Nadal Nabs Sweet 600th in Victory at Indian Wells
Nadal Nabs Sweet 600th in Victory at Indian Wells
Rafael Nadal won his third title in four events and his 22nd Masters title with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory over a valiant Juan Martin Del Potro. Nadal started the first set strong, but Del Potro stepped up his game to break and take it, dominating with his forehand and holding serve. In the second, things began to change though, as Nadal began to wear down the tired Argentine. In the third, he broke early and held on to finish off the physically and mentally demanding match in which Del Potro did as much as he could to prevail.
Nadal had previously rumbled past Ryan Harrison, got a walkover into the round of 16. Then he dealt with a red-hot Ernest Gulbis in three sets, in a match where yet again his opponent threw everything but the kitchen sink at him but still couldn’t win it. Next, he defeated a hobbled Roger Federer in straights (in what was a lackluster meeting between the two legends) and gritted past a top form Tomas Berdych in straights.
Nadal will once again return to the top four, surpassing Ferrer. He has to be considered a de facto top two or three in the world right now, and fully back after the injury setbacks he had dealt with for half a year. As tennis now heads towards the clay court season, he will remain a feared opponent by everyone on tour. Rafa will skip Miami and get some rest.
Del Potro crushed his early round opponents Nikolay Davydenko, Bjorn Phau and Tommy Haas before coming back from a set down to beat Andy Murray and a set down to shock Novak Djokovic (who simply ran out of gas in the end) to make the final. Del Potro-Djokovic was the match of the tournament, and the Serb was simply in awe of what Del Potro was able to bring to the table in their meeting. JPDM showed the kind of form he hasn’t really shown since 2009 before the wrist injury bothered him. This is also a much better Del Potro than we saw at the first part of the year.
Semifinalist Djokovic beat Fabio Fognini, Grigor Dimitrov, Sam Querrey and Jo Wilfried Tsonga. The quarterfinal against Tsonga was a pure clinic. Semifinalist Berdych beat Mischa Zverev, Florian Mayer, Richard Gasquet and Kevin Anderson.
In the doubles, the Bryan Brothers completed the “career Masters Grand Slam” by winning their first career Indian Wells title over Treat Huey and Jerzy Janowicz,. The Brothers surpassed yet another career goal.
—Steen Kirby
Raonic Shuts Off the Lights in San Jose, Nadal Returns to Glory in São Paulo and Del Potro is King in Rotterdam
Raonic Shuts Off the Lights in San Jose, Nadal Returns to Glory in São Paulo and Del Potro is King in Rotterdam
ATP San Jose
Milos Raonic came into the SAP Open not having lost a set, much less a match in San Jose, and he kept that streak alive throughout the final edition of the tournament, shutting out the lights with a win over Tommy Haas 6-4 6-3.
Raonic was dominant with his serve, but also brutal and precise with his groundstrokes all week, notching wins over Michael Russell, Denis Istomin and Sam Querrey, who he plainly dismantled. Not only did he serve well, but he also broke serve quite well.
As for Haas, after an iffy start to his season, he got back to playing the kind of quality tennis we saw from his last year, navigating past Jesse Levine, Steve Johnson and John Isner without dropping a set before running into the brick wall that is Raonic in San Jose.
I’m sure Milos will join American and California tennis fans in lamenting the demise of this event, as will Xaiver Malisse and Frank Moser, who took the last doubles title over Lleyton Hewitt and Marinko Matosevic.
ATP São Paulo
Rafa Nadal won his 51st title against a fellow traveler on the comeback trail, David Nalbandian in a clean and confident straight sets 6-2 6-3. The final was much easier for Rafa than some of his other matches, including 3 set wins over Carlos Berlocq in the quarters and Martin Alund in the semis, where at times he was clearly struggling. He still isn’t at 100% but given the opponents he was playing, he relied on mental edge and his tenacity to prevail. He also beat Joao Souza in his opening match.
Nalbandian was equally compelling, having not played a tour match in 6 months yet beating Jorge Aguilar in 3, Guido Pella, Nicolas Almagro in 3 and Simone Bolelli in the semis to reach the final. He showed he still has something left in the tank in what is his 13th year on tour and time will tell if he continues this level of play in the coming weeks and months.
Also some extra credit to Alund, who hadn’t won an ATP main draw match before this tournament, yet raced out to the semis, and will be top 100 with a career high ranking at the age of 27. He’s a truly determined grinder in the game. The Golden Swing has featured a strong showing from Argentines, and not the usual suspects either.
Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares took the doubles title over Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak.
ATP Rotterdam
Juan Martin Del Potro did one better than last year, capping off the title in Rotterdam 7-6 6-3 over surprise finalist Julien Benneteau. Del Potro imposed himself on his opponents all week and didn’t drop a single set against his other opponents Gael Monfils, Ernests Gulbis, Jarkko Nieminen and Grigor Dimitrov (who did well for himself to make the semis).
