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 Dusseldorf, Nice Previews
2013 ATP Dusseldorf, Nice Previews
Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
It’s time for the final stops on the road to Roland Garros for the ATP World Tour.
ATP Dusseldorf
Power Horse Cup
ATP World Tour 250
Dusseldorf, Germany
May 19-May 25, 2013
Prize Money: € 410,200
Dusseldorf was formerly known as the “World Team Cup”, a team based event, but now it is just a normal clay court ATP 250.
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Janko Tipsarevic
2: Tommy Haas
3: Juan Monaco
4: Phillip Kohlschreiber
Dusseldorf manages to bring in a solid field for a pre-slam 250.
First round matchups to watch:
(5)Lukas Rosol vs. Daniel Brands
Rosol is at a career high ranking of 33, and is looking to break into the top 30 with a solid showing. He won Bucharest of course and has been red hot this year. Now he will run into Brands, who has a 3-2 career H2H against him, though they last played in 2011. Brands is also at a career high ranking of 58 and is having his own excellent year. This should be a matchup of heavy ball strikers.
Top Half:
Janko Tipsarevic, who has had a miserable year thus far, will once again try to get it going against a qualifier. After that, he could face countryman Viktor Troicki, Bordeaux Challenger semifinalist David Goffin, Grega Zemlja or Michael Russell. Troicki made headlines with a crazy meltdown in Rome in a match against Ernest Gulbis.
Juan Monaco, who defeated Tipsarevic in the first round of Madrid but lost in the first round of Rome to eventual semifinalist Benoit Paire, will play a qualifier or Go Soeda. For the next round, expect him to meet one of Benjamin Becker/Tobias Kamke, Dmitry Tursunov/Nikolay Davydenko, this is quite a hollow section for Pico.
Bottom Half:
Phillip Kohlschreiber, who retired in the 3rd round in Rome with symptoms of vertigo, will play Igor Sijsling or a qualifier. If he is healthy, he should face Rosol/Brands or Jan Hajek/Evgeny Donskoy in a big quarterfinal matchup. Donskoy lost in the first round qualifying of Rome.
Tommy Haas, the German number one who was dropped out of the first round in Rome, will play Blaz Kavcic or the underappreciated Ivan Dodig. The winner could face Jarkko Nieminen/Lukas Lacko, or Roberto Bautista Agut/Gilles Muller. Nieminen lost Round 1 to Gulbis in Rome, while Bautista Agut has slumped a bit after issues with his wrist. Haas defeated Dodig in the Munich semis recently.
Dark Horse: Dmitry Tursunov
Tursunov still has talent left at age 30, but he is just inconsistent at this point with it. Overall, he has a 10-6 record at the ATP level this year and his ranking is back to 57. If he beats countryman Davydenko, Becker/Kamke should be easy enough and then he probably runs into Monaco. They have only met once back in ’06 and thus it would be a fresh slate. That match could shake out either way, with Monaco being a slight favorite heading in. The quarter above with Tipsarevic, Goffin and Troicki as top players is considerably weaker, so it really comes down to the quarterfinal match in regards to how far he can advance.
Predictions:
Semis:
Monaco d. Goffin
Kohlschreiber d. Haas
Monaco, if in form,should cruise to the final. Goffin did well to make the Bordeaux Challenger semis but he may be fatigued from that, probably still has enough to beat the struggling Tipsarevic. Haas beat Kohlischreiber in the Munich final, but I have a feeling that if Peppo is healthy he will get revenge this time.
Final:
Monaco d. Kohlschreiber
This final is a tossup based upon form and health, as a Haas-Monaco final would be, but I’ll just flip a coin and say Monaco wins either way, probably in 3 sets.
ATP Nice
Open de Nice Cote d’Azur
ATP World Tour 250
Nice, France
May 19-May 25, 2013
Prize Money: € 410,200
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Albert Montanes*
2: Gilles Simon
3: Sam Querrey
4: John Isner
*Tomas Berdych was supposed to be the top seed in Nice but he withdrew, moving Albert Montanes into the number 1 seed line.
1st round matchups to watch:
Santiago Giraldo vs (WC) Gael Monfils
Giraldo is your average, steady but not fantastic clay courter, but what makes this match interesting is the form of Monfils. Le Monf is in the final of the Bordeaux Challenger after limping and jumping his way through injuries and rust and everything else this year. It is impossible to predict what form and health he will show up in here. He could either do really well or bomb out in the first round. It really is something to watch.
Top Half:
The alternate, Montanes, will play Albert Ramos or Victor Hanescu. Then, Ramos will likely face Marcel Granollers or Carlos Berlocq. Leo Mayer and Paul-Henri Mathieu are also options in a literally wide open section.
Sam Querrey, who has looked aloof on Red Clay thus far, will play a qualifier and then could play Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Alejandro Falla, Ricardas Berankos or Denis Istomin. Querrey has been poor on clay, but this section is one of the least troubling he could ever hope for.
