Nadal Conquers Federer to Capture Seventh Rome Title
Nadal Conquers Federer to Capture Seventh Rome Title
Rafael Nadal was once again a cut above as he defeated Roger Federer 6-1 6-3 in Rome, continuing his domination of clay court tennis. It is his 24th Masters title overall and as previously mentioned, his 7th in Rome. Federer, for his part, gained ranking points for the first time this year and made his first final of the year, but dropped to 0-3 career in Rome finals.
Nadal has only lost twice this year and continued his win streak over Fabio Fognini, Ernests Gulbis in 3 topsy turvy sets, David Ferrer in 3 sets and Tomas Berdych in straights. Berdych defeated Novak Djokovic to make the semis.
Federer improved against Potito Starace, Gilles Simon, Jerzy Janowicz and Benoit Paire. Paire upset Juan Martin Del Potro en route to the semis, while Janowicz upset both Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet to make the quarterfinals.
Like Nadal, the Bryans continued their own domination of clay and everything else, winning over Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna to take the doubles title.
—Steen Kirby
2013 ATP Marseille, Buenos Aires Previews
2013 ATP Marseille, Buenos Aires Previews
Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
We’ve been busy with Memphis, but there are actually two other events on the ATP World Tour this: an indoor hard 250 in Marseille, France and another clay court 250 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
ATP Marseille
Open 13
ATP World Tour 250
Marseille, France
February 18-February 24, 2013
Prize Money: €528, 135
Top 4 seeds (Who all receive first round byes):
1: Tomas Berdych
2: Juan Martin Del Potro
3: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
4: Janko Tipsarevic
Marseille has a star-studded field, especially for a 250 with the top 5 seeds all top 10 players.
First round matchups to watch:
(8) Martin Klizan vs. Bernard Tomic
Klizan showed some strong play this week and made the quarterfinals in Rotterdam, proving yet again he can be a very dangerous player indoors with the amount of power and touch he can show off. He will get an interesting match with Tomic, who dropped a 3 setter to eventual semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov in Rotterdam, but should be in better shape after getting that match in.
Top Half:
Tomas Berdych will return to action this week against the winner of Ernests Gulbis/Jarkko Nieminen and that could pose him a bit of trouble as Nieminen comes off quarterfinals in Rotterdam and is having a great month of February.
The winner could face Jerzy Janowicz, the 7 seed, who was disappointing in Rotterdam losing in the 1st round to the aging journeyman Victor Hanescu.
Also in this section is current Rotterdam finalist and possible champion Julien Benneteau, who should be buzzing after knocking off Roger Federer. He opens with Lucas Pouille while Janowicz opens with Lukas Rosol.
Janko Tipsarevic will play a qualifier, then possibly get a showdown meeting with Montpellier champ Richard Gasquet, who opens with Gilles Muller and then possibly a Montpellier rematch with Gael Monfils (who plays Marcel Granollers first round).
Bottom Half:
Defending champ Juan Martin Del Potro, also still in the running for the Rotterdam title as a finalist, opens with Montpellier semifinalist Michael Llodra or a severely slumping David Goffin. Goff was bageled in his last match and has only won 1 ATP match this year.
Del Potro could then get a rematch with Gilles Simon, if Simon makes the finals in Rotterdam and beats Robin Haase and a qualifier or Roberto Bautista-Agut in Marseille.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was knocked off in the opening round of Rotterdam, will play a qualifier or Nikolay Davydenko. Afterward, he could get a US Open rematch with Martin Klizan, who upset him there. That’s dependent on Klizan beating Tomic and then Montpellier finalist Benoit Paire, who opens with Somdev Devvarman.
Pretty much every section of this draw is stacked with talent.
Dark Horse: Benoit Paire
Paire was a solid finalist in Montpellier, though he is coming off a 1st round loss in Rotterdam that can likely be chalked up to fatigue. He has a good draw opening with Devvarman, then getting the unpredictable Tomic, or Klizan. Klizan is very dangerous but had to retire in the 3rd set of his quarterfinal match in Rotterdam, which raises questions about his current stamina level. If Paire gets past that, he likely gets the unpredictable Tsonga, who he will be an underdog given the 0-2 head to head record. In short, this is a section of very streaky players and hopefully Paire will be the one on a hot streak among them.
