Gilles Simon and Bernard Tomic Claim ATP Titles in Recent Weeks Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Four 250 level hard court stops took place on the ATP Tour over the past 2 weeks, producing four different singles winners who will be proud of their accomplishments for vastly different reasons.
Tour veteran Gilles Simon put together a surprising weak on home court in Metz, claiming his second title of 2018 7-6 6-1 against qualifier Matthias Bachinger. The win marks the first time Simon has won multiple ATP titles in a season since 2011. He dropped a set against Filip Krajinovic in the second round, but otherwise eased past Jiri Vesely, Richard Gasquet, and Radu Albot to reach the final.
Also a veteran, Bachinger took part in his first ever ATP final, coming through qualifying and then defeating Jaume Munar, Gregoire Barrere, Yannick Maden, and Kei Nishkori, his last two wins coming in three sets, with the stunning result over Nishikori one of the finest wins of his journeyman career.
The home nation swept the titles as Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin teamed up to defeat the Skupski brothers in the doubles final.
Austrian #1 Dominic Thiem balled out on hard courts claiming a third title for 2018 with a 6-3 6-1 routine victory against Martin Klizan in the St. Petersburg final. Thiem won four matches, dropping just a set in Russia. His wins came against J.L. Struff, Daniil Medvedev in a third set tiebreak, and Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the final.
Klizan had a good tournament as well, claiming wins against Evgeny Donskoy, Fabio Fognini, Denis Shapovalov, and Stan Wawrinka to reach the final, the final two wins coming in three set contests.
Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini teamed up to win the doubles title against Jebavy/Middelkoop.
Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka claimed his first ever ATP title 7-5 2-6 6-4 against Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The 23 year old has overcome a rash of injuries and in his first ATP final he was clutch against the more experienced Herbert. Like the other winner on the ATP Tour this week, Bernard Tomic, Nishioka came through qualifying to reach the main draw. In the main draw his wins came against Denis Kudla, Denis Shapovalov, Cam Norrie, and Fernando Verdasco, with Shapovalov and Verdasco taking three sets to defeat.
Herbert defeated Dusan Lajovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Albert Ramos, and Alex De Minaur to reach the final, needing three sets in his last two victories, including a nip and tuck win against ADM. The result is Herbert’s second ever ATP final.
Salisbury/Mclachlan defeated Lindstedt/Ram in the doubles final.
It’s been a long road back to this point for 25 year old Aussie Bernard Tomic, but he finally claimed another piece of ATP hardware winning his first title since 2015 6-1 3-6 7-6(7) against Fabio Fognini. Trailing in the tiebreak, Tomic had to produce both luck and skill to comeback for the win. He is now likely set to feature again at the higher level ATP tournaments as he had to come through qualifying where he dropped sets in two of his three matches, just to reach the main draw in this 250. In the main draw he edged Bradley Klahn and Lloyd Harris, then eased past Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Joao Sousa to reach the final.
Fognini has reached 4 ATP finals this season, he had a relatively smooth path against Ruben Bemelmans, Matt Ebden, and Taylor Fritz this week, though he did drop a set to Fritz.
Croatia’s Mate Pavic and Ivan Dodig defeated Nedunchezhiyan/Krajicek in the doubles final.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took the title in Metz for the third time in his career with a 7-6(5) 1-6 6-2 victory over fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon. Simon battled hard for two sets, but Tsonga’s relentless attack eventually broke him down in the final set, as Tsonga recovered from a poor batch of services games in set 2. The title is the first of the season for Tsonga, and extends his streak of years with at least one ATP title to five (2011-2015).
The 30 year old beat Mischa Zverev and Nicolas Mahut in three sets then improved his tennis to win in straight sets over an in-form Philipp Kohlschreiber. Kohlschreiber reached the semis by virtue of #1 seed Stan Wawrinka’s withdrawal.
Simon found great form himself indoors on home soil and scored three routine wins over Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Gilles Muller and Martin Klizan to make the final, finally running out of steam in that final.
Lukasz Kubot and Roger-Vasselin, a pair of veterans, beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut in an upset to take home the doubles final.