Bottom Half:
Top French seed Gilles Simon will play Paolo Lorenzi or a qualifier and then could meet up with Madrid semifinalist Pablo Andujar, if Andujar can beat Lleyton Hewitt and Andreas Seppi/Yen-Hsun Lu. Seppi has been playing below his normal level as of late.
John Isner, who has also struggled this year and looked aloof on clay, will play Robin Haase or Marinko Matosevic, and odds are lose to either one. After that, it will be Monfils/Giraldo, a qualifier, or Fabio Fognini.
Dark Horse: Gael Monfils
Monfils could either lose in the first round or win the entire tournament. It is that wide open of a draw and he is that unpredictable right now. After the match with Giraldo he could play Fognini again, a difficult but winnable match. If he gets through that Robin Haase is his likely opponent, followed by Andujar, Lorenzi or countryman Simon, who he just loves to rally with.
Predictions:
Semis:
Ramos d. Roger-Vasselin
Fognini d. Andujar
The top half is open and weak but I’ll go with Ramos, and randomly go with Roger-Vasselin simply because he is ok on clay and the home player. Even a qualifier could emerge as a semifinalist in that section.
Fognini should be able to get by Monfils and Haase and Andujar is dangerous but inconsistent. I say he beats the steady but bland Simon, though.
Final:
Fognini d. Ramos
This is a difficult tournament to predict, but I’ll go with Fogna in what would be a rematch of their 2nd round Monte Carlo encounter this year.
Nadal Rolls to 5th 2013 Title in Madrid
Nadal Rolls to 5th 2013 Title in Madrid
Rafael Nadal continued cruising on clay this week in Madrid, finishing off Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-4 for his 5th ATP title of the year. Earlier in the week, Nadal took out Pablo Andujar, David Ferrer, Mikhail Youzhy and Benoit Paire. Andujar was a surprise semifinalist and beat Kei Nishikori in the quarters.
Wawrinka continued to have his own tremendous year, following up an Estoril title with wins against Marius Copil, Grigor Dimitrov, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych. His final 3 matches before making the final all went 3 sets, and he showed tremendous grit and fitness to win them all. For Berdych, meanwhile, he suffered another mental let down that let Wawrinka come back and win.
The Bryans won their 5th Madrid doubles crown over Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares.
—Steen Kirby
2013 ATP Rome Preview
2013 ATP Rome Preview
Rome is Burning
The final Masters before Roland Garros fired up today but my Editor couldn’t get his act together in time.
ATP Rome
Internazionali BNL D’Italia
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Rome, Italy
May 12-May 19, 2013
Prize Money: €2,646,495
Top 8 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Novak Djokovic
2: Roger Federer
3: Andy Murray
4: David Ferrer
5: Rafael Nadal
6: Tomas Berdych
7: Juan Martin Del Potro
8: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
First round matchups to watch:
Phillip Kohlschreiber vs. (14)Milos Raonic
Kohlschreiber is back in action this week after a week off and he will take on the dangerous but still inconsistent Raonic, who followed up semis in Barcelona with a 2nd round loss in Madrid. They have met just once: this year at the Australian Open where Raonic prevailed, but that was on hard courts. Peppo will have a good upset chance here on clay.
Fabio Fognini vs. Andreas Seppi
Both Fognini and Seppi are coming off bad first round losses in Madrid and this will be a rematch of their match in Monte Carlo, which was won be Fognini. They are the top two Italian players and are playing at home in Rome, so expect an electric atmosphere and some great clay court tennis.
Juan Monaco vs. Benoit Paire
Monaco and Paire have never met and both come off 2nd round losses in Madrid (to Anderson and Nadal respectively). They both have serious talent on clay but at times their game can disappear and their chances with it. Expect a close match and some fireworks.
(WC)Paolo Lorenzi vs. (16) Kei Nisihkori
Nishikori and Lorenzi have also never met, but Nishikori should be buoyed by his upset of Roger Federer and his run to the quarterfinals in Madrid. He has a lot of talent and can be a top 10 player soon enough if he can simply stay healthy. The veteran Lorenzi will be at home in Italy and is steady on clay, thus this has to be a bit of an upset alert.
Top Half:
Novak Djokovic was shocked by Grigor Dimitrov in Madrid, and really played quite poorly in that match. Dimitrov was good, but he was not at his all. As a defending finalist in Rome, he will look to recover against Martin Klizan or a qualifier. Then he could meet the sizzling Stanislas Wawrinka, who won Estoril and in Madrid runner-up. Wawa will need to get past a qualifier, then Alexandr Dolgopolov or Matteo Viola. If he is fatigued from playing so much tennis as of late, Dolgo could at least give him a test.
Madrid semifinalist Tomas Berdych will open against John Isner or Denis Istomin, then could get a rematch against Kevin Anderson, who he just beat in Madrid in 2 tight sets. Anderson just needs to get through Jurgen Melzer and Marin Cilic or a qualifier.
Madrid quarterfinalist David Ferrer will play Fernando Verdasco, who improved his form in Madrid, or Horacio Zeballos. Then he could meet Kohlschreiber/Raonic, a qualifier or Albert Ramos.
