Janko Tipsarevic is hoping to emerge from a slump as he heads into his Bucharest opener on Thursday against Santiago Giraldo. Florian Mayer and David Goffin are also in action.
(1) Janko Tipsarevic vs. Santiago Giraldo
Tipsarevic vowed to take some time off from tennis after his ongoing slump continued last week with a second-round Monte-Carlo loss to Grigor Dimitrov. But that is not happening. The 10th-ranked Serb accepted a wild card into the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy and he will kick off his campaign on Thursday. Tipsarevic is a disappointing 10-7 for the season and he is a horrendous 2-7 in his last nine matches dating back to round four of the Australian Open.
Up first for Bucharest’s top seed is Giraldo, who got blown out by Tipsarevic 6-1, 6-0 in their only previous encounter (Los Angeles 2010). Giraldo is 7-8 at the ATP level for the year but he also has a clay-court Challenger title to his credit. The 76th-ranked Colombian may be an underdog in paper, but he has an advantage on clay and Tipsarevic is lacking confidence at the moment.
Pick: Giraldo in 3
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David Goffin vs. (5) Florian Mayer
Goffin and Mayer will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they collide on Thursday. They faced each other last month on the hard courts of Indian Wells, where Mayer cruised 6-4, 6-2.
The 29th-ranked German is an even 3-3 since then and 7-9 overall for the year. He reached the Monte-Carlo third round and dismissed Flavio Cipolla 6-0, 7-6(1) on Tuesday in Bucharest. A minor “sophomore slump” appears to be hitting Goffin after a breakout 2012 campaign, as he stands at just 6-10 for the season. The 62nd-ranked Belgian, however, may be regaining some confidence. He advanced two rounds in Miami, extended Nicolas Almagro to three sets in Monte-Carlo, and eased past Adrian Ungur 6-3, 6-1 on Monday.
Mayer has more variety to his game while Goffin is an outstanding ball-striker who can push his opponent back behind the baseline with flat groundstrokes that belie his diminutive frame. Breaks should be plentiful in this encounter, which appears to be a complete toss-up. Count on this one lasting three competitive sets, and some revenge on Goffin’s side would not come as a big surprise.
Pick: Goffin in 3
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