“Approach Shots” is Ricky’s weekly look at what’s ahead on the ATP Tour.
Roger Federer will get right back in action in hopes of finding some form and getting comfortable with a new racket in time for the American hard-court summer. After all, a loss to Federico Delbonis is not going to cut it. Delbonis, a qualifier in Hamburg, ultimately lost in the final to Fabio Fognini after squandering three championship points. Delbonis will join Federer this week in Gstaad, while an on-fire Fognini will look to make it three titles in three weeks as he takes the court in Umag. Meanwhile, the U.S. Open Series gets underway in Atlanta.
Suisse Open Gstaad
Where: Gstaad, Switzerland
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 410,200 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Roger Federer
Defending champion: Thomaz Bellucci
Draw analysis: Federer’s first opponent in Gstaad will be no stranger; either Daniel Brands or Marco Chiudinelli. The top-seeded Swiss played his first match with a new, 98-inch racket against Brands last week in Hamburg. Brands stole the first set before Federer prevailed in three. Chiudinelli, of course, is a fellow Swiss and occasional Davis Cup teammate. Federer is part of an otherwise weak quarter of the draw, but he could face either Juan Monaco or Mikhail Youzhny in the semifinals. The 17-time Grand Slam champion recently beat Youzhny in a three-set title match on the grass courts of Halle.
Federer won’t be able to avenge his two most recent setbacks (at Wimbledon and in Hamburg) because both Delbonis and Sergiy Stakhovsky are on the other side of the bracket. Stakhovsky has a decent draw with Feliciano Lopez as hear nearest seed before a possible quarterfinal clash against Wawrinka. Delbonis has an absolutely ideal draw, with Rosol as his nearest seed and a slumping Janko Tipsarevic as a possible quarterfinal adversary. The Argentine, however, will have to make a quick turnaround from a long and emotional week in Hamburg. While Wawrinka’s draw is far from taxing, Gstaad’s No. 2 seed is set for a likely opener with solid clay-courter Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
First-round upset alert: Marcel Granollers over (7) Lukas Rosol. Aside from a few brief hot streaks, including his first career ATP title earlier this season in Bucharest, Rosol has been a big disappointment since upsetting Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012. The Czech had lost four matches in a row heading into Hamburg and it got even worse when he won three total games against Tobias Kamke in his first-round match. Granollers, on the other hand, ousted Thomaz Bellucci and Andreas Seppi before falling to eventual finalist Fabio Fognini. Based on current form and the surface, Granollers should actually be considered the favorite in this one.
Hot: Stanislas Wawrinka, Mikhail Youzhny, Roberto Bautista Agut, Dustin Brown, Kenny De Schepper, Federico Delbonis
Cold: Roger Federer, Janko Tipsarevic, Marco Chiudinelli, Adrian Ungur, Paul-Henri Mathieu
Semifinal predictions: Roger Federer over Juan Monaco and Stanislas Wawrinka over Thomaz Bellucci
Final: Federer over Wawrinka
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BB&T Atlanta Open
Where: Atlanta, Georgia
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $546,930
Points: 250
Top seed: John Isner
2012 champion: Andy Roddick (not playing)
Draw analysis: Isner has endured more than a fair share of heartbreak at one of his favorite tournaments, where he enjoys vociferous crowd support as a former star of UGA in nearby Athens. The 6’9’’ American twice finished runner-up to Mardy Fish (both times in three sets; once in a third-set tiebreaker and again after having championship point) and lost to eventual champion Andy Roddick in a three-set semifinal last year. Isner’s 2013 draw is not terribly difficult, but he has been placed in a relatively tough quarter and half. The No. 1 seed could begin against Bogota runner-up Alejandro Falla before a possible showdown against friend and familiar foe James Blake. Meanwhile, a somewhat resurgent Lleyton Hewitt finds himself in a section with Ivan Dodig and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
On the other side of the bracket, Fish is making his first appearance since losing in the first round of the Savannah Challenger in mid-April. The 31-year-old’s path to the semifinals could feature Americans and Americans only; Michael Russell, Jack Sock, and Ryan Harrison. This is a big opportunity for a slumping Harrison, a 2011 Atlanta semifinalist who opens against Marinko Matosevic before a possible date with Igor Sijsling. At the bottom of the draw, Kevin Anderson and Ivo Karlovic are on a collision course for the second round in what would be a rematch of a recent Bogota semifinal (Karlovic won in three sets). Possible quarterfinal opponents for Anderson or Karlovic are Yen-Hsun Lu and Denis Istomin.
