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2011-09-25 17:29:22
“Approach Shots” is Ricky’s weekly look at what’s ahead on the ATP Tour.
Novak Djokovic is injured and in need of some much-needed rest. Rafael Nadal has no interest in getting back on the court anytime soon. Roger Federer may or may not be banged up, but regardless he is not about to go chasing points in anything less than a Masters event.
Andy Murray, though? He is perfectly fine and ready to jump back into the tennis scene after the recent grind at the U.S. Open and in Davis Cup. With his sights set on the No. 3 ranking, Murray headlines a week that is relatively strong based on 250-point standards.
PTT Thailand Open
Where: Bangkok, Thailand
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: $587,000
Points: 250
Top seed: Andy Murray
Defending champion: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
Draw analysis: The goal for the other 27 players in this field, of course, was to avoid Murray. It turned out to be bad news for guys like Ivan Dodig, Ernests Gulbis, and Gilles Simon. A tough top quarter of the draw—which obviously includes the No. 1-seeded Murray—also features Dodig, Gulbis, and Grigor Dimitrov.
Simon is the No. 3 seed so he cannot meet Murray until the semis, but the Frenchman would have preferred to be in a bottom half of the bracket with countryman Gael Monfils. Still, the good news for Simon is that he is in a remarkably week second section, so he should have no trouble setting up a semifinal showdown with Murray.
Monfils would normally be a huge favorite to book the other final spot, but the No. 2 seed always seems to be battling physical problems and the case is no different right now. If Monfils is not 100 percent, the door will be open for an in-form Robin Haase to make a run at least to the semis. Haase could face Jarkko Nieminen in round two before a potential quarterfinal against Monfils.
A wide open third quarter features defending champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who saved 24 of 26 break points in a semifinal upset of Rafael Nadal last season. Garcia-Lopez awaits a tough opener against either Igor Andreev or Donald Young. Meanwhile, