The @FamilyCircle Cup is Dead, Long Live @VolvoCarsOpen
NEW YORK & DANIEL ISLAND, S.C., (August 31, 2015) – Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP, http://www.meredith.com) unveiled today an exciting, new partnership with Volvo Cars of North America for the Family Circle Cup, the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in the world. In conjunction with Volvo Car’s first American plant in South Carolina’s Berkeley County, the brand will become the title sponsor for the Family Circle Cup, changing its name to the Volvo Cars Open.
“Family Circle’s commitment to women’s tennis began in 1973, and the tournament continues to be a premiere event on the WTA tour. Our new relationship with Volvo is a great opportunity for both of our companies to build on and celebrate the tournament’s rich history while finding new and exciting ways to expand and grow its reach with our marketing partners,” said Tom Harty, President, National Media Group, Meredith Corporation.
He notes that Volvo’s decision to create its first United States production facility in South Carolina, and to become title sponsor for the event, will “help to ensure that the tournament and facility along with its broad range of programs remain a vital part of the Charleston community both now and for many years to come.”
The tournament aligns with Volvo’s core mission and target market. The luxury-car brand has been built up over decades, and is one of the world’s best known and respected companies within the vehicle industry. Volvo has also been involved in tennis historically in the past.
Volvo Cars Cup Stadium
“It is a great honor to become the title sponsor of this world-class tournament; one that like Volvo Cars, celebrates passion and performance,” said Lex Kerssemakers, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America. “As we are establishing our U.S. manufacturing footprint in the Charleston area, this is an ideal way for us to leverage our presence in the community.”
The Volvo Cars Open is truly an international event for the Charleston area, with players and fans attending from across the globe. The tournament averages 90,000 attendees each year and reaches more than 10 million television viewers worldwide.
“The title sponsorship change is a natural evolution of our event,” said Bob Moran, General Manger and Tournament Director of the Volvo Cars Open. “We are an international event with players, fans and viewers from across the globe. The opportunity for Meredith to partner with a world-class brand like Volvo Cars is a perfect fit.”
Moran notes that Family Circle and Charleston Tennis will continue to market the event to Meredith’s 100 million consumers. The tournament will continue to be owned and operated by Charleston Tennis, LLC, a subsidiary of Meredith Corporation, publisher of Family Circle.
“Volvo is a welcome addition to the tour and the event continues to be a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO, WTA. “The tournament has a roster of past champions that include some of the biggest names in the history of women’s tennis including Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Steffi Graf, Gabriela Sabatini, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Serena Williams.”
The Volvo Cars Open will take place April 2 – 10, 2016 on Daniel Island.
Johnson (@SJohnson_89), Haas (@TommyHaas13) Headed Back to Newport @TennisHalloFame Championships
NEWPORT, R.I., March 26, 2015 – ATP World Tour veteran and former world No. 2 Tommy Haas will compete in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, R.I. this summer. Joining Haas in the player field will be American Steve Johnson, a two-time NCAA singles champion who has established himself well inside the world top-50 ranked players in just two seasons on tour. The Hall of Fame Tennis Championships will be held July 11 – 19 on the grass courts at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It is the first stop on the U.S. summer swing for pro tennis, and the only ATP World Tour tournament played in New England.
“Tommy Haas and Steve Johnson are dynamic players who always bring a lot of energy to a tournament, and we know the fans will enjoy seeing them compete in Newport,” remarked Tournament Director Todd Martin.” Tommy has made history around the world with his spectacular career. He never fails to impress fans with his perseverance and skill on court. Steve is steadily building his career and has had tremendous results in the past couple of years. They are two great players to start off our field with, and we’re looking forward to welcoming them back to Newport to kick off the pro tennis summer season in the United States.”
Tommy Haas has been one of the top players on the ATP World Tour since late 1996. Over the span of his career, he has won 15 titles and was ranked world No. 2. In addition, he won the Olympic Silver Medal in 2000. He has made it to the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments, and he advanced to the semifinals at the Australian Open three times and Wimbledon once. Over the span of his career, Haas has made a successful comeback from significant injuries on multiple occasions with exceptional results. After reaching a career high ranking of world No. 2 in May 2002, he missed the entire following season, and then steadily climbed back in the rankings, returning to world top-10 in 2007. He again missed more than a year of competition in 2010 and 2011, returning to reach world No. 11 in 2013. Haas has been out this season due to a shoulder injury, but is training to make a comeback before Newport.
Steve Johnson is currently ranked world No. 43 and is the No. 3 American player. He was the NCAA Singles Champion in 2011 and 2012, when playing for the University of Southern California. He has posted consistently strong results in his first two years on the ATP World Tour. He reached a career high of world No. 37 at the end of the season last year, a result of having advanced to five quarterfinals, as well as the semifinal at Delray Beach. This season, Johnson has been a quarterfinalist at Auckland, Memphis, and Delray Beach. He advanced to the third round at the Australian Open before falling to then world No. 5 Kei Nishikori in four sets.
Additional players for the tournament will be announced in the coming weeks. The tournament has a history of attracting up and coming stars as well as veteran players known to be grass court aficionados. Champions in recent years have included Lleyton Hewitt, Nicolas Mahut, and John Isner.
Djokovic Demolishes Berdych in Beijing; Nishikori Wins Second Consecutive Title in Tokyo Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
ATP Beijing
Novak Djokovic remained undefeated at the China Open in Beijing, winning his fifth career title at the tournament in comprehensive fashion. He crushed an indifferent Tomas Berdych 6-0 6-2 in the final, and did not drop a set against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Vasek Pospisil, Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray this week. Only Pospisil managed to notch more than five games in a single set, and his eight games total were the most any of Djokovic’s opponents got against this week. Djokovic dominated Beijing in every way possible and they might as well remain the center court after him at this point.
Berdych meanwhile found some form, he beat Feliciano Lopez, Viktor Troicki, John Isner and surprise semifinalist Martin Klizan, a qualifier, without dropping a set. Like Djokovic, he did not surrender more than seven games in any of his matches before the final in total, and not more than 4 in a single set. The Czech hasn’t had a great season, but he has now reached four ATP finals, three of them at the 500 level, and he drops to 1-3 in ATP finals this year.
Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau won the doubles title over Julian Benneteau and Vasek Pospisil.
ATP Tokyo
Kei Nishikori (Photo: Chris Levy @Tennis_Shots for TennisEastCoast.com)
Kei Nishikori made a sellout crowd in Tokyo very happy, winning his home tournament for the second time in his career with a clutch 7-6 4-6 6-4 victory over his rival Milos Raonic. Nishikori has now won two ATP titles in a row, and he has dominated the Asian swing thus far, after reaching the US Open final, he is truly making a push for the top five before the year ends.
Raonic served well in the final but Nishikori matched his serving and rallied far better than the Canadian, who appeared glued to the baseline, fearing Nishikori’s ability to snap passing shots past him if he were to approach the net. Nishikori also was able to coerce the Canadian into rushing his shots on key points in the match, and that was enough of the difference for him to win a first set tiebreak, and get a late break in the third to take it.
Interestingly, Raonic has a great record in Tokyo, he has made the final there the past three editions, and he lost to Nishikori in the 2012 final as well.
Nishikori has now won four titles this season, two of them coming at the 500 level, and he improves to 4-1 in ATP finals this year, along with 4-2 overall this year in tour level finals (he lost the US Open final of course). . He notched quality wins over Ivan Dodig, Donald Young and Jeremy Chardy this past week without dropping a set, then won a third set tiebreak over Benjamin Becker in the semis. The Dodig match in particular was a highlight reel for Nishikori, as he crushed the Croat, forcing him to race for the ball from corner to corner, and leaving him gasping for air after almost every rally.
