beat Cilic in Melbourne. Ivan Dodig may grab a rubber, but otherwise things don’t look good for Croatia, who have two players ranked outside the top 130 on their squad.

The Pick: Italy

Belgium vs. Serbia

This will be a tie worth watching as the young David Goffin and his teammates Steve Darcis, Ruben Bemelmans and the veteran Olivier Rochus have home court advantage on the red clay of Charleroi, Belgium. They will take on the dominant Novak Djokovic, and the solid Serbian supporting cast of Viktor Troicki and doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic. Janko Tipsarevic has withdrawn.

Rochus and Goffin also enjoy spending time on the golf course.

Belgium coach Johan Van Herck will have his work cut out for him as there are few weaknesses in this Serbian side and the Belgians may struggle to win a rubber in this tie. A big advantage goes to Serbia.

The Pick: Serbia

USA vs. Brazil

On indoor hard at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, the red, white and blue  are lead by a hopefully fresh John Isner, Sam Querrey and the AO champion Bryan Brothers. Team USA will face a tough tie against the flamboyant Brazilians who are lead by top 35 player Thomaz Bellucci along with Thiago Alves and the doubles team of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares, who are accomplished in their own right.

The Americans still look to have the advantage here, especially because of surface, assuming that Isner’s knee is ok. As long as they win the doubles rubber, Querrey and Isner should be counted on to grab the rubbers needed and advance the USA to the next round.

The Pick: USA

France vs. Israel

On indoor hard in Rouen, France, Les Bleus, headed by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet along with Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra will take on Israel, led by the veteran Dudi Sela. Alongside him will be doubles specialists Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram. The other core of the Israeli team, Amir Weintraub, is dealing with a leg infection and may or may not play. His replacement would be an unranked player. This is a big blow to the Israeli team.

This is a very lopsided tie as the French are stacked with two top 20 and three top 40 singles players, while the Israelis don’t have either singles player ranked in the top 110.  On a side note, the French are now coached by former pro Arnaud Clement.

The Pick: France

Argentina vs. Germany

In a rematch of last year’s DC tie, Argentina will look to advance on the home clay of the Parque Roca in Buenos Aires over Germany. The Argentines are lead by Juan Monaco along with Horacio Zeballos, Carlos Berlocq and the old DC grinder David Nalbandian. Germany counters with Phillip Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, Tobias Kamke and doubles specialist Christopher Kas. Both sides have different squads compared to last year and the Argentines will most notably be missing Juan Martin Del Potro.

This tie could go either way, as Monaco is not in the greatest form and Nalbandian has not played since last August. Meanwhile, Berlocq and Zeballos will be adjusting to the change in surface.

Kohlschreiber is solid on all surfaces for Germany, while Mayer is usually competitive on clay and Kamke can be inconsistent. I have a feeling Germany will get revenge here.

The Pick: Germany

Austria vs. Kazakhstan

At the national tennis center in Astana on red clay, Kazakhstan will seek to advance to the next round of the DC world group with a team that consists of Mikhail Kukushkin, Andrey Golubev, Evgeny  Korolev and Yuriy Schukin. Austria will counter with the reliable Jurgen Melzer, a struggling Andreas Haider-Maurer, Julian Knowle and doubles specialist Alexander Peya.

Both teams have reasonable shots to win this tie, as both are made up of basically challenger level players who have done better in the past, excluding the ATP level Melzer and Peya. It really comes down to which team is more motivated and shows up, but because the Kazaks have the home advantage, I will give them the slight edge.

The Pick: Kazakhstan

Switzerland vs. Czech Republic

The Swiss are lead by the now memorable Stan Wawrinka, with Marco Chiudinelli, Michael Lammer and Henri Laaksonen behind him. They’ll take on defending DC champs Czech Republic on indoor hard in Geneva.

The Czechs have the same core team of Tomas Berdych and Lukas Rosol back, while Radek Stepanek had to pull out with a back injury and has been replaced by Ivo Minar. Also returning are Jiri Vesely and coach Jaroslav Navratil. Though they are away from home for this tie they will still have a slight edge, Wawrinka aside, look for them to stay in the hunt to repeat.

The Pick: Czech Republic

Notable action outside of the World Group:

Asia/Oceania Group 1: The Aussies, led by Lleyton Hewitt and Matt Ebden, take on Taiwan on hard courts in Taiwan, while the Japanese, with Go Soeda and Tatsuma Ito, get a home tie on hard against Indonesia.

Europe/Africa Group 1: Poland, with Jerzy Janowicz and Lukasz Kubot will take on Grega Zemlja, Aljaz Bedene and marathon man Blaz Kavic of Slovenia in a tie worth checking out on hard courts in Wroclaw, Poland.

Ukraine will finally get the participation of Alexandr Dolgopolov, who seems to have finally resolved his dispute with the Ukrainian tennis federation. He teams up with Sergiy Stakhovsky, and they will take on Slovakia, lead by Martin Klizan and Lukas Lacko on hard courts at home.

