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2010-08-30 05:49:02
Expert picks are back for the U.S. Open and begins right away with pre-tournament predictions from the quarterfinals through the champion. Stay tuned throughout the fortnight for daily expert picks!
Ricky
Quarterfinals
Rafael Nadal over David Nalbandian 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3: Nalbandian is still scary, but he is no longer quite as on fire as he was earlier in the summer. If this was on an indoor hard court, maybe the Argentine would have the edge. But it isn't.
Andy Murray over Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-2. Berdych is a completely different player in 2010, but can he really make it to three consecutive Grand Slam semifinals? Murray in his same quarter of the draw won't help that effort.
Mardy Fish over Andy Roddick 6-7(5), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Roddick got an outstanding draw, otherwise he does not have much business reaching the quarterfinals. Fish has beat him twice already this summer and he should make it 3-0.
Roger Federer over Robin Soderling: 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2. Federer won 12 straight matches against Soderling and he is not about to lose two straight. The Swede pulled off the upset on clay at the French, but he won't do it at a tournament Federer generally owns.
Semifinals
Andy Murray over Rafael Nadal 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3. The bottom line is that Murray is simply too good for Nadal on a fast hard court. Nadal will keep it close, as he always does, but the Scot is going to prevail.
Roger Federer over Mardy Fish 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3. Like Berdych, Fish is a different player in 2010 (more physically, though, than mentally). Like Berdych, Fish could make a serious run in New York before running into one of the tournament's two top favorites.
Final
Andy Murray over Roger Federer 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3. Murray is 0-2 lifetime in Grand Slam finals, and both losses came at the hands of Federer. With experience under his belt and confidence as the U.S. Open Series winner, the third time will be the charm.
Cheryl
Quarterfinals
Rafael Nadal over Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. This is a bit of a stretch perhaps, but I feel like Gulbis might just get the best of Nalbandian if the two of them meet in the round of 16. Nalby started to look tired in Toronto and looked even more tired in Cincinnati.
Andy Murray over Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. I think Tomas Berdych might just lose early here. The weather in NY is unpredictable and Berdych has a tough first rounder against Llodra. I think Muzza gets through his quarter easily.
Andy Roddick over Mardy Fish 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-4. Novak Djokovic might be the first big upset of the tournament. The Serb is susceptible to extreme heat, which they are predicting in NYC and Fish is playing fantastic tennis (though I don't see him getting past Roddick a second time).
Roger Federer over Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. Federer's not going to lose to Soderling a second time in a slam, especially since the Swiss man is playing so well right now. This should be fairly routine for the Swiss.
Semifinals
Andy Murray over Rafael Nadal 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4. Nadal will want this win very badly, but I think that Murray might just be too good on this surface. Expect a massive fight from the Spaniard, but it just might not be enough. There is some possibility that Nadal could pull it out, but don't count on it.
Andy Roddick over Roger Federer 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. This is a complete hunch on my part, but I feel like Roddick might just nip Feds this time. Federer surely has been playing better since Toronto, but then again so has Roddick. If the American can manage his nerves, he'll make the final.
Final
Andy Murray over Andy Roddick 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5). This is the one for Muzza...his breakthrough. Murray has always handled the Roddick serve fairly well -- and if he neutralizes that on this surface, he'll be golden. First Slam for the Scot. Probably on "third monday" again.
Comment | 141 comments
2010-08-29 21:46:42
This is the final installment of Ricky's five-part U.S. Open preview series.