Raonic continued his strong late season stretch, and his consistency in tournaments with strong fields this season, he beat Bernard Tomic, Jurgen Melzer, Denis Istomin and Gilles Simon without dropping a set. While all of his opponents challenged him temporarily, Raonic was simply too good on serve to truly feel threatened, giving his opponents little chance to break his serve.
Alternate doubles team Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Michal Przysiezny beat Dodig and Marcelo Melo in the doubles final.
2014 Orleans, Napa, Kenitra, Sibiu, Pereira and Porto Alegre Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
Orleans
World #24 Philipp Kohlschreiber took a wild card into the event after pulling out with injury in Metz the week before, which didn’t turn out well as he lost 7-6(3) 6-1 to Tim Puetz in the first round. Suspiciously enough, the last time he played a Challenger involved a similar scenario, when he took a wild card into Orleans ranked #18, losing in straight sets in the first round as well. Puetz went on to beat Dustin Brown and lose to #6 seed Sergiy Stakhovsky in the quarterfinal, 6-7(3) 6-1 6-3. Stakhovsky won an interesting encounter with Jiri Vesely in the semi-final, 6-7(5) 7-5 6-0. There to meet Stakhovsky in the final was fifth seed Thomaz Bellucci, who took out #2 seed Igor Sijsling and #7 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets. The final went no further than straight sets as well, but this time it had Bellucci on the losing end, as Stakhovsky won the title after a 6-2 7-5 win over the Brazilian. This strengthened Stakhovsky’s top 100 position considerably, as he rose eighteen positions to #72. Bellucci is ranked just above him, rising eleven spots to #68.
Napa
#1 seed Sam Querrey survived a big scare in the second round against the young Swede Elias Ymer, going down a set and a break before winning 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-3. #3 seed Marcos Baghdatis hadn’t recovered from the ankle injury that made him pull out of the US Open. He won his first round match, but had to retire against John Millman in the following one. Millman lost in the quarterfinal to Alex Bolt, who took out #5 seed Peter Polansky in the first round. Another surprise semi-finalist was Jared Donaldson, who took advantage of both seeds in his section falling in the first round: #4 seed Bradley Klahn fell to Wayne Odesnik and #8 seed Frank Dancevic to qualifier Daniel Nguyen. In the semi-final, Donaldson almost managed to pull off the upset against #2 seed Tim Smyczek, but fell just short, 3-6 6-4 6-3. Querrey had no problems against Bolt, 6-2 6-3, and repeated that dominance in the final with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Smyczek. The victory meant a return into the top 100 at #47, improving seven spots. Smyczek stayed put at #99.
Kenitra
#6 seed Matteo Viola, who has been in great form as of late, got upset in the first round by Rui Machado, 7-6(3) 7-6(4). Outside of Viola, the seeds performed well, with three of the top four seeds reaching the semi-final. Only Roberto Carballes Baena squeezed himself in as an outsider, beating #8 seed Ramirez Hidalgo in the first round and beating #4 seed Aljaz Bedene in the quarterfinal after saving a match point, 7-6(3) 2-6 7-6(5). He continued his good form against #1 seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, but came up just short, 4-6 6-4 6-3. In the bottom half, #3 seed Daniel Gimeno-Traver was on a roll after slumping in his past couple of tournaments. He didn’t drop a set en route to the final, humiliating #2 seed Damir Dzumhur, 6-3 6-0.
In the final, Ramos-Vinolas also wasn’t given a chance, as Gimeno-Traver won 6-3 6-4. Gimeno-Traver inches closer to the top 100, rising sixteen spots to #113. Ramos-Vinolas had a minor improvement, rising four spots to #66.
Sibiu
The two top seeds didn’t last long, as #1 seed Blaz Rola lost 6-3 7-6(1) to Radu Albot in the first round and #2 seed Albert Montanes lost 6-3 6-1 to Jason Kubler in the second. Both wins turned out to be far from flukes, as both men made it all the way to the final.
Albot got through after #3 seed Pere Riba retired while being 7-6(3) 3-1 down, while Kubler barely scraped through against #7 seed Potito Starace, 2-6 7-6(3) 6-0. In the final, Kubler did no such thing, however, as he dominated Albot and won his first Challenger title, 6-4 6-1. This also meant a new career high ranking for the 21-year-old Australian, rising 39 spots to #155. Albot dropped fourteen spots to #186, as he was defending a Challenger win in Uzbekistan.
Pereira
#1 seed Victor Estrella Burgos recovered nicely after his disappointing second round loss last week, marching all the way to the final without dropping a set. This includes victories against last week’s Quito runner-up Nicolas Jarry, Daniel Munoz-De La Nava and #7 seed Guido Pella. In the bottom half, the seeds fared less well. #2 seed Alejandro Falla fell in the first round to Agustin Velotti, 6-3 4-6 6-3. In reality, that’s not that big of a surprise considering Falla’s clay résumé. #3 seed Paolo Lorenzi’s loss was surprising, however, as he fell to Andres Molteni in the second round, 4-6 6-3 6-1. Last week’s Quito winner, #6 seed Horacio Zeballos, fell in the first round as well, 7-6(8) 4-6 6-3 to Christian Lindell. Velotti marched all the way to the semi-final, where he lost to #5 seed Joao Souza in a dramatic match, 3-6 6-4 7-6(4). Even more dramatic was the final, where Estrella Burgos prevailed over Souza in another thriller after saving a match point, 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(6). The result makes Estrella Burgos creep closer to his career high ranking of #69, as he rises ten spots to #71. Souza is comforted by the fact he entered the top 100 again, rising eight spots to #93.
Porto Alegre
The slump of #3 seed Facundo Bagnis continued as he lost 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 to Gianni Mina in the second round. Mina surprised by reaching the semi-final in Campinas last week and repeated that feat here. #1 seed Carlos Berlocq was way too strong, however, dismissing the French youngster 6-1 6-2. Berlocq took on #2 seed Diego Schwartzman in the final, who came off a Challenger win in Campinas the week before. In a strange, but high quality final, Berlocq eventually won 6-4 4-6 6-0. Schwartzman was up 40-0 at both 4-3 and 4-4 in the first set, but lost both games due to some spectacular points from Berlocq, but also a particularly easy volley miss at one of the break points. He then went on to produce a stunning tweener lob at 4-5 15-30, but he couldn’t save the set. After imitating Berlocq’s first set heroics and recovering from a 1-2 0-40 deficit in the second set, he clearly was too tired to put up a fight in the third. The victory meant a rise of ten ranking spots for Berlocq, landing at #59. Schwartzman improved six spots to #82, just shy of his career high ranking of #79.
2014 Mons, Sacramento and Cali Challenger Previews, Predictions Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
A light schedule of only three Challengers for this week, with Mons and Sacramento being played on hardcourt and Cali on clay.
Ethias Trophy
ATP Challenger Tour
Mons, Belgium
29 September – 5 October
Prize Money: €106,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: David Goffin (32)
2: Igor Sijsling (72)
3: Jiri Vesely (77)
4: Thomaz Bellucci (79)
5: Dudi Sela (83)
6: Paul-Henri Mathieu (84)
7: Andreas Haider-Maurer (92)
8: Dustin Brown (94)
9: Tobias Kamke (102)
The last direct acceptance is Ilija Bozoljac, ranked 171st. Former world #24 and winner of two ATP tournaments Olivier Rochus received a wild card and will play the final tournament of his career. The next generation is also represented with Kimmer Coppejans receiving a wild card. Paul-Henri Mathieu withdrew due to injury.
