ATP Picks: Stockholm and Moscow

Swedish tennis my be in crisis but the nation’s tournments remain top class. Their top player Soderling withdrew meaning Thomas Johansson is still the last home-grown titlist in 2004 unless Swedish wildcard Michael Ryderstadt can perform a miracle. Unlikely however. Roger Federer who won in 2010, is also absent.

The highlights of the top half of the draw, boasts in-form Aussie Tomic, dangerman Kevin Anderson and big serving whipper-snapper Milos Raonic. Wawrinka looks to have an easy path until possibly meeting Argentina’s Nalbandian or Del Potro in round 3.

Monfils comes in as number 1 seed, but I’ve given up trying to predict how he will fair. Either he will get injured, lose first round or win the tournament. You pick one.

Let’s break it down:

Surface: Indoor Hard
Defending Champion: Roger Federer
Qualifiers to Watch: Tobias Kamke
Dark Horse: Bernard Tomic
My pick: Juan Del Potro

View Full Draw

Russian players have dominated the event, winning 14 of the 21 titles, with Yevgeny Kafelnikov winning a record five consecutive titles between 1997-2001. Several previous Russian winners lurk unseeded including Igor(s) Andreev and Kunitsyn, while veteran Davydenko is seeded 4th and loves fast indoor courts.

This time around, the Serbian army is in town and defending champion Troicki is on course to meet number 1 seed Tipsarevic, who is coming off his first tour title at last. The dark horse is Dolgopolov who is super talented but prone to mid match lapses in concentration.

Let’s break it down:

Surface: Indoor Hard
Defending Champion: Victor Troicki
Qualifiers to Watch: Jeremy Chardy
Dark Horse: Alex Dolgopolov
My pick: Janko Tipsarevic

View Full Draw

Check out ATP’s Moscow Uncovered: