With many top players taking part, Monica Puig vs Kuznetsova was not the final anyone expected pre tournament. Both played fantastically well to get to the final, but only one carried that form over.
Just hours after finishing her rain delayed semi final against Simona Halep in which she won 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, the Russian outclassed Puig 6-0, 6-2 in just 55 minutes.
“It’s great. I mean, honestly, I didn’t expect this, but I’ve also never gone into a tournament thinking about winning, never even once,” Kuznetsova said after the match.
“I just went out there and performed, and everything went my way. Now I just want to keep focused for the Australian Open.”
It was quite the effort given the marathon against the top seed just hours before. This is Kuznetsova’s 16th WTA title, two of which are Grand Slams.
“Actually somebody asked me before the match, the supervisor, ‘How do you feel?’ Everybody probably thinks because I’m 30 that I’m really old and need to pick myself up. But I felt great. I felt better than most days here. First matches of the year you’re sore, but after you get going, it’s great.”
It was still a wonderful week for Puig who made her first Premier final this week.
“There wasn’t really too much I could do. I definitely ran around the court and tried to get every single ball I could back, but the only answer I have today is that she was the better player,” Puig commented.
“I had an incredible week coming through qualifying, my first time here in Sydney, and I made my first final of a Premier tournament. Overall it was a very good week and I’m very happy about it.
“I’m really not going to get disheartened about this final. She just played unbelievable.”
Hobart
Cornet
Meanwhile in Hobart, Cornet eased to victory over Eugenie Bouchard to claim her first title in nearly two years. The Frenchwoman only dropped three games as she destroyed the Canadian 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour.
“I was very focused for the whole tournament and the whole match today, and now I can let go!” Cornet told press after the match. “To start the year this way, it’s the best.”
Cornet broke the Bouchard serve seven times in the match and claimed her first victory over her opponent. Bouchard had won their previous two meetings.
“Each time we’ve played against each other, it was a tough battle and at least two hours, three sets or two tight sets.” Cornet added.
“This time, I was just a little bit better from the beginning of the match. I was patient, trying to be aggressive but trying to play the right shot at the right time. It all worked out my way today, and it’s just great to have an easy final like this because finals are already so emotional
Embed from Getty Images
The week before a grand slam is always interesting and unpredictable. It often allows young players, journey women or just your average top 50 player to step up and win a title. The top players ‘tank’ or withdraw to preserve themselves for the upcoming grand slam event, thus making the draw a hell of a lot wider.
However one top player didn’t get the memo.
Petra Kvitova claimed her first title of 2015 by winning the APIA Sydney International.
Leading up to the final, most eyes were on the eventual runner up, Karolina Pliskova. The big hitting and big serving Czech displayed her powerful game throughout the week and showed everyone her enormous potential. However, she ran into someone who was a bit more powerful, more experienced and most importantly, more clutch.
Pliskova was looking good in the opening exchanges, breaking Kvitova in the opening game and having the opportunity to serve out the first set. It wasn’t to be though, as Petra’s big match experience started to kick in. The Wimbledon champion broke back at 5-4 and went on to win the first set in the tiebreaker; Advantage Kvitova. The fans were treated to some incredible points, and some wonderful shot making as the two Czechs exchanged. It was akin to a heavyweight boxing match with the powerful shots going back and fourth, but in the end it was experience that defeated youth. Kvitova won the second set tiebreak on the third time of asking to take the match and the Sydney title along with it.
The world number four has now reached a total of 15 WTA titles in her career, and has bounced back successfully after a disappointing semi-final loss to Timea Bacsinszky in Shenzhen. Kvitova also continued her winning streak over her fellow countrywomen, making it 15 straight wins over Czech players. Her last ‘intra-national’ loss was against Lucie Safarova in 2012 on the clay courts of Madrid. Petra has no doubt re-established her confidence and put herself among the potential winners of the Australian Open next week.
It was Kvitova who reigned supreme, but the champion won’t be the only one making the headlines. Pliskova can be extremely proud of her efforts this week, as she not only made the final, but also established herself as one of the players to look out for this year. The world number 22 may have been fortunate that Simona Halep withdrew from the tournament, but it’s not like it mattered to Pliskova. A double bagel, a golden game, and a straight sets win over Angelique Kerber saw her to the final where she eventually came up short. The Czech began her rise in 2014, where she started as the world number 71. Two titles and three finals later, she managed to climb up to number 22 in the world. Pliskova is no doubt a player to watch at Melbourne and throughout the year.