Sergiy Stakhovsky withdrew as well in an odd boycott, protesting against Belgium asking the ITF to move their Davis Cup tie to a neutral venue due to the tensions in Ukraine. Tournament director Dominique Monami responded in humorous fashion:
In the light of #belgium federation behavior . It is extremely dangerous to play #mons so I requested ATP to withdraw me from this event.
Sela is someone who flies under the radar, but he has rarely been outside of the top 100 in the past seven years. He faces the man who absolutely hammered him during a Davis Cup tie last year, 6-1 6-2 6-2. However, that was on clay, which is clearly Sela’s worst surface. A very interesting match, which can go either way.
(WC) Olivier Rochus – Gerald Melzer
As mentioned, this will be the last tournament for one of Belgium’s greatest players of all time. He might be able to prolong his career for one more match, as Melzer isn’t a hero on hardcourts. Rochus reached ten ATP finals, of which he won two: Palermo in 2000 and Munich in 2006, both on clay. His greatest Masters result was also on that surface, a quarterfinal at Hamburg in 2003. Ironically, Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam where he never reached the fourth round, peaking in the third. The surprise factor rests with his 2-0 record in clay finals and 0-8 on hardcourt and grass, since clay was his worst surface.
Top Half
It’s hard to see anyone other than top seed David Goffin winning here, considering he just comes off a tournament win at the ATP 250 event of Metz. However, he will probably have to face Nicolas Mahut and Dustin Brown to get through to the semi-final, both of them are very dangerous on one of their good days. Also in this half lurks Thomaz Bellucci, who reached the final of Orleans last week, although he has a tricky first round match against Kenny De Schepper.
Bottom Half
This half is fairly open. #2 seed Igor Sijsling has been in dodgy form and might well lose to Sela or Darcis. In the top section, Andreas Haider-Maurer comes off an impressive Challenger streak, but that all took place on clay, so it remains to be seen how he will adopt. There is a chance for #3 seed Jiri Vesely to seriously test Haider-Maurer in the quarterfinal, which is likely to end in a victory for Vesely.
Predictions
Semis:
Goffin > De Schepper
Sela > Vesely
Final:
Goffin > Sela
Sacramento Pro Circuit Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour
Sacramento, CA, USA
27 September – 5 October
Prize Money: $100,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Sam Querrey (54)
2: Tim Smyczek (99)
3: Bradley Klahn (115)
4: Michael Russell (123)
5: Denis Kudla (124)
6: Peter Polansky (125)
7: Thiemo de Bakker (143)
8: Frank Dancevic (144)
The last direct acceptance is Kyle Edmund, ranked 237th.
First round match-ups to watch
(7) Thiemo de Bakker – (SE) Jared Donaldson
An excellent opportunity for 17-year-old Donaldson to build on his great run at Napa last week, where he reached the semi-final. De Bakker is an extremely streaky player, who could either steamroll Donaldson or easily lose, depending on what mood he is in.
(WC) Stefan Kozlov – Ryan Harrison
It will be interesting to see if 16-year-old Kozlov can beat Harrison, who is playing his worst tennis in a long time. Harrison lost 6-3 7-5 to Donaldson in the first round of Napa last week, something he won’t want to repeat here.
Top Half
Just like last week, you simply can’t look past Querrey: the ranking difference between him and the rest of the field is enormous. The only player from this half I can see beating him is De Bakker, but chances of that happening are still low. #4 seed Michael Russell retired in the first set against Querrey last week, so it’s still a question mark as to whether he has recovered sufficiently.
Bottom Half
This one is really hard to predict. #2 seed Tim Smyczek is the best bet, also considering his final run last week, but he doesn’t have an easy draw with Jordan Thompson, Robby Ginepri/James McGee and Kudla/Ymer on his way to the semi-final. In the top section, #6 seed Peter Polansky lost in the first round last week and now faces Wayne Odesnik, another dangerous player. And if Ryan Harrison somehow finds his game, it would mean trouble for #3 seed Bradley Klahn in the second round.
Predictions
Semis:
Querrey > De Bakker
Smyczek > Klahn
Final:
Querrey > Smyczek
Querrey hammered Smyczek 6-3 6-1 in last week’s final, so it’s hard to imagine a different outcome here.
Claro Open Cali 2014
ATP Challenger Tour
Santiago de Cali, Colombia
29 September – 4 October
Prize Money: $40,000
The last direct acceptance is Nicolas Jarry, ranked 306th.
First round match-ups to watch
Daniel Munoz-De La Nava – Guido Andreozzi
Andreozzi comes off a good result at the Porto Alegre Challenger, where he reached the semi-final. Munoz-De La Nava has been in good form as well, racking up an 8-3 record in his last three Challengers and losing 7-6(6) 6-4 to eventual winner Victor Estrella Burgos in the quarterfinal last week.
Top Half
Given his latest clay ventures, it’s likely that top seed Alejandro Falla will bomb out in the second round against Munoz-De La Nava, who can profit and reach the semi-final to set up a repeat of last week’s quarterfinal against Estrella Burgos. Andreozzi should be capable of doing the same if he wins their first round encounter. In the bottom section, we will likely see Estrella Burgos and Horacio Zeballos square off, a match-up that should be in favor of Estrella Burgos, who leads their head to head 2-0.
Bottom Half
In the top section, we are likely to see a very interesting quarterfinal match between #7 seed Joao Souza and #4 seed Diego Schwartzman. Schwartzman clearly looked fatigued in the third set of his final against Carlos Berlocq last week, so perhaps that gives Souza an opportunity. In the bottom section, #5 seed Alejandro Gonzalez and #2 seed Paolo Lorenzi are projected to meet, which has been a nightmare match-up for Gonzalez so far, not winning a set in their previous four meetings.
Predictions
Semis:
Estrella Burgos > Munoz-De La Nava
Lorenzi > Schwartzman
Final:
Lorenzi > Estrella Burgos
Just like against Gonzalez, Lorenzi seems to match up well against Estrella Burgos, too. Lorenzi beat him 6-3 7-6(1) in the semi-final of the San Luis Potosi Challenger earlier this year, as well as 6-4 6-1 in the US Open qualifying draw three years ago.
Murray Wins First Title of 2014 in Shenzhen, Nishikori Starts Asian Swing With a Bang in Malaysia
ATP Shenzhen
Andy Murray has had his most disappointing season in years, but he did finally win a title in Shenzhen, becoming the first champion in the history of the tournament. The best player in the field this week earned a well-deserved victory in the final over Tommy Robredo 5-7 7-6 6-1. The final was a highly entertaining affair as Murray saved four consecutive match points in the second set tiebreak, and a total of five match points overall. Robredo would physically wilt after dropping the second set, as Murray gained momentum and rolled through the third set.
Murray showed further signs of turning the corner as he bids to qualify for the year end World Tour Finals. He beat Somdev Devarrman and Lukas Lacko early on without dropping a set, then topped surprise semifinalist Juan Monaco in 3 sets to reach the final.
Robredo continued his strong season. The Spaniard needed consecutive 3 set wins over Sam Groth and Andreas Seppi to reach the semis, but then he easily handled an erratic Santiago Giraldo, who was contesting yet another ATP semifinal this season.
Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau beat the Aussie duo of Sam Groth and Chris Guccione for the doubles title. The top doubles seeds now have six ATP titles together this season.
ATP Kuala Lumpur
I didn’t see anyone in the draw to stop a red hot Kei Nishikori from winning in Malaysia, and he proved me right, obtaining a 7-6 6-4 victory over Julien Benneteau, who dropped his third consecutive Malaysian Open final and falls to 0-10 overall in career ATP finals.
The top Asian player on tour was untroubled by Rajeev Ram and Marinko Matosevic before facing stiffer competition in the semis from Jarkko Nieminen. He survived that in 3 sets and his returning and speedy pace redirection were just too good this week for any opponent.
Benneteau extended his perfect record outside of finals in KL. He beat Filip Krajinovic in straights, Pablo Cuevas in 3 sets from a break down in the third, and Ernests Gulbis, the number 2 seed, in straight sets in the semifinals.
Marcin Matkowski and Leander Paes beat Jamie Murray and John Peers for the doubles title, denying the Murray family multiple titles this week on tour.
2014 ATP Beijing, Tokyo Previews & Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
Two star studded events on the ATP Tour this week as the Asian Swing kicks into full gear. Both are 500-level events on outdoor hard courts, and almost every top 20 player will be in action this week.
ATP Beijing
China Open
ATP World Tour 500
Beijing, China
September 29-October 5, 2014
Prize Money: $2,500,470
Top 8 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Novak Djokovic (1)
2: Rafael Nadal (2)
3: Tomas Berdych (7)
4: Marin Cilic (9)
5: Grigor Dimitrov (10)
6: Andy Murray (11)
7: Ernests Gulbis (13)
8: John Isner (15)
Perhaps the best non-Masters level field on the ATP tour this season. Beijing is stacked with top players from top to bottom.
First Round matchups to watch:
(5)Grigor Dimitrov vs. Fernando Verdasco
Verdasco has a lone h2h win on clay, last year, against Dimitrov, but he will be an underdog regardless against the higher ranked Bulgarian. Dimitrov played reasonably well at the US Open and he should be eager to finish the fall swing strong, still in the hunt to make the World Tour Finals top 8 at the end of the year. I don’t think Verdasco will trouble him much, but it should be an entertaining match.
(6)Andy Murray vs. Jerzy Janowicz
Murray has a 2-1 h2h advantage over Janowicz, and he should have an edge in their first outdoor hard court meeting as well. He comes off the title in Shenzhen, and hopefully will be fresh enough to deal with the hard-hitting Pole, who played pretty well in Metz and perhaps is turning the corner with his form after a poor season overall. This should again be a high quality match, and I feel Murray is too solid to lose this one; Janowicz will need to keep the error count down to have a chance.
(8)John Isner vs. Santiago Giraldo
Isner has two h2h wins over Giraldo, but both ATP matches went three sets. Giraldo showed signs of great tennis in Shenzhen, where he reached the semifinals. Isner is a positive 6-1 in his last 7 matches, all on hard courts and thus he’s still the favorite for this one. Expect some big hitting in what should be a great watch, probably going 3 sets.
Mikhail Youzhny vs. (WC)Viktor Troicki
These two have met often since 2009: Troicki has 2 hard court wins, while the overall h2h is tied at 3-3. Viktor has been on a tear since returning to the ATP tour and he is playing motivated, passionate, and entertaining tennis right now. He has dictated play with his serve, which was untouchable for periods in Shenzhen, where he qualified and reached the second round. Troicki is an incredible 23-5 this year while Youzhny is an abysmal 14-19. Youzhny is higher ranked, but Troicki has to be the favorite here and he should win this one.
(3)Tomas Berdych vs. (WC)Feliciano Lopez
A match with some great upset potential: I have Lopez defeating Berdych because the Czech is struggling, while Lopez seems to be in good form and he has a h2h edge, including two wins this year one of which came on hard courts in Toronto. The hard court h2h is 3-1 in favor of Lopez and Berdych is on a two match losing streak. This is a great style contrast between his heavy hitting and Lopez’s quality net play.
(2)Rafael Nadal vs. Richard Gasquet
Nadal is returning to tour in Beijing against Gasquet, who has never beaten him before in over a dozen h2h meetings. Gasquet is struggling, and Nadal’s form is uncertain given he’s coming off an injury and should have some rust. However, he’s played some exhibitions and should advance given the H2H differential. The fact Gasquet is a round one opponent for the number two seed, and isn’t a seeded player himself demonstrates the quality of the Beijing draw.
Top Half:
Four-time and defending champion Novak Djokovic opens with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Novak is 6-0 against GGL, so even if it’s an entertaining match, he should get through to face Lukas Rosol or Vasek Pospisil. Neither Vashy nor Rosol are in great form, but they are players with talent who can play very well at times. Look for an exciting Djokovic vs. Dimitrov quarterfinal.
After Verdasco, Dimitrov should face Kuala Lumpur finalist Julian Benneteau, who opens with KL quarterfinalist Pablo Andujar. Dimitrov has a lone marquee win over Djokovic in Madrid last season, but since then, Novak has won two meetings, both in slams, including a four setter at Wimbledon this year. Djokovic also has two hard court h2h wins, once in 2013 and once in 2012, both in straight sets.
Given Novak’s perfect 19-0 record in Beijing, he should get through to the semifinals.
US Open champ Marin Cilic, a two-time finalist in Beijing, opens with Chinese wild card Yan Bai, then will face the Joao Sousa/Teymuraz Gabashvili winner. The Metz finalist, Sousa, is looking to continue playing well but Cilic should safely make the quarterfinals to face Murray/Janowicz. The winner of that match will face Pablo Cuevas or Mikhail Kukushkin, Cuevas played reasonably well in Kuala Lumpur while Kukushkin was playing the Asian Games in Korea. I favor Cilic over Murray given the fatigue factor, Murray having played some tough matches in Shenzen.
Bottom Half:
Nadal/Gasquet will face Ivo Karlovic or Peter Gojowczyk in round 2. That will be an easier opponent than their round 1 match, and unless Nadal is really rusty he should reach the quarters to face most likely Ernests Gulbis, a semifinalist in Kuala Lumpur. Ernie opens with a struggling Fabio Fognini before the Martin Klizan/Leo Mayer winner. Nadal is 6-0 against Gulbis and 3-0 on hard courts, including a win this year in Doha.
With that record in mind, Nadal should be a safe pick for the semifinals.
The Berdych/Lopez winner will face the Youzhny/Troicki winner. Troicki has a great chance to sneak into the quarterfinals, though Lopez could also be formidable. Isner/Giraldo potentially await at that stage, with Shenzhen finalist Tommy Robredo also a possibility. Robredo faces Andreas Seppi again this week; he beat him in 3 sets in the Shenzen quarterfinals and this time faces him in round 1, with Isner/Giraldo to follow.
Given the fatigue factor, I have a Troicki vs. Isner quarterfinal penciled in. Troicki is 3-1 against Isner, with a 1-1 outdoor h2h record and has a chance to sneak into the semis, but I’m going with Isner based upon gut feeling.
Dark Horse: Viktor Troicki
As I mentioned above, Troicki has a great shot at the semifinals this week. He will need to blitz past Youzhny and sneak past Lopez/Berdych and Isner/Robredo/Giraldo, but those are all winnable matches if he serves well and comes up with some big shots, he seems on the precipice of an ATP-level revival.