Part 1: Draw analysis
Part 2: Top 25 contenders
Part 3: Nadal and Federer breakdown
Part 4: Weekly "Approach Shots"
Part 5: Full tournament predictions
First round
Nadal over Gabashvili in 3, Istomin over M. Gonzalez in 3
Simon over Young in 4, Kohlschreiber over Kamke in 4
Lopez over Giraldo in 4, Schuettler over Paire in 3
Stakhovsky over Luczak in 3, Ljubicic over Harrison in 4
Dolgopolov over Ferrer in 5, Brands over Becker in 4
Nieminen over Gimeno-Traver in 3, Gulbis over Chardy in 4
Nalbandian over De Voest in 3, F. Mayer over Serra in 4
Mannarino over Riba in 3, Verdasco over Fognini in 5
Murray over Lacko in 3, Brown over Ramirez-Hidalgo in 4
Lu over Chela in 4, Wawrinka over Kukushkin in 4
Querrey over Klahn in 3, Seppi over Granollers in 3
Garcia-Lopez over Kubot in 5, Almagro over Starace in 4
Youzhny over Golubev in 4, Malisse over Sela in 5
Chiudinelli over Sock in 4, Gil over Isner in 3
Benneteau over Stepanek in 3, Robredo over Rosol in 4
Hanescu over Berlocq in 3, Berdych over Llodra in 3
Davydenko over Russell in 3, Gasquet over Greul in 4
Anderson over Devvarman in 4, Bellucci over Smyczek in 5
Monfils over Kendrick in 5, Andreev over Zeballos in 5
Tipsarevic over Rochus in 3, Roddick over Robert in 3
Baghdatis over Clement in 3, Ginepri over Schwank in 5
Silva over Cuevas in 5, Fish over Hajek in 3
Polansky over Monaco in 5, Blake over Vliegen in 5
Petzschner over Lojda in 4, Djokovic over Troicki in 3
Soderling over Haider-Maurer in 3, Dent over Falla in 4
De Bakker over Gicquel in 3, Dodig over Gonzalez in 4
Montanes over Przysiezny in 5, Ball over Raonic in 5
Nishikori over Korolev in 4, Cilic over Marchenko in 5
Melzer over Tursunov in 3, Sweeting over Berankis in 5
Phau over Mello in 4, Ferrero over Klizan in 4
Hewitt over Mathieu in 4, L. Mayer over Rufin in 4
Berrer over Beck in 5, Federer over Dabul in 3
Second round
Nadal over Istomin in 4
Kohlschreiber over Simon in 4
Schuettler over Lopez in 4
Stakhovsky over Ljubicic in 4
Dolgopolov over Brands in 3
Nieminen over Gulbis over in 5
Nalbandian over F. Mayer in 4
Verdasco over Mannarino in 4
Murray over Brown in 3
Lu over Wawrinka in 5
Querrey over Seppi in 4
Almagro over Garcia-Lopez in 4
Youzhny over Malisse in 5
Chiudinelli over Gil in 4
Benneteau over Robredo in 3
Berdych over Hanescu in 3
Davydenko over Gasquet in 5
Anderson over Bellucci in 4
Monfils over Andreev in 4
Roddick over Tipsarevic in 4
Baghdatis over Ginepri in 3
Fish over Silva in 3
Blake over Polansky in 4
Djokovic over Petzschner in 3
Soderling over Dent in 3
De Bakker over Dodig in 3
Montanes over Ball in 4
Nishikori over Cilic in 5
Melzer over Sweeting in 3
Ferrero over Phau in 4
Hewitt over L. Mayer in 3
Federer over Berrer in 3
Third round
Nadal over Kohlschreiber in 3
Stakhovsky over Schuettler in 4
Dolgopolov over Nieminen in 4
Nalbandian over Verdasco in 3
Murray over Lu in 3
Querrey over Almagro in 4
Youzhny over Chiudinelli in 4
Berdych over Benneteau in 4
Davydenko over Anderson in 4
Roddick over Monfils in 4
Fish over Baghdatis in 5
Djokovic over Blake in 3
Soderling over De Bakker in 4
Nishikori over Montanes in 4
Melzer over Ferrero in 5
Federer over Hewitt in 3
Fourth round
Nadal over Stakhovsky in 4
Nalbandian over Dolgopolov in 3
Murray over Querrey in 3
Berdych over Youzhny in 4
Roddick over Davydenko in 4
Fish over Djokovic in 5
Soderling over Nishikori in 4
Federer over Melzer in 4
Quarterfinals
Nadal over Nalbandian in 4
Murray over Berdych in 4
Fish over Roddick in 5
Federer over Soderling in 4
Semifinals
Murray over Nadal in 4
Federer over Fish in 4
Final
Murray over Federer in 5
Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!
Comment | 34 comments
2010-08-29 16:12:56
"Approach Shots" is Ricky’s weekly look at what’s ahead (or “approaching”) on the ATP Tour. Every Sunday he previews all the tournaments scheduled for the upcoming week. This is the fourth of Ricky’s five-part U.S. Open preview series, running through Sunday.
Part 1: Draw analysis
Part 2: Top 25 contenders
Part 3: Nadal and Federer breakdown
Part 4: Weekly "Approach Shots"
Part 5: Full tournament predictions
U.S. Open
Where: Flushing, New York
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: 15,916,000
Points: 2000
Top Seed: Rafael Nadal
2009 Champion: Juan Martin Del Potro (not playing)
First-Round Upset Alerts
Fabio Fognini over (8) Fernando Verdasco – Fognini beat Verdasco in the Wimbledon first round, so why can’t he do it again? The Italian showed signs of decent hard-court tennis by qualifying for Toronto and advancing one round. Verdasco has not shown much of anything since the clay-court swing.