Sydney didn’t fail to disappoint for yet another year. Bagels, a 3 a.m. finish, seeds dropping out left right and centre, and all the drama you would expect from the WTA. And that is only half of what went on this week. Embed from Getty Images Hobart
The annual pre-Australian Open tournament in Hobart has often thrown up surprise winners, and now you can add Heather Watson to that list.
The Brit claimed her second WTA title with a routine 6-3, 6-4 win over Madison Brengle in the final. Watson was dominant all week, as she didn’t drop her set on her way to the title, and that includes all the seeded players she had to face. The unseeded player defeated (5) Sloane Stephens, (9) Roberta Vinci and (8) Alison Riske en route to the final against qualifier Brengle.
It was a clutch performance from the plucky Brit as she saved 12 out of 14 break points during the match, and held serve in her last 7 service games. Watson became the first British player to win a title since 1988 when she triumphed in Osaka just over 2 years ago, and now she’s added the Hobart title to her achievements. It has been quite a journey for the 22 year old; last year she had to re-climb the rankings after Glandular Fever saw her slip outside the top 100. The Brit can now feel she is back to her best with her victory this week.
“When I won Osaka in 2012, it was more of a surprise, kind of,” Watson stated post match. “But here, I feel like I belong.”
It was also a great week for the finalist, Madison Brengle. She came all the way from qualifying to the final, looking to repeat Muguruza’s run at this event last year. However, unlike the Spaniard, the American fell at the last hurdle. Brengle’s thrilling 6-7(6), 7-5, 7-6(2) victory over former Hobart champion Mona Barthel was one of the highlights of the week. She came back from 4-1 down in the second set and 5-2 down in the third set to win the match.
The Australian Open warm-ups didn’t disappoint, and that leaves us very excited for the first grand slam of the year. Be sure to check out the previews and reviews on Tennis Atlantic.
Big Men Del Potro and Isner ATP World Tour Champions This Week
ATP Sydney
Juan Martin Del Potro needed less than an hour to run Bernard Tomic out of the building, 6-3, 6-1 and capture his 18th ATP title. In the process, Tomic was denied being a repeat champion in Sydney. Though he played well this week overall, he simply did not show up in the final. JMDP progressively improved as the week went on.
The world number 5 Argentine had a tough opening match against Nicolas Mahut that went 3 sets. He also needed 3 sets against Radek Stepanek, before cleaning up his game and taking it to Dmitry Tursunov in the semis, 6-4, 6-2.
Tomic beat Marcel Granollers in straights with a bagel, Blaz Kavcic in 3 sets, and Alex Dolgopolov in straights. He also dispatched surprise semifinalist Sergiy Stakhovsky, a qualifier, in 3 sets in the semis in what was a very high quality match where both guys played well and with a few key points being altered here and there, the winner could have been different.
Nenad Zimonjic/Daniel Nestor beat Rohan Bopanna/Aisam-Ul Haq Qureshi in the doubles final.
ATP Auckland
John Isner won a very high quality match against first time ATP finalist Yen-Hsun Lu, 7-6, 7-6 to capture his second career ATP Auckland title. Isner, as usual, relied on his serve to carry him through and then played clutch tiebreak tennis twice to beguile the agile baseliner Lu. Lu played some of the best tennis of his career this week and the passing shots in this final were bananas.
Isner beat Lukas Lacko and Philipp Kohlschreiber in 3 sets and also needed 3 sets against Roberto Bautista Agut in the semis, where he pulled off a major comeback, as RBA choked up 6-3 with a break in the second.
Lu beat Igor Sijsling in straights, Bradley Klahn in 3 sets, Steve Johnson in straights and then pulled off a remarkable upset victory of David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6 in the semifinals. Lu took it to Ferrer, playing aggressively and also played a very clean match, keeping his error count down and pushing Ferrer around.
Julian Knowle/Marcel Melo beat Alex Peya/Bruno Soares in the doubles final.
2014 ATP Sydney Preview & Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
The final ATP tournaments before the AO are 250s on hard courts in Sydney and Auckland. Here is your Sydney preview. There’s also the major Kooyong Classic exhibition going on next week, which attracts many top players.
