PBZ Zagreb Indoors
A welcome stop to a tennis powerhouse – Croatia. Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig are the top 2 right now with Ivo Karlovic not far behind. In fact, Dodig and Karlovic could meet in the 2nd round.
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 250
Surface: Indoor Hard
Defending Champion: Marin Cilic – After a troubling year in 2013, he’s back and hoping to defend with new coach Goran Ivanisevic in his corner.
Nasty Floater: Ivo Karlovic – A landmine in the draw for anyone indoors. Could play Dodig and Cilic.
Veteran Watch: Tommy Haas – #1 seed here and plays fellow German Benjamin Becker 2nd round. Will the 35 year old hold up this year?
Up and Coming: Dan Evans – The Brit has done well to be seeded and could win his first 2 rounds.
Slumping: Mikhail Youzhny – Had a bad Aussie Open but don’t write off one of the mentally toughest on tour.
On Fire: Sergiy Stakhovsky – Played great last weekend in Davis Cup. Indoors, his serve and volley game is dangerous.
My pick: Phillipp Kohlschreiber - I like his draw and temperament. He’s due another title.
Did You Know? Tommy Haas, who turned pro in 1996, will be making his debut in Zagreb this week.
Watch: Zagreb Uncovered
Vina Del Mar
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 250
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Defending Champion: Horacio Zeballos – Denied Rafael Nadal at his comeback event last year, upseting him 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-4 for the title.
Nasty Floater: Thomaz Bellucci – Ranked 125 now from a high of 21. Time for a better year
Veteran Watch: Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo – I thought the 36 year old had retired? I guess not. He qualified here.
Up and Coming: Pablo Carrena Busta – At 22, was named Most Improved Player of the Year in November 2013
Slumping: Alex ‘The Dog’ Dolgopolov – Ranked 52 and nowhere near the form he showed in 2012 when ranked a career high 12. Needs to get it together.
On Fire: Fabio ‘Fabulous’ Fognini – Had a good Davis Cup weekend and coming off a career year.
My pick: Fabio Fognini – The world #15 has a new level of confidence these days and should be enough to hold off Almagro.
Did You Know?: The Royal Guard Open Chile returned to Viña del Mar in 2012, after a brief stint in Santiago.
Montpellier Open
Gasquet and Monfils had decent Australian Opens and I expect some combination of these 3 to make the final.
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 250
Surface: Indoor Hard
Defending Champion: Richard Gasquet - The Frenchman has a 3-1 record in singles finals on French soil.
Nasty Floater: Denis Istomin – Remarkably unseeded and never won a title. Gets the match-tough Tursunov round 2.
Veteran Watch: Nikolay ‘The Machine’ Davydenko – Ranked 60 but could close on 500 wins this year.
Up and Coming: Jerzy ‘Pole-Axe’ Janowicz - The Pole has a 26-12 match record on indoor courts.
Slumping: Gilles Simon – Only 2-2 on the year but needs a few wins.
On Fire: Gael ‘Force’ Monfils – 7-2 on the year; terrible in finals (4-16), so if he could only correct that stat.
My pick: Richard Gasquet – Inside the top 10 coming off a career year in 2013. More to follow.
Did You Know? The indoor hard court event was had relocated from Lyon in 2012
Check back next week for more!