Predictions:
Semis:
Gasquet d. Berdych
Del Potro d. Tsonga
Berdych is well rested and should be good through the quarter assuming he doesn’t trip up against Nieminen in the 2nd round. Gasquet, who should get past Tipsarevic in the quarters, has a slight edge on Berdych, given his hot form and a 4-2 head to head record.
Tsonga should edge past Paire in the quarters, while Del Potro may be tired but still has a somewhat weak section and I don’t see anyone threatening him. Simon has played the same amount of tennis recently, same goes with the edge over Tsonga who he has beaten five times, losing only twice.
Final:
Del Potro d. Gasquet
Del Potro may be a bit worn out, but he won all 3 meetings last year against Gasquet, including last year in Marseille and though Gasquet is playing great, the tower of Tandil should have a leg up.
ATP Buenos Aires
Copa Claro
ATP World Tour 250
Buenos Aires, Argentina
February 18-February 24, 2013
Prize Money: $493,670
Top 4 seeds: NO BYES
1: David Ferrer
2: Nicolas Almagro
3: Stanislas Wawrinka
4: Thomaz Bellucci
First round matchups to watch:
Carlos Berlocq vs. David Nalbandian
Berlocq has made the semis and the quarters in his last two tournaments on the Golden Swing and is playing quite well. He will take on current Sao Paulo finalist David Nalbandian, who has been a surprise in his return to ATP action. This should be a rowdy all Argentine battle and a lot of fun with some excellent clay court grinding, Nalbandian won this matchup when they met last year in the quarters of this event.
Top Half:
Defending champ David Ferrer will start his efforts to repeat against wild card Agustin Velotti before the Berlocq/Nalbandian winner. In the quarters he could get Fabio Fognini, who was bounced out of Sao Paulo in disappointing fashion, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo or a qualifier. This is a somewhat decent looking draw for the top ranked Spaniard.
Thomaz Bellucci, who also got bounced out of Sao Paulo in a frustrated manner, opens with Diego Sebastian Schwartzman before meeting a qualifier or Tommy Robredo. Sao Paulo semifinalist Martin Alund, who has all of a sudden found a good run of play, opens with a qualifier then could play Vina Del Mar champ Horacio Zeballos if he can beat Aljaz Bedene. Zeballos is the likely favorite in this section.
Bottom Half:
Sao Paulo quarterfinalist and last year’s Copa Clara finalist Nicolas Almagro will play Guido Pella, a home favorite who is at a career high ranking of 92 and just earned his first ATP match win in Sao Paulo. The winner gets Sao Paulo quarterfinalist Filippo Volandri or Andrey Kuznetsov, who is struggling right now. In the quarters it could be Pablo Andujar, who plays Albert Montanes, Joao Sousa or Federico Del Bonis.
Stanislas Wawrinka starts his clay court efforts against Paolo Lorenzi and Daniel Gimeno-Traver or a qualifier. Next, he could face Albert Ramos, Flavio Cipolla, Leonardo Mayer or more likely Simone Bolleli, who made the semis in Sao Paulo. It’s a good looking draw for Stan.
Dark Horse: Federico Del Bonis
The 22 year old Argentine ranked just outside the top 120 in the world is actually playing quite well this year, excluding a loss to Rafael Nadal in Vina as a qualifier. He also won a clay court challenger in Colombia and clay is his best surface by far.
He has a good draw with a lot of average and out of form players including Sousa and Montanes or Andujar before a quarterfinal test with Almagro, who is iffy as of late.
Predictions:
Semis:
Ferrer d. Zeballos
Wawrinka d. Almagro
Ferrer should be good enough to outwork Zeballos, though it could be close, and Wawrinka will hopefully be in fresh form and take out Almagro after a pretty weak early draw. They met in the 2012 semis and it was Almagro who prevailed.
Final:
Ferrer d. Wawrinka
Ferrer has a 6-3 head to head record and a solid game on clay. He would be the favorite if this final comes to fruition.