The renewal of the St. Petersburg Open saw Milos Raonic post his best result post foot surgery as the Canadian served well and took home the title. Raonic, like Tsonga, extends his years with at least 1 ATP title to five with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory over Joao Sousa. Sousa played an aggressive match, and once more posts an excellent Fall indoor hard court result, but he simply couldn’t get enough returns in for winners to beat Raonic in the third set.
Raonic dominated Evgeny Donskoy, Tommy Robredo, and Roberto Bautista Agut without dropping a set on the fast indoor surface to reach the final. Sousa was lucky to slip past Radu Albot in three sets but the best was yet to come as he took out Marcel Granollers, Simone Bolelli, and Dominic Thiem without dropping a set in his next three matches. Bolelli upset Tomas Berdych in round 2.
Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen beat Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya for the doubles title.
Radu Albot, Andrey Golubev Head to Main Stage at St. Petersburg Qualifying Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic
St Petersburg Site
The St. Petersburg Open qualifying draw featured 21 Russian players which equalled to 65% of the draw. Despite the high Russian presence, none of them were able to qualify for the main draw of their home tournament.
Heading the field was Moldova’s Radu Albot who overcame a threatening first round match to qualify for the main draw. Facing world number 743 Mikhail Ledovskikh, Albot required over two hours on the court to win 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3. Despite the low ranking, Ledovskikh has been ranked as high as 151 back in 2008. After his first round scare, Albot reaffirmed his position as the top seed in the draw with two comfortable victories. In the second round, he defeated Alexandr Igoshin 6-4, 6-2. Then in the final round, he dropped three games against Valery Rudvev (6-3,6-0).
Albot is currently ranked 99th in the world, 14 places below his career high. This year he became the first Moldovan in history to break into the ATP top 100. He claimed his first Challenger title for two years in Kolkata back in February. Albot will play 7th seed João Sousa in the first round at St Petersburg. He has played the Portuguese player twice before (both in 2013). During the Davis Cup Albot stage a big comeback from two sets down to beat Sousa. Meanwhile, in his other match at the Poznan Challenger, he lost 6-1, 6-2.
Andrey Golubev’s route to the main draw was more convincing with three straight sets wins over a trio of Russian players. In the first round, he dismissed 17 year-old Kirill Kivattsev (6-1, 6-2) followed by another straight set win over world No.496 Evgeny Elistratov. His final opponent was Evgeny Tyurnev, who stunned 5th seed Nikola Mektic in the second round. Tyurnev was unable to produce another shock against Goulbev as the Kazakh player won 6-4,6-2.
Golubev is ranked 154 in the world which is a substantial distance from his 2010 career high of 33. This season has been disappointing for Golubev who is yet to reach the last four in a tournament. His 2015 main draw win-loss leading up to his first round match is 10-21. In the first round in Russia, he will play Benjamin Becker. Golubev last played Becker in 2010 when he lost 6-0,6-2.
Alexandre Sidorenko booked his place in the main draw after two surprise victories over the 7th and 3rd seed. Sidorenko is known best for winning the 2006 Australian Open boys title. His junior success has failed to progress to the pro tour with the Frenchman achieving a ranking best of 145 in 2009, currently he is ranked 508. In the second round, he defeated Estonian 7th seed Vladimir Ivanov. Ivanov is ranked 101 places higher than Sidorenko. In the final round, he faced a another stiff test against Russian third seed Alexander Kudryavtsev. The Frenchman was trailing a set and 4-2 before staging a mighty comeback to take the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Sidorenko will play in his first ATP World Tour main draw match since the 2010 BMW Open. In the first round he played Evgeny Donskoy. Sidorenko was the only qualifier to play on the first day of the main draw. Playing against a player ranked almost 400 places higher than him, the Frenchman prevailed 6-2, 6-4.
Finally 22-year-old Belarussian Yaraslav Shyla booked his placed in the final after defeating junior world No.43 Alexander Bublik (6-3,6-4). Shyla has won 2 Futures titles in his career and is currently ranked 366th in the world. Following his successful qualifying campaign, he will play in only his third ATP main draw event. In the main draw he will play Evgeny Donskoy.
2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 35 (Metz, St. Petersburg) Staff, Tennis Atlantic
A pair of indoor hard court 250’s on European soil kicks off the 2015 ATP World Tour Fall swing and our experts are on hand to make their bracket predictions.