ATP Sydney
Apia International Sydney
ATP World Tour 250
Sydney, Australia
January 6-January 11, 2014
Prize Money: $452,670
Top 4 seeds (Who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses):
1: Juan Martin Del Potro (5)
2: Jerzy Janowicz (21)
3: Andreas Seppi (25)
4: Dmitry Tursunov (29)
Just one top 20 player for this event, as many to players prefer to skip tournament matches the week before a slam. Sydney will be the only tune-ups for Del Po and Janowicz before the AO. Sydney is a joint WTA event.
First round matchups to watch:
(5)Vasek Pospisil vs. Sam Querrey
Vasek Pospisil
Pospisil reached the semis in Chennai, albeit facing weaker competition, and his form looks good. However he retired in the second set of his semifinal match with a sore back, and his health status for this event is probably in doubt. Querrey returned to tournament action by taking care of Dmitry Tursunov in Brisbane before falling to Marinko Matosevic in 3 sets. Querrey won their only meeting 2 years ago, but the match was close and played on grass. With Pospisil’s health in doubt, if he doesn’t withdraw, I expect Querrey to pull through.
Joao Sousa vs. Lukas Rosol
Two intriguing players coming off first round losses in their first tournaments of the year. Sousa was routined by Victor Hanescu in a match in which he was the favorite, while Rosol was relatively pedestrian against Rafael Nadal. They both have prowess on hard courts and could use some Mojo going into Melbourne. This is the first meeting between the pair.
Florian Mayer vs. (WC)Marinko Matosevic
Surprising Doha semifinalist Florian Mayer played some great tennis in his upset of Andy Murray, along with two other match wins, while Matosevic finally got a win on home soil in Australia. In fact, he got two of them, reaching the quarterfinals in Brisbane after two matches that went the distance. Mayer beat Matosevic twice on clay last year, while Matosevic got a win indoors in 2012.
So really, the head to head is up in the air. Both players looked relatively worn down in their most recent matches–losing 3 and 2 and 1 and 1. Thus, recovery will be a big deal and we will have to see which player can keep his relatively good form going.
(8)Marcel Granollers vs. Bernard Tomic
Marcel Granollers comes off the semis in Chennai, his best win being an upset of Benoit Paire in the quarters, while Bernard Tomic went 2-1 in the Hopman Cup singles and his form looks acceptable.
This is their first head to head meeting, and with Tomic being the defending champion here, a lot of pressure is on him, especially ranking points wise.
Alex Dolgopolov vs. Edouard Roger-Vasselin
Alex Dolgopolov showed flashes of quality, but still exhibited inconsistent play in his 3 set loss to David Ferrer in Doha. The Ukrainian speedster is now working with the flashy Fabrice Santoro as his coach, and he will face current Chennai finalist Edouard Roger-Vasselin, and he is winless in three tries against ERV. I have a feeling Dolgo can grab a win—if his form continues to be solid and Roger-Vasselin is tired after playing so much tennis in Chennai.
Top Half:
Juan Martin Del Potro will play his only AO warm up tournament in Sydney. First up for Delpo is Nicolas Mahut or a qualifier, and most likely Querrey in the quarters in what would be an interesting match. Sam needs to beat Pospisil, of course, and then Radek Stepanek/Sam Groth. Groth, with his powerful serve could also sneak into another quarterfinal as he did in Brisbane.
Dmitry Tursunov, coming off that round 1 loss to Querrey in Brisbane, will face Rosol/Sousa in what could be a very competitive second round encounter. The winner should be expected to face Brisbane quarterfinalist Marin Cilic, who looks to be shaking off the rust and opens with a qualifier, befofre Denis Istomin or Pablo Andujar.
Bottom Half:
Jerzy Janowicz will make his 2014 debut against Dolgopolov/Roger-Vasselin and I think Dolgo has the potential to trouble him but probably not ERV. The winner will get one of Granollers/Tomic, Jarkko Nieminen/Qualifier in the quarters.
Nieminen has historically played well in Sydney as he is a former champion, while Tomic is the defending champion, making this an interesting section.
Andreas Seppi will face Mayer/Matosevic in his first match, coming off of the Hopman cup, and that match has plenty of upset potential. The winner will face one of Julien Benneteau/Matt Ebden/Carlos Berlocq/Qualifier in the quarters. Benneteau is a former finalist in Sydney and this section is very open.