Madrid champion and 6 time Rome champion Rafael Nadal will look to continue dominating on clay against the Fognini/Seppi winner and then Jarkko Nieminen, a qualifier, Janko Tipsarevic or Viktor Troicki. None of them seem threatening in the slightest.
Bottom Half:
Roger Federer was shaky in a loss to Kei Nishikori in Madrid, and just seems shaky in general. He lost the number 2 ranking to Murray for now, and he really needs to start earning some points given the shortened schedule he is playing. Federer could play Radek Stepanek in a rematch of Madrid R2, or Potito Starace, who was formerly a solid enough ATP pro but has fallen off a cliff rankings-wise. After that Federer could be troubled by Tommy Haas, if Haas can beat Mikhail Youzhny and Gilles Simon/Filippo Volandri. Simon/Haas Round 2 would be a huge match.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a Madrid quarterfinalist, will play Jerzy Janowicz or a qualifier. After that, he’s looking at Richard Gasquet, who was shocked in the opening round of Madrid, Sam Querrey or Marcos Baghdatis/Grigor Dimitrov. Dimitrov lost to Wawrinka after shocking Djokovic, but still showed a lot of heart and talent in that one. He and Baghdatis played a great semifinal match in Brisbane this year on hard courts, won by Dimitrov in 3 sets, but Baghdatis is way out of form right now.
The new ATP number 2, Andy Murray, will take on Marcel Granollers/Nikolay Davydenko. He should then meet Nishikori/Lorenzi, while Jeremy Chardy and Feliciano Lopez are also options.Murray has consistently been shaky at best on clay this year, and Nishikori could cause him problems.
Juan Martin Del Potro has recovered from a virus that kept him out of Estoril and Madrid. Del Po will play a qualifier or Xaiver Malisse, then Paire/Monaco or Nicolas Almagro/Julien Benneteau. This is a brutal section of the draw.
Dark Horse: Tommy Haas
Haas was playing well in Madrid this week, though he fell in 3 sets to Ferrer, and in general he is fit, in form, and playing well on clay this year. If he can beat the mercurial Youzhny and then likely Simon, he would almost have to be the favorite against a shaky Federer. After that he should play Tsonga/Dimitrov/Gasquet, all of which are winnable, even if he is an underdog in them. In the semis, Monaco/Del Potro/Nishikori/Murray/Almagro/Paire are all reasonable opponents in a tough section. I have Haas as a finalist this week.
Predictions:
R16:
Djokovic d. Wawrinka
Anderson d. Berdych
Ferrer d. Kohlschreiber
Nadal d. Nieminen
Monaco d. Del Potro
Nishikori d. Murray
Tsonga d. Dimitrov
Haas d. Federer
Djoker should be fresher than Wawa, if nothing else. Anderson should be fresher than Berdych, who suffered a late collapse in his Madrid semi. Ferrer could lose to Kohlschreiber, but he would have to the favorite. Nadal should cruise, Monaco should best his countryman, Nishikori/Murray will be tight but an edge to the man from Japan. Tsonga/Dimitrov should also be close, and as mentioned, Haas should beat fellow veteran Federer.
Quarters:
Djokovic d. Anderson
Nadal d. Ferrer
Monaco d. Nishikori
Haas d. Tsonga
Djokovic is a favorite against Anderson. Nadal dropped a set to Ferrer, but then bageled him in the 3rd set, as the two Spaniards seem locked in a track against each other. Monaco is better on clay than Nishikori, and Haas-Tsonga should be a slugfest.
Semis:
Nadal d. Djokovic
Haas d. Monaco
Nadal is better than Djokovic right now if he isn’t fatigued. Monaco has a better h2h against Haas (4-1), but they only met once in recent history (2012 on clay in Hamburg won by Monaco), and that doesn’t account for Haas current form.
Final:
Nadal d. Haas
—Steen Kirby
Haas Claims Munich Over Countryman Kohlschreiber, Wawrinka Upsets Ferrer in Estoril
Haas Claims Munich Over Countryman Kohlschreiber, Wawrinka Upsets Ferrer in Estoril
ATP Munich
The German crowd was delighted to watch Tommy Haas win his first title of the year at home in Munich 6-3, 7-6 over the German number 2 Phillip Kohlschreiber, who made the final again but failed to defend his title. Haas moves up to 13 in the ATP rankings after wins over Ernests Gulbis in 3 sets, Florian Mayer, and surprise semifinalist Ivan Dodig, who knocked off Marin Cilic and Alex Dogopolov en route to the semis.
Kohlschreiber got back on track with his season and put wins together against Evgeny Korolev, Viktor Troicki and Daniel Brands in a tight 3 set tiebreaker.
Jarkko Nieminen and Dmitry Tursunov won the doubles over Marcos Baghdatis and Eric Butorac.