Metz
Steen Kirby’s picks
Round of 16 matches: Wawrinka vs. Brown, Darcis vs. Kohlschreiber, Tsonga vs. Carreno Busta, Mahut vs. Mannarino, Mathieu vs. Pospisil, Herbert vs. Garcia-Lopez, A. Zverev vs. Muller, Roger-Vasselin vs. Simon Quarterfinals: Wawrinka vs. Kohlschreiber, Tsonga vs. Mahut, Mathieu vs. Garcia-Lopez, Muller vs. Simon Semifinals: Wawrinka vs. Tsonga, Garcia-Lopez vs. Simon Final: Wawrinka vs. Simon Champion: Wawrinka
Niall Clarke’s picks
Round of 16 matches: Wawrinka vs. Brown, Darcis vs. Kohlschreiber, Tsonga vs. M. Zverev, Mahut vs. Mannarino, Klizan vs. Pospisil, Herbert vs. Garcia-Lopez, A. Zverev vs. Muller, Roger-Vasselin vs. Simon Quarterfinals: Wawrinka vs. Kohlschreiber, Tsonga vs. Mannarino, Klizan vs. Garcia-Lopez, Muller vs. Simon Semifinals: Kohlschreiber vs. Tsonga, Klizan vs. Simon Final: Tsonga vs. Simon Champion: Tsonga
Chris de Waard’s picks
Round of 16 matches: Wawrinka vs. Ram, Lorenzi vs. Millman, Tsonga vs. Carreno Busta, Mahut vs. Mannarino, Mathieu vs. Pospisil, Herbert vs. Garcia-Lopez, A. Zverev vs. Muller, Roger-Vasselin vs. Simon Quarterfinals: Ram vs. Millman, Tsonga vs. Mahut, Pospisil vs. Garcia-Lopez, Muller vs. Simon Semifinals: Millman vs. Tsonga, Garcia-Lopez vs. Simon Final: Tsonga vs. Simon Champion: Tsonga
Stan Wawrinka, Gilles Simon, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all expected to do well in Metz this week.
Round of 16 matches: Berdych vs. Bolelli, Kokkinakis vs. Sousa, Thiem vs. Haider-Maurer, Golubev vs. Kukushkin, Paire vs. Berankis, Gabashvili vs. Bautista Agut, Robredo vs. Baghdatis, Donskoy vs. Raonic
Quarterfinals: Berdych vs. Kokkinakis, Thiem vs. Kukushkin, Paire vs. Bautista Agut, Robredo vs. Raonic Semifinals: Berdych vs. Kukushkin, Bautista Agut vs. Raonic Final: Berdych vs. Raonic Champion: Berdych
Niall Clarke’s picks
Round of 16 matches: Berdych vs. Rublev, Kokkinakis vs. Sousa, Thiem vs. Haider-Maurer, Becker vs. Kukushkin, Paire vs. Pouille, Gabashvili vs. Bautista Agut, Robredo vs. Gulbis, Sidorenko vs. Raonic
Quarterfinals: Berdych vs. Sousa, Thiem vs. Kukushkin, Paire vs. Bautista Agut, Robredo vs. Raonic Semifinals: Berdych vs. Thiem, Bautista Agut vs. Raonic Final: Berdych vs. Bautista Agut Champion: Berdych
Joe Craven’s picks
Round of 16 matches: Berdych vs. Rublev, Kokkinakis vs. Sousa, Thiem vs. Haider-Maurer, Becker vs. Istomin, Janowicz vs. Berankis, Gabashvili vs. Bautista Agut, Robredo vs. Gulbis, Donskoy vs. Raonic
Quarterfinals: Berdych vs. Kokkinakis, Thiem vs. Istomin, Janowicz vs. Bautista Agut, Gulbis vs. Raonic Semifinals: Berdych vs. Thiem, Janowicz vs. Raonic Final: Berdych vs. Raonic Champion: Berdych
Chris de Waard’s picks
Round of 16 matches: Berdych vs. Rublev, Granollers vs. Sousa, Thiem vs. Haider-Maurer, Golubev vs. Istomin, Paire vs. Berankis, Shyla vs. Bautista Agut, Robredo vs. Gulbis, Donskoy vs. Raonic
Quarterfinals: Berdych vs. Sousa, Thiem vs. Kukushkin, Paire vs. Bautista Agut, Robredo vs. Raonic Semifinals: Berdych vs. Kukushin, Bautista Agut vs. Raonic Final: Berdych vs. Raonic Champion: Raonic
Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic, St. Petersburg’s #1 and #2 seeds are the clear favorites to take the title.
