Novak is No Djoke!

Dubai ATP 500
Top Seeds:
1. Djokovic
2. Murray
3. Simon
4. Ferrer
5. Cilic
6. Andreev
7. Karlovic
8. Safin
My Pick: Djokovic – if he doesn’t hurt his little toe
Underdog Pick: Fabrice “The Magician” Santoro

Champion: Novak Djokovic

Runner Up: David Ferrer

Djokovic d. Ferrer 7-5 6-3

Semi Finals:

Djokovic d. Simon 3-6 7-5 7-5

Ferrer d. Gasquet 6-2 6-2

With this win Djokovic keeps his ranking of top 4 somewhat secure for another few months and gains some much needed confidence. Of course had Nadal and Federer both been in this tournament the result would have been different… but you can’t fault Novak for taking advantage of a great situation here.

Now the question is: Is his game back together for the year or is he still going to have some shaky results like he did at the start of the year? Time will tell, though not only is this a good tournament win, but he did so with convincing wins over Ferrer and Cilic.

OH and one final note… Gasquet, great fight against Ferrer. I’m sure he faught and clawed like a dog to win those 4 games. (he’s known for such amazing effort)

February 28th, 2009
1 Comment
Read More...

Robredo loses: Everyone else takes a deep sigh of relief

Acapulco ATP 500

Top Seeds:

1. Nalbandian <- is anyone suprised?
2. Monfils
3. Robredo
4. Almagro
5. Acasuso

6. Montanes
7. Granollers
8. Moya

My pick: Tommy “en fuego” Robredo
Underdog Pick: Everyone other than Robredo… but if I had to pick I’d go Bellucci


Results:

Almagro d. Vassallo-Arguello 6-4 6-4

Acasuso d. Robredo 7-5 6-2 <-- suprising result, well done Acasuso

To take out the guy who has won the last two consecutive clay court ATP events in straight sets 5 and 2 is quite a feat. Credit where it is due, Acasuso should get some sort of knock out bounty bonus to his pay check this week!

Monfils d. Acasuso 6-3 6-4

Finals:

Monfils vs. Almagro


Going to be an interesting final. I’d have to pick Almagro but he has a little bit of underachieving in him. Monfils leads the head-to-head series 2-1 and won the last two meetings BUT both were on hard courts and there is a massive difference in the way these guys play on clay and hard… and I’m going to take what I deam to be an underdog pick in Almagro to win.

Should be a great match to watch, enjoy!

For the main draw men’s singles click here

February 28th, 2009
2 Comments
Read More...

Fish-ing for a Title!

Delray Beach, FL ATP 250
1. Fish
2. Querrey
3. Gulbis
4. Kunitsyn
5. Darcis
6. Serra
7. Chardy (pictured)
8. Lu

My Pick: Querrey
Underdog Pick: Hewitt

Like I’ve said all week, this is the weak sister of the ATP’s and its showing in full force. Fish vs. Chardy and Korolev vs. Rochus sound more like first round matchups than ATP 250 Semi final matchups! The funny part about that rather blunt statement is that Fish and Chardy are both seeded!

To give due respect, Chardy and Fish both won 7-6 7-6 against capable opponents. I don’t think either of these guys could ask for a better matchup this late in the tournament. These two have never played each other, so with the pressure and a relatively unknown opponent this should actually be an interesting matchup. I’ll admit I’ve only seen Chardy play twice, however much like 95% of the matches Fish plays… its on him! Flip a coin and we’ll have the result.

Rochus and Korolev, ranked 60 and 105 respectively, are more than likely having trouble believing they are playing such a weak opponent this late in the tournament! Wake up guys, its a massive opportunity!

With the talent pool left the clear bet is Fish… but I just can’t do it. Betting on someone that’s that streaky is just asking for trouble and should be avoided.

Semifinal box scores:

Fish d. Serra 7-6(2) 7-6(4)

Chardy d. Baghdatis 7-6(7) 7-6(3)

Korolev d. Garcia-Lopez 6-2 6-2

Rochus d. Koubek 6-3 7-6(6)

February 28th, 2009
Add Comment
Read More...

Dubai-bye Murray

Dubai ATP 500
Top Seeds:
1. Djokovic
2. Murray
3. Simon
4. Ferrer
5. Cilic
6. Andreev
7. Karlovic
8. Safin

My Pick: Djokovic – if he doesn’t hurt his little toe

Underdog Pick: Fabrice “The Magician” Santoro

I’ll start by saying Santoro isn’t really a great underdog pick but I love the guy and the way he plays… So why not, With his draw he really should make it to the quarters!

