Ricky Dimon

• Approach Shots: Newport, Davis Cup headline modest week

  2010-07-05 18:14:41
  

  “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.

   

  With Wimbledon having just concluded and Davis Cup taking center stage in a matter of days, it is a light week on the ATP Tour as the U.S. Open Series approaches. Newport, RI—home of the International Tennis Hall of Fame—plays host to the lone ATP tournament of the week, in which world No. 19 Sam Querrey is the highest-ranked participating player. Also in the field is Nicolas Mahut, of newfound fame following his marathon Wimbledon match against John Isner.
  
  When the Newport quarterfinals take place on Friday, the Davis Cup quarters will also be kicking off. Matchups are Serbia at Croatia, Argentina at Russia, the Czech Republic at Chile, and two-time defending champion Spain at France.

   

  Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships

   

  Where: Newport, RI
  Surface: Grass
  Prize Money: $442,500
  Points: 250

   

  Top Seed: Sam Querrey
  Defending Champion: Rajeev Ram

   

  Draw Analysis: Querrey is the only player inside the Top 50 of the world rankings in the entire draw; next is No. 2 seed Santiago Giraldo at No. 56. But that doesn’t mean Querrey will have a routine path to the title. The 6’6’’ American is likely to face big-serving countryman Taylor Dent in the quarterfinals and either Ram or Olivier Rochus in the semis. Ram upset Querrey in last year’s final and Rochus took Novak Djokovic to five sets at Wimbledon.

   

  Ram, though, has been in dismal form ever since winning Newport in 2009 and he faces a tough opener against Ivan Navarro, a rare Spaniard who actually plays serve-and-volley tennis. Also in the second section of the bracket is 6’7’’ Aussie Chris Guccione, who has been plagued by injuries this season but is always dangerous on fast surfaces.

   

  Without question, the third quarter of the draw is by far the toughest. No. 3 seed Mardy Fish opens against Michael Russell and in what has to be the most intriguing first-round clash, fifth-seeded Alejandro Falla is taking on Nicolas Mahut (more on that below). Also looking for a semifinal spot out of that section are Marc Gicquel, Frank Dancevic, and Somdev Devvarman.
  
  At the bottom of the bracket, Giraldo clearly has the friendliest draw among the seeded players. His nearest seeded opponent is No. 6 Karol Beck and nobody else in the quarter looks particularly dangerous. This also presents a nice opportunity for up-and-coming American Ryan Harrison, who could so some damage if he gets past Beck in round one.

   

  First-Round Upset Alert: (WC) Nicolas Mahut over (3) Alejandro Falla. These two veterans made major headlines in the Wimbledon first round (Falla to a much lesser extent) despite combining to win zero matches. Falla led Roger Federer two sets to love and even served for the match before succumbing in five sets.
  
  Mahut, of course, played the longest match in tennis history (with plenty of room to spare!) against Isner. It lasted three days, was suspended due to darkness twice, and took 11 hours and five minutes to complete, shattering the old mark of the longest match ever by more than four and a half hours. Mahut, who donated a shoe and a shirt from the match to the Hall of Fame of the weekend, lost 70-68.

   

  As for the Frenchman’s prospects in this match, he definitely has the edge playing on grass. It is easily his best surface and if he continues to serve like he did against Isner, he probably won’t be getting broken anytime soon. The question is: has Mahut already recovered?

   

  Hot: Sam Querrey, Santiago Giraldo, Mardy Fish, Brian Dabul

   

  Cold: Karol Beck, Rajeev Ram, Chris Guccione, Frank Dancevic

   

  Semifinal Predictions: Sam Querrey over Olivier Rochus and Mardy Fish over Santiago Giraldo

   

  Final Prediction: Fish over Querrey
  
  Serbia vs. Croatia

   

  Where: Split, Croatia
  Surface: Indoor Hard
  Serbia: Novak Djokovic, Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic, Nenad Zimonjic
  Croatia: Marin Cilic, Ivan Ljubicic, Antonio Veic, Ivan Dodig

   

  Prediction: Serbia 3, Croatia 2 (all rubbers live)

   

  ***note: Davis Cup ties are best three out of five matches (called “rubbers”) with two singles matches on both Friday and Sunday and a doubles rubber on Saturday. When a team wins three matches (earns three “points”), the tie is clinched and any remaining rubbers are referred to as “dead” rubbers. Prior to a team winning three points, all rubbers are “live.” All live rubbers are three out of five sets; dead singles rubbers are two out of three.***

   

  Argentina vs. Russia

   

  Where: Moscow, Russia
  Surface: Indoor Hard
  Argentina: Nikolay Davydenko, Mikhail Youzhny, Teimuraz Gabashvili, Igor Kunitsyn
  Russia: David Nalbandian, Horacio Zeballos, Eduardo Schwank, Leonardo Mayer

   

  Prediction: Russia 3, Argentina 2 (all rubbers live)

   

  Czech Republic vs. Chile

   

  Where: Coquimbo, Chile
  Surface: Clay
  Czech Republic: Jan Hajek, Frantisek Cermak, Lukas Dlouhy, Ivo Minar
  Chile: Nicolas Massu, Paul Capdeville, Jorge Aguilar, Cristobal Saavedra-Corvalan

   

  Prediction: Chile 3, Czech Republic 1 (fifth rubber dead)

   

  Spain vs. France

   

  Where: Clermont-Ferrand, France
  Surface: Indoor Hard
  Spain: Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez, Nicolas Almagro
  France: Gael Monfils, Michael Llodra, Julien Benneteau, Gilles Simon

   

  Prediction: Spain 3, France 2 (all rubbers live)

   

  Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!

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