Have fun enjoying all the national action!

Davis Cup Weekend Preview

Posted by Admin on April 5, 2012
Posted in: Davis Cup. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Simon and Isner will battle it out

Davis Cup World Group QFs Preview

By Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com

The 2nd round of Davis Cup rubbers begins April 6th and here is a preview of the World Group quarterfinal matches to whet everyone’s appetite.

Austria vs. Spain

The top ranked Spanish host the Austrians on the red clay of Castellon, Spain. With a not quite top tier but still highly ranked squad of David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, they should be heavily favored against the Austrian squad that features only one top 100 player, Jurgen Melzer, who is joined by Austrian veterans Andreas Haider-Maurer, Alexander Peya and Oliver Marach, who will form part of the doubles team Austrian coach Clemens Trimmel will put up.

The Spanish singles duo of Ferrer and Almagro are both coming off deep runs on the hard courts of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and should be in top form on what is their preferred surface while Marc Lopez, the brother of the more well known Feliciano Lopez, is a formidable doubles partner for whoever coach Alex Corretja pairs with him.

The Austrians upset the Russians in the last round and surprised many by reaching the Davis Cup QFs, but the odds of them advancing beyond this point on clay no less is are very steep with a squad of players who mostly ply their trade on the Challenger tour. The Spanish, who crushed Kazakhstan in the 1st round, should be favored to advance even if Melzer is able to win a couple rubbers for the boys in red.

The Pick: Spain

Will Melzers effort be enough?

France vs. United States

The most anticipated Davis Cup tie of the quarterfinal round (at least here in the States) is this matchup between the traditionally strong French, who advanced over Canada in the 1st round and the newly resurgent US, who beat Roger Federer and the Swiss in the 1st round to the surprise of many. The tie will be played at the Monte Carlo Country Club, which also hosts the ATP Monte Carlo Masters tournament and once again will be on red clay, not exactly the Americans favorite surface even though they beat the Swiss on it.

The Americans, led by captain Jim Courier will send the team of John Isner, Ryan Harrison (who replaced Mardy Fish who withdrew from the tie) and the Bryan brothers, while for their part the French led by captain Guy Forget will send the squad of Gilles Simon (who replaced Gael Monfils who withdrew from the tie), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra.

The French squad features two current top 15 singles players (Tsonga and Simon) while the Americans will have the advantage of both Bryan brothers being available for the doubles. Isner is pretty hot going into this tie, all be it on hard courts, and considering the parity of the talent it may just come down to which American and which French squad shows up. It should be a thrilling tie either way and how the less heralded play of Benneteau, Llodra and Harrison could determine who wins it. Simon is historically a better player on clay than Harrison is so that could swing the tie in favor of the French.

The Pick: France

Czech Republic vs. Serbia

In one of the closest ties in terms of both geographic location and parity of squads, the Czech Republic will face off with Serbia on clay in Prague. While the Serbs will once again be without the services of world no. 1 Novak Djokovic, they can still rely on ATP stalwarts Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki along with Dusan Lajovic and doubles specialist Nenad Zimonijic. The Czechs will counter with Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Lukas Rosol and doubles specialist Frantisek Cermak.

Both sides feature players who are playing very well at the moment and normally do well on clay so parsing these teams apart is very hard after both advanced with ease over Italy and Sweden respectively in the 1st round. It very well could come down to doubles rubber and how well the semi-consistent Lukas Rosol and Radek Stepanek can perform for the Czechs. Tipsarevic and Berdych also figure to be key performers for their perspective squads.

The Pick: Serbia

Croatia vs. Argentina

Del Potro leads Argentina

Argentina led by Juan Martin Del Potro, David Nalbanian, Juan “Pico” Monaco and Eduardo Schwank will try and defend home turf on the clay of Buenos Aires against the Croats who will counter with Ivo Karlovic, Marin Cilic, Antonio Veic and Lovro Zovko in what promises to be an interesting tie.

Argentina pulled off a mild upset of Phillip Kohlschreiber less Germany in the 1st round and Croatia triumphed over Kei Nishikori and Japan in a thrilling 5 rubber tie that went all the way.

With both Del Po and Pico coming off good performances in Miami including Del Potro’s victory over Cilic the Argentines should be favored over the Croats. Except a lot of aces in these rubbers even on clay with hard servers Karlovic, Cilic and Del Potro all taking part.

The Pick: Argentina

Istomin leads Uzbekistan

In other notable ties, Chile takes on Uruguay and Brazil takes on Colombia in Americas Group 1 2nd round action, India takes on Uzbekistan and Australia takes on South Korea in Asia/Oceania 2nd round action and Europe/Africa 2nd round ties are Israel vs. Portugal, Belgium vs. Great Britain, Netherlands vs. Romania and Slovenia vs. South Africa.