Top two seeds Juan Martin Del Potro and Jerzy Janowicz will begin their Sydney bids on Wednesday. Del Potro is facing Nicolas Mahut while Janowicz has an intriguing battle on his hands against Alexandr Dolgopolov.
(1) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Nicolas Mahut
Del Potro will be in action for the first time in 2014 when he takes the court at the Heineken Open on Wednesday afternoon. The fifth-ranked Argentine compiled an incredible 51-16 record last season, which included a semifinal showing at Wimbledon and a runner-up finish in Shanghai. This is Del Potro’s third trip to Sydney in the past four years and he has never been past the quarterfinals.
Up first for Del Potro is a second career meeting with Mahut, whom he faced at the 2007 U.S. Open and destroyed 6-0, 6-4, 6-2. Even though Mahut was already a borderline veteran at that point, he is also a much different player now. The 31-year-old Frenchman captured the first two ATP titles of his career last summer and he is up to No. 50 in the world. Mahut advanced one round last week in Brisbane and he kicked off his Sydney campaign on Tuesday with a 7-6(2), 7-5 win over Ryan Harrison. The underdog is playing well, but he will have to serve unbelievably well and get into the net at every opportunity in order to compete with Del Potro.
Pick: Del Potro in 2
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Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (2) Jerzy Janowicz
Dolgopolov got a favorable draw in the form of Chennai runner-up Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round on Tuesday. Roger-Vasselin had lost to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final on Sunday and he could not make the quick turnaround, retiring after dropping the opening set 6-3. Dolgopolov’s next match, however, is a tough one and presents a blockbuster matchup.
Janowicz, who has not yet played in 2014, registers at No. 21 in the world–good for the second seed in Sydney. He does, however, come with question marks. The 23-year-old Pole is just 8-7 since making a run to the Wimbledon semifinals and he withdrew from last week’s Hopman Cup due to a foot injury. Dolgopolov is always a risky proposition given his unavoidable tendency to be sapped of energy, but this is a real opportunity for him to capitalize on a rusty Janowicz.
Pick: Dolgopolov in 3
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Dolgopolov vs Janowicz R2 match: with a bit of luck, this one should be both interesting and entertaining.
should be outstanding
Now Dolgo/JJ is one match this week that I would love to see! I thought Dolgo played really well against Ferrer. In fact, I thought he might pull out the win. We will see if he can continue to play well. JJ is a bit of an unknown coming off another injury. Normally I would think this would be his to lose, but if Dolgo can keep it together I think he can pull this off in three sets.