Finally, a tournament where the expected is happening. The collective ranking of the 4 players left in the semi’s is 51. That could potentially have been about 23 spots lower if Murray wasn’t a wimp.

Interesting results of the tournament so far:

Murray d. Clement 6-2 6-3

Gasquet d. Murray – walkover

Obviously we see here that the brutally difficult match against Clement was just too much for Murray, who faught like a valiant warrior to get there in the first place. Ha, ha, ha. Again perhaps I’m too hard on Murray but I’m willing to bet that last week I stubbed my toe on my kitchen table and it hurt more than his “ankle sprain”. Not only that but he’s playing a guy in Gasquet who while loaded with talent has an inate ability to lose AND just played two 3 setters in a row!

Ferrer d. Andreev 7-5 6-1

Simon d. Santoro 7-6 (3) 6-1

Good tournament Fabrice, keep making the quarters of ATP’s the way you do.. your a legend!

Djokovic d. Cilic 6-3 6-4

This is an extremely good result for Novak beating up on an extremely strong Cilic who has titles already this year in Chennai and Zagreb. Djokovic NEEDS this title.

Both of the semifinals should be extremely good. If i had to make picks I’d take Djoker over Simon and Ferrer over Gasquet… but it really could go either way. Great stuff to watch!

February 26th, 2009
3 Comments
Read More...

Acapulco without suprises (Nalbandian falls)

Acapulco ATP 500
Top Seeds:
1. Nalbandian <- is anyone suprised?
2. Monfils
3. Robredo
4. Almagro
5. Acasuso
6. Montanes
7. Granollers
8. Moya
My pick: Tommy “en fuego” Robredo
Underdog Pick: Everyone other than Robredo… but if I had to pick I’d go Bellucci
Interesting first and second round results:
Koellerer d. Nalbandian 1-6 6-3 6-4
If you’ve been reading my blogs for a few weeks than this is no suprise… if you’re someone who puts huge stock in rankings however, I imagine it is. Suffice it to say betting on Davydenko and Nalbandian to do well is almost always a losing proposition (though we all know people love to bet on Davydenko…)
Vassallo-Arguello d. Granollers 6-4 6-3
Almagro d. Starace 7-6(1) 6-7(5) 6-3
Battle here, clearly… but did it take too much out of Almagro? We know Almagro is a clay courter and there for MUST be fit, but you have to wonder with his talent why he hasn’t gone too far in many tournaments yet. Far be it for me to question fitness, but in watching his game I’d pick him to be one of the top 5 claycourters in the world and he’s only won 4 ATP titles in over 4 years. Perhaps I’m too critical. It’d be a massive upset if he doesn’t get the job done next round against his opponent Gimeno-Traver who is currently ranked #89.
Mayer d. Moya 6-4 7-5
Hate to see you go Carlos, keep fighting the good fight
Monfils d. Bellucci 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 6-1
Bellucci was my underdog pick and he certainly gave the #2 seed Monfils a good run. A small and safe prediction here… Monfils will take out Mayer in the next round and get beat by the Robredo steamroller after that.
Match to watch:
Robredo vs. Acasuso
Both of these guys are wishing they were on the top half of the draw instead of playing each other. Robredo leads 5-3 lifetime, and has won 3 out of 4 matches they’ve played on clay including the last two meetings in straight sets. Given Robredo has won his last two ATP events, you have to pick him to win this.
If either of these two win this tournament they earned it, with what has now shown to be pretty clearly the toughest draws in the tournament.
If you like claycourt tennis and smart play… Try using bakko backboards & watch Tommy Robredo
February 26th, 2009
Add Comment
Read More...