Predictions
Semis:
Djokovic d. Cilic
Nadal d. Isner
If Cilic plays like he did at the US Open and Djokovic stumbles, he could very well take the title this week, but given the fact Djokovic is 10-0 against Cilic with 3 wins this season, albeit in close contests, he should still have an edge. Nadal’s form is hard to judge coming off the injury, but he’s 4-0 against Isner and I’m sure he’ll be motivated, so I have him in the final this week.
Final:
Djokovic d. Nadal
Given this is a hard court and Nadal is coming off an injury layoff, Djokovic should remain perfect in Beijing and take his fifth title here. He beat Nadal in the final last year.
ATP Tokyo
Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships
ATP World Tour 500
Tokyo, Japan
September 27-October 5, 2014
Prize Money: $1,228,825
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Stan Wawrinka (4)
2: David Ferrer (5)
3: Milos Raonic (6)
4: Kei Nishikori (8)
5: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12)
6: Roberto Bautista Agut (17)
7: Kevin Anderson (19)
8: Alex Dolgopolov (23)
Though outshone by Beijing, Tokyo sports five of the top fifteen players and should also feature a lot of quality action this week.
First Round matchups to watch:
(8)Alex Dolgopolov vs. Jack Sock
Dolgopolov is playing his first match back since knee surgery, and he had to skip all of the tournaments this summer. Sock is playing his first match since the US Open and this is the first head-to-head matchup between the pair. Sock has posted his best results on hard court this year, including one quarterfinal and one semifinal on the surface. Dolgo had a strong early start to the year but he should be rusty going into this one. It’s hard to predict and Dolgopolov is the more talented, and higher ranked player, but I have Sock advancing given the rust factor. Dolgo is known to past erratic performances and a knee injury isn’t the easiest thing to come back from right away.
(4)Kei Nishikori vs. Ivan Dodig
Nishikori, who just won Kuala Lumpur, is bidding to win his second Tokyo title in front of the home fans and keep his momentum going. Dodig, meanwhile, is looking to string some wins together and garner some of his own momentum, improving on his poor record of 1-5 in his last six matches. I’m mainly interested to see how Nishikori will play coming off of Kuala Lumpur. Dodig has beaten him once before, last year in Basel, and we’ll see if he can catch the top Asian player sleeping, This match has just a bit of upset potential, though I have Nishikori through.
(7)Kevin Anderson vs. Dominic Thiem
Thiem is looking to avenge his loss to Anderson at the Aussie Open at the start of the year, and he has had a meteoric rise since that meeting. Now in the top 50, he is bidding to follow up his strong showing at the US Open with a good fall swing. Anderson is as always a solid big serving, strong hard court competitor. Thiem will have a reasonable chance at pulling this off, but I have Anderson through. He’s too reliable and consistent to lose this one.
(3)Milos Raonic vs. Bernard Tomic
Milos Raonic appears to be in excellent form, and as the finalist in Tokyo the previous two seasons is looking to do one better and capture the title this year. Tomic isn’t the easiest first round opponent by any means though, and he could pose a threat to the Canadian number one if he can get on a hot streak. He lost a poor match in Kuala Lumpur though and I don’t see that being likely, so Raonic should get through in straight sets.
(6)Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Gilles Simon
Bautista Agut has a great chance to get back into form in Tokyo. It starts with Simon, who has been poor all season and lost a bad match in Shenzen last week to Ricardas Berankis, showing signs he might be injured. RBA has struggled a bit as of late, but hopefully he will grab a rather comfortable win here.
Top Half:
Stan Wawrinka should roll past Tatsuma Ito in his opening match. Jarkko Nieminen could prove to be a tough test in round 2, assuming the Finn who made the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur can beat Benjamin Becker, who reached the quarterfinals in the same tournament. I fully expect Stan the Man to get into the quarterfinals and most likely play Sock, as the other options, Dolgopolov, Andrey Golubev and qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert are far from imposing at present. All in all, Wawrinka has a reasonable route to the semifinals for a 500-level event.
The Nishikori/Dodig winner will play Donald Young or Go Soeda in round 2. Since Nishikori comfortably handled DY at the Aussie Open this year, I don’t expect that one to be much of a contest. It should be Nishikori vs Anderson/Thiem in the quarterfinals, as qualifier Rajeev Ram and Jeremy Chardy, the other options in this section, are both not playing that well at the moment. The semifinalist should come down to whether Nishikori is fatigued enough to lose or not. I’m going to garner he’s not and he’s certainly going to be motivated given he’s playing on home soil. Anderson will have a chance but I have Nishikori in the semifinals of my own bracket.
Bottom Half:
David Ferrer suffered another bad loss in an early round match, this time to Viktor Troicki in Shenzhen, and he is looking to rebound against his compatriot Marcel Granollers. He could be on upset alert again against Steve Johnson in round 2, assuming the much improved American gets past Hiroki Moriya. Still, unless the American serves lights out, Ferrer should get through to the quarterfinals. In the quarters, it should be Ferrer/Johnson against one of RBA/Simon or Gilles Muller. Muller is a dangerous big server when he gets hot, and he opens with Argentine Federico Delbonis. I have RBA in the quarters of my own bracket but it’s a difficult pick, and I also have him over Ferrer into the semis. Ferrer beat him twice last year, but he’s in a bit of a funk right now and I think RBA will capitalize on that.
The Raonic/Tomic winner will face Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Jurgen Melzer in round 2. Melzer and ERV are both struggling, so it should be a routine path to the quarterfinals for Raonic. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga should be Raonic’s opponent in an exciting quarterfinal matchup. Jo has to defeat Michal Przysiezny and the Taro Daniel/Denis Istomin winner to reach that stage. Raonic beat Tsonga this year on clay after two previous losses on hard and grass respectively. Given the form factor, I have Raonic through to the semifinals in 3 sets.
Dark Horse: Gilles Muller
It’s highly unlikely that a non-seed will reach the quarterfinals, but Muller has the best chance. He will need to defeat the RBA/Simon winner, but given their recent form, that’s doable if he serves well. After that, Ferrer/Johnson are also susceptible to defeat.
Predictions
Semis:
Wawrinka d. Nishikori
Raonic d. Bautista Agut
Kei beat Stan at the US Open in 5 sets recently, but prior to that, Wawrinka had won both their head to head meetings. Given Nishikori played a weeks worth of tennis in Malaysia the previous week, that should be enough to swing this match in Wawrinka’s favor.
I like Raonic over RBA or Ferrer, given how well he has played on hard courts both recently and this season as a whole.
Final:
Wawrinka d. Raonic
Two top players should meet in the Tokyo final, and I have Wawrinka over Raonic, given the 2-0 hard court h2h record and 3-0 overall h2h including a win on clay this season. Raonic will have a chance at taking this title too, and both guys have had a bit of a layoff but they should be ready to perform this week.
2014 ATP Indian Wells Preview, Picks Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
The opening Masters 1000 event of the season is here, with live tennis starting today from Larry Ellison’s investment portfolio in Indian Wells, California. Most of the top players will be competing. Here is your preview.
ATP Indian WellsBNP Paribas Open
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells, California, USA
March 6-March 16, 2014
Prize Money: $4,720,380
Top 8 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Rafael Nadal (1)
2: Novak Djokovic (2)
3: Stanislas Wawrinka (3)
4: Tomas Berdych (5)
5: Andy Murray (6)
6: Juan Martin Del Potro (7)
7: Roger Federer (8)
8: Richard Gasquet (9)
All 32 seeds get byes into round 2, and 18 of the top 20 players are participating, with only the injured David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro missing.