Alexandr Dolgopolov over (10) David Ferrer – Dolgopolov and Ferrer also faced each other in the Cincinnati first round, with Ferrer prevailing 6-4 in the third. Dolgopolov has been one of the breakout stars on tour this season and with Ferrer outside of his preferred surface of clay, an upset is possible.
Illya Marchenko over (11) Marin Cilic – Cilic somehow beat Mardy Fish in Washington and went on to reach the semifinals, but other than that he has done almost nothing this summer. Marchenko is making a name for himself this season and the 22-year-old Ukrainian got some nice preparation for this tournament with a solid U.S. Open Series.
Andrey Golubev over (12) Mikhail Youzhny – Golubev came out of virtually nowhere to win a 500-point title in Hamburg earlier this summer. That is inflating both his ranking and the way people think about him, but he really does have a chance in this one. Youzhny had a great start to the season, but the Russian has cooled off.
Jeremy Chardy over (24) Ernests Gulbis – Gulbis is 2-0 lifetime against Chardy and has no real reason to this one…. But he has no real reason to lose a lot of the matches he ends up losing. Chardy and Gulbis are two of the streakiest players on tour so you don’t know what you’re going to get and anything is possible. But the edge in current form goes to Gulbis.
Julien Benneteau over (28) Radek Stepanek – This is only an upset according to seed, of course. Stepanek has basically been non-existent this year due to injury and fatigue, while Benneteau once again heated up for the Open with an impressive showing in Cincinnati. Count on the Frenchman winning this one, and probably in straights.
Paul-Henri Mathieu over (32) Lleyton Hewitt – Hewitt has always been plagued by injury problems and this season is no different. First it was hip surgery, now—less seriously—it is a calf strain. The good news for Hewitt is that Mathieu has also been dealing with physical problems this entire year. Needless to say, the healthier player is going to win this one.
Hot
Rafael Nadal – Cooled off only a little in Toronto and Cincinnati; still has two Grand Slam titles in the last three months and a third in four months would give him a career slam.
Roger Federer – Heated up just in time with a second consecutive title in Cincinnati.
Andy Murray – Won the U.S. Open Series with a runner-up in Los Angeles, a title in Toronto, and a quarterfinal finish in Cincinnati.
Tomas Berdych – Endured a minor setback in three summer hard-court tournaments, but a semifinal at the French Open and runner-up at Wimbledon have to be fresh in his mind.
Marcos Baghdatis – One of this summer’s hottest players, he reached the Washington final and beat Nadal en route to the Cincy semifinals.
Mardy Fish – Captured back-to-back titles in Newport and Atlanta then made it to the Cincinnati final before falling to Federer in three tight sets.
David Nalbandian – One of the three players outside the Top 16 (along with Baghdatis and Fish) whom nobody wants to face, Nalbandian won the Washington title and reached the quarters in Toronto.
Cold
Nikolay Davydenko – Underwent wrist surgery in the spring and is just now returning to form. It might not be in time for a good showing at the U.S. Open, though.
Fernando Verdasco – Enjoyed an awesome run on the clay during the spring, but has disappeared since. Verdasco owns a 4-6 match record since the French Open.
Marin Cilic – Started the season in typically hot fashion, but is not the same player at the moment. He lost his opener at two of three U.S. Open Series events and is 5-6 since Roland Garros.
Ivan Ljubicic – Won a shock Indian Wells title this spring, but it has been downhill ever since. The 31-year-old has won only one of his last six matches.
Juan Carlos Ferrero – His form has been consistently good this year; the only problem is that Ferrero has not played since mid-July due to a knee injury and illness.
Stanislas Wawrinka – Fared well on clay, but—not surprisingly—a move to faster surfaces hurt him. The Swiss is a mere 2-4 at the ATP level since the French Open.
Fernando Gonzalez – Has played just 22 matches this season, including only one since Roland Garros due to knee tendonitis. The one match was a loss to Radek Stepanek last week in New Haven….
Radek Stepanek – ….and a loss to Stepanek right now is not a good one. The veteran Czech has missed most of the season due to fatigue and he ended up getting blown out by Viktor Troicki in New Haven.
Juan Monaco – Suffering with a wrist injury, he has not played a match since the French Open.
Lleyton Hewitt – A calf strain derailed his U.S. Open Series, but he at least looked decent in Cincinnati. He also split from coach Nathan Healey earlier this week.
Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!
Comment | 22 comments
Mon 30/08 05:49
U.S. Open pre-tournament expert picks
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2010 U.S. Open preview: Nadal and Federer breakdown
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2010 U.S. Open preview: Top 25 contenders
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2010 U.S. Open preview: Draw analysis
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