Federer Smashes Djokovic, Takes Fifth Cincy title: ATP Cincinnati Recap
Federer Smashes Djokovic, Takes Fifth Cincy title: ATP Cincinnati Recap
Roger Federer made quick work of Novak Djokovic, defeating Djokovic on a hard court for the first time since 2010, 6-0, 7-6 for his fifth Western and Southern Open title. In addition to the title, Federer consolidates his hold on the number one ranking.
Federer did not face a break point the entire match and did not have his serve broken all week in what was another dominant performance by the Swiss Maestro. In the semis he took out his countryman Stan Wawrinka, who exceeded expectations to make a Masters semi in straights. He also beat Mardy Fish, Bernard Tomic and Alex Bogomolov in previous rounds. It was a good week for Switzerland.
Though Djokovic lost in the Cincy finals for the fourth time and played a listless final match, he was quite dominant in previous rounds and hadn’t been broken in any of his previous matches, defeating Juan Martin Del Potro in the semis, Marin Cilic, Nikolay Davydenko and Andreas Seppi.
Heading into the US Open, both Federer and Djokovic proved their mettle and can rest up, while questions remain for Del Potro, who may be dealing with wrist issues. Then there’s Andy Murray, who played another one of those muzzard matches and was upset by Jeremy Chardy in the third round.
—Steen Kirby
2012 CitiOpen Press Conference: Genie Bouchard of Tennis Canada
Are you enjoying Washington?
Two days ago, we were driving back from the club to the hotel. All the roads were blocked off, and there were all these police. I was like ‘Oh my god, the President is going to drive by!’. I wanted to stay and watch but the driver was like ‘No’. I love all that stuff. I’m into politics.
On Growing up an Anglophone in Montreal:
The City of Westmount is a small English city in Montreal. Montreal and the rest of Quebec are very French. People are surprised that English is my first language because my name is Genie Bouchard and it’s a French Canadian name. English is the universal language. But I can speak French pretty well.
Into Politics?
I’m more into the American brand, because in Quebec, yeah! I’m so excited because I’m registered to vote, so whenever the next elections are, for Mayor or whatever, I’m going to vote for everything.
On winning Wimbledon:
It was a great feeling. To win my first grand slam and also to make history, it gave me more confidence.
On meeting Federer at Wimbledon:
Yeah. The best part! I talked to Roger for like five minutes. We got a picture, me and Phillip (Peliwo), who won the boys. We just expected him to come up for the picture. And he’s like, ‘What’s next? What’s your pro ranking?’. He’s asking us what we’re doing. He said, ‘When I was 18, I was 300, too’. I’m thinking, that’s a sign! We talked about his twins, because I’m a twin. I told him ‘I love your twins. You dress them up the same.’. He says ’if you don’t dress them the same, they’re going to fight’. My mom used to do that to us. He is the nicest guy. Serena left the stage right away, but he stayed and talked to everyone.
On Being a Twin:
My twin sister thinks we have some sort of telepathic thing going on. We’re complete opposites. My mom started us both in tennis when we were five, and she quit when she was six, so we don’t have a tennis thing in common. My mom and sister were with me in Wimbledon and Granby.
On Playing Juniors:
In the pros, you’re the underdog all the time. In the juniors, there’s less pressure.
Watching any Olympics?
Actually, two nights ago, I told my coach I wasn’t going to dinner with him. I was ordering room service and I was watching the ceremonies. I love the Olympics. I watched a lot of them in Vancouver two years ago. I’m jealous. I want to be there, but being at CitiOpen’s not a bad place either.
What’s the best part of the support you’ve received from Tennis Canada?
I think the biggest thing is there’s so much funding to travel all the world and that gives us a chance to win. Tennis is an international sport, and you really need to get out of Canada. They help the most with that.
What’s it going to be like at Rogers Cup with your homecoming? Are you ready to be treated as a national celebrity?
I don’t know if I’ll be treated as a national celebrity! It’s really cool. My whole family will be there as well. I played at Jarry when I was eight years old, so it really is a home tournament.