Benneteau, meanwhile, was equally dominant until the final, beating Tobias Kamke and Victor Hanescu in the early rounds, before beating Roger Federer in a huge upset again in the quarters. He then followed that up with a victory over Gilles Simon. Unfortunately, another final defeat drops him to 0-8 in ATP finals as he continues to have the moniker of “close but no cigar”.
In the doubles, Robert Lindstedt and Nenad Zimonjic beat Thiemo De Bakker and Jesse Huta Galung.
—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.
Del Potro Stops Fedex in Basel for 2nd Straight ATP Title, Ferrer Wins in Valencia
Del Potro Stops Fedex in Basel for 2nd Straight ATP Title, Ferrer Wins in Valencia
Basel
ATP Basel
Juan Martin Del Potro denied Roger Federer his 6th Basel title with a 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 upset win in a topsy-turvy match. It’s Del Po’s 2nd straight title and he is playing like a champ right now—beating Alejandro Falla, Brian Baker, Kevin Anderson and Richard Gasquet earlier in the week.
Federer beat Benjamin Becker, Thomaz Bellucci in 3 surprisingly tough sets, Benoit Paire, and semi finalist Paul-Henri Mathieu! After dropping the final, Fed withdrew from ATP Paris, citing the need to rest before the World Tour Finals. That gives Novak Djokovic the year end number 1 spot.
In doubles, Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic are back after a breakup. They took the bigger hardware over Treat Conrad Huey and Dominic Inglot. This marks Nestor’s 80th career doubles title. UVA Grad Huey will be competing in the Charlottesville Challenger this week.
ATP Valencia
David Ferrer won his 6th ATP title on the year at his home event 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 over Alexandr Dolgopolov in the other three set final of the weekend. Earlier in the week, Ferrer tore through Olivier Rochus, Albert Ramos and Nicolas Almagro before dispatching surprise semifinalist Ivan Dodig in three.
Dolgopolov made his second ATP 500 final and continued his rollercoaster year, beating Filippo Volandri, Gilles Muller, Marcel Granollers and semi finalist Jurgen Melzer all in straights.
Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares beat David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco for the doubles title, their 3rd together in the fall campaign.
—Steen Kirby
2012 ATP Paris BNP Paribas Masters Preview
2012 ATP Paris BNP Paribas Masters Preview
Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
The final big draw event of the year, Paris Bercy, will have big storylines going in. They include Djokovic and Federer both looking to finish as year end number one, while Tsonga, Tipsarevic, Almagro, Gasquet and Raonic all have at shots at qualifying for the World Tour Finals.
ATP Paris
BNP Paribas Masters
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Paris, France
October 29-November 4, 2012
Prize Money € 2,427,975
Top 8 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Roger Federer
2: Novak Djokovic
3: Andy Murray
4: David Ferrer
5: Tomas Berdych
6: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
7: Juan Martin Del Potro
8: Janko Tipsarevic
Every top 20 player save the injured Nadal is lined up to do battle in the last big tournament of the Tennis season.
First Round Matchups to watch:
Marcos Baghdatis vs. Gilles Simon
Baggy made the semis in Stockholm. Then his wife and former WTA player Karolina Sprem had a baby just a couple days ago, while Simon suffered a 2nd round loss in Valencia to Marcel Granollers. They are both up and down players with talent who could either produce a classic or a straight set rollover. Baggy will either be inspired or tired. Probably a bit of both.
The closest thing to a Crying Baby Kevin Anderson Has Experienced was playing Nalbandian
Kevin Anderson vs. Thomaz Bellucci
This is a meeting between a couple of mid-ranked players who are both in good form right now. Anderson made the quarters in Basel, while Bellucci pushed Roger Federer to three sets in the 2nd round of Basel after coming off a final in Moscow. On the same surface as their previous successes, this match leans Bellucci but the big serving Anderson could pull it off.
Top Half:
Roger Federer, still looking for yet another title in Basel and gunning to remain at world number one, will open with the winner of Baghdatis/Simon and then likely gets 15 seed Kei Nishikori in the 3rd round.
In the quarters, he could meet Tomas Berdych or 12 seed Richard Gasquet. Bellucci, Anderson, Andreas Seppi and Martin Klizan are also in this part of the draw.
Andy Murray looks to finish the year off with a strong opening against Paul-Henri Mathieu or a qualifier, and then will likely do battle with Marin Cilic, a Valencia Quarterfinalist. Cilic is set to meet Phillip Kohlschreiber in the 2nd round. Murray is still playing in Basel.
In the quarters, the winner of Murray/Cilic could meet Juan Monaco or Janko Tipsarevic, who are both looking to qualify for the World Tour Finals. Alexandr Murray could also see Dolgopolov (currently in the Valencia semis) or the man he will play in the semis there, Jurgen Melzer.
