It’s one of those weeks right before a Grand Slam, when the best players in the world are resting and titles are totally up for grabs. In fact, only one top 10 competitor is in action this week; it’s John Isner, who is right on the number at 10th in the rankings. Isner headlines an Auckland field that also includes Fabio Fognini, Denis Shapovalov, and Gael Monfils. In Sydney, meanwhile, defending champion Daniil Medvedev is joined by Stefanos Tsitsipas and 2018 runner-up Alex de Minaur.
ASB Classic
Where: Auckland, New Zealand
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $527,880
Top seed: John Isner
2018 champion: Roberto Bautista Agut (not playing)
Draw analysis: Defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut would have arguably been the title favorite in his return to Auckland, but he withdrew after triumphing this past week in Doha. Thus the door is open for number of competitors, especially in the bottom half of the draw that Bautista Agut vacated. Steve Johnson replaced the Spaniard as the No. 9 seed and he is joined in an relatively soft section by Marco Cecchinato and Tennys Sandgren. Fognini, the second seed, is one a quarterfinal collision course with perhaps either Monfils or Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Isner is a two-time champion of this tournament (2010, 2014) and has to like his chances this time around. The 6’10’’ American, who is 14-5 lifetime in Auckland, is coming off a consistent 2018 campaign in which he made a debut appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals. However, the winner of a difficult first-rounder between Shapovalov and Joao Sousa could cause trouble for Isner in the quarters.
First-round upset alert: Joao Sousa over (7) Denis Shapovalov. Of the unseeded contingent in Auckland, only Kohlschreiber is ranked higher than Sousa. The Portuguese world No. 44 may be at his best on clay or indoors, but he is a tough out on any surface. Although Shapovalov is the favorite, he playing field is level in part due to the fact that this is the first match of the season for both men.
Semifinal predictions: Joao Sousa over Jan-Lennard Struff and Philipp Kohlschreiber over Steve Johnson
Final: Sousa over Kohlschreiber
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Sydney International
Where: Sydney, Australia
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $527,880
Top seed: Stefanos Tsitsipas
Defending champion: Daniil Medvedev
Draw analysis: Tsitsipas and Medvedev are two up-and-coming stars who headline this Sydney event as the top two seeds. Successful passage to the final would make for an intriguing championship Saturday, as they faced each other three times and no love was lost on any occasion. Medvedev, who is coming off a runner-up finish in Brisbane, may have the tougher draw; de Minaur is also in the bottom quarter and potential semifinal foes for the Russian are Sam Querrey and Gilles Simon. Tsitsipas will likely coast into the semis before possibly running into Diego Schwartzman, Lucas Pouille, or Ryan Harrison.
The second section of the bracket is especially notable. In addition to Schwartzman, Pouille, and Harrison, it is also home to Andrey Rublev and Yoshihito Nishioka. Rublev and Pouille are going head-to-head right off the bat. In Simon’s quarter, meanwhile, fun openers pit Querrey against Malek Jaziri and Frances Tiafoe against John Millman.
First-round upset alert: Jeremy Chardy over (8) Andreas Seppi. Chardy is the highest-ranked unseeded player in the field. The Frenchman is coming off a semifinal performance in Brisbane, where he won a trio of three-set matches—including over Nick Kyrgios—before succumbing to Kei Nishikori. Seppi dropped his Doha opener to Rublev while taking just six total games.
Semifinal predictions: Diego Schwartzman over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur over John Millman
Final: Schwartzman over De Minaur
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who ya got?
David Ferrer! (mainly out of sentiment, but he was playing well at Hopman Cup. Says he can’t string good matches together any more, body aging. :()
Happy to go along with your pick of Schwartzman.
Isner and Tsitsipas
Same as Big Al, above…Tpas and The Big Dawg!!