2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Recap: Federer Makes More History
2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Recap: Federer Makes More History
By Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
Roger Federer tied Pete Sampras’ record of 7 Wimbledon titles and recaptured the number 1 ranking, methodically out doing a tenacious Andy Murray ,4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 for his 3rd victory over Murray in a slam final and making Britain and Murray fans (like myself) terribly unhappy once more. Fed continues to reign as the maestro of grass.
Murray came out hot and fed off the crowds energy to break at the end of the 1st set and take it 6-4, but Federer put himself in another gear, breaking at the end of the 2nd set to take it 7-5 after Murray had multiple break point chances he was unable to convert. After a rain delay to put the roof on, Fed kept up the pace, breaking Murray in some long games in the 3rd and taking it 6-3. He closed out in the 4th over a dejected Murray 6-4, who fought to the bitter end while Ivan Lendl just sat there. Federer thumped away with serves, forehands and backhands. Afterwards, Murray and his fans shed tears of sadness and frustration.
In week 2, Federer ran roughshod over Xaiver Malisse, Mikhail Youzhny, who did well to make the quarterfinals, and then world number 1 Novak Djokovic in 4, denying the Serbian a chance to repeat at SW19.
Murray kept the home nation on edge and finally reached the final, after beating Marin Cilic, a gutsy David Ferrer in 4 (including 3 tiebreaks), and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who struggled early but pulled it together. Tsonga gave Murray a run for his money at the end of the match. Murray still triumphed in 4 sets, 2 of which were great tennis. It was an exciting week 2 to say the least, but Britain will continue to wait for its first men’s singles champion since 1937 and Murray will continue to wait for a slam victory, as he lost his 4th final and his 3rd slam final to Federer. Still, it was a surprising run given how inconsistent he had been recently.
On the doubles side, the Brits did get a ray of light as wild card Brit Jonathan Marray and Dane Frederik Nielsen took the title over Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau. Marray is the first Brit to win mens doubles since 1936, while Nielsen made some family history of his own as his grandfather Kurt made the Wimbledon men’s singles finals in 1953 and 1955 (losing both times). Jamie Murray also won the mixed doubles title with Jelena Jankovic in ’07 at Wimbledon.
Blast from the past as Haas shocks Federer in Halle, Bloody Leg Gives Cilic Queen’s Club Title
2012 ATP Halle and Queen’s Club Recap
By Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
ATP Halle
Tommy Haas continued his shocking run of stellar play, taking the Halle title today over fellow veteran Roger Federer, 7-6 6-4. The world number 87, who recently broke back in the top 100 at the age of 34, rolled over Bernard Tomic, Tomas Berdych in 3 sets and countryman Philip Kohlschreiber (who had shocked Nadal in his previous round match to reach the final) before taking it to Federer.
Haas showed more than glimpses of his former top 10 self: beating players much his junior and showing not only grit but also great skill on the grass, just as he had shown on clay in Paris and Munich.
Federer will go home disappointed but he still beat Florian Mayer, survived in 3 sets over big bomber Milos Raonic (who couldn’t close him out) and shellacked Mikhail Youzhny to reach yet another final on grass.
Aisam Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer won the doubles title over Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky.
ATP London Queen’s Club
Yet another aggressive David Nalbandian outburst gave Marin Cilic the title in the AEGON Championships, even though he was down 6-7 4-3. The incident occurred when Nalbandian kicked an advertising board in rage around a lines judge and accidentally injured him in the process, causing the linesman’s leg to bleed profusely.
It not only made quite the mess but also resulted in Nalby being DQ’ed and Cilic taking the title to the shock of fans who proceeded to boo profusely all the way through the trophy ceremony. This is not the first time this year Nalbandian has suffered from a violent outburst, as he was fined $8,000 for throwing water at another tournament official during his first round match at the Australian Open. It was an unfortunate incident any way you look at it.
As for the rest of the tournament, it was a week of upsets as top 3 seeds Murray, Tsonga and Tipsarevic all fell before the quarterfinals to much lower ranked players. Nalbandian came from a set down to beat Vasek Pospisil, handled Ruben Bemelmans, came back from a set down to beat both Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Xaiver Malisse, and then rolled over refreshing youngster Grigor Dimitrov to reach the final.
