Ricky Dimon

• Approach Shots: Strong field in Winston-Salem for U.S. Open prep

  2011-08-21 16:34:26
  

  “Approach Shots” is Ricky’s weekly look at what’s ahead on the ATP Tour.

   

  New Haven is regretting losing this tournament to Wake Forest right about now. This week rarely boasts a strong field with the U.S. Open a mere eight days away, but in 2011 it is looking like one of the best 250-point events of the year.
  
  Andy Roddick needs matches heading into the season’s final Grand Slam, so he is on board. John Isner lives in nearby Greensboro, so he—too—signed up. Fellow Americans James Blake, Ryan Harrison, and Donald Young are all heating up this summer and the tournament has rewarded their stellar play with wild cards. Joining the fray for some last-minute Open preparation are Jurgen Melzer, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Grigor Dimitrov, Bernard Tomic, Lleyton Hewitt, and Nikolay Davydenko.

   

  Winston-Salem Open
  
  Where: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
  Surface: Hard
  Prize money: $553,125
  Points: 250

   

  Top seed: Andy Roddick
  Defending champion: Inaugural event

   

  Draw Analysis: Rarely have I seen a more lopsided draw than the one this week in Winston-Salem. In fact, it’s so skewed in favor of the bottom half that one almost has to think organizers are gift-wrapping semifinal spots to Roddick and Isner. Almost.
  
  Roddick would have a time in this position on—say—red clay in Europe, but hard-court talent in his section is few and far between. Lleyton Hewitt and Gilles Muller are the only real threats, but Hewitt is a shadow of his former self (to an even greater extent than Roddick). Count on the top-seeded American cruising into a quarterfinal clash against Muller.
  
  Isner, who will have raucous crowd support, should cakewalk into the last eight. At that point he at least could be tested—by either Dmitry Tursunov or Marcos Baghdatis. However, the 6’9’’ American just recently eased past Baghdatis in Montreal and Tursunov still lacks match practice. All signs point to a Roddick-Isner semifinal showdown.
  
  As for the bottom half of the draw? Wow; it’s like night and day. All of the tournament’s young hot-shots are here, in addition to some well-known veterans. There’s Harrison, Young, Dolgopolov, Dimitrov, and Tomic; then there’s Blake, Davydenko, and Melzer.
  
  The third section of the bracket is especially brutal. All four seeds are in stellar form; Kevin Anderson is producing what is by far his best year on tour and should be seeded for the U.S. Open, Haase recently took home a clay-court title in Kitzbuhel, Dimitrov played well in Cincinnati, and Dolgopolov is up to No. 22 in the world at just 22 years of age. Anderson could face Harrison in round two while Haase likely awaits Blake.
  
  First-round upset alert: Igor Andreev over Bernard Tomic. This would not be a huge upset, but Tomic is ranked 20 spots ahead (as of Sunday) and is in the midst of a breakout year as a pro. Andreev, on the other hand, owns a dismal 13-21 record for his 2011 campaign. Still, these two faced each other in the Wimbledon second round and Tomic had to storm back from two sets down to prevail 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. The up-and-coming Australian may not be in the same kind of form two months later, so don’t be surprised if Andreev gets over the hump this time.
  
  Second-round upset alerts: Ryan Sweeting over (8) Marcos Baghdatis – Baghdatis has dropped to below .500 for the season (18-19) due to a recent slump and he is just 2-4 during the U.S. Open Series. Sweeting, who has earned 13 of his 25 career ATP match victories in 2011, always feels right at home on American hard courts. He will have the crowd support and the confidence.
  
  James Blake over (10) Robin Haase – Blake has been enjoying a summer resurgence. The results are not entirely there due to unfavorable draws and a flurry of close losses, but anyone who has watched the veteran play knows he is performing like a Top 50 talent at minimum. While Haase recently captured the title in Kitzbuhel, this is the Dutchman’s first foray onto U.S. hard courts this summer.

   

  Hot: John Isner, Kevin Anderson, Gilles Muller, Ryan Harrison, James Blake, Robin Haase

   

  Cold: Andy Roddick, Jurgen Melzer, Marcos Baghdatis, Lleyton Hewitt, Dudi Sela, Andrey Golubev, Igor Andreev  
  
  Quarterfinal predictions: Andy Roddick over Gilles Muller, John Isner over Dmitry Tursunov, Kevin Anderson over Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Sergiy Stakhovsky over Jurgen Melzer

   

  Semifinals: Isner over Roddick and Anderson over Stakhovsky
  
  Final: Isner over Anderson
  
  Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!

   

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