Dark Horse: Alexandr Dolgopolov
Dolgopolov is one of the most incredibly difficult players to predict. When he is on, he can play top 10 level, and when he is off, there are challenger players who would routine him.
If his form is at least somewhat on, and he gets past a tired ERV, the meeting with Janowicz looks to be a must watch. It would be their first. If Dolgo can upset JJ I expect Tomic/Nieminen to be waiting the quarters, a winnable match. That would be followed by a semi against anyone in the section above is and is highly winnable (Seppi/Matosevic etc.). That would allow Dolgo a chance at reaching the final with good play.
Predictions:
Semis:
Del Potro d. Cilic
Janowicz d. Matosevic
Del Po should be able to beat Querrey and find his way to the final. Cilic has beaten him twice in his career, both on hard courts, but JMDP has won a vast majority of the h2h meetings. And you have to wonder if Cilic is at full fitness yet.
JJ should be able to make his way to the final as well, and I’ll go with Matosevic out of that other toss-up section, figuring the Aussie is in good form and not overly fatigued.
Final:
Del Potro d. Janowicz
It would be their first meeting, and JMDP seems to be the better player right now, so I will go with him to win it.
February 2013 Challenger Tour Recap: Aussie Kyrgios Grabs a Win, Dutchman Huta Galung Fights Back in Rankings Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
Burnie Challenger (January 28-Feburary 3, 2013)
Aussie up and comer John Millman continued his good play this year, taking the prestigious Burnie challenger in Australia over French veteran Stephane Robert. Millman beat three fellow Aussies en route to the title, including another young gun, Ben Mitchell. Rubin Statham and Aussie Matt Barton were semifinalists.
Bergamo Challenger (February 4-Feburary 10, 2013)
Polish veteran Michal Przysiezny took the title in Italy on indoor hard in 3 sets over Jan Lennard Struff, who is at a career high ranking of 120 in the world. The semifinalists were Viktor Galovic and Peter Gojowczyk. Przysiezny notably beat Ernest Gulbis in the opening round.
West Lakes Challenger (February 4-Feburary 10, 2013)
Matt Barton continued his strong play in Australia and the 21-year-old reached a career high ranking of 235, beating veteran British journeyman James Ward to take the title. Barton beat Alexander Lobkov in the semis and beat young compatriot Luke Saville in round 2. Ward beat James Duckworth in the opening round as well as junior Aussie Nick Kyrgios in the semis.
Quimper Challenger (February 11-Feburary 17,2013)
Indoors in France, Marius Copil of Romania beat French veteran Marc Gicquel to capture the title. Copil is 22 and is at a career high ranking of 138. He had notable wins over Gilles Muller and semifinalist Dudi Sela along the way. Gicquel, meanwhile, who is just outside the top 120, had wins over Roberto Bautista-Agut and semifinalist Steve Darcis.
Salinas Challenger (February 25-March 2, 2013)
Alejandro Gonzalez took the small 35k clay court challenger in Ecuador over Renzo Olivo. Joao Souza and qualifier Stefano Travaglia were semifinalists.
Cherbourg Challenger (February 25-March 3, 2013)
Jesse Huta Galung, once ranked just outside the top 100, has experienced a precipitous rankings drop all the way out of the top 340 in the world. He finally got things back on the right track indoors in Cherbourg, winning over Vincent Millot after upsetting Sergiy Stakhovsky in the semis. Millot beat Kenny De Schepper.
Sydney Challenger (February 25-March 3, 2013)
In Sydney, junior world number 1 Nick Kyrgios beat Matt Reid and will rise to 330 in the world at the age of 17. Kyrgios has had a strong Australian summer challenger showing and in this event he had a win over Stephane Robert in the semis. Reid beat Sam Groth in the semis. As you can tell, these Aussie challenger events are basically a testing ground for their next group of talented players to come up the ranks.
The last tune-ups before the Aussie Open will take place this upcoming week as players seek to get in shape for good showings in Melbourne. Beyond the two ATP tour events this week, some of the top players will be taking part in a popular exhibition in Melbourne called the Kooyong classic. A preview of Kooyong will come later.
ATP Sydney
Apia International Sydney
ATP World Tour 250
Sydney, Australia
January 7-January 12, 2013
Prize money: $436,630
The Sydney field was weakened by withdrawals from Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Doha champion Richard Gasquet, but provides a great opportunity for someone to grab themselves an ATP title.
