Help
2010-08-02 18:31:58
“Approach Shots” is Ricky’s weekly look at what’s ahead (or “approaching”) on the ATP Tour. Every Sunday he previews the tournaments scheduled for the upcoming week.
The U.S. Open Series has been underway for two weeks, but now it has the tennis world all to itself. As the Legg Mason Classic arrives on the schedule, the season’s final Grand Slam is just four weeks away.
Not only is the U.S. Open Series up heating up with the European clay-court tournaments out of the way, but it is also bigger on its own. A pair of 250-point tournaments (Atlanta and Los Angeles) kicked off the proceedings, but—for the second straight year—Washington will award 500 points to the champion. As a result, another strong field is on the menu, and it includes three Top 10 players and three more Top 20 players.
Legg Mason Classic
Where: Washington, D.C.
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $1,165,500
Points: 500
Top Seed: Tomas Berdych
Defending Champion: Juan Martin Del Potro (not playing)
Draw Analysis: Andy Roddick has been so poor on the tennis court of late that he is not the No. 1 seed this week despite the absence of 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro. If Roddick needs some help right now, he might have received some from the draw.
The ninth-ranked American is in by far the weakest section of the draw, as the other three seeded players are Stanislas Wawrinka (has not won an ATP match since the French Open), Radek Stepanek (injured), and Gilles Simon (injured). In fact, Roddick’s toughest possible opponent prior to the semifinals is a wild card—David Nalbandian—whom he would not face until the quarters.
Amercians also have a great shot in the first and third quarters of the draw. John Isner finished runner-up in Atlanta, reached the D.C. semis in 2009 two years after appearing in the final, and he is on a collision course with No. 1 seed Tomas Berdych for the quarterfinals. L.A. champion Sam Querrey joins Newport and Atlanta winner Mardy Fish in a quarter of the bracket with Lleyton Hewitt and Marin Cilic. Based on current form, Querrey and Fish are the favorites there—but Janko Tipsarevic is a darkhorse.
Lastly, the second section of the bracket is wide open. No. 3 seed Fernando Verdasco has slowed down since the clay-court season while Marcos Baghdatis and Ernests Gulbis are wildly talented but especially unpredictable at the moment. The door could be open for 14th-seeded Michael Llodra or wild card James Blake, who finally showed signs of life last week in L.A.
First-Round Upset Alert: (Q) Kevin Kim over Viktor Troicki. This would be a massive upset, as Kim is ranked No. 151 in the world and Troicki registers at 50th. It’s certainly a longshot, but at the same time it’s possible. Kim reached the quarters of a Challenger event two weeks ago and should be playing with confidence having qualified for the Washington main draw. Troicki is just 19-20 this season and his only match since Wimbledon has been a blowout loss to Cilic in Davis Cup action.
Second-Round Upset Alerts: (WC) Richard Gasquet over (16) Andrey Golubev – Not long ago, Golubev would not have even gained direct entry into this tournament…then he won Hamburg. Gasquet is coming off a runner-up showing in Gstaad and should be able to advance here.
(WC) James Blake over (14) Michael Llodra – Blake reached the quarters in L.A. and often does his best work on the U.S. hard courts. Llodra is a tough customer on fast surfaces, but he could be rusty as he makes his U.S. Open Series debut.
Janko Tipsarevic over (6) Sam Querrey – Like he did in the L.A. final against Andy Murray, Querrey saved a match point in the second set against Tipsarevic in their semifinal thriller. The Serb is playing well and will be eager for revenge, while Querrey has to be tired.
(WC) David Nalbandian over (7) Stanislas Wawrinka – You never know what you are going to get from Nalbandian, but he should win this one if healthy. Wawrinka has been mostly non-existent since reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros.
Hot: Tomas Berdych, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, Andrey Golubev, Richard Gasquet, Thiemo De Bakker, Denis Istomin
Cold: Andy Roddick, Marin Cilic, Radek Stepanek, Gilles Simon, Dmitry Tursunov, Kristof Vliegen, Karol Beck, Horacio Zeballos, Marco Chiudinelli, Kei Nishikori, Benjamin Becker
Quarterfinal Predictions: John Isner over Tomas Berdych, Marcos Baghdatis over Fernando Verdasco, Lleyton Hewitt over Mardy Fish, and Andy Roddick over David Nalbandian
Semifinal Predictions: Isner over Baghdatis and Roddick over Hewitt
Final Prediction: Roddick over Isner
Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!
