BNP Paribas Masters
Second round
(5) Tomas Berdych vs. (12) Feliciano Lopez: Berdych should be good to go for the World Tour Finals no matter what, but one more win would make him a virtual (not official) lock. He will almost certainly get it, too, having just destroyed Lopez 6-1, 6-2 in Beijing. Berdych in 2.
(14) Kevin Anderson vs. (3) Stan Wawrinka: Wawrinka’s first loss of 2014 came against Anderson. His last regular-season loss of 2014 will also come against Anderson. The Swiss finally won a tournament match for the first time since the U.S. Open when he beat Dominic Thiem on Wednesday, but his form is still questionable at best. Anderson in 3.
(Q) Lucas Pouille vs. (2) Roger Federer: The best week of Pouille’s career has included successful qualification followed by upsets of Ivo Karlovic and Fabio Fognini. The latter, though, is little more than an automatic bye right now. Federer, on the other hand, is the opposite. Count on the world No. 2 improving dramatically from his second-rounder against Jeremy Chardy. Federer in 2.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Gael Monfils. Monfils may be a trendy upset pick based on his close call against Djokovic this summer in Toronto, his pair of straight-set wins over Joao Sousa and John Isner, his home-court advantage in France, and Djokovic’s relative rust. Don’t get caught in that trap. Like Federer, Djokovic will improve round by round. Monfils, meanwhile, will worry more about entertaining the French fans than winning. Djokovic in 2.
(4) David Ferrer vs. Fernando Verdasco: In the Ferrer vs. Milos Raonic battle for a spot in London, the Spaniard had to play second on Wednesday and survived a three-setter against David Goffin in a must-win situation. This time around, it’s Ferrer who gets to take the court first and put the pressure on the Canadian. He will do it against an opponent he just disposed of 6-3, 6-2 in Valencia. Ferrer in 2.
(7) Milos Raonic vs. (11) Roberto Bautista Agut: Nothing would be more appropriate than Raonic’s bid for London coming to an end at the hands of Federer (that will likely be the case if both Ferrer and Raonic win on Thursday). The world No. 10 generally takes care of lower-ranked opponents but struggles immensely against the top guys. Expect the trend to continue. Raonic in 3.
[polldaddy poll=8411296]
[polldaddy poll=8411299]
Berdych in 3
Warwinka in 3
Federer in 2
Ferrer in 2
Raonic in 3
Djokovic in 2
I agree with all the picks except Raonic vs RBA. I am going with RBA.
Berdych in 2
Wawrinka in 3
Federer in 3
Monfils in 3
Verdasco in 3
Raonic in 2
Federer in 3????
I think Federer will struggle throughout this tournament. For some reason, he almost always struggles on these courts which have different sort of bounce than most other indoor courts. Its kinda spongy(or whatever you want to call it) and he won’t really get his timing right on his shots. Instead of taking the ball early, waiting for the ball should be a better option…IMO. We will see.
Stan gone!
Rafa stays at #3 at YE because Stan could have overtaken him has he won Paris and the WTF without losing a match.
‘had he’
Took a punt on Warwrinka and for most of the match it looked as though my prediction might come about. I hadn’t factored in the ‘reigning Australian champion’ would choke serving for the match 🙂
This loss means nothing to me. I want Stan to lose early in Australia so that he spins out of the Top 10, tired of his entitled behavior………….
^^^^^That too…………………………:-D
I think you missed the space between my words!
Mr. Federer will be biting his nails now. He will have Mr. Wawrinka’s guts for garters if he doesn’t deliver in the DC final.
Allez les bleus
Nostradimonus is 6 for 6!
You and me both, ritb.
Stan is beginning to panic because he hasn’t lived up to expectations; imagine what state he’d be in trying to defend his Australian title. He’ll s**t himself.
have missed a single set yet today?
8 for 8. Nostradimonus.
Congratulation Nostradimonus.
The Pouille match was NID but it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for Federer. Young Lucas acquitted himself admirably bearing in mind who he was playing. Just hope the hype and expectations in the future don’t get to him. Too much exposure too soon has so often derailed many a promising newcomer.
isn’t the guy already in his 20s? Shouldn’t be a problem.
^^^^Yes, He’ll be 21 in February. He seems very level headed and composed compared with some of his contemporaries.
federer may well start feeling some fatigue in his next match(es). Don’t think he’l win Paris