Golden Opportunity in Delray

Delray Beach, FL ATP 250
1. Fish
2. Querrey
3. Gulbis
4. Kunitsyn
5. Darcis
6. Serra
7. Chardy
8. Lu
My Pick: Querrey
Underdog Pick: Hewitt
The interesting results from 1st and 2nd round:
C. Rochus d. Querrey 6-4 6-1
Koubek d. Lu 6-4 6-3
Korolev d. Kendrick (American) 3-6 6-3 7-5
Chardy d. Haas 7-6(7) 6-3
Baghdatis d. Gulbis 7-5 6-2
Fish d. Dancevic 7-5 6-3
Some fairly interesting matches for the weak sister that this tournament is. This is an absolutely incredible opportunity win an ATP tennis event for every player left in the draw. You can say Fish is the favorite if you want, but I just bet a friend of mine on 4:1 odds that he won’t get it done… so that leaves a slew of players ranked worse than 50 in the world to win an ATP event with half of the second round still to finish!
Lets just say for an ATP event in the USA, that is VERY rare. It’s a shame really that one of the young guns like Gulbis or Querrey couldn’t step up but looking at the draw it’s almost impossible to pick a winner, so I challenge YOU to do it. Leave a comment if you like and see if you’re more professional savvy than I am (my pick, Querrey, is already out).
Matches to watch:
Baghdatis vs. Sela:
Sela has had good results recently and is the largest mover in terms of points inside the top 100. Needless to say we all know Baghdatis has it in him, but his results lately have been shakey at best. Now would be a good time to get back to top (or somewhere near top) form and win this tournament.
Fish vs. Spadea:
American battle. Fish leads lifetime 3-1… The only loss being 6 years ago, however every match since has been a third setter, and we all know Fish is MORE than capable of throwing in a horrific day, it’s just a matter of time. I’d bet Fish makes it past this one, but you never know with him.
As far as top level tennis goes look to the other 500 level events this week, however if you like to see who can step up and take advantage of the situation with the same frequency of Haley’s comet, check this one out.

For the singles main draw, click here

February 26th, 2009
2 Comments
Read More...

Why Dubai? apparently that’s a good question

Dubai ATP 500
Top Seeds:

1. Djokovic
2. Murray
3. Simon
4. Ferrer
5. Cilic
6. Andreev
7. Karlovic
8. Safin

My Pick: Djokovic – if he doesn’t hurt his little toe

Underdog Pick: Fabrice “The Magician” Santoro

I’ll start by saying Santoro isn’t really a great underdog pick but I love the guy and the way he plays… So why not, With his draw he really should make it to the quarters!

Interesting first round results:

Djokovic and Andreev win.

Murray d. Stakhovsky 6-7(3) 6-3 5-3 ret’d

Both players hurt their ankles in this match, and certainly not to the point of not being able to walk. Way to quit Stakhovsky, as I watched you WALK off the court it was clear that you were so badly injuered you couldn’t have stood out there for four more points… way to be a man.

Clement d. Schuettler 1-6 6-3 6-3

Clement is also one of my favorite players to watch due to his unusual shot selections so it’s nice to see him grab a round win. Now he plays Murray who is complaining about a sore ankle so I’d love to see Clement take down Murray in the next round… and It’s possible.

Gasquet d. Safin 6-3 5-7 6-3

Ferrer d. Ljubicic 3-6 6-2 6-1

Ferrer has a truckload of game, it’d be nice to see him get things going again after a slump at the end of ’08 and start of this year.

Chiudinelli d. Karlovic 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(7)

Cilic d. Tipsarevic 2-6 7-6(3) 6-4

Fabrice “The Magician” Santoro d. Hanescu 6-4 6-2

Simon d. Ghareeb 5-7 6-4 6-4

Matches to watch:

Cilic vs. Benneteau – Battle, thats all, battle

Andreev vs. Tursunov – they are ranked 24 and 28. Andreev has won 5 of their 6 contests… but 4 out of 6 were in 3 sets.

Clement vs. Murray – Go Clement! Murray has a “hurt ankle” but who really knows what that means, and certainly who knows whats coming from Arnaud! This would be a very entertaining one to watch.

I think it’s easy to see that this is the Big Boys tournament of the week, the seed cut is twice as high as Acapulco and nearly three times higher than Delray Beach. If you want great tennis, look here.
February 24th, 2009
1 Comment
Read More...

Lets go Acapulco!

Acapulco ATP 500

Top Seeds:
1. Nalbandian
2. Monfils
3. Robredo
4. Almagro
5. Acasuso
6. Montanes
7. Granollers
8. Moya

My pick: Tommy “en fuego” Robredo

Underdog Pick: Everyone other than Robredo… but if I had to pick I’d go Bellucci

the only interesting early round result:

(6) Montanes d. Echagaray 6-1 6-4 – This may not look like much of an interesting result but it actually is the first match Montanes has won this entire year. To be realistic it isn’t much of a result though beating a guy currently ranked #358 so lets see how next round goes.

Matches to watch:

Fognini vs. Granollers – two guys up that are up and coming, look for a battle here

Moya vs. Andujar – Moya has been struggling like crazy. On paper this looks like an easy win, and it should be… Lets go Carlos!

Some high level clay court tennis incoming in the 2nd round and beyond as this 500 level tourny has attracted a significantly higher level field than the 250 in Delray

February 24th, 2009
Add Comment
Read More...