Tell a friend »
many fun players in this field. many are making their return after some time off...it is really hard to choose... i go for berdych over roddick
croc , 8/2/10 9:50 PM
Very interesting you'd pick Isner over Berdych after blowing him away at RG. It could be a thriller, but picking Isner to win is a bit optimistic I think.
ts38 , 8/2/10 9:52 PM
well Isner and Berdych played one week before RG and it went to a third-set tiebreaker. Plus Isner was gassed because he didnt have a day off due to rainouts, whereas Berdych did. On hard courts and at one of Isner's favorite tournaments, it should definitely be a different story.
RickyDimon , 8/3/10 1:56 AM
ricky-you are absolutely right. On hard courts,Isner can get a lot more free points of his serve,and Isner's game is built around denying opponents any rhythm-and Berdych is a rhythym baseliner.
tj600 , 8/3/10 2:18 AM
Isner do have a chance, because he plays well at hard court specially on US soil..(even Delpo plays well but he is not playing right now).
Big servers enjoys hard court as they get quick points on their first serve.
champ00289 , 8/3/10 10:06 AM
what berdych did before RG is only vaguely relevant. there is a new berdych after RG and Wimbledon, packed with confidence. berdych will smoke isner.
croc , 8/3/10 11:14 AM
can't believe you picked kim to win a match at atp-level...
croc , 8/3/10 11:19 AM
I agree with croc about Berdych. We are seeing a new improved version of Berdych. Berdych may end up winning in Washington. Seriously, if Berdych does well during this NA hard court swing, and esp at the USO, it is likely that he may end up in top five by end of the year.
luckystar , 8/3/10 1:17 PM
luckystar,
berdych has good chances of finishing in top 5..
Berdych at presents needs to save only 500+ points so he can add a lot of points in upcoming events..for that he should not fall in Nadal or Fed's 1/4..LOL
champ00289 , 8/3/10 2:28 PM
Gosh Berdych has only 595 points to defend till end of the year, unbelievable! So, there is plenty of room for improvement! Even if he falls into Fed's quarter, there is no guarantee that Fed will beat him, given how unpredictable Fed is nowadays. I don't think he is worried about Nole or Murray either. Rafa on fast hard court this year is a 'mystery' as nobody knows for sure how he'll fare with such good form. Sod/Verdasco/Almagro and maybe Cilic/Querry/Gulbis - Berdych will try to play his hard hitting big serving game to counter theirs. Berdych's confidence is sky high now after making the semi at RG and the final at Wimbledon, so I think he'll do well during this NA hard court swing. I think even if he meets Roddick, he may not lose to Roddick again. We shall see.
luckystar , 8/3/10 3:23 PM
I've been really impressed with Berdych this year. He's always had the shots, but his head has caught up with his game. Well done to him.
cherylmurray , 8/3/10 3:57 PM
berdych's groundstrokes are amongs the purest in the game. its amazing that he has such a slender frame-but he generates a lot of power so effortlessly. Thats purity of ball striking at its best. Guys like soderling and gonzo have every forceful swings to generate their power,but that has its limits, Del Potro,Cilic and Nalbandian are the other pure ball strikers on tour.
tj600 , 8/3/10 4:11 PM
I would never describe Berdych as slender. It strikes me he is very similar in build to Federer - perfectly proportioned, muscular and lean - but a good 5" (10cm) taller and at 190kg weighs 10kg more than Federer. If you're talking slender, look at Gilles Simon: same height as Federer but weighing 15kg less. Or Cilic, same height as Berdych but weighs 6kg less.
ed251137 , 8/4/10 3:26 PM
Correction to above: I got my numbers mixed up. It should read:
berdych is a good 5" (10cm) taller and at 90kg weighs 10kg more than Federer.
If you're talking slender, look at Gilles Simon: 5cm shorter than Federer but weighing 15kg less. Or Cilic, same height as Berdych but weighs 11kg less.
ed251137 , 8/4/10 3:42 PM
tj600, do you actually consider DelPotro and Cilic to be pure ball strikers? I think not. I don't think one can classify them in the same league as Nalbandian. David's shots are effortless, while DelPotro's only shot is his FH, which at times, especially at the USO final, one could hear him grunting loudly due to the amout of effort he had to put into hitting his FH as hard as possible in order to obtain an out-right winner. Someone mentioned that DelPotro won the USO at the espense of his wrist, and I tend to agree with that poster. And, what are Cilic's pure ball-striking ablities compared to Nalbandian's? Cilic makes numerous errors and over-hits when things aren't going right for him. His serve bails him out a lot of times. Soderling, falls somewhat into the same category as Cilic. His FH begins to spray wildly when things aren't clicking and his serve goes awry.
