Jarkko Nieminen will kick off his Bangkok campaign on Monday against Igor Sijsling. Robin Haase and Daniel Gimeno-Traver are also in action.
Igor Sijsling vs. (7) Jarkko Nieminen
Sijsling and Nieminen will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers and for the third time this season when they clash in round one of the Thailand Open on Monday. Nieminen leads the head-to-head series 3-1, including 2-0 on hard courts and also 2-0 this season. They most recently faced each other on the clay of Dusseldorf, where Nieminen won a semifinal showdown 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
The 32-year-old Finn is a solid 26-21 for his 2013 campaign, which includes a quarterfinal in Monte-Carlo and a runner-up in Dusseldorf. He is coming off a second-round performance at the U.S. Open. Sijsling has not won a single match since the Newport second round in early July, a stretch of six consecutive losses. The 75th-ranked Dutchman is 17-21 overall for the year. Based on current form and their past history against one another, Nieminen has a clear edge.
Pick: Nieminen in 2
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Robin Haase vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver
Haase and Gimeno-Traver will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Monday in Bangkok. Their only previous meeting came at Roland Garros in 2011, when Haase prevailed 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-3. The 60th-ranked Dutchman heated up this summer to give himself a respectable 24-22 record for the season. He reached the Gstaad final, the Kitzbuhel semis, and the third round in Winston-Salem before losing in round one of the U.S. Open to Frank Dancevic in a fourth-set tiebreaker.
Gimeno-Traver played last week in St. Petersburg, where he dropped his opener to Jurgen Zopp. The 56th-ranked Spaniard is a mere 14-24 at the ATP level this year, but he has won two Challenger titles this month (both on clay). Gimeno-Traver’s game is not as prolific on a fast hard court, so Haase should be able to get the job done.
Pick: Haase in 3
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