First round matchups to watch:
Jiri Vesely vs. Igor Sijsling
A pair of talented but seemingly inconsistent players, Vesely and Sijsling are on losing streaks of 2 and 3 matches respectively and both have let consistency issues get in the way of their potential. Rising young Czech Vesely and Dutchman Sijsling made the semis of the 500 in Rotterdam last month. On a hard court I think this matchup favors Sijsling if he serves well, as Vesely doesn’t seem to be peaking right now.
(WC)Rhyne Williams vs. Jeremy Chardy
Rhyne Williams will have a nice chance for a win against French veteran Jeremy Chardy. Williams has been good on hard courts this season at both the Australian Open and Delray Beach, where he reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier. Chardy lost in round 2 of Acapulco (played on hard courts this year) and has otherwise been on clay, having a rather pedestrian average season thus far. If Rhyne is going to move up to the next tier of ATP players, he needs to beat the likes of Chardy on hard courts (his surface of choice) and in the States. This is a good test for him.
(WC)Steve Johnson vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
My favorite first round match of this trio. Johnson comes off some great play en route to the semis in Delray also as a qualifier like his buddy Rhyne Williams. He’s a California boy who played at USC, which should provide him with some local support. Like Rhyne, if Stevie J is going to move up to the next level of ATP players, he will need to pull off mild upsets like this match against RBA, who played really well in Melbourne but has cooled off since and has struggled with wrist injury issues since the Davis Cup ties. A 2-4 record post-AO is not what was expected from RBA after the spark he showed there, and this will be a good test as to whether he will refind that form on hard courts on a big stage or continue to struggle. I’ll go with the upset and pick Johnson myself.
Your AOWC 2013 Champion Steve Johnson!
Top Half:
16-1 this year, a defending and 3 time BNP Paribas Open champion, Rafael Nadal will open with Radek Stepanek or Denis Istomin, a couple of steady competitors who can put up a competitive match but aren’t likely to give him any trouble really. In round 2 he could get a Rio final rematch with Alex Dolgopolov, who seems to be in good form, and the Ukrainian has to get past Jack Sock or Tim Smyczek to set that up. Dolgo has a final and a semi in consecutive weeks in Rio and Acapulco but he is a career 0-5 against Nadal, including 0-3 on hard courts, never having taken a set off of him.
Nadal should be safe for the round of 16.
Nadal’s round of 16 opponent is most likely to be 23 seed Gael Monfils or 13 seed Fabio Fognini. Monfils will face the winner of Sergiy Stakhovsky/Lukasz Kubot in round 2 in his first tournament action since Rotterdam, while Fognini will face Andrey Golubev/Ryan Harrison in round 2. Assuming they both advance, they will meet in the round of 32. Monfils has been great this year with losses only to Nadal and Del Potro. But he has been on a bit of a hiatus, while Fognini has also been very strong this season, but mainly on clay. Their only meetings are on indoor hard and clay and the h2h is tied 2-2. A hard match to call.
5 seed Andy Murray, who has struggled this season, having not yet made a final in 4 ATP tournaments entered, opens with Lukas Rosol or a qualifier. I still expect him to make his way to the third round against Vesely/Sijsling or Pablo Andujar, who took a set off of him in Acapulco, though Murray won the match.
Murray is still the most likely player to face off with either 10 seed Milos Raonic or 18 seed Jerzy Janowicz in the round of 16. Raonic is playing for the first time since the Australian Open and may be rusty against Benjamin Becker or Edouard Roger-Vasselin, and ERV could give him trouble if he’s not at his best.
Janowicz is playing for the first time since Rotterdam himself, and plays Alejandro Falla or Sao Paulo champ Federico Delbonis in round 2. Neither JJ nor Milos have been great this year and Murray has a good draw if he can play well. Same applies for JJ or Milos.
3 seed Stan Wawrinka, playing for the first time since his Australian Open triumph (Davis Cup excluded), will do battle with Ivo Karlovic or Alex Bogomolov in round 2. Karlovic is always a threat on hard courts to upset most players, but I still expect Wawrinka vs. a qualifier/Sam Querrey/Andreas Seppi in round 3. All of those players are pretty much out of form, especially Querrey. The qualifier will have a nice shot at a round 3 showing here.
Wawrinka/Karlovic vs. 17 seed Kevin Anderson, 14 seed Mikhail Youzhny or Lleyton Hewitt is the most likely round of 16 matchup. Anderson, the Acapulco and Delray finalist, will face Hewitt or his fellow Aussie Matt Ebden in round 2, and then is likely to get Youzhny in round 3. The Colonel has been struggling this year and he needs to get past Michael Russell/Donald Young first.
Youzhny and Hewitt both retired in their last matches In Dubai and Delray respectively.
Dubai Champion Roger Federer has won IW 4 previous times, the last being 2 years ago, and has been strong this year. He faces off with a qualifier in round 2, and then Dmitry Tursunov/Juan Monaco/qualifier in round 3. This is a really easy draw for the Swissman. There really isn’t much to say about that, except he is almost a lock for the round of 16 with nobody to give him trouble at all.
Federer vs. Kei Nishikori, the 19 seed, is a strong possibility for the round of 16 in what would be a good match of reasonably in-form players. Nishikori needs to beat Santiago Giraldo/Daniel Gimeno-Traver in round 2, and then Chardy/Williams or 11 seed Tommy Haas in round 3. Haas has struggled a bit this year and Nishikori is a solid 12-3 in 2014. Williams has a shot to sneak into the third round, given Haas has struggled against American players this year (losses to Sock and Johnson on hard courts this season).
Bottom Half:
Two-time IW champion Novak Djokovic will face a qualifier or Victor Hanescu in round 2, and Novak should cruise into round 2 against one of Ivan Dodig/Alejandro Gonzalez/Adrian Mannarino. Dodig is the most likely opponent, but of no real threat to trouble the Serbian superstar.
Djokovic vs. 24 seed Marin Cilic, who is a tremendous 18-4 this year (including 14-1 post Australian Open) would be a highly anticipated round of 16 matchup. Cilic has won 2 titles this year and reached the final of another tournament all on hard courts. He opens with a qualifier or Pablo Carreno Busta and then will face one of Tommy Robredo/Bradley Klahn/Marinko Matosevic in round 3. Robredo is the 16 seed but has mainly been playing on clay and his form has been average this year.
Juan Martin Del Potro has struggled with a wrist injury and retired from his last match in Dubai. He’ll face Feliciano Lopez or Dudi Sela in round 2, and given his struggles with that wrist and all the talk of surgery possibly being needed, he may well crash out early again and open up the draw for Lopez.
The 3rd round participant from that section will face Mikhail Kukushkin/qualifier or 25 seed Vasek Pospisil, still feeling his way back from a back injury, in round 3 of a weak section.
Whoever makes the round of 16 from the above section will face either 9 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 21 seed Gilles Simon, Julien Benneteau, or one of 3 qualifiers in the round of 16. This is an all-French section at the present. Simon has struggled all year but did make the quarters in Acapulco, while Tsonga did the same in Dubai, though he also hasn’t been great this year.
Tsonga has won all of their outdoor hard court meetings (3-0 vs. Simon on outdoor hard including a win this year in Melbourne) and is the favorite to get there.
Dubai finalist Tomas Berdych has been very, very good this year, with losses only to Karlovic, Wawrinka and Federer on the year and a title and a final in his last 2 events. He opens with Johnson or RBA in round 2 in what is not an easy match, but he should win it to face Florian Mayer/Daniel Brands/Jarkko Nieminen in round 3. Mayer has been good this year but lost in the first round of Doha. Brands has been nothing special and Nieminen says he’s out of shape, so Berdych should be safe for the round of 16.