ATP Estoril
Stanislas Wawrinka won the sparsely attended event over David Ferrer 6-1 6-4, as Ferrer made the final, but once again fell short of his intended goal as at top 4 player. Wawrinka beat Albert Ramos, Gastao Elias, and Pablo Carreno-Busta, who continues his tremendous year with his first ATP semi.
Ferrer and Wawrinka were hitting partners this week.
Ferrer beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Victor Hanescu and Andreas Seppi.
Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky won the doubles over Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer.
—Steen Kirby
2013 ATP Madrid Preview
2013 ATP Madrid Preview
Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
Mutua Madrid Open
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Madrid, Spain
May 5-May 12, 2013
Prize Money: € 3,368,265
Madrid got rid of the smurf dirt because it drove the ATP mad, and is back on the red dirt this time. It also overlaps with my birthday.
Top 8 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Novak Djokovic
2: Roger Federer
3: Andy Murray
4: David Ferrer
5: Rafael Nadal
6: Tomas Berdych
7: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
8: Richard Gasquet
Notably, Juan Martin Del Potro is out with a virus.
First round matchups to watch:
David Goffin vs. Fernando Verdasco
A rematch of their five setter at the Australian Open this year, won by Verdasco, both players desperately need a good showing here as they will both continue to drop ranking points if they can’t pull themselves together soon. Verdasco is a miserable 3-8 this year, and 1-7 in ATP events, while Goffin hasn’t been able to string together consecutive wins as a general rule. Clay is known to be the preferred surface of both.
Thomaz Bellucci vs. Florian Mayer
Bellucci has had an up and down season, but did make quarters in Barcelona, while Mayer has improved in recent weeks with semis in Bucharest and quarters in Munich. Bellucci won their only meeting, which happened to be in Madrid in 2011, but I would have to give an edge to Mayer regardless.
(9)Janko Tipsarevic vs. Juan Monaco
Tipsy is playing nothing like the number 10 player in the world right now, as he lost early in Munich to Daniel Brands. Monaco on the other hand, with quarters in Barcelona, seems to be back on track after his own rough slump. Tipsarevic has won their last 3 meetings, but Monaco is playing better right now. With that, Monaco has an edge.
(13)Tommy Haas vs. Andreas Seppi
Haas is looking for a title in Munich, and made the final, while Seppi made the semis in Estoril. Both players are solid on clay and in form, in addition to being wily veterans. It’s hard to believe that they have never met on clay. Depending on the fatigue factor, Haas should probably have the edge.
Top Half:
Novak Djokovic looks to keep it rolling in the Masters events, starting off with Grigor Dimitrov or Spanish wild card Jaiver Marti. After Dimitrov, who could give him a bit of trouble, Novak should get Stanislas Wawrinka or Martin Klizan. Wawrinka made the final in Estoril, and of course, they had that memorable Aussie Open five setter this year, won by Djokovic over a tenacious Wawrinka. Yet Wawrinka doesn’t seem to be at the same level right now, and will likely be a bit tired after Estoril. A qualifier or Marius Copil are also options.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play Alex Dolgopolov or a qualifier. Dolgo remains dangerous but is totally unpredictable, coming off quarters in Munich. Dolgo won their match last year in Madrid. After that, the winner likely gets Milos Raonic, if Raonic can beat a struggling Nikolay Davydenko, and the Goffin/Verdasco winner. Raonic surprised everyone by making the semis in Barcelona, and he will be looking to solidify his record on clay with another good run.
Andy Murray, who is never very stable on clay, could get trouble against Bellucci/Mayer (he lost to Bellucci in Madrid two years ago), but if he wins he likely faces Gilles Simon, who has only beaten Murray once in 11 tries. Simon would need to beat a slumping Julien Benneteau and a slumping Horacio Zeballos/Jeremy Chardy, in a match of ice cold players who need wins, in the first round, in order to get that far.
Tomas Berdych is the defending finalist, but he really hasn’t looked great on clay this year, and he will face Jerzy Janowicz or Sam Querrey, in what is an interesting first round tussle of the tall. The 2nd round winner should get Juan Monaco in the 3rd round, but Kevin Anderson, a qualifier, and of course Tipsarevic are all options.
Bottom Half:
Defending champion Roger Federer is back on tour this week, and he will play Bernard Tomic or Radek Stepanek. Steps was in miserable form but he did win a match in Munich this week, and Tomic is quite poor on clay. After that, Fed could get Kei Nishikori, who opens with Jurgen Melzer, or Viktor Troicki/Marcel Granollers. Granollers lost in the quarters of a challenger most recently and has not had a good year while Troicki has been up and down, including quarters in Munich.
Richard Gasquet will play Daniel Gimeno-Traver or Feliciano Lopez, then could face Marin Cilic, who lost early in Munich. Pablo Andujar, a qualifier, and John Isner are all options as well.
David Ferrer, who could be the Estoril champ, opens with Denis Istomin or a qualifier, then could face Haas/Seppi, Tommy Robredo or least likely a struggling Marcos Baghdatis. If Ferrer meets Seppi again, it would be an Estoril semifinal rematch.