Bottom Half:
Novak Djokovic needs a strong result and some help from Federer to finish as year end number one. He’ll open with Fernando Verdasco or Sam Querrey and then could meet Milos Raonic, the 14 seed. Raonic still possesses an outside shot of making the World Tour Finals. Djokovic’s other possible second round opponents include Jeremy Chardy or a qualifier.
In the quarters, Djokovic should do battle with current Basel semifinalist Juan Martin Del Potro. Other options include a slumping John Isner, who will meet the winner of Radek Stepanek vs. Michael Llodra or Florian Mayer/qualifier.
David Ferrer, still in the hunt for his hometown title in Valencia, will meet the winner of countryman Marcel Granollers vs. Mikhail Youzhny, and then would meet 16 seed Stan Wawrinka. Carlos Berlocq or Denis Istomin.
Ferrer will likely draw Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarters, who is working with new coach Roger Rasheed for the first time this week. Ferrer may also face the man he just beat in Valencia, Nicolas Almagro, who needs a good run to make the world tour finals. Viktor Troicki and Julien Benneteau are also in this part of the draw.
Not your typical Dark Horse
Dark Horse: Juan Martin Del Potro
Usually a top 10 player wouldn’t be considered a dark horse, but given the strength of the field and the general dominance of the big 4 in Masters events the title fits. Del Potro, who won in Vienna and is still in the hunt for a title in Basel, plays strong tennis on the indoor hard courts and seems to be in good physical shape going in after recent injuries. He should roll through Mayer and Isner, and if he can somehow find a way through Djokovic, Ferrer or Tsonga would be easier matchups.
Predictions:
Semis:
Federer d. Murray
Djokovic d. Ferrer
It should be a battle of 1 vs. 2 if everything takes shape, while Ferrer and Tsonga are about even shots at making the semis and Murray could suffer an early loss.
Final:
Djokovic d. Federer
Berdych’s Stockholm Syndrome, Seppi Snaps Up Kremlin Cup, Del PÖ-sterreich in Vienna
Berdych’s Stockholm Syndrome, Seppi Snaps Up Kremlin Cup, Del PÖ-sterreich in Vienna
ATP Stockholm
Berdych’s Stockholm Syndrome
Tomas Berdych earned a tough 3 set victory 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to claim his second ATP title of the year. The other Berdych title came in Montpellier back at the start of the year on indoor hard courts. To get to the final, he navigated through Jurgen Zopp, Mikhail Youzhny and Nicolas Almagro, all in straight sets.
Tsonga worked past Go Soeda, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Marcos Baghdatis in 3 to make the final.
In the doubles final, Marcel Melo and Bruno Soares took out Robert Lindstedt and Nenad Zimonijic.
ATP Vienna
Del Potrosterreich
Juan Martin Del Potro returned to the tour in style with his 3rd title of the year in Vienna, 7-5, 6-3 over shock finalist Grega Zemlja. To reach the final, Del Potro worked hard to get past Daniel Brands in 3 tiebreaks and then beat Marinko Matosevic and Gilles Muller, both in straights.
Zemlja, who entered the week ranked 70 in the world and was possibly the only qualifier finalist on the tour this year. To qualify, he beat Arnau Brugues-Davi and Jan Minar. In the main draw, he beat Xaiver Malisse in 3, Matt Ebden, Tommy Haas in a 3 set upset and Janko Tipsarevic in an even bigger 3 set upset to make his first career ATP. This final showed that on the ATP World Tour anything can and will happen.
In the doubles final, Andre Begemann and Martin Emmrich beat Julien Knowle and Filip Polasek.
ATP Moscow
Andreas Seppi claimed his 2nd ATP title of the year and his 3rd career ATP title in Moscow with a 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory over Thomaz Bellucci. Seppi beat Igor Sijsling, Tatsuma Ito and Malek Janziri a surprise semifinalist to make the final. Bellucci made his 2nd ATP final of the year and his first ever hard court final, beating Flavio Cipolla, Jerzy Janowicz and Ivo Karlovic in 3.
Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak won the doubles title over Simone Bolelli and Daniele Bracciali.
—Steen Kirby
Del Po defends Estoril title, Kohlschreiber takes Munich, Seppi wins 2nd career title in Belgrade
Del Po defends Estoril title, Kohlschreiber takes Munich, Seppi wins 2nd career title in Belgrade
By Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
ATP Estoril:
Juan Martin Del Potro successfully defended his title in Estoril, taking out 2 seed Richard Gasquet in the final, 6-4 6-2.
Del Potro cruised through his week in Estoril taking out Rui Machado, Albert Montanes and Stanislas Wawrinka in succession before finishing off Gasquet, who had beaten Paolo Lorenzi, Daniel Munoz-De La Nava and Albert Ramos to reach the final.