Ernests Gulbis, the 20 seed, and Grigor Dimitrov, the 15 seed, are likely to clash in the third round of a competitive section above the Berdych section of the draw. Gulbis will face Joao Sousa or Aleksandr Nedovyesov in round 2, while Dimitrov, the Acapulco champion, gets Robin Haase or a qualifier.
Dimitrov outfought Gulbis in a long competitive three set match in Acapulco just recently, and Gulbis will be looking for revenge. But Dimitrov is in great form and I think he sets up a clash of the titans with Berdych.
8 seed Richard Gasquet, who is 10-5 on the year, faces Nicolas Mahut or Teymuraz Gabashvili round 2, and then Horacio Zeballos/Rajeev Ram/Fernando Verdasco in round 3.
Verdasco hasn’t played since a round 1 loss in Rotterdam but his draw is simple and he has met Gasquet a ridiculous number of times. Their outdoor hard court h2h is tied 2-2 with Verdasco having won the last 2 hard court meetings, the last one coming in 2009. Gasquet will be the slight favorite here but nothing more.
Below the Gasquet section, rivals John Isner (seeded 12th), and Philipp Kohlschreiber (seeded 22nd), are set to clash again in round 3.
Isner needs to beat Michal Przysiezny/Nikolay Davydenko, while Kohli needs to beat Tobias Kamke/Rendy Lu. Lu has been great for part of this season but he’s been injured recently and isn’t playing well. Kohli comes off semis in Dubai. Isner has lost 2 straight but did make the semis in Delray. Isner leads the hard court h2h 3-2, and beat Kohli in Auckland this year already. All of their matches have gone more than the minimum number of sets and that Auckland meeting was 3 close tiebreaks to decide the winner.
I personally think Kohli evens it up here and reaches the round of 16.
Dark Horses: Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Rhyne Williams, Grigor Dimitrov, Gilles Simon
I didn’t necessarily pick the most in-form players, but also those who stand to benefit from the draw. Roger Vasselin, who is only 10-7 on the year but has flashes of talent, is still most likely to lose in round 2 to Raonic. But if Milos is out of it, and then so is Jerzy Janowicz, ERV could find himself in the round of 16 against Murray, who can also have a bad day and be beatable. It’s a high risk, high reward type of situation for ERV and the quarters are the limit.
Rhyne, assuming he can beat Chardy, has a great upset chance against a seemingly out of form Haas, who will struggle with his big forehand. Then, just maybe he could upset Nishikori and give the American fans something to cheer about in round 3, but that won’t be easy. His road still likely ends there.
Dimitrov is a high seed, but he has a shot at the semis, hence why he is included. He needs to beat Gulbis in round 3, and then Berdych needs to fall to his wrath in the round of 16. But with Gasquet/Isner/Kohlschreiber/Verdasco in the section above, semis are very possible for the continually rising and improving Bulgarian, who has been very good this season.
Simon is another streaky pick who could benefit from the draw, if Tsonga is not up to snuff in round 3. The Del Potro section for the round of 16 is very open and a strong/healthy player is unlikely to emerge from it, meaning the veteran Frenchman could make the quarterfinals if he gets hot.
Predictions: R16:
Nadal d. Monfils
Murray d. Janowicz
Wawrinka d. Anderson
Federer d. Nishikori
Kohlschreiber d. Gasquet
Berdych d. Dimitrov
Tsonga d. Pospisil
Djokovic d. Cilic
Nadal should defeat Monfils for the third time this year on hard courts.
Murray and Janowicz have a 2-1 h2h, but Murray has never played him on outdoor hard. It’s a tough pick but I think he ekes out a win.
Wawrinka is 3-0 against Anderson all on hard courts. It should be straight forward there, though the last 2 meetings went 3 sets.
Federer and Nishikori have never met on an outdoor hard court and the h2h is 1-1 but Fed is in such good form I think he gets through that tough test.
Kohli and Gasquet have never met on an outdoor hard court and the overall h2h is 2-2, but I think Kohli is in better form and advances.
Dimitrov-Berdych is a judgment call and Grisha leads the h2h 2-1 including an outdoor hard win in in 3 sets in 2012, but my pick is with the Czech.
Tsonga should defeat a not-quite-100% Pospisil.
Djokovic is 7-0 against Cilic, with 6 of those meetings on outdoor hard, so he should advance.
Quarters:
Nadal d. Murray
Federer d. Wawrinka
Berdych d. Kohlschreiber
Djokovic d. Tsonga
Nadal should not be troubled by Murray’s present level of play.
Federer is 8-0 against Wawrinka on outdoor hard including a win at IW last year, though that meeting was a close 3 sets.
Berdych just beat Kohlschreiber in Dubai and should do so again with relative ease if they meet.
I don’t see Tsonga being able to trouble Novak, as that one should also be straightforward if they meet.
Semis:
Nadal d. Federer
Djokovic d. Berdych
A not-100% Nadal beat an in-form Federer in Melbourne this year already, and Rafa has simply found a gameplan that deconstructs the Federer game. Regardless of form, short of Rafa being hurt and Federer being godlike, it’s really not possible to pick him in the matchup.
Djokovic could have a tougher time with Berdych, who may give him a run, but you can’t really pick against the world number 2 on a hard court under such circumstances.
Final:
Nadal d. Djokovic
It’s not the most exciting pick, but they met a lot last year in key rivalry matchups and this would be their first meeting of the still young season. Last year, Nadal won twice and Novak won once on outdoor hard courts, and overall Djokovic has had a decided advantage on hard courts. All that said, Nadal is seemingly the better player this year and I’m going with him.
2014 ATP @ChennaiOpen Preview, Picks Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
Chennai Open Official Site
The 2014 ATP season will fire up with a strong trio of ATP 250 events, all on hard courts, in Brisbane, Doha and Chennai. Most of the top players will be in action and it is a fresh start to the year for everyone. Here is to a tremendous year of tennis in 2014!
ATP Chennai
Aircel Chennai Open
ATP World Tour 250
Chennai, India
December 30-January 5, 2014
Prize Money: $399,985
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Stanislas Wawrinka (8)
2: Mikhail Youzhny (15)
3: Fabio Fognini (16)
4: Benoit Paire (26)
Three top 20 players and top 10 player Wawrinka is a relatively good field for this 250.
First round matchups to watch:
Pablo Carreno Busta vs. (WC)Yuki Bhambri
Newly top 70 ranked Spaniard PCB was tremendous on the futures and challenger circuits in 2013 and is now going to try to maintain and improve his ranking as an ATP regular at the start of the year. He will need to do well in events like this, and do well off of clay at least occasionally. He will face one of the top Indian players, Bhambri, who is back inside the top 200 and primarily played challengers in 2013 with occasionally good results. PCB should win this one, but the surface and fan support will give Bhambri a chance.
Top Half:
Former Chennai champion Stan Wawrinka, who had a career 2013 in going 51-23 at the ATP level with 1 title along with breaking into the top 10, will open with a German, Benjamin Becker or Julian Reister in round 2, followed by one of Aljaz Bedene/Qualifier/Roberto Bautista Agut/Qualifier in the quarters. RBA played very well in Chennai last year, reaching the final and he has points to defend here. I expect Wawrinka, who also played in that exhibition in Abu Dhabi, to reach the semis at least.