Rafael Nadal, who has always been a bit finicky in Madrid, blaming a lot of it on altitude. This is the clay event in which he has been historically the weakest, and he will open against Benoit Paire or a qualifier. A Paire match-up would be a rematch of a match in Barcelona easily won by Nadal. After that, Nadal could get yet another Barcelona rematch, this time the finals rematch against Almagro that he won Almagro just needs to beat a qualifier and Fabio Fognini/Mikhail Youzhny.
Dark Horse: Florian Mayer/Kevin Anderson/Juan Monaco
One of these unseeded players will likely find themselves in a Masters semi this week, in what is the weakest and most unpredictable section of the draw and all have trump cards as to why. Mayer is at his best on clay, and again has had a good couple of weeks. He has a nice chance of upsetting Murray: if he beats Bellucci, then he probably gets past Simon.
Anderson has shown he can win on clay in Casablanca this year, and his 2nd round matchup with Monaco/Tipsarevic will be huge. Monaco won their only meeting a year ago on clay in Houston, while he and Tipsy have split meetings on hardcourts. The same applies to Monaco, the most traditional clay courter, and the winner will have a good chance of knocking off Tomas Berdych. It should be a Mayer vs. Monaco/Anderson quarter to decide the semifinalist.
Predictions:
R16:
Djokovic d. Wawrinka
Tsonga d. Raonic
Mayer d. Simon
Monaco d. Berdych
Nadal d. Almagro
Ferrer d. Haas
Gasquet d. Isner
Federer d. Nishikori
Tsonga-Raonic and Ferrer-Haas are the marquee matchups here and could go either way.
Quarters:
Djokovic d. Tsonga
Monaco d. Mayer
Nadal d. Ferrer
Federer d. Gasquet
Nadal owns Ferrer in the h2h and that should continue. Federer could be troubled with Gasquet.
Semis:
Djokovic d. Monaco
Nadal d. Federer
Nadal is better on clay, and more in form.
Final:
Djokovic d. Nadal
Djokovic beat Nadal in Monte Carlo, and the result shouldn’t be any different at an event Nadal likes much less than MC. Djokovic is a machine right now.
April 2013 Challenger Tour Recap: Young and Harrison Return to the Winners Circle, Teen Vesely Takes a Title
Leon Challenger (April 1-April 7, 2013)
Donald Young won his first event of 2013 and his 6th career challenger in Leon, Mexico on hard courts over Jimmy Wang. Formerly top 50, Young is trying to work his way back to ATP level action on the challenger circuit, and he moved back towards the top 150 with this title. Young beat Amir Weintraub in the semis while Wang beat Dudi Sela. The top two Israeli tennis players were both semifinalists. Young also beat top seed Yen-Hsun Lu in the quarterfinals.
St Brieuc Challenger (April 1-April 7, 2013)
Jesse Huta Galung won his 2nd challenger of 2013 and his 2nd challenger in France on hard courts in St. Brieuc. Galung beat Frenchmen Kenny De Schepper in the final and Jan Mertl in the semis, while De Schepper beat Martin Fischer.
Barranquilla Challenger (April 8-April 14, 2013)
Federico Del Bonis also won his 2nd challenger of 2013, again on clay, over countryman Facundo Bagnis. Del Bonis beat Pedro Sousa in the semis, while Bagnis beat Arthur De Greef and also upset top seed Santiago Giraldo in the second round.
Guadalajara Challenger (April 8-April 14, 2013)
Veteran Alex Bogomolov won the 100k challenger on hard courts in Guadalajara, Mexico, triumphing over Rajeev Ram from a set down, after beating top seed Yen-Hsun Lu and then Adrian Mannarino in the semis. Ram beat Vasek Pospisil in the semis.
Mersin Challenger (April 8-April 14, 2013)
In Mersin, Turkey, on clay, the highest ranked teen in the ATP rankings, Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic (currently 162), won the title over veteran German Simon Greul. Vesely beat Bastian Knittel in the semis while Greul toughed it out over Stephane Robert.
Itajai Challenger (April 8-April 14, 2013)
Dutra Silva
In Brazil, on clay, Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva beat Jozef Kovalik to capture the title. Dutra Silva is at a career high ranking of 86 and continues to improve. He beat Gastao Elias in the semis while Kovalik, a qualifier, upset Rui Machado in the second round and beat Steven Diez in the semis.
Mexico City Challenger (April 15-April 21, 2013)
In Mexico City on hard courts, Andrej Martin, who is at a career high ranking of 156, beat Adrian Mannarino and in fact avenged his loss to Mannarino in the Noumea challenger at the start of the year. Martin also beat Michal Przysiezny in the semis while Mannarino beat Dudi Sela.
Panama City Challenger (April 15-April 21, 2013)
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo won the title on clay in Panama, dropping down from struggles on the ATP Tour to find success on the challenger circuit. He beat Alejandro Gonzalez of Colombia in the final and Gerald Melzer in the semis. Gonzalez beat Victor Estrella in the semis.
