Auckland and Sydney previews and predictions

Auckland and Sydney may not be quite as stacked as they sometimes are, but what can you expect from 250-point events that immediately precede a Grand Slam? By that standard, these two tournaments still boast strong fields. Headlining the action this week, of course, is the long-awaited return of Juan Martin Del Potro.

Heineken Open

Where: Auckland, New Zealand
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $464,490
Points: 250

Top seed: Ernests Gulbis
2014 champion: John Isner (not playing)

Draw analysis: Auckland took beating, with the late withdrawals of David Ferrer, Gael Monfils, and defending champion John Isner. That leaves No. 2 seed Ernests Gulbis as the highest-ranked player in the field. There is really no such thing as a bad draw at this particular tournament, but the unseeded contingent in Gulbis’ bottom half is strong. Among the threats are Dominic Thiem, Joao Sousa, Donald Young, and Borna Coric. So don’t pencil in Gulbis and Kevin Anderson into the semifinals just yet. Anderson may have to open against Thiem before possibly facing either Sousa, Coric, or Steve Johnson.

Gulbis’ good friend (yeah right) Roberto Bautista Agut leads the way in the top section. Depth is lacking, so Bautista Agut and Tommy Robredo have a good chance of setting up an all-Spanish semifinal. Robredo finished runner-up in Auckland back in 2007 (lost to Ferrer). One intriguing first-rounder pits Yen-Hsun Lu against Doha doubles champion Juan Monaco.

First-round upset alert: Juan Monaco over (9) Yen-Hsun Lu. Lu turned in a solid 2014 campaign that has him up to No. 38 in the world. He also played well in Chennai, winning two matches before succumbing to Bautista Agut. Monaco, on the other hand, is still toiling away at 60th in the rankings and he lost in the Doha first round to Blaz Kavcic. His doubles title with Rafael Nadal, however, is at least some reason for optimism. A battle between two veterans with similar playing styles could go either way.

Hot: Roberto Bautista Agut, Tommy Robredo, Steve Johnson, Borna Coric

Cold: Ernests Gulbis, Juan Monaco, Federico Delbonis

Semifinal predictions: Tommy Robredo over Roberto Bautista Agut and Steve Johnson over Donald Young

Final: Robredo over Johnson

[polldaddy poll=8574901]

Apia International

Where: Sydney, Australia
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $439,405
Points: 250

Top seed: Fabio Fognini
Defending champion: Juan Martin Del Potro

Draw analysis: He’s back, baby. Del Potro is ready to take the court for the first time since playing doubles with Marin Cilic at last year’s Indian Wells Masters. The oft-injured Argentine, who triumphed at this tournament in 2014 before ultimately being sidelined by wrist surgery, is obviously unseeded and will likely be at the mercy of many draws this season. If ever there is a time to land near a No. 1 seed, this is it (especially compared to, say, at the Australian Open). If Del Potro survives his first-round test against Sergiy Stakhovsky, he would get Fabio Fognini. An extremely deep top half also includes Julien Benneteau, Denis Istomin, Vasek Pospisil, Andreas Seppi, Nick Kyrgios, and Jerzy Janowicz.

Big serving will be the name of the game in the third portion of the draw. Jeremy Chardy, Sam Querrey, Sam Groth, and Gilles Muller are all on hand. Bernard Tomic, who can also lower the boom when necessary, finished runner-up to Del Potro at this tournament in 2014. The 22-year-old Aussie could meet Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round and then potentially Querrey, whom Tomic defeated this past week. Coming off a semifinal showing in Chennai, an in-form David Goffin appears to have a favorable draw as the No. 2 seed.

First-round upset alert: Sam Querrey over (7) Jeremy Chardy. Querrey registers just four places behind Chardy in the world rankings and he missed out on a Sydney seed by only one ranking spot. So this would be an upset merely according to seed. It may happen, too, as Querrey leads the head-to-head series 3-1. Although the 6’6’’ American lost his opening match in Brisbane to Tomic, Chardy will also have to erase some demons after squandering two match points then double-faulting to end his Brisbane showdown against Grigor Dimitrov.

Hot: David Goffin, Pablo Cuevas, Andreas Seppi, Gilles Muller, Sam Groth, Simone Bolelli

Cold: Fabio Fognini, Juan Martin Del Potro, Nicolas Almagro

Semifinal predictions: Vasek Pospisil over Denis Istomin and Bernard Tomic over David Goffin

Final: Pospisil over Tomic

[polldaddy poll=8574904]

Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!