Von , 8/6/10 3:40 AM
Ricky: With three out of your four QF predictions down the pan would you like to give us your revised predictions..................:-)
I'm fancying Berdych's chances now.................
ed251137 , 8/6/10 6:15 AM
Ricky: With three out of your four QF predictions down the pan would you like to give us your revised predictions..................:-)
I'm fancying Berdych's chances now.................
ed251137 , 8/6/10 6:16 AM
Birdman over XMan, Baghdatis over Verdasco
Cilic over Tipsarevic, Nalbandian over Simon
Baghdatis over Birdman, Nalbandian over Cilic
Nalbs over Bags
RickyDimon , 8/6/10 7:03 AM
Ricky,
Now you are going for nalbandian , a very good player can beat anyone at his best.But is he really playing good enough to win the title ???
champ00289 , 8/6/10 9:32 AM
the question is not if Nalbandian is playing good enough to win the title. He has clearly been the best player this tournament.
The question is if he can stay 100 percent physically for 3 more matches.
RickyDimon , 8/6/10 2:01 PM
@ricky
absolutely. if nalbandian can keep this level up,I cant see anyone beating him-even if Tomas Berdych catches fire,as Nalbandian is a horrid match up for Berdych.
tj600 , 8/6/10 2:14 PM
Cilic over Nalby
Bag over X man
whover is still fit wl win the final ... both Cilic and Bag are bad in this ...
justtennis , 8/7/10 5:10 PM
Mr. RickyDimon,
No draw analysis for Toronto?
Raindrops , 8/9/10 8:01 AM
Ricky,
Waiting for Rogers cup analysis...
Very good for Fed...(Not the easiest , right ???)
R2 Fella ??
R3 Almagro ??
QF Berdych ??
SF Djoker ??
F Rafa ??
Murray got to deal with Nalbandian in QF
R2 X.Mallisse
R3.Fernando GONZALEZ ??
QF.Nalbandian ??? Sod ????
SF Rafa.
F . Djoker ????? Fed ?????
champ00289 , 8/9/10 1:49 PM
Djoker has got the easiest draw ????
R2.ISTOMIN, Denis ??
R3.MELZER, Jurgen ??
QF.BAGHDATIS, Marcos ??N. DAVYDENKO ??
SF.FED ???BERDYCH ??
F. Rafa ?? Murray??
Rafa, I think has got a fair draw only Sam querry in R3..
R2.WAWRINKA, Stanislas ??
R3.QUERREY, Sam ??
QF.CILIC, Marin ?? RODDICK ??
SF. MURRAY ?? Nalbandian ??
F.Djoker ?? FEd ????
A good draw, Fed escaped Nadal for SF match..Lets see how tournament proceed..
Finally we will going to see something interesting
champ00289 , 8/9/10 2:02 PM
Anyone put any money on Gasquet to win? You just lost it! What a pathetic performance, add him to list of head cases.
deuce , 8/9/10 6:41 PM
even fella felt down .. LOL
champ00289 , 8/9/10 6:54 PM
champ: rather easily too, judging by score.
deuce , 8/9/10 7:03 PM
champ: Roddick is out so is Querry, they are scared to get trumped by Rafa lolz, of course I was just kidding but the bombers are fading out so early.
Raindrops , 8/12/10 6:47 AM
Sun 12/02 15:44
Approach Shots: Federer looks to rebound in Rotterdam
Thu 09/02 21:21
Approach Shots: Federer headlines Davis Cup first round
Mon 30/01 19:22
Approach Shots: The calm after the storm
Sat 28/01 15:11
Australian Open final expert picks: Djokovic vs. Nadal
Wed 25/01 19:57
Australian Open '12 semifinal expert picks
Mon 23/01 19:02
Australian Open '12 quarterfinal expert picks
Sun 15/01 06:00
2012 Australian Open picks: Djokovic vs. Nadal again
Fri 13/01 04:40
Australian Open draw analysis: Nadal with Federer in bottom half
Sun 08/01 01:56
Approach Shots: Final preparations for Australian Open
Tue 03/01 02:19
2012 World Tour Finals predictions
Mon 02/01 15:08
Approach Shots: Nadal, Federer, Murray open 2012
Mon 05/12 21:20
2012 Davis Cup picks: Argentina for redemption
Fri 02/12 16:02
Approach Shots: Nadal leads Spain in Davis Cup final
Sat 19/11 23:43
World Tour Finals expert picks
Tue 15/11 19:59
Approach Shots: Nadal, Federer in same London group
View all posts
Scan QR code to access Unibet mobile.
Bet on Sports wherever you are and whenever you like, with Unibet's quick and simple mobile client you can place bets, check results and see live odds.
For more info about QR codes & scanners click here.
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2012, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
only one of four wild cards was awarded to an american. this is james blake. a great player but not exactly young and promising. what does this say about the future of us tennis?
croc , 8/2/10 9:41 PM