China Open
(Q) Peter Gojowyczk vs. (2) Rafael Nadal: This is generally Nadal’s worst time of year, but the three months off may actually be a good thing in terms of his Asian-swing prospects. A well-rested Nadal rolled on Tuesday and should roll again. Nadal in 2.
Pablo Cuevas vs. (6) Andy Murray: Murray has played a ton of recent tennis coming off a title in Shenzhen and now a three-setter against Janowicz in this week’s first round. But he has had plenty of time to recover. Murray in 2.
(WC) Viktor Troicki vs. (3) Tomas Berdych: Troicki’s comeback is reaching impressive heights at the ATP level, but Berdych is his most daunting opponent yet (yes, more daunting than David Ferrer right now). Berdych in 3.
Pablo Andujar vs. (5) Grigor Dimitrov: Anujar would likely make this competitive on clay, but it should be one-way traffic on the hard stuff. Dimitrov in 2.
(4) Marin Cilic vs. Joao Sousa: Sousa is once again in stellar fall form, but this is a bad matchup. Cilic can overpower him with ease, especially now that the U.S. Open has one match under his belt since his huge triumph in New York. Cilic in 2.
(7) Ernests Gulbis vs. (Q) Martin Klizan: This will come down to which man can dictate play, thus exploiting the other’s weakness (the Gulbis forehand and the Klizan backhand). Gulbis’ firepower–especially on serve–should allow him to dictate more than his opponent. Gulbis in 3.
Rakuten Japan Open
(Q) Michal Przysiezny vs. Denis Istomin: Both men went deep into third sets in their openers. Przysiezny, though, upset Jo-Wilfried Tsonga while Istomin struggled with Taro Daniel. The Pole also has confidence having qualified for the main draw. Przysiezny in 3.
Jurgen Melzer vs. (3) Milos Raonic: Melzer got a lucky break in the form of a first-round retirement from Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Having to face a red-hot Raonic means the luck has run out. Raonic in 2.
(4) Kei Nishikori vs. Donald Young: Almost nobody on tour has been hotter than Nishikori of late–or even throughout the whole season. The hot streak is not going to run out playing at home in Japan, at least not until the semis or final. Nishikori in 2.
Jeremy Chardy vs. (7) Kevin Anderson: Surprisingly, this will be the first-ever meeting between Anderson and Chardy. Anderson vs. Thiem in the opening round may have featured the most high-quality tennis of this whole week so far. Anderson in 3.
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who ya got?
Raonic, Nishi, Rafa, Anderson, Cilic, Dimitrov in 2, Murray, Berdych, Przysiezny, Gulbis in 3. Pretty much with you then!
a set for Cuevas?
i had to be different from your picks somehow! going for Murray to f up seemed as good as anything. Didn’t see Chardys win coming. only saw a game or two but he was playing incredibly
shocking
(not that he won, that he apparently played incredibly)
Anything is possible with Murray these days, but I think he’s going to get it done in two sets.
I agree with Ricky on all the picks.
for Friday:
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Johnson was very impressive against Granollers with his forehand and serve working particularly well. Simon (worryingly) diced with defeat for very long periods against Muller before upping it to make an epic comeback. Simon at the top of his game would win comfortably imo, but the game against Muller might have taken a lot out of him. Simon in 3.
Johnson was very impressive against Granollers with his forehand and serve working quite well. Simon (worryingly) diced with defeat for long periods of the match against Muller before upping it in the 2nd to make an epic comeback. Simon at the top of his game would win comfortably imo, but the match against Muller might have taken a lot out of him. Simon in 3.
also expended plenty of energy vs. RBA despite the fact that match ended in retirement
@Alex
Is this the Alex I think it might be? If so, great to hear from you 🙂
Why did Gulbis retire?
Gulbis retired due to shoulder injury.
was giving him trouble vs. Fog, too
Rafa looked looked good in the first set but some worrying, anxious moments in the 2nd. Don’t know whether he was protecting his right wrist as a precaution or if it was giving him trouble.
Even in the first set I thought he looked anxious. I was not able to watch the second set but hopefully it was just nerves getting the better of him. I think Rafa knows Gojo has the game to trouble him.
I’m trying to enjoy Murray’s match but find it frustrating that they are both dressed identically in black.
It’s great to come here and see that Rafa won again. I hope to see the replay on the tennis channel today. I hope that the wrist isn’t giving Rafa trouble.
So Gulbis retired. I guess not surprising. Something always seems to be up with him.
anderson was not playing well last night (played better vs Thiem), chardy’s forehand was on fire (as usual when he is playing well) and somehow his backhand slices were effective against anderson. Anderson did have chances to come back with break point opportunities at the end of both sets
I did see Rafa’s match on the tennis channel replay. I noticed that he was using his slice backhand quite a bit with Gojo. On vb some were wondering if it was because his wrist might be bothering him, but I thought it was a good tactic.
Rafa served well and had better accuracy, depth and precision on his groundstrokes. The one stat that was concerning was the conversion for break chances. 2 out of 13? Not good! But against this guy it didn’t matter.
Rafa seemed to get tight when serving for the match. That game felt like it went on forever, but Rafa got the job done.
Now it’s on to Klizan.
Congrats Sharapova. 🙂