Dimitrov punched above his weight this week as well, as he beat Bobby Reynolds, Nicolas Mahut (who upset Andy Murray in the previous round) and came from a set down to beat the big serving Kevin Anderson.
6 seed Cilic took care of Matt Ebden, Lukas Rosol, Yen Hsun-Lu (who beat Tipsy Tipsarevic in the previous round) and suprising Sam Querrey to reach the final. Querrey had beaten seeded players Julien Benneteau and Denis Istomin along with (Tsonga-eliminator) Ivan Dodig and Olivier Rochus.
The event was also marred by a lot of rain, as can be expected during the British summer and a lot of the match schedules became convoluted. Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor beat the Bryans for the 2nd week in a row to take the doubles title.
2012 ATP Halle Preview
2012 ATP Halle Preview
By Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
Now that the grinding clay court season has concluded in Paris, tour players will seek to quickly adjust to the flashy grass with Wimbledon just two weeks away. Some will do battle in Halle, Germany and others in London, the home of Wimbledon, at 2 events that are historic in their own right. This article with focus on Halle. The London preview will follow.
ATP Halle
Gerry Weber Open
ATP World Tour 250
Halle, Germany
June 11-June 16 2012
Prize Money: € 633,750
Top 4 seeds (Who all receive 1st round byes)
1: Rafael Nadal
2: Roger Federer
3: Tomas Berdych
4: Alexandr Dolgopolov
3 of the top 4 seeds are in the top 10, while 4 seed Dolgopolov is in the top 20, in what is a top notch field in Halle.
1st round matchups to watch:
Tommy Haas vs. Bernard Tomic
Haas, a wild card who acquitted himself extremely well in Paris, qualifying and then losing to Richard Gasquet in 4 sets in the 3rd round will serve it up in front of home fans against Tomic, who will seek to put the clay court season behind him and return to the form that gave him a quarterfinals appearance at Wimbledon last year. It is an interesting match-up in more ways than one.
Andreas Seppi vs. Radek Stepanek
7 seed Seppi, who pushed Djokovic to 5 sets in their 3rd round match up in Paris and also knocked off Fernando Verdasco, will take on traditional serve and volleyer Stepanek, who plays well on the grass. It will be a battle of style vs. top form.
Top Half:
Rafael Nadal, who will face Novak Djokovic in a bid for another title in Paris, starts off against either a qualifier or Lukas Lacko of Slovakia, then he will likely face defending champ Philipp Kohlschreiber in the 3rd round. Depending on his physical shape, the draw doesn’t pose too much trouble for Rafa. Kohlschreiber, seeded 8th, will face wild card Dustin Brown and then Lukasz Kubot of Poland or lefty Jarkko Nieminen of Finland.
Defending Champ Philipp Kohlschreiber
Tomas Berdych, the 3 seed who fell to Juan Martin Del Potro in a disappointing match at Roland Garros, will take on Viktor Troicki or veteran home fave Benjamin Becker before a match up with either Marcel Granollers, the 7 seed clay courter, a qualifier, Haas or Tomic.
Bottom Half:
Roger Federer, always at his best on the grass but still smarting from a loss to Djokovic in the Paris semis, will face another German, Florian Mayer or a qualifier before a likely match up with big serving Milos Raonic that could give him a bit of trouble. Raonic will face WC Phillip Petzschener and then another German Tobias Kamke or a qualifier.
Alexandr Dolgopolov, who has struggled a bit this year and lost in the 1st round of the French Open, will face either Robin Haase or Mikhail Youzhny, Youzhny being the showman who in his most recent antics drew “sorry” in the clay after playing extremely poorly against David Ferrer in a match he would go onto lose in Paris.
The winner will go onto face either Seppi/Stepanek or the Carlos Berlocq vs. Cedrik Marcel-Stebe winner.
Dark Horse: Milos Raonic
Raonic has the game to play well on grass with his big serve and decent volleys, if he can get Federer on a bad day he might have a shot to knock him off and tear through the rest of the field in the process.
Predictions:
Semis:
Nadal d. Berdych
Federer d. Seppi
Final:
Federer d. Nadal
If Djokovic can take some energy out of Nadal in Paris, Federer is set up to knock him off on the grass.