Aisam Qureshi of Pakistan and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands took the doubles title over Austrian Julian Knowle and Spaniard David Marrero, 7-5 7-5.
ATP Munich:
Phillip Kohlschreiber captured the 2nd Munich title of his career (the other being in 2007) taking out Marin Cilic, 7-6 6-3. Kohlschreiber, the 4 seed and one of the home favorites, took out Ernest Gulbis, Marinko Matosevic and Feliciano Lopez, the 2 seed in 3 sets, to reach the final.
Cilic, the 3 seed, who continues to improve in his comeback efforts, took out ATP Bucharest semi-finalist Matthias Bachinger, Mikhail Youzhny and surprise semi-finalist Tommy Haas. Haas brought back memories of the past in his upset of top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earlier in the week, along with a victory over Marcos Baghadatis and a 1st round drubbing of countryman Michael Berrer.
Top seeds Frantisek Cermak and Filip Polasek, of the Czech Republic and Slovakia respectively, won the doubles title over Xaiver Malisse and Dick Norman of Belgium, 6-4 7-5.
ATP Belgrade:
Andreas Seppi won his 2nd career ATP World Tour title with a 6-3 6-2 victory over surprise finalist Benoit Paire of France. The Italian, Seppi, who was seeded 2nd, took out Ivan Dodig, Gilles Muller and 4 seed David Nalbandian in 3 sets to reach the final.
Paire upset 6 seed and ATP Bucharest finalist Fabio Fognini in the 1st round and followed it up with 3 set victories over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 3 seed Jarkko Niemenen and top seed Pablo Andujar to reach the final.
Israeli Danger Duo Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram won the Belgrade doubles title over Martin Emmrich and Andreas Siljestrom.
2012 Estoril Open Preview #ATP
2012 Estoril Open Preview
by Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com
Estoril Open
ATP World Tour 250
Estoril, Portugal
April 30-May 5, 2012
Prize Money: € 398,250
One of the most celebrated small clay court tournaments, the Estoril Open in Portugal begins today with one top ten player and a bevy of others vying for the title in the picturesque setting of Estoril, which is nearby the capital city of Lisbon. This a combined event and WTA action will also be taking place.
Top 4 Seeds (who all receive 1st round byes)
1: Juan Martin Del Potro
2: Richard Gasquet
3: Stanislas Wawrinka
4: Albert Ramos
1st round matchups to watch:
Atilla Balazs vs. Bobby Reynolds
Bucharest semi-finalist Balazs will take on American Bobby Reynolds. Can he continue the momentum?
Matt Ebden vs. Albert Montanes
The big serving Aussie Ebden will try to knock off 7 seed Spanish grinder Albert Montanes.
Denis Istomin vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu
The 5 seed Istomin will have to deal with the still dangerous Mathieu.
Bjorn Phau vs. Fredrico Gil
The Portugese favorite and hometown player Gil will try to get off to a good start against the veteran Phau.
Top Half:
Top Seed Juan Martin Del Potro opens up his title defense against either wildcard Pedro Sousa or Rui Machado, both of Portugal. He could then face dangerous 7 seed Albert Montanes before a possible semi-final match up with 3 seed Stanislas Wawrinka or 5 seed Robin Haase. Atilla Balazs and Igor Andreev also lurk in the top half of the draw among others.
Wawrinka will face either a qualifier or Daniel Gimeno-Traver before a possible match-up with the Dutchman Haase or the veteran Russian Andreev. Haase opens up against Simone Bolleli of Italy.
Bottom Half:
2 seed Richard Gasquet opens up his quest against either fellow Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Italian Paolo Lorezni. He will then have to deal with 8 seed Flavio Cipolla, Argentina Diego Junquiera or a qualifier before a possible semi-final match-up with Albert Ramos or Denis Istomin.
Ramos, the 4 seed, will open against either Gil or Phau before a possible match-up with Istomin, Mathieu or one of the Portuguese wild cards (Joao Sousa or Gastao Elias).
Dark Horse: Paolo Lorenzi
The veteran Italian who has reached two clay court challenger level finals this year in Sarasota and San Luis Potosí opens up with Edouard Roger Vasselin, and if he advances, will face the notoriously inconsistent Richard Gasquet. If he can knock off Gasquet, the rest of his matches should be manageable as he could face fellow Italian Flavio Cipolla and Casablanca finalist Albert Ramos (or 5 seed Istomin).
Dark Horse Lorenzi
Predictions:
Semis:
Wawrinka d. Del Potro
Lorenzi d.Ramos
Final:
Wawrinka d. Lorenzi
Wawrinka, who has reached two semi-finals on clay this year (Acapulco and Buenos Aires), will try to earn his first ATP title in over a year.