Rome Challenger (April 15-April 21, 2013)
Julian Reister was tops on clay in Rome, beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (who later went on to make the final in Bucharest) after beating Dusan Lajovic in the semis. Reister beat top seed Andrey Kuznetsov in round 2. Garcia-Lopez beat Simon Greul in the semis in what was a successful month of tennis for the veteran German.
Santos Challenger (April 15-April 21,2013)
In Santos, Brazil on clay, Gastao Elias of Portugal got revenge against Rogerio Dutra Silva and took the Santos Challenger. Elias, of course, had lost to Dutra Silva in the semis of the Itajai challenger the previous week. Elias beat Guido Andreozzi in the semis, while Dutra Silva beat Guilherme Clezar.
Sao Paulo 2 Challenger (April 22-April 28, 2013)
Veteran Chilean Paul Capdeville returned to the top 150 and won the clay court Sao Paulo challenger over Renzo Olivo of Argentina. Olivo is 21 and burst into the top 200. He beat Guilherme Clezar in the semis, Clezar’s second straight semi. Capdeville beat Maximo Gonzalez.
Savannah Challenger (April 22-April 28, 2013)
It has been a rough year for Ryan Harrison, but this victory in the Savannah Challenger has to boost his confidence. He is back at the cusp of the top 80 and beat Facundo Arguello, a fellow 20 year old, to take the title. Harrison also beat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in the semis and Wayne Odesnik in the quarters. Arguello beat Donald Young.
2013 ATP Munich, Estoril Previews
2013 ATP Munich, Estoril Previews
A pair of clay 250s will be the ATP tour entree offerings this week.
ATP Munich
BMW Open
ATP World Tour 250
Munich, Germany
April 29-May 4, 2013
Prize money: EUR 410,200
Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Janko Tipsarevic
2: Marin Cilic
3: Tommy Haas
4: Philipp Kohlschreiber
First round matchups to watch:
Ernests Gulbis vs. Jarkko Nieminen
Gulbis suffered a disappointing loss to Milos Raonic in Barcelona, but hasnhad a an excellent year, while Nieminen only made the 2nd round in Bucharest but played 2 excellent matches against Evgeny Donskoy and Gilles Simon, both going 3 sets. Gulbis has won all 3 of their meetings, including this year in Marseille, but all 3 meetings have been on hard courts. Expect a lot of action and some excellent ball striking from both players.
Top Half:
Janko Tipsarevic is still struggling, even after winning a match in Bucharest, as his quarterfinal loss to Garcia-Lopez was uncharacteristic and typical for this year. Tipsy is still a top 10 player ranking wise, but he certainly isn’t playing like one. He opens with Thomaz Bellucci, who will be trying to recover from a hip injury incurred in Barcelona, or Grega Zemlja. Afterward, he could face Jurgen Melzer, Daniel Brands or wildcards Tobias Kamke and Gael Monfils. Monfils continues to carry on hobbled by injuries and very little should be expected from him right now as he fell to Brands in Bucharest via retirement.
Peppo Kohlschreiber, the defending champ, made the semis in Barcelona, which is certainly a great result on paper. Looks can be a bit deceiving, as he got a walkover in the quarters (a match that would have been against Bellucci) and he got through his first two matches against Andrey Kuznetsov and Martin Klizan by the skin of his teeth, both in nail-biting 3 set fashion. Before that, and before Monte Carlo, Kohli had not been playing great, but his ball striking and court sense seem to be slowly improving and coming back now.
Peppo opens against a qualifier or Marcos Baghdatis, who hasn’t played since Davis Cup. He could then face Mikhail Youzhny, a slumping Radek Stepanek, a qualifier, or Viktor Troicki, who was struggling but did make quarters in Bucharest last week.
The top half of the draw is a mixed bag of icy players and injured players.
Bottom Half:
Marin Cilic, a finalist in Munich last year, will play Nikolay Davydenko or Ivan Dodig before meeting Alex Dolgopolov, Paul-Henri Mathieu, a qualifier, or Dmitry Tursunov, who shocked David Ferrer in Barcelona.
Tommy Haas is back in action and back in Germany, where he will play the winner of Gulbis/Nieminen and then a qualifier, Bucharest semifinalist Florian Mayer (who seemed to find his Flo last week), wild card Kevin Krawietz or Marinko Matosevic. If Haas meets Nieminen round two, he will be looking to avenge his loss at the Australian Open to the Flying Fin.
The bottom half is much more in form than the top half.
Dark Horse: Daniel Brands
It’s difficult to call him a dark horse in such a jumbled half, but Brands is on fire this year, up to 67 in the rankings. That’s one off his career high and means that he has qualified (or in one case gotten a lucky loser) in every ATP event he has entered this year. He made quarters in Bucharest, his 2nd quarterfinal showing this year, and now will be playing in his native country in front of home fans, many of whom are anxious to get on the Brandswagon.