Federer wins ATP Madrid, Reclaims Number 2
Federer wins ATP Madrid and reclaims number 2 ranking
by Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
Roger Federer won a tough three set battle over Tomas Berdych on Sunday, recovering from a set down to capture his 20th Masters series title, 3-6 7-5 7-5. By doing so, he reclaims the number 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal (who slips to number 3) and appears to be in top form as the French Open approaches.
Federer notched impressive victories over Milos Raonic in three sets, Richard Gasquet and top 10 players David Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic before taking out Berdych in the final. Tipsarevic had upset world number 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the semis.
Berdych beat Kevin Anderson, Gael Monfils, Fernando Verdasco, who shockingly upset Nadal in the previous round, and Juan Martin Del Potro before falling to Federer.
The Polish duo of Matkowski and Fyrstenberg won the doubles title over Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau, 6-3 6-4.
ATP Player Reps Burn Papa Smurf In Effigy
As for the blue clay, reviews were mixed as expected, with many on the spectator/fan side having a positive of view of it because it appears better on TV. Many players spent the week complaining about it with the main issue being the slipperiness. That may not be due to its color, but rather the fact that it was a fresh surface. Nadal, who has never been terribly fond of Madrid, mentioned that he may skip the event next year if the surface doesn’t change. Djokovic had similar gripes. The ultimate irony, besides all the upsets this week, was that the ultimate traditionalist Roger Federer ended up taking the title.
2012 ATP Rome Preview
2012 ATP Rome Preview
by Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
Internazionali BNL d’Italia
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Rome, Italy
May 14-May 20 2012
Prize Money: € 2,427,975
Rome is Burning
Things will attempt to return to normal on the ATP World Tour this week as the final tune up for many of the top players before the French Open, the Rome masters event on red clay. Novak Djokovic tries to defend his title from last year, Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer seek to build off their success in Madrid on the blue clay, Andy Murray returns after pulling out of Madrid last week with injury and Rafael Nadal hopes to start up another winning streak after a disappointing 3rd round loss in Madrid.
Top 8 Seeds (who all receive 1st round byes)
1: Novak Djokovic
2: Rafael Nadal
3: Roger Federer
4: Andy Murray
5: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
6: David Ferrer
7: Tomas Berdych
8: Janko Tipsarevic
1st round matchups to watch:
(9) John Isner vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber
Isner seeks to recover from a tough 2nd round loss to Marin Cilic in Madrid and will face an intriguing match-up with Munich champ Kohlschreiber. Both guys have had some good wins on clay this year and It should be interesting to see how they both perform in what is likely their final tune up before the French.
Fernando Verdasco vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov
Verdasco, fresh off a shocking upset of Nadal in Madrid to reach the quarters, will take on Dolgopolov, who reached the quarterfinals himself. Both players are very close in ranking and recent results and it should be a fun match to watch style wise as well. It is a match befitting a later round of the tournament.
Marin Cilic vs (12) Nicolas Almagro
Cilic, who notched a good win over top 10 player and fellow big man on campus John Isner in Madrid, is slowly climbing his way back to the top (he was also a finalist in Munich). He takes on the steady Almagro, who keeps grinding away himself.
(16) Richard Gasquet vs. Jurgen Melzer
Two ATP vets who still notch good results on occasion will battle in out in a battle of backhands (1 hander vs 2 hander) and clay court games.
Fabio Fognini vs. Marcos Baghdatis
Fognini, a wild card and ATP Bucharest finalist, will take on Baghdatis, who always seems to have a trick or two in the bag on home clay. It should be an exciting match.
Top Half:
Top seed Novak Djokovic seeks to defend his title and recover from a quarterfinals loss to countryman Janko Tipsarevic in Madrid. He will start off with either Bernard Tomic or a qualifier before a possible 2nd round match up with the dangerous 14 seed Juan Monaco. It does not get any easier in the quarters as Juan Martin Del Potro, the 10 seed, or 5 seed Jo Wilfried Tsonga are likely match ups.