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: John Isner*
2: Gilles Simon
3: Andreas Seppi
4: Fernando Verdasco
*Isner had to withdraw from the Hopman Cup earlier this week with ongoing knee tendonitis, and though he is officially entered in the Sydney draw, he may still withdraw from the event.
1st round matchups to watch:
Aljaz Bedene vs. Kevin Anderson
The rising Slovenian Bedene made good on his dark horse designation in Chennai, making the semi finals after wins over seeded players Robin Haase and Stanislas Wawrinka.In the semis, he fell to Janko Tipsarevic but did push him to 3 sets in the process.
Anderson did pretty well at the Hopman Cup and seems to be playing better in 2013 than he did in 2012, winning matches over Fernando Verdasco and a slightly injured but still competitive John Isner. Anderson relies on his big serve to push most every set to a tiebreak but struggles to break serve, while Bedene is a heavy hitter himself. It should be a fun and long match.
(8)Marcel Granollers vs. (wc) Matt Ebden
The grinding Marcel Granollers will start his 2013 campaign against Matt Ebden, who lost in the 1st round of Brisbane to David Goffin. Granollers is ranked higher but does not play his best on hard courts and Ebden will have a chance at an upset based off surface.
Tommy Robredo vs. (wc) John Millman
Veteran Spaniard Tommy Robredo continues to grind his way around the ATP tour as he seeks to break back into the top 100, coming back from injury. He did manage to grab a win over Ryan Harrison in the first round of Brisbane but still does not seem to be back in full form.
Millman is a talented young player who was mentioned in my previous editorial. He beat Tatsuma Ito in Brisbane, then managed to give Andy Murray a run for his money, pushing the match to 3 sets in a surprise performance. This is a battle of the old vs. the new and could go either way.
Top Half:
As I noted previously, top seed Isner is questionable in terms of still playing Sydney and if he does opt to play, you cannot be sure what type of shape he will be in, as he lost both his Hopman Cup singles matches to Anderson and Tsonga before withdrawing before the third match. If he withdraws, I would assume a lucky loser from qualifying would replace him.
That being said, if he does opt to play he could get a tough opening match against surprise current Chennai finalist Roberto Bautista-Agut, then the winner of that match could face 6 seed Radek Stepanek (who withdrew before his 1st round match in Brisbane with an eye infection), a qualifier, Pablo Andujar or most likely Julien Benneteau.
A healthy Isner should be able to get through that, but if he is not in good shape or withdraws, it is a very wide open top of the draw.
Fernando Verdasco, who seems to be struggling a bit in losing all 3 of his competitive Hopman cup singles matches to Tsonga, Anderson, and in the final to Djokovic, opens with the winner of wild card James Duckworth vs. Brisbane quarterfinalist Denis Istomin. The winner of that match could face the winner of Bedene/Anderson, Feliciano Lopez (who lost in the 1st round of Doha to Lukasz Kubot) or Jeremy Chardy. Another very open part of the draw.
Bottom Half:
Brisbane quarterfinalist Gilles Simon opens with defending champion Jarkko Nieminen or a qualifier, then could face 5 seed Florian Mayer, a qualifier, Marinko Matosevic, or most likely Bernard Tomic. Bernie shocked most everyone in winning all 3 of his singles matches at the Hopman cup over Tommy Haas, Andreas Seppi, and most surprisingly Novak Djokovic. If Tomic continues to make good on his talent and meets Simon in the quarters, it could be a blockbuster battle.
The forementioned Seppi, who lost all three of his Hopman cup singles matches and will look to do better here, opens with the winner of Millman/Robredo. He could face the Granollers/Ebden winner, countryman Fabio Fognini, or most likely current surprise Brisbane finalist Grigor Dimitrov, the youngest player in the top 50, who opens with Fognini.
Bernie Tomic
Dark Horse: Denis Istomin/Aljaz Bedene, Bernard Tomic/Grigor Dimitrov
I picked four dark horses this week, contingent on the winners in their matchups, because the Sydney draw is simply so open.
Istomin seems to be playing well and should have an edge over the seed Verdasco. Meanwhile, if Bedene can get past Anderson and beat another big server in Chardy, he would set up a match with Istomin and the winner of that has a great shot at the final. Depending on Isner, they could play Benneteau, Stepanek or even Bautista-Agut if he keeps his form in the semis.