Delray is underway

Delray Beach, FL ATP 250

1. Fish
2. Querrey
3. Gulbis
4. Kunitsyn
5. Darcis
6. Serra
7. Chardy
8. Lu

My Pick: Querrey

Underdog Pick: Hewitt

Theres been a few first round results in so far with the rest of the relatively boresome first round finishing up today. (5) Darcis lost to Garcia-Lopez which on paper is a huge suprise but almost all of Darcis’ points were from around this time last year in Memphis, and he’ll soon be falling about 60 spots potentially out of the top 100.

Kendrick, Querrey and Rochus all advanced.

Matches to watch:

Baghdatis vs. Gulbis – Baghdatis got piss pounded last week which is the main reason I’m giving Gulbis the edge here… in about a year my guess is Gulbis be a huge favorite though.

Fish vs. Dancevic - You could look at this and say “#1 seed with TONS of game playing… a Canadian… no brainer”. But if you take a real quick atptennis.com review of Fish’s career (and last week loss to Rochus) you’ll see that he’s MORE than capable of losing at any point in time. If he wins this tournament despite being the #1 seed I’d be more suprised than a burglar unknowingly breaking into Chuck Norris’ house.

Not a lot of other great stuff here until a few rounds later in the tournament. This is the only 250 event this week and with the new way the ATP is working as far as requirements on 500′s are going… this isn’t the most desireable tournament. Definitely good stuff to watch here but it’ll be around the quarters.

February 24th, 2009
Add Comment
Read More...

Robredo Reigns on clay, Roddick gets revenge

Buenos Aires ATP
The Champ, Again.
I can’t say I’m suprised by this in the least.. But congrats again to Tommy Robredo. If any of you reading this are thinking of playing a clay court tournament in the near future, I suggest you get on the other half of the draw from this guy! (unless Nadal is there).
Robredo d. Monaco 7-5 2-6 7-6(5)
Now the question is can Robredo go for a triple crown and win the 500 in Mexico this week. His potential matchups would be Acasuso again, Simon, and then who knows in the finals… but I don’t think Nalbandian. Well, why not? I’d say its ballsy to pick a person to win 3 ATP’s in a row due to fatigue etc… especially when all three are on clay… but if your going to and his name isn’t Rafael, then Robredo looks like the man to bet on.
Top Players:
1. David Nalbandian
2. Nicolas Almagro
3. Tommy Robredo
4. Carlos Moya
5. Jose Acasuso
6. Alberto Montanes
7. Marcel Granollers
8. Eduardo Schwank
Underdog Pick: Nicolas Massu
My pick: Tommy Robredo
Memphis ATP
Top Players:
1. Roddick
2. Del Potro
3. Blake
4. Soderling
5. Stepanek
6. Andreev
7. Fish
8. Querrey
Underdog Pick: Querrey
Roddick d. Stepanek 7-5 7-5
Roddick really should have won the last two ATP events, but at least he gets the job done here. He stepped up his training this year, has a new coach, and is getting back to what made him great in the first place… a massive forehand. I won’t put a lot of stock in his clay court game just yet (though his improved fitness will clearly help) but on hard courts Andy Roddick is one of the top 5 players in the world right now. There, I said it.
Good effort by Stepanek as well as the last two weeks of results for him certainly are impressive. I guess for someone as “unique” looking as him to date Martina Hingis among others on the WTA… I shouldn’t be suprised by any results he has!

Marseilles ATP

Top Players:
1. Djokovic
2. Simon
3. Monfils
4. Tsonga
5. Berdych
6. Safin
7. Lopez
Underdog Pick: Safin

Tsonga d. Llodra 7-5 7-6(3)

I don’t have a lot to say here, this was predictable. That being said how about a recap of Tsonga’s year so far:

Marseille – Champion
Rotterdam – Lost to Nadal in the quarters in a VERY tight 3 sets
Johannesburg – Champion
Aussie Open – Quarters loss to Verdasco
(injured before that)

I’m not going to sit on this blog and say that everyone that wins an ATP title is one of the top 5 guys right now, and I just said Roddick was above. But the proverbial cream is rising to the top over and over again so far this year… We really aren’t getting a lot of variation in Champions aside from the fact that it isn’t Federer or Nadal!

That being said when the Slams come around the usual suspects will be back in force… and probably meeting in the finals yet again.

Completed Singles Draws

Buenos Aires – For the Main Draw click Here

Marseille – For the Singles main draw, click here

Memphis – For the main singles draw, click here

February 24th, 2009
Add Comment
Read More...
« Older Entries
View HTML sitemap