Tsonga will start off with either Viktor Troicki or Italian wild card Filippo Volandri before a likely 3nd round match up with Del Potro. Del Potro will face veteran Michael Llodra in the 1st round and then either Mikhail Youzhny or Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil. While Tsonga is seeded higher, Del Potro has had better recent results and will likely be favored to advance.
3 seed Roger Federer, Madrid champion, has peformed beyond many expectations after a hiatus. He starts off his efforts in Rome against either Carlos Berlocq or a qualifier before a likely 3rd round match up with 13 seed Gael Monfils, 8 seed Janko Tipsarevic (who he dispatched in the semi finals of Madrid) is a possible quarterfinals match up.
Tipsarevic will seek to build on his upset of Novak Djokovic in Madrid last week, starting off against Stanislas Wawrinka or a qualifier before a 3rd round match up with either Isner, Kohlschreiber, home favorite and top ranked Italian Andreas Seppi or Denis Istomin.
Bottom Half:
2 seed Rafael Nadal, who is certainly still smarting from his shocking loss to Fernando Verdasco last week in Madrid, will try to return to form against either the dangerous Milos Raonic or Florian Mayer of Germany. From there, he could face fellow Spaniards Feliciano Lopez (15) or Marcel Granollers, Fognini or Baghdatis before a likely 3rd round match up with the man of the moment and 7 seed Tomas Berdych.
Madrid Finalist Berdych starts off against either Lukasz Kubot or Italian wild card Potito Starace before a probable 2nd round match up with either Almagro (some bad blood there), fellow big man Marin Cilic or Jarkko Nieminen (or a qualifier). If he reaches the quarters and gets Nadal, that could also be a very testy match.
4 seed Andy Murray will seek to recover from a back injury that kept him out of Madrid. He starts against either David Nalbandian or a qualifier before facing either Gasquet, Melzer, WC Paolo Lorenzi or Nikolay Davydenko. He could later face David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, Alexandr Dolgopolov or Gilles Simon in the quarters. All difficult match ups.
Ferrer, the 5 seed, will start off with either countryman Verdasco or Dolgopolov before a likely match up with 11 seed Gilles Simon. A very difficult draw for him.
Dark Horse: Gilles Simon
Simon, the 11 seed, who last took the title in Bucharest, will start fresh against the slumping Donald Young before a likely 2nd round match up with Pablo Andujar. If he can get through that, he will be the underdog in a likely match up with David Ferrer, but like Ferrer, he has performed well on clay this year and will have more than a puncher’s chance. If he can pull off the upset in that one, he gets the recently inconsistent Andy Murray or Richard Gasquet and, like Ferrer, he would be favored in both match ups.
Predictions:
Semis:
Djokovic d. Federer (a possible world no 1 vs. world no 2. match up)
Nadal d. Ferrer (could be another of their classic battles this year)
Final:
Nadal d. Djokovic
Rafa should be fighting hard to recover from his loss in Madrid and to prepare himself for another French Open run while Djokovic seeks to do the same.
2012 ATP Madrid Preview
Madrid is Taking Tennis to New Heights
2012 ATP Madrid Preview
By Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
Mutua Madrid Open
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Madrid, Spain
May 6-May 13, 2012
Prize Money: € 3,090,150
The second clay court Masters tournament of the year, featuring Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and just about every other top player (except for Andy Murray who withdrew due to injury), kicks off Sunday on the attention- grabbing blue clay.
While the blue “Smurf” clay has been under intense focus from players and fans alike, time will tell if it plays the same as the normal red stuff, which is supposedly the same in consistency. This is the first ATP event ever played on blue clay to my knowledge and was put in place by the charismatic Ion Tiriac to supposedly allow fans to see the ball better. If you are a strict tennis traditionalist, you might just have to skip this one, but otherwise, buckle up and enjoy the show.
Top 8 Seeds (who all receive 1st round byes)
1: Novak Djokovic
2: Rafael Nadal
3: Roger Federer
4: Jo Wilfried Tsonga
5: David Ferrer
6: Tomas Berdych
7: Janko Tipsarevic
8: John Isner
1st round matchups to watch:
Jurgen Melzer vs. (13) Feliciano Lopez
The ATP Memphis champion and former top 10 player Melzer will take on 13 seed Lopez, who is still vying for the title in Munich, in a battle of veteran lefties that should be fun to watch. The Spaniard Lopez should have the home crowd behind him.
