Ricky Dimon

• Approach Shots: No Federer. No Nadal. No problem.

  2009-08-03 15:29:08
  

  “Approach Shots” is Ricky’s weekly look at what’s ahead (or “approaching”) on the ATP Tour. Every Sunday he’ll preview all the tournaments scheduled for the upcoming week.

   

  At last the U.S. Open Series has the tennis world all to itself. No more grass. No more clay. Just the best players in the world slugging it out under the sweltering heat of the summer hard-court swing in the United States. The series has already been underway for two weeks, but now it catches fire in Washington, D.C. with a much more prestigious 500-point event. It’s the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, where Andy Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro headline the tournament’s best-ever field. "The Big 4" are still absent, but it seems like just about everyone else is ready to either resume or begin their U.S. Open preparation.

   

  Legg Mason Tennis Classic

   

  Where: Washington, D.C.
  Surface: Hard
  Prize Money: $1,402,000 
  Points: 500
  Top Seed: Andy Roddick 
  Defending Champion: Juan Martin Del Potro

   

  Draw Analysis: Three of the four quarters of the draw have a distinct, unique identity. The top section is home of the big servers. Seeds there are Roddick, Marin Cilic, Ivo Karlovic, and Los Angeles champion Sam Querrey. If their serves let them down, they could be challenged by Igor Kunitsyn or Indianapolis champion Robby Ginepri.
  
  The second quarter is home of the question marks. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is playing great this season, but he disappeared after Wimbledon and you never know if he is or isn’t injured. Both Dmitry Tursunov and Mardy Fish pulled out of L.A. last week (Tursunov during a second-round match with an ankle injury, Fish before a quarterfinal match due to an oblique strain). A second-round clash in D.C. will feature Ernests Gulbis versus Tomas Berdych. Both are wildly talented but notoriously erratic (especially Gulbis). Like most of the players in this section, in-form John Isner is so dangerous because of his serve, but he is also coming off an injury in L.A. (ankle).
  
  Quarter three is where the oldies but goodies will show they’ve still got it. Tommy Robredo has won two titles this season, Tommy Haas has been one of the hottest players on tour dating back to the start of the French Open, and Fernando Gonzalez has been devastating when healthy. A resurgent Juan Carlos Ferrero won the French Open SIX years ago and is still making it look like yesterday. Ferrero finished runner-up to Nikolay Davydenko last week in Umag to continue his surge back up the rankings. Even 30-something Nicolas Lapentti is still plugging along.
  
  Finally, in the bottom quarter we have a mixed bag. The 20-year-old Del Potro was last summer’s sensation, while Robin Soderling is finally enjoying consistent success after once being an indoor hard-court specialist. Unseeded threats include Mikhail Youzhny and Lleyton Hewitt. Youzhny has fallen off the map in the past one and a half seasons and is in need of a Ferrero-like metamorphosis. In the same ilk as Ferrero, Hewitt is a former Grand Slam champion now reliving his glory days but not quite (not YET) ranked high enough to be seeded at huge tournaments such as this one in D.C.
  
  Of the top four seeds, Tsonga probably has the easiest path to the semis, although he surely has no interest in seeing Isner in the second round. Roddick arguably has the toughest road, which could include Ginepri, Querrey, and then either Cilic or Karlovic.

   

  First-Round Upset Alert: Because all 16 seeded players have byes into the second round, there is no real potential for an earth-rattling upset in round one. Still, there is a good chance Robert Kendrick pulls off a minor surprise over Mikhail Youzhny. Kendrick is right at home on fast hard courts and he should have a pro-American crowd behind him. Youzhny has been slumping ever since the early part of 2008 and it could continue to go south for him in D.C.
  
  Lapentti got a lucky-loser spot in the main draw and now has a decent opportunity to advance as he takes on Ferrero. Lapentti’s chances, of course, have nothing to do with Ferrero’s form; Ferrero is borderline on fire. However, the Spaniard just played the Croatia Open final on Sunday and will have to fly overseas and go up against Lapentti on Tuesday. That’s a tough turnaround.

   

   

  Momentum Builders (Players looking to continue recent good form): Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Gonzalez, Robin Soderling, Marin Cilic, Tommy Haas, Dudi Sela, Sam Querrey, Robby Ginepri, John Isner, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Lleyton Hewitt

   

  Slump Busters (Players hoping to resurrect their games): Rainer Schuettler, Somdev Devvarman, Ernests Gulbis, Mikhail Youzhny, Donald Young

  Semifinal Predictions: Andy Roddick over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro over Tommy Haas

   

  Final Prediction: Roddick over Del Potro

   

  Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!

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