Back on the calendar after a few years, the Atlanta brings the heat with a strong US contingent, who are probably relieved to see the hard courts again.
This tournament is part of the ‘US Open Series’, which is it’s own little race with a big pot of cash at the end of it. Atlanta is a hot bed of tennis talent these days, so watch out for the wild cards.
Let’s break it down:
Surface: Hard
Defending Champion: Mardy Fish
Dark Horse: Cedrik-Marcel Stebe
Wildcards: Robby Ginepri, Tommy Haas, Donald Young
Late Withdrawals: Sam Querry, Milos Raonic
Late Entrants: Gilles Muller, Richard Berankis
My pick: Mardy Fish
Downgraded from a Masters tournament, this clay court tournament is directed by Michael Stich and remains a popular stop on the tour.
Last year saw a surprise winner in Andrey Golubev, but I suspect some of the bigger guns with come packing this year.
Let’s break it down:
Surface: Clay
Defending Champion: Andrey Golubev
Dark Horse: Cedrik-Marcel Stebe
Wildcards: Andreas Beck, Tobias Kamke, Julian Reister, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe
My pick: Nicolas Almagro
Thanks for reading and check back next week for more tips, news and musings!