(9) Gilles Simon vs. Fabio Fognini
Simon, the 9 seed, and Fognini will play a rematch of the ATP Bucharest final a couple of weeks ago. Simon triumphed in straight sets to take the Bucharest title in that match.
Milos Raonic vs. David Nalbandian
Surprise Barcelona semi-finalist Raonic will take on veteran Argentine Nalbandian who is still in the running for the title in Belgrade this week.
Philip Kohlschreiber vs. (12) Gael Monfils
Kohlschreiber, who is still vying for the title in Munich will take on 12 seed Monfils. Gael has had some recent struggles. Should be interesting to see if Peppo can pull off the upset.
(16) Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. Pablo Andujar
Dolgopolov, who gave Djokovic a run for his money in Monte Carlo and has righted the ship a bit, will take on Andujar, who is still gunning for the title in Belgrade.
Papa Smurf Would Be Proud
Top Half:
Top seed Novak Djokovic will open up with a qualifier before a possible match-up with Stanislas Wawrinka, Lopez or Melzer in the 3rd round. Lopez and Wawrinka are both still competing for titles this week (in Munich and Estoril respectively) and will be tough but winnable match-ups for Djoker.
7 seed Janko Tipsarevic will start off with either Albert Ramos or a qualifier before moving on to face Bucharest champ, Simon, Marcos Baghdatis, Fognini or Garcia-Lopez. None of these match-ups appear to be easy.
3 seed Roger Federer will play his first tournament on clay this year (and his first since a loss in Miami to Andy Roddick) starting off with either Raonic or Nalbandian. Neither are easy match-ups. If he can get through that 14 seed Richard Gasquet, still playing for a title in Estoril this week, a possible 3rd round match-up Thomaz Belluci, Viktor Troicki or Donald Young are also possibilities.
David Ferrer, the 5 seed and Barcelona finalist, will open up with either Bernard Tomic or Radek Stepanek before a likely 3rd round match-up with Nicolas Almagro or Carlos Berlocq. Matches are winnable but not guaranteed for the Spaniard.
Bottom Half:
2 seed Rafael Nadal will seek to extend his winning streak by starting off with either the tricky Ivo Karlovic or the veteran Nikolay Daveydenko. He faces a likely match-up with countryman Fernando Verdasco in the 3rd round, who he put a beating on in Barcelona.
6 seed Tomas Berdych enters the week somewhat under the radar. He starts off against either fellow big man Kevin Anderson or Alex Bogomolov. Monfils, Kohlschreiber, or veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero are possible 3rd round match-ups.
4 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, still smarting from his 2nd round upset loss to Tommy Haas (who is still vying for the Munich title even though he is not in the field in Madrid), starts off with either Ryan Harrison or a qualifier before things will get considerably tougher against either Dolgopolov, Andujar, Andreas Seppi or Michael Llodra. Andujar and Seppi are still gunning for the title in Belgrade.
8 seed John Isner, who we haven’t seen in a while, faces a dangerous match-up against either Marin Cilic or Albert Montanes. 10 seed Juan Martin Del Potro, still trying to repeat in Estoril, is his probable 3rd round match-up.
Dark Horse: Alexandr Dolgopolov
Dolgo is a dark horse in the field this week
Dolgopolov played quite well in Monte Carlo, redeeming himself from recent struggles (at least partially) and is in the weakest quarter of the draw with 3 big men being his main rivals (Isner/Cilic and Del Potro). He enters Madrid well rested, unlike Cilic and Del Po (and his 1st round match-up Pablo Andujar), and his flat slap chop game is well suited for high altitude Madrid.
Predictions:
Semis:
Djokovic d. Ferrer
Nadal d. Dolgopolov
Final:
Djokovic d. Nadal
While Nadal has shown he is still the king of clay in recent weeks, he has never fully embraced Madrid (dislikes the altitude among other things) and Djokovic is looking to redeem himself from a sloppy finals performance against Rafa in Monte Carlo. A lot of that can be attributed to his emotional state after the loss of his grandfather earlier in the week.
