Auckland and Sydney previews and predictions

With the Australian Open just one week away, most of the top players in the world are either resting or fine-tuning their games with various exhibition performances in Melbourne. In fact, Jack Sock is the only top 10 player in action this week. The eighth-ranked American is defending his Auckland title and is joined in a strong field by Juan Martin Del Potro, Sam Querrey, John Isner, and Roberto Bautista Agut. A less impressive Sydney draw features 2017 title winner Gilles Muller.

ASB Classic

Where: Auckland, New Zealand
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $501,345

Top seed: Jack Sock
Defending champion: Jack Sock

Draw analysis: Auckland should be intriguing right from the start; among the first-rounders are Steve Johnson vs. fellow American and Brisbane runner-up Ryan Harrison, Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Doha finalist Andrey Rublev, Kyle Edmund vs. NextGen Finals winner Hyeon Chung, and Denis Shapovalov vs. Rogerio Dutra Silva (a rematch of what touched off Shapovalov’s 2017 Montreal run). If Shapovalov prevails, he will run into Del Potro—just as he did in Montreal after saving four match points against Dutra Silva. Del Potro, who missed out on the Nitto ATP Finals by one spot, could meet either Isner or David Ferrer in the Auckland semis.

Sock stole the last London spot from Del Potro, Isner, and Pablo Carreno Busta, just to name a few. He may have to be considered the title favorite based on his recent form and because he is the defending champion. Sock’s draw is a favorable one, too, with the only serious threat in his section a fatigued Rublev. Bautista Agut, Querrey, Harrison, and Johnson should battle it out for the right to face Sock in the semifinals.

First-round upset alert: Guido Pella over (6) Pablo Cuevas. The head-to-head series is tied up 2-2, with Pella having won their only previous hard-court encounter at the 2016 Indian Wells Masters. Cuevas was a disaster throughout the second half of last season, while Pella is coming off an outstanding performance in Doha—where he reached the semis before losing a high-quality thriller to Rublev.

Hot: Jack Sock, Juan Martin Del Potro, Guido Pella, Ryan Harrison, Hyeon Chung, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas

Cold: Sam Querrey, Karen Khachanov, Steve Johnson

Semifinal predictions: Jack Sock over Roberto Bautista Agut and Juan Martin Del Potro over David Ferrer

Final: Sock over Del Potro

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Sydney International

Where: Sydney, Australia
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $468,910

Top seed: Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Defending champion: Gilles Muller

Draw analysis: Perhaps no draw this entire season will be less top-heavy while also featuring so many players that have a legitimate chance at taking the title. Top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas cooled off last fall and has never been a dominant force on hard courts, while the second-seeded Muller missed the last few months of 2017 due to injury. There is certainly no clear-cut favorite in Sydney. But the tournament’s depth is impressive; among the unseeded floaters are Pune champion Gilles Simon, Brisbane semifinalist Alex de Minaur, Jared Donaldson, Paolo Lorenzi, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez, and Benoit Paire.

The top quarter of the bracket is especially tough. Ramos-Vinolas has to open against Lorenzi, who is coming off a resurgent 2017 campaign. Simon will be making a quick turnaround when he runs into the up-and-coming Donaldson, with the winner of that showdown to meet either Kohlschreiber over Daniil Medvedev. Muller’s season opener will likely come against Millman and the bottom quarter also includes Paire, who advanced to the Pune semifinals.

First-round upset alert: Leonardo Mayer over (8) Mischa Zverev. Zverev was relatively hopeless toward the end of 2017, at least compared to what he produced at the Australian Open and U.S. Open. The German’s slump included a 7-5, 7-5 loss to Mayer in Basel. Mayer now leads the head-to-head series 3-1 and all three of his victories have come in straight sets while his only setback was a three-setter.

Hot: Diego Schwartzman, Damir Dzumhur, Paolo Lorenzi, Gilles Simon, Alex de Minaur

Cold: Gilles Muller, Mischa Zverev

Semifinal predictions: Adrian Mannarino over Philipp Kohlschreiber and Diego Schwartzman over Benoit Paire

Final: Mannarino over Schwartzman

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Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!