Fabio Fognini, who also had a career 2013, reaching a career high ranking in the top 20 and going 42-27 with 2 ATP titles, will face PCB/Bhambri in round 2 and one of Rendy Lu/Tim Smyczek/Kyle Edmund/Vasek Pospisil in the quarters. Pospisil was another player who broke onto the scene in 2013 and will look to continue that strong level of play, while Smyczek is a consistent hard court competitor.
Bottom Half:
Another former Chennai champion, Mikhail Youzhny, will face Dudi Sela or Lukas Lacko in round 2, with one of Edouard Roger-Vasselin/Albert Ramos/Jiri Vesely/Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in the quarters. Vesely is a rising youngster looking for a breakthrough and is one to watch as I think he will make the quarters and perhaps give Youzhny a test.
Benoit Paire will face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Oleksandr Nedovyesov in round 2 before one of Marcel Granollers/Somdev Devvarman/qualifiers in the quarters. Devvarman could use a good result here at home in India, but overall this a very open and rather weak section.
Dark Horse: Jiri Vesely
Vesely went 0-7 at the ATP level in 2013 but he played well on the challenger circuit and the 20 year old Czech reached the top 90. He opens with an Indian wild card, before ERV/Ramos. Assuming he gets past those winnable matches, he will have a meeting with Youzhny, where Jiri will be an underdog, but you never know what could happen.
Predictions Semis:
Wawrinka d. Pospisil
Youzhny d. Paire
No previous head to head meetings between any of these players. Stan should be able to make the final. Youzhny is the favorite in the bottom half, which is rather weak.
Final:
Wawrinka d. Youzhny
Youzhny has beaten Wawrinka 3 times on a hard court, but they last met in 2010 and Wawrinka has improved significantly. As the strongest player in the field, he should capture the title.
2014 ATP Doha (@QatarTennis) Preview & Picks Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
The 2014 ATP season will fire up with a strong trio of ATP 250 events, all on hard courts, in Brisbane, Doha and Chennai. Most of the top players will be in action and it is a fresh start to the year for everyone. Here is to a tremendous year of tennis in 2014!
ATP Doha
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
ATP World Tour 25)
Doha, Qatar
December 30-January 4, 2014
Prize Money: $1,096,910
8 Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses):
1: Rafael Nadal (1)
2: David Ferrer (3)
3: Andy Murray (4)
4: Tomas Berdych (7)
5: Richard Gasquet (9)
6: Philipp Kohlschreiber (22)
7: Ernests Gulbis (24)
8: Fernando Verdasco (30)
The considerable prize money and the quality venue have attracted five top 10 players to Doha to start off their ATP season.
First round matchups to watch:
(4)Tomas Berdych vs. Ivo Karlovic
A tough opening round match for Tomas Berdych, who went 54-25 but didn’t win an ATP title in 2013. Ivo Karlovic owns a 3-2 h2h advantage against him and he won their only meeting last year indoors in Basel. The Croatian went 15-13 with 1 title at the ATP level in 2013 and dealt with injuries and adversity to post that mark. Berdych, by virtue of his much higher ranking and level of accomplishment still has to be the favorite, but he could be shocked again by Dr. Ivo.
Daniel Brands vs. Nikolay Davydenko
Brands went 24-23 at the ATP level in 2013 and broke into the top 60 for the first time. His great year featured a run to the semis in Doha as a qualifier last year and he has a lot of points to defend against the defending Doha finalist, Davydenko. Davydenko struggled in 2013, posting an even 22-22 ATP record. Davydenko is outside the top 50 and is also under a lot of pressure to defend points. Their h2h is split at 1 each but they have never met on hard courts, and this match is nearly impossible to predict, but I’ll give Brands a slight edge unless Davy finds his Doha 2013 form.
(2)David Ferrer vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov
Ferrer is 6-1 career h2h against Dolgopolov across all the surfaces, but their matches always tend to be entertaining and both are under pressure to perform in 2014. Ferrer continued his dogged play and intense tournament schedule, which helped him reach number 3 in the world, a career high in 2013. He will have to keep that up in 2014 though, as his 60-24 record with 2 ATP titles will be tough to repeat. To be fair, in 2012 he posted an even better record with 7 titles, so though he played better in 2012 statistically, his ranking improved in 2013.
Dolgopolov, meanwhile, took a huge step backward in 2013, and is nearly out of the top 60 now as the 25 year old went 24-27 at the ATP level. He struggled badly with severe slumps throughout the year and it is really hard to predict his 2014. I’m not bullish on his chances in this match, though.
Top Half:
Rafa Nadal will open his ATP season against Lukas Rosol, as the world number 1 can pad his ranking early in this part of the year (which he didn’t play in 2013). Rosol shocked Nadal at Wimbledon, but I don’t expect that to happen again as Rafa should set up a match against Malek Jaziri/Tobias Kamke in round 2 and a quarterfinal match against most likely Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis is also looking to keep improving in 2014, as he put together a quality 2013. The Latvian number 1 opens with a qualifier and then Dani Gimeno-Traver/Lukasz Kubot in round 2. I don’t think he will beat Nadal, however.
Berdych/Karlovic will play a qualifier or Ivan Dodig in round 2. Dodig is one to watch as he played well in 2013 and can put together quality tennis when he gets hot. The winner of that section will face Philipp Kohlschreiber most likely, as the German, who will looking to have a better 2014 than 2013, faces Pablo Andujar in round 1 and then a qualifier in round 2. This section is stacked with interesting players and matchups.
Bottom Half:
Ferrer/Dolgopolov will face Davydenko/Brands and then most likely Richard Gasquet, in the QFs. Gasquet had a great 2013, posting a 50-23 record with 3 ATP titles (one of them being Doha where he is the defending champion). Reeshy will play wild card Karim Hossam in round 1 and Santiago Giraldo/Gael Monfils in round 2. Monfils continued to struggle with injuries in 2013 but does have a history of success in Doha. It is just a matter of his form and his body holding up as to whether he can make a run. Gasquet went 2-0 against Ferrer in 2013, with both matches on hard courts, and Gasquet seems to have figured out a way to defeat him.
Andy Murray, coming off back surgery after an interesting 2013 in which he won Wimbledon but also because of the injury dropped out of the top 3 for now, will face Qatari wild card Mousa Shanan Zayed and then Michal Przysiezny/Florian Mayer in round 2. Murray played in the big exhibition in Abu Dhabi along with Ferrer and Nadal, so he does have some match play in and looks a bit rusty but fit. His quarterfinal opponent is most likely to be Fernando Verdasco or Joao Sousa. Verdasco plays Filippo Volandri in round 1 while Sousa, who had a breakthrough 2013 and captured an ATP title, opens with veteran player Victor Hanescu. Sousa/Verdasco vs Murray should be a good match.
Dark Horse: Gael Monfils
The Frenchman posted a 33-22 record in 2013 and is twice a former finalist in Doha, though he has never won the title. If he is healthy and in good form he certainly has the talent to defeat Giraldo, Gasquet and Ferrer in order to reach the semis, making him a dangerous dark horse to watch.
Predictions
Semis:
Nadal d. Berdych
Gasquet d. Murray
Nadal should cruise as he hasn’t lost to Berdych since 2007 and they have played a ton including 5 times in 2013.
I think Berdych will survive to reach the semis, though. Murray beat Gasquet once in 2013 on Miami hard courts, but that match went 3 sets. With Murray still recovering his form after the surgery, and Gasquet having a good record in Doha, I think Reeshy will knock him off.
Final
Nadal d. Gasquet
Nadal has never lost to Gasquet as a professional player, and they have played many times. I expect the world number 1 to continue his tremendous play.
Tennis Atlantic 