Niall’s winning US Open performance has made the final push for points at the end of the season matter as he’s back within striking distance of Steen with two Masters series events left to go.
2015 ATP Metz and St. Petersburg Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The ATP World Tour returns with the start of the European fall indoor hard court swing. A pair of 250s are up this week, one in Metz, France, and the other in St. Petersburg, Russia, as that event returns after being absent from the tour calendar last season.
ATP Metz
Moselle Open
ATP World Tour 250
Metz, France
September 21-September 27, 2015
Prize Money: €439,405
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Stan Wawrinka (4)
2: Gilles Simon (10)
3: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (17)
4: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (31)
Two top 10 players, and three top 20 players gives Metz a quality field for a small indoor 250 at this point in the season.
Kohlschreiber had a successful outing in Davis Cup for Germany over the weekend as he went 2-0, but the former Metz finalist has had a down season at the ATP level thsi year. Additionally, he may have to fight fatigue and jet lag as he’s coming back from the Caribbean with Davis Cup duty. Millman is a talented underachiever who won a pair of challengers over the summer and can play solid tennis at times, Peppo is still the favorite, but this match has some upset potential.
(6)Martin Klizan vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu
PHM is playing on home soil, and veteran who relies on solid ballstriking is a relatively solid player indoors. He recently reached the final in Kitzbuhel on clay over the summer, beating his opponent Klizan in the process, and qualified for the US Open. Klizan comes off a 2-0 result in Davis Cup and has an indoor h2h win over Mathieu in Rotterdam (2013, 3 sets) but he’s a streaky player who can ball bash well, or struggle mightily. Depending on what version of Klizan will show up, he’ll either advance with ease or lose in an upset in this matchup of contrasting styles.
(WC)Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky
The US Open doubles champion Herbert recently reached his first ATP title in Winston-Salem, and on home soil with a big serve, he’s a danger to the serve and volleyer Stakhovsky. Stako reached the third round of the US Open and a recent challenger final however (in Istanbul), so his form appears good. An inspired PHH could rock the boat this tournament, and with a recent h2h win over Stako, I have him winning against him again.
(8)Fernando Verdasco vs. Alexander Zverev
Verdasco is just 2-5 since Wimbledon, and he risks dropping that number to 2-6 at the hands of the young gun Zverev. The teenager had a successful summer and qualified for the US Open among other good results. His indoor game isn’t as good as his clay court game, but the big hitting Verdasco has struggled to find rhythm and I’m going to go with an upset and pick Zverev, who is on the upswing of his career, while Verdasco is clearly heading downhill.
Stan Wawrinka was pushed to five sets in his DC singles rubber against the lower ranked Thiemo De Bakker on Friday, but the Swiss #2 is unlikely to have much trouble getting past the first couple of matches in Metz. Wawrinka is 42-13 on the season and also reached the semis of the US Open most recently. Look for him to get past a serve and volleyer in his first match, either Rajeev Ram or the big serving Dustin Brown, who also comes off of DC duty, and then past Kohlschreiber for a spot in the semifinals. Stan the Man is 2-0 in the h2h, and should not only be in better form, but also be fresher than his German counterpart. Both players have elite one handed backhands and it’ll be a fun matchup if it takes place. The Kohlschreiber/Millman winner faces either Belgium’s Davis Cup hero Steve Darcis, or dirtballer Paolo Lorenzi in round 2 with the serve and volleying Darcis likely too tired to make much of an impact this tournament.
Two-time Metz champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was excellent at the US Open, where he reached the quarterfinals, and the aggressive Frenchman tends to play well indoors, and at home. The fan favorite is placed in a weak section that will feature either a qualifier or Pablo Carreno Busta in the round of 16, and by ranking #7 seed Adrian Mannarino in the quarterfinals. Nicolas Mahut, the other half of the winning US Open doubles team, could prove to be a bit of a dark horse if the serve and volleyer can get his game together and beat a struggling Federico Delbonis (a loser of 5 straight matches) and Mannarino, who has been streaky this season. All of the French players are fan favorites at home, but Tsonga is a clear favorite to reach the semis for a likely matchup against Wawrinka. I have Mahut slipping past Mannarino, though it’s hard to tell with Adrian.
