Ricky Dimon

• Approach Shots: Federer, Djokovic return to Swiss Indoors

  2010-11-02 05:03:42
  

  “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.

   

  Only four tournaments remain in 2010, but all four feature blockbuster fields. Two 500-point events are on this week’s menu and a whopping nine of the Top 10 players in the world are in action. The only one missing is world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who will be back for next week’s Masters Series Paris. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (last year’s finalists) lead the way in Basel while Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, Fernando Verdasco, and David Ferrer headline in Valencia.

   

  Swiss Indoors Basel
  
  Where: Basel, Switzerland
  Surface: Indoor Hard
  Points: 500
  Prize Money: 1,755,000 Euros

   

  Top Seed: Roger Federer
  Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic

   

  Draw Analysis: Not only does Federer have home-court advantage in Switzerland, but he also has a great draw. The three-time champion and No. 1 seed cannot face a seeded opponent prior to the quarterfinals because Vienna winner Jurgen Melzer withdrew after the draw had already been made. Federer’s toughest potential test in his quarter could come in the form of a second-round meeting with Janko Tipsarevic.
  
  Assuming Federer advances to the last four, his opponent could be any number of players. The two seeded entrants in the second quarter of the draw are a slumping Marin Cilic and a rusty Andy Roddick. That means the door could be open for David Nalbandian, Sam Querrey, and Andrey Golubev. Querrey, however, is set for a tough all-American first-round showdown against Roddick.
  
  Like Federer, Tomas Berdych could also be the beneficiary of a withdrawal, this one from Marcos Baghdatis. The Cypriot was slated to be the other seed in the third section of the bracket, but he has been replaced by lucky loser Paul-Henri Mathieu. Nonetheless, plenty of danger still surrounds Berdych. Viktor Troicki recently won the Moscow title, Florian Mayer has enjoyed an outstanding fall, and Richard Gasquet is having a bounce-back season.
  
  Djokovic’s is difficult but manageable as the world No. 3 prepares for his title defense. He will open against Ernests Gulbis, who is talented but mired in another one his horrible slumps. If Djokovic advances, the No. 2 seed will likely run into an on-fire Jarkko Nieminen. John Isner, who scored a comeback victory over Michael Llodra in round one, looms large as a potential quarterfinal opponent.

   

  First-Round Upset Alert: (WC) Marco Chiudinelli over (6) Marin Cilic. The fact this this could be an upset says a lot more about Cilic than it does about Chiudinelli. The unseeded Swiss is woeful 14-28 at the ATP level this season, but Cilic’s slump is far more concerning. Cilic briefly entered the Top 10, but he is a mere 4-7 dating back to the Toronto Masters this summer. The Croat is down to 15^th in the world and is struggling to win matches of any kind right now. This is a big opportunity for Chiduinelli in front of his home fans.

   

  Hot: Novak Djokovic, Florian Mayer, Viktor Troicki, Michael Berrer, Jarkko Nieminen

   

  Cold: Tomas Berdych, Andy Roddick, Marin Cilic, Marco Chiudinelli, Ernests Gulbis
  
  Semifinal predictions: Federer over Nalbandian and Djokovic over Gasquet

   

  Final: Federer over Djokovic

   

  Valencia Open 500
  
  Where: Basel, Switzerland
  Surface: Indoor Hard
  Points: 500
  Prize Money: 1,357,000 Euros

   

  Top Seed: Andy Murray
  Defending Champion: Andy Murray

   

  Draw Analysis: You know it’s getting toward the end of the year when your see this many lucky losers in the same week. Just as Federer cannot face a seed until the semifinals, Murray’s case is the same in Valencia. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pulled out due to knee pain and was replaced by Marcel Granollers. The only real danger for Murray in his quarter of the draw is either Juan Monaco in the second round or Dmitry Tursunov in a potential quarterfinal.
  
  The top-seeded Scot really should not have much trouble all the way until the title match, because both of the seeds in the bracket’s second quarter are slumping. Fernando Verdasco and Nikolay Davydenko are struggling to win matches, but Verdasco at least managed to reach round two with a win over Michael Russell on Monday. Gilles Simon could be the one to take advantage of a wide-open section.
  
  The bottom half features several players in the midst of stellar seasons. Soderling will go up against one of those players (Albert Montanes) right away and Gael Monfils, coming off a title in Montpellier, could meet Soderling in the quarters.
  
  Ferrer and Mikhail Youzhny, two World Tour Finals contenders, are on a collision course for the quarterfinals in the third section. Both men have a long way to go before that point, however. Youzhny opens with an in-form Pablo Cuevas and Ferrer is set for a first-round encounter with fellow Spaniard and Bangkok champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

   

  First-Round Upset Alert: (Q) Pablo Cuevas over (5) Mikhail Youzhny. Youzhny is in the midst of an awesome year and he might qualify for London, but he appeared to completely out of gas in last week’s St. Petersburg final against Mikhail Kukushkin. Will he have enough time recover? He better if he wants to beat Cuevas. The Uruguayan made it to two straight Challenger finals last month, then reached the Moscow semifinals and advanced one round in Vienna. Youzhny should win this at 100 percent, but an upset is definitely possible.

   

  Hot: David Ferrer, Gael Monfils, Dmitry Tursunov, Pablo Cuevas, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Albert Montanes

   

  Cold: Robin Soderling, Fernando Verdasco, Nikolay Davydenko, Eduardo Schwank
  
  Semifinal predictions: Andy Murray over Gilles Simon and David Ferrer over Robin Soderling

   

  Final: Murray over Ferer
  
  Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!

Tell a friend »

Comments

Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.

Username:

Password:

Archive

Unibet Mobile prematch,live betting

Recommend Tennistalk

Follow us

Poll

Articles - Latest commented

• 
  28

  Nadal takes Rome title over Djokovic
  

  fedexal, May 21, 2012 6:51 PM

• 
  352

  Djokovic, Nadal set for rematch in Rome
  

  schatz, May 21, 2012 6:14 PM

• 
  67

  Nadal headlines third-round action on Thursday
  

  vamosrafa, May 21, 2012 5:03 PM

• 
  63

  Djokovic downs Federer, into Rome final vs. Nadal
  

  brothdog, May 21, 2012 11:47 AM

• 
  3

  Family time for Federer after loss in Rome
  

  nadline, May 21, 2012 11:35 AM

Blog - Latest commented

• 
  72
  Rome final expert picks: Djokovic vs. Nadal
  

  Maya, May 21, 2012 7:00 PM

• 
  31
  And Roger Federer is BACK
  

  sabs, May 20, 2012 1:48 PM

• 
  66
  Approach Shots: Djokovic, Nadal look to rebound on red clay
  

  mara002, May 20, 2012 7:19 AM

Tell a friend

Other tennis links

• www.menstennisforums.com
• www.itftennis.com
• www.tennisnews.com
• Tennisplaza
• More links...