Tomic on the other hand, seemed to finally make use of his talent at the Hopman Cup, and if he keeps that going should be able to get past Mayer, Simon or Nieminen and set up possibly a semi with Dimitrov, who is also playing up to his talent level this week and that could be a really great match between a couple of young guns who many think will be the next stars of tennis. Dimitrov should have the edge over Fognini, Granollers/Ebden and Seppi.
Predictions:
Semis:
Bedene d. Bautista-Agut
Tomic d. Dimitrov
In semis between four rising players, Bedene should be a bit fresher than Bautista-Agut, and Tomic should have a home crowd advantage in addition to being fresher.
Final:
Tomic d. Bedene
If Tomic can keep himself together, Sydney is his oyster.
ATP Auckland
Heineken Open
ATP World Tour 250
Auckland, New Zealand
January 7-January 12, 2013
Prize Money: $433,400
New Zealand’s only ATP World Tour event features an interesting and eclectic field of talent.
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes):
1: David Ferrer
2: Phillip Kohlschreiber
3: Tommy Haas
4: Sam Querrey
1st round matchups to watch:
David Goffin vs. (8) Thomaz Bellucci
Boy Wonder Goffin
Young gun Goffin lost to Jurgen Melzer in the 2ndround of Brisbane and will take on Bellucci, who is looking to break back into the top 30. It is an intriguing matchup style and form wise that could go either way.
Brian Baker vs. (5 ) Jerzy Janowicz
Two of the feel good stories of 2012 will battle in the 1stround of Auckland, as the inspiring American Baker will take on the freshly minted top 30 player Janowicz. The Pole follows up his stellar 2012 and his amazing finals run in the Paris masters as a qualifier at the end of 2012 with hopes for a solid 2013.
Depending on the form of both players, this match could go either way, and Janowicz especially will be interesting to watch in regard to his mindset and skill improvements over the past year.
Top Half:
Doha semifinalist and defending champ David Ferrer opens with the winner of Chennai semifinalist Benoit Paire, who scored a win over Marin Cilic there, vs. Yen-Hsun Lu. Ferrer then could face the winner of Bellucci/Goffin, Paolo Lorenzi, or Doha quarterfinalist Lukas Lacko.
Tommy Haas, who won just one of his three singles matches at the Hopman Cup (beat Seppi but lost to Djokovic and Tomic) opens with Robin Haase or a qualifier and then could face Brisbane quarterfinalist Jurgen Melzer or Doha quarterfinalist Gael Monfils. Both Melzer and Monfils open with qualifiers. A Haas vs. Melzer or Monfils quarterfinal match up could be must see tennis for the old timers, as all three guys are veteran players.
Bottom Half:
Phillip Kohlschreiber opens with the winner of Alejandro Falla vs. Grega Zemlja and the winner of that could face 7 seed Martin Klizan, who plays Xaiver Malisse in the opening round or Chennai quarterfinalist Go Soeda, who opens against Santiago Giraldo.
Sam Querrey, the second ranked American on tour, opens with either Albert Ramos or last year’s Auckland finalist Olivier Rochus, a veteran wild card. Querrey would meet the winner of Baker/Janowicz, in what could either be an all American battle or a battle lanky big servers. A qualifier or New Zealand wild card player Daniel King-Turner, who can hit some nifty shots are also options.
Dark Horse: Grega Zemlja
Zemlja is another guy close to breaking into the top 50 and beyond after a long while toiling at the challenger level. He has a great chance to do it in Auckland. In Doha, he did well to beat Fabio Fognini and nearly knock off eventual champion Gasquet before losing in 3 sets. If he can get the win against Falla, he will get a still slumping Kohlschreiber followed by fellow rising player Klizan or more likely the consistent but not dynamic Soeda for a shot at the semis. After that, a semi-final match up with Querrey or Janowicz is certainly winnable.
Predictions:
Semis:
Ferrer d. Melzer
Querrey d. Zemlja
Ferrer should prove too much for Melzer and Querrey should be able to nip Zemlja.
Ferrer d. Querrey?
Final:
Ferrer d. Querrey
Ferrer should not face too much opposition to repeating in Auckland, but then again we said that about Doha and Querrey is certainly capable of taking the title.
