‘s-Hertogenbosch
The ‘Unpronounceable Name’ Open in Holland is a another grass warm-up tournament with a field without too much grass court pedigree. Tour veterans with some success on the green stuff however, are Dimitry Tursunov, ‘Professor’ Xavier Malisse and Gilles Muller.
David ‘The Boffin’ Goffin gets a wild card and it should be interesting to see how his pocket-sized game translates on grass. David Ferrer has won on grass, so don’t be surprised if he wins here. Dutch interest includes the talented Robin ‘Schlobber’ Haase and 2-time Challenger tour winner this season, Igor Sijsling.
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 250
Surface: Grass
Defending Champion: Dimitry Tursunov - Still dangerous on grass, after all these years. Not much form right now.
Nasty Floater: Ivan Dodig – A nice run at Queens should give Ivan some confidence for another deep run.
Veteran Watch: Xavier Malisse – The X-Man ran afoul of Nalbandian at Queens and gets Victor ‘Tricky’ Troicki
Up and Coming: David Goffin – A well deserved wild card for the pint-sized Belgian.
Slumping: Alex ‘Back in the USSR’ Bogomolov – After a great year last year, he can’t win a match.
On Fire: Edouard Roger-Vasselin – A win against Roddick last week for the little-known Frenchman.
My pick: David Ferrer – Playing it safe, but don’t bet against the Wall.
Did You Know? Dutch winners include Richard Krajicek winning in 1994 and ’97 and Sjeng Schalken clinching back-to-back wins in 2002-03.
Eastbourne
This event has the strongest field this week and could see some nice matches. Gasquet is top seed and a meeting with Bernie ‘Atomic’ Tomic is on the cards and would be a doozy.
Not much serve and volley of course these days but Ryan Harrison could face Michel Llodra in what would be a nice throw-back match.
A block buster 1st round sees special entry Sam ‘Samurai’ Querry take on wild card(yes) Andy Roddick. Expect a flurry of aces and one disappointed American at the end.
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 250
Surface: Grass
Defending Champion: Andreas Seppi – Won his first title last year here. A big ask of him to repeat this year but he’s in form.
Nasty Floater: Michael ‘Wildcard’ Llodra – A grass expert and lethal lefty game, so expect some wins.
Veteran Watch: Julien Benneteau – Back from injury but gets a tough opener against in-form Lu.
Up and Coming: James Ward – Had a great grass season last year but is this Brit a one-trick pony?
Slumping: Andy Roddick – A terrible run of form and in a must win match
On Fire: Phillip Kohlschreiber – A victory over Rafa in Halle was huge for PK. Highly dangerous and playing well.
My pick: Richard Gasquet – A winner on grass before, he should keep his head to win 4 matches.
Did You Know? Formerly a women’s event, this tourney used to be played in Nottingham
Watch: Eastbourne Uncovered
Thanks for reading and check back next week for more picks and amusement!