Two-time Metz champion Gilles Simon, another of the French fan favorites at this tournament, will open with a qualifier and from there should advance to face the big serving and dangerous Gilles Muller in the quarterfinals. Muller opens with Aljaz Bedene as he looks to snap a 3 match losing streak. The serve and volleyer is at his best on fast surfaces and I see him slipping past the Verdasco/Zverev winner in a potentially close match. Simon beat Muller last year in Tokyo, and I see him earning a pair of wins to snap a four match losing streak and reach the semifinals.
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez won a pair of matches at the US Open to improve his form, but of the four top seeds, he’s still the most likely to exit before the quarterfinals, as the Herbert/Stakhovsky winner could stymie him with their unique styles of play. The Spanish veteran has won a title on indoor hard courts this season though and he has more experience than Herbert in a tough section. The other quarterfinalist will be one of Aleksandr Nedovyesov/Vasek Pospisil/Klizan/Mathieu, with Mathieu my favorite out of the section. Pospisil also has talent but he’s inconsistent, so look for Mathieu past Pospisil, and then Garcia-Lopez over Mathieu in a wide open section.
Frenchmen Herbert, Mathieu, and Mahut could all serve as unseeded dark horses this week, but with the #2 seed Simon struggling, if Muller serves well he could reach the semifinals, and potentially the final out of the bottom half. After gaining some rest, he should be fresh and he plays well on these types of surfaces historically.
Predictions
Semis: Wawrinka d. Tsonga
Simon d. Garcia-Lopez
Tsonga has a h2h win in Metz (2007) but the previous few meetings have gone in favor of Wawrinka, and the Swiss has clearly outperformed his French counterpart this year, and in recent memory. Wawrinka simply should be a cut above his semifinal opposition.
Simon is in a slump but he’s 5-0 in the h2h against GGL, so if he gets this far, he should reach another Metz final.
Final: Wawrinka d. Simon
Presuming Wawrinka devotes effort to this 250 tournament he should win it, he’s the best player in the field by a considerable margin, and a player like Simon won’t be in the form to match him toe to toe right now.
ATP St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg Open
ATP World Tour 250
St. Petersburg, Russia
September 21-September 27, 2015
Prize Money: $1,030,000
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Tomas Berdych (5)
2: Milos Raonic (9)
3: Dominic Thiem (20)
4: Roberto Bautista Agut (22)
Even without the strong contingent of home players that Metz sports, St. Petersburg returns to the ATP Tour after funding problems last season with a strong field that features two top 10, and three top 20 players in what should be an entertaining edition of the tournament.
Their teams faced each other in Davis Cup over the weekend, with Bolelli and Italy emerging victorious, but now the young gun Rublev would like to extract some personal revenge for that loss at home in St. Petersburg, where he is one of the stars of the tournament, and the future of Russian tennis at the moment. The teenager qualified for the US Open, snapping a summer of struggles, but his loss in Davis Cup to Fabio Fognini should dent his momentum a bit. Bolelli, a solid player indoors, is also the loser of three straight however and the Italian veteran is looking to gain momentum himself. Look for big hitting in this matchup, and as celebrated as Rublev is, I have Bolelli grinding out the win.
(6)Benoit Paire vs. Jerzy Janowicz
Janowicz beat Paire in three sets earlier this year on indoor hard, but Paire has had a much better season than Jerzy and has been in excellent form since the summer. The French all-courter and his one handed backhand reached the second week of the US Open while Janowicz is 2-3 over his last five, which includes Davis Cup duty over the weekend. Janowicz with his power game is also solid indoors, but I have Paire winning this matchup of talented but often underachieving players.
Marcos Baghdatis vs. Ernests Gulbis
Two aggressive baseliners will face off in this one, Gulbis one the 2013 edition of St. Petersburg, while Baghdatis is 0-3 since suffering an abductor injury in the ATP Atlanta final back in July. Gulbis has lost four straight and, like Baghdatis, his last match ended in a retirement, as both guys have struggled to get healthy. A poor season for Gulbis is contrasted by a good season overall for Baghdatis, and I have the Cypriot notching the victory presuming his health has sorted itself out. Baghdatis is 3-0 in the hard court h2h.