First-round upset alert: Michael Russell over (6) Mardy Fish. For the first time in the history of this event—not counting the inaugural installment—Fish is not playing as the defending champ. He’s also not playing as the Mardy Fish of 2011 and 2012. The former world No. 7 has been dealing with a mysterious heart issue that forced him out of last summer’s U.S. Open in the middle of the tournament. It returned this spring, which is why Fish has played a mere three total matches in 2013. On the other hand, an in-form Russell registers at a solid 81st in the world after capturing a Challenger title Ecuador and reaching the Newport semifinals. A consistent counter-puncher like Russell may not be an ideal opponent for a rusty Fish, especially not in hot, humid conditions.
Hot: Ivan Dodig, Igor Sijsling, Ivo Karlovic, Alejandro Falla
Cold: Mardy Fish, Ryan Harrison, Marinko Matosevic, Denis Istomin
Semifinal predictions: John Isner over Lleyton Hewitt and Kevin Anderson over Ryan Harrison
Final: Anderson over Isner
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Vegeta Croatia Open
Where: Umag, Croatia
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 410,175 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Richard Gasquet
2012 champion: Marin Cilic (not playing)
Draw analysis: If Gstaad and Atlanta feature well-balanced draws, the Umag bracket is anything but even. To say Gasquet was done no favors as the No. 1 seed would be a significant understatement. Among the challengers in the top half are Fogini, Gael Monfils, Nice champion Albert Montanes, and Hamburg quarterfinalist Florian Mayer. After an opening-round bye, Gasquet could go up against Montanes, then Monfils or Mayer, and then Fognini or Albert Ramos.
It could be a free-for-all on the other side, where the only player in particularly impressive form is Carlos Berlocq. The eighth-seeded Argentine captured his first career ATP title in Bastad then won a pair of three-setters in Hamburg before succumbing to Tommy Haas. Berlocq should coast into the Umag quarters, where he may run into Seppi. Tommy Robredo will be just about everyone’s pick to reach the last four out of the third quarter, but he has cooled off a bit since his incredible French Open quarterfinal run. Robredo, who opens with Hamburg third-round finisher Jan Hajek, is on course to meet No. 4 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov in the quarters.
First-round upset alert: Paolo Lorenzi over (6) Martin Klizan. Not unlike many players, Klizan followed up his breakout stretch on tour with a virtual disappearance. The Slovak upset Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at last summer’s U.S. Open then won the St. Petersburg title, but he has been dreadful ever since. Klizan fell to a horrendous 9-18 this season by losing his Hamburg opener to Berlocq. Lorenzi has also watched his 2012 form vanish into thin air, but a first-round matchup with Klizan is a favorable one.
Hot: Richard Gasquet, Fabio Fognini, Tommy Robredo, Carlos Berlocq, Jan Hajek
Cold: Alexandr Dolgpolov, Martin Klizan, Horacio Zeballos
Semifinal predictions: Richard Gasquet over Albert Ramos and Andreas Seppi over Tommy Robredo
Final: Gasquet over Seppi
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Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!
who you got?
How do I look at previous articles/previews? I mean if I cannot see the desired article in the ‘recent comments’ section, its lost ! Whats the way to access the old ones/archives
vamosrafa. thanks for the comment/suggestion. always welcome ideas on how to improve this.
I added a categories menu on the right side up the screen, under comments and the poll. just click on the category you are looking for and all the articles ever written under that category will come up either on that page or it will link you to the next page if there are too many articles in that category.
let me know if this helps (or if it doesn’t!). thanks!
thank you , Ricky 🙂 sure its much better now