Brands should beat Kamke, and Melzer and Monfils are both struggling. After that, Tipsarevic is obviously very beatable, as is Bellucci or Zemlja. In the semis, Kohlschreiber has also shown weaknesses and a final is very well possible for him.
Predictions:
Semis:
Brands d. Kohlschreiber
Haas d. Dolgopolov
There is really nothing in the way of Kohlschreiber making the semis. Meanwhile Mayer, Gulbis/Nieminen or Haas could all make the semis in that tough section, but I’ll go with Haas and the other section should come down to Dolgopolov or Cilic. Dolgopolov is inconsistent but I’ll go with him. Haas won their meeting this year in Miami in straights.
Final:
Brands d. Haas
Rosol won his first title last week. Brands, who plays somewhat similarly, is almost tracking in his footsteps. Thus, I’ll hop on the Brandswagon and say he takes the title here.
ATP Estoril/Oeiras
Portugal Open
ATP World Tour 250
Oeiras, Portugal
April 29-May 4, 2013
Prize Money: (euro sign) 410,200
This event changed it’s name, formerly known as the Estoril Open, it is now called the Portugal Open, and the official city was switched from Estoril to Oeiras, but it is the same joint ATP/WTA event for the same points. They aren’t exactly a blogger-friendly tournament.
Top 4 seeds: (who all receive first round byes)
1: David Ferrer
2: Stanislas Wawrinka
3: Andreas Seppi
4: Fabio Fognini
First round matchups to watch:
Carlos Berlocq vs. Albert Ramos
They are ranked closely together, at 64 and 57. Berlocq is 5 years older, and both have positive records on the ATP tour this year. Furthermore, they are both enjoyable players to watch if you like traditional clay court tennis. Berlocq won their only meeting ever, this year in Sao Paulo, while Ramos comes off quarters in Barcelona.
Top Half:
David Ferrer suffered a shocking 2nd round loss to Dmitry Tursunov in Barcelona, and will be looking to recover. He took a wild card here, and will play Gilles Muller or Edouard Roger-Vasselin followed by Benoit Paire/Igor Sijsling, Victor Hanescu or a qualifier.
Andreas Seppi will be looking for a good showing as he will face Alejandro Falla or Andrey Kuznetsov, and then could play Pablo Andujar, a qualifier, Dani Gimeno-Traver or Tommy Robredo, who is really showing some form once again (making the quarters in Barcelona).
Bottom Half:
Stan Wawrinka will play the Berlocq/Ramos winner in what could be a tough match and then could face Evgeny Donskoy, Denis Istomin, Horacio Zeballos or wild card Gastao Elias.
Fabio Fognini is at a career high ranking of 24, and will play a qualifier or countryman and Davis Cup teammate Paolo Lorenzi. After that it could be a qualifier, a struggling Julien Benneteau (who has lost 4 straight), Pedro Sousa, or the inconsistent but talented David Goffin.
Boy Wonder Goffin
Dark Horse: David Goffin
Goffin is a disappointing 6-11 this year on the ATP tour, but did show some signs of betterment in Bucharest, dispatching his first round opponent Adrian Ungur easily, and pushing eventual semifinalist Florian Mayer to 3 sets. Otherwise, he has only won consecutive matches this year in Miami. Still, he’s a young talent and maturing into the highest level of professional tennis.
D Goff gets an easy start against wild card Pedro Sousa, then a struggling Benneteau or a qualifier. If he gets Lorenzi or Fognini in the quarters, they are indeed beatable.
Predictions:
Semis:
Ferrer d. Robredo
Fognini d. Wawrinka
Ferrer boasts a 6-2 record against Robredo, including a win on clay this year in Buenos Aires. In additions, he has to be motivated to get past his Barcelona loss and get back to his winning ways on clay.
Wawrinka has the H2H edge against Fognini 3-1 but Fognini won their match this year in Acapulco on clay and he is playing very sharp right now.
Final:
Ferrer d. Fognini
I would really love to pick Fognini in this projected meeting, as Fogna is playing some of his best tennis right now and as I mentioned is looking razor sharp. That being said, Ferrer has beaten Fognini 6 times, including 3 times this year and twice on clay. That kind of record speaks for itself.
I’m not totally certain Ferrer is 100% but this field isn’t the most punishing around.
—
2013 USTA Tallahassee Tennis Challenger Main Draw Preview @TallyChalenger #USTAHarTruWC
2013 USTA Tallahassee Tennis Challenger Main Draw Preview
Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
The main draw for the Tally Challenger starts bright and early Monday, and here is a preview of the action that will be on tap this week. I’ll provide three days of on site coverage.
USTA Tallahassee Tennis Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour/USTA Pro Circuit
Tallahasssee, Florida, USA
April 28-May 4, 2013
Prize Money: $50,000
Top 8 seeds:
1: Michael Russell
2: Ryan Harrison
3: Wayne Odesnik
4: Jack Sock
5: Tim Smyczek
6: Steve Johnson
7: Denis Kudla
8: Mischa Zverev
7 of the 8 seeds are Americans, and they represent the crowded American pack between the top 100 and the top 150.