Tomas Berdych had a poor summer by his top 10 standards, but the Czech is still 45-15 on the season and should have the inside track against Bolelli/Rublev. In the quarterfinals, look for him to face Australian young gun Thanasi Kokkinakis. Kokkinakis opens with pedestrian Spanish veteran Marcel Granollers, and then he’ll face either Joao Sousa or a qualifier in round 2. Both Sousa and Kokkinakis come off of Davis Cup play but Sousa is in poor form, and although he’s had a lot of success on indoor hard, I have Kokkinakis winning that matchup. Berdych should power past Kokkinakis at that stage however.
#3 seed Dominic Thiem reached the third round of the US Open in a decent showing for the Austrian, and he’ll look to continue to improve on fast surfaces with a routine win over Daniel Gimeno-Traver or newlywed Andreas Haider-Maurer in round 2, as both players much prefer clay. In the quarterfinals, Mikhail Kukushkin could prove to be the dark horse, as he opens with a relatively struggling Denis Istomin and then will face a qualifier or the mightily slumping Benjamin Becker in round 2. Kukushkin played well at the US Open and beat Istomin at the start of the season, his game tends to peak for these smaller 250 events. Thiem and Kukushkin have never played one another, but Kukushkin’s hard court form is arguably better right now, and I have him scoring the rankings upset and reaching the semis.
Milos Raonic has struggled since Wimbledon with a pedestrian 2-3 record. The Canadian #1 hasn’t been the same with his rocket serve since foot surgery, but he’s playing an easy match to open in St. Petersburg against either Evgeny Donskoy or a qualifier. Donskoy, a wild card, has been in excellent form at the challenger tour level this summer but Raonic should still prove too much for him. In the quarters he’s likely to face another player in a slump, as the Baghdatis/Gulbis winner or Tommy Robredo/Mikhail Youzhny are options. The 33 year old Robredo has had a far superior season to Youzhny, so though Youzhny is playing on home soil, Robredo should get through, and likely get past Baghdatis/Gulbis as well, as they may be rusty in their own right. Raonic is 4-0 against Robredo in the h2h with all wins coming since 2013, so with that in mind the Canadian should make the semifinals.
Roberto Bautista Agut is 29-23 this season and comes off a second week showing in the US Open that should give him some good momentum in what has been a rather average year by his standards. Russian Davis Cup participant Teymuraz Gabashvili, presuming Gaba beats a qualifier, should await him in round 2, and Gabashvili is a player capable of crafting upsets, like he did against Andy Murray this summer in Washington. RBA is the section favorite, but Gabashvili could find form and reach the quarters, though he’s not my pick to do so. Paire/Janowicz or Ricardas Berankis/Lucas Pouille will await most likely ether RBA or Gabashvili at that stage. Presuming Paire continues his run of form, which is always in question, I look for him to make it that far before falling to RBA. Berankis has also been in good form as of late with his undersized game. RBA is 7-0 in the h2h against Paire.
If a non seed is going to reach the semifinals or better, Berankis is the player to watch, he’s just 5-8 but he’s always been talented and he’s one of the better pure baseline ball strikers on the ATP tour. He reached consecutive quarterfinals on the US Open Series this summer and he plays well on fast indoor surfaces. Paire/Janowicz are streaky, and RBA/Gabashvili are beatable, so it’s far from out of the question that the Lithuanian will do well at a tournament that is close to home for him.
Predictions
Semis: Berdych d. Kukushkin
Raonic d. Bautista Agut
Berdych is simply better than Kukushkin and has a h2h win, so like Wawrinka in Metz, if the top seed puts his efforts into this tournament, he’s the favorite. Raonic has a h2h win over RBA last year in Paris, an indoor tournament, and he should be motivated to fight hard this fall on fast surfaces to gain some ranking points after a slow Summer.
Indoors Raonic leads the h2h 2-1, but Berdych appears to be in better form and for that reason I have him as a slight favorite over Raonic in this possible final.
![St Petersburg Site](http://tennisatlantic.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/st-petersburg-open-trophy.jpg" alt="St-Petersburg-Open-trophy" width="200" height="200" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6383" /></a>)
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