Russell’s quarter
Muscles Russell, coming off quarters in Savannah, will take on Suk-Young Jeong of Korea before facing the winner of Tennys Sandgren/Cedrik-Marcel Stebe. Russell just beat Sandgren in Savannah round 2. While the 22 year old German Stebe was formerly known as a very promising young talent, he has flatlined a bit in his career, hovering inside the top 200 but not having won consecutive matches since January. He was ranked as high as 71 last year.
Steve Johnson, who lost to Sandgren in Savannah, will play a qualifier, and the winner gets a qualifier or defending finalist Frank Dancevic of Canada. The only caveat about defending finalist being is that last year’s event was on hard court, and this year’s event is on Har-Tru clay. Dancevic is 1-2 in his last 3 matches, all on the Har-Tru clay challenge circuit.
Sock’s quarter
After breakthrough quarterfinals in Memphis, Sock has been a bit below average, and is on a two match losing streak heading into Tally. He will get the tough draw of Alex Kuznetsov, who of course won the Sarasota challenger and made the quarterfinals in Savannah. With those showings, Kuznetsov has nearly put a lock on the French Open wildcard spot and another win would clinch it for him. The winner gets current Florida State Seminole Dominic Cotrone, a wild card, or struggling Canadian Peter Polansky, who has lost two straight opening round matches.
Defending champ Tim Smyczek will face a qualifier, and the winner gets Gerald Melzer (the promising younger brother of well known ATP pro Jurgen Melzer) or current FAMU player Salif Kante, a wild card who hails from Senegal.
Odesnik’s quarter
Odesnik is the only other player in the running for the French Open Wild Card, but he would need at a minimum to make the final, and probably take the title, along with getting some help from Kuznetsov in the form of an early loss in order to have more overall points. With that in mind, he starts against Denys Molchanov, who he just beat in the Sarasota semis in 3 sets and the winner gets former Duke standout and wild card Reid Carleton, of Naples, Florida, or Savannah finalist Facundo Arguello. Odesnik just beat Arguello in Sarasota.
Denis Kudla is nearing his career high ranking inside the top 140 again, and he will open against Sarasota semifinalist Somdev Devvarman. The winner gets Bradley Klahn or Nicolas Barrientos.
Harrison’s quarter
Savannah champ Harrison will look to make a quick turnaround as he takes on Taro Daniel of Japan, who qualified in Savannah. The winner gets Alex Bogdanovic or wild card Austin Krajicek.
Veteran Mischa Zverev will take on Nikoloz Basilashvili and the winner gets Donald Young or a qualifier.
Predictions:
Semis:
Melzer d. Russell
Young d. Devvarman
Russell or Stebe should emerge from the first quarter, while Melzer is due for a good run and seems to be the freshest talent in the 2nd quarter, though Kuznetsov is playing great right now. Odesnik and Arguello are both good on clay but you would have to assume both are worn out from Savannah and Sarasota runs, and Devvarman has shown he can do well on Har-Tru.
Young is slowly improving this year, and you would also have to assume Harrison is going to be tired out from the Savannah title. Watch out for Taro Daniel as well.
Final:
Melzer d. Young
Rosol Wins 1st title in Bucharest, Nadal Takes 8th in Barcelona
Rosol Wins 1st title in Bucharest, Nadal Takes 8th in Barcelona
ATP Bucharest
Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic is one of the great stories on the ATP tour of the past year and he added a highlight to his year with his first ATP title in Bucharest, winning 6-3 6-2 over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. With the title, Rosol makes the ATP top 40 for the first time.
Rosol was by far the best performing player in Bucharest this week, winning matches over Gilles Muller, Andreas Seppi in 3, Viktor Troicki and defending champ Gilles Simon to make the final, dominating with both his serve and ball striking. He is normally known for his improved play on faster surfaces, but clay is still his calling card and it is fitting that he won his first title on the surface.
Garcia-Lopez awoke from a slump to beat Horacio Zeballos in 3 sets, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Janko Tipsarevic in 3 sets and Florian Mayer in 3 sets.
Max Mirnyi and Romanian Horia Tecau combined to win the doubles title over Lukas Dlouhy and Oliver Marach.
ATP Barcelona
Rafael Nadal improved to his 4th title in 6 events (making the final in all 6) and won his 8th overall title in Barca 6-4, 6-3 over countryman Nicolas Almagro. This was already Rafa’s 2nd victory on clay against Almagro this year.
Nadal has still not been at his totally dominant 5th gear level this year, mainly being more cautious with his movement. But because he is simply so talented on clay, he was able to coast by most of his opponents this week, beating Carlos Berlocq, Benoit Paire, Albert Ramos and surprise semifinalist Milos Raonic. Because of rain, Nadal beat Paire and Ramos in the same day.
Almagro beat Ivan Dodig, Marcel Granollers, Juan Monaco and Philipp Kohlschreiber to make the final.
Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares won the doubles title over Robert Lindstedt and Daniel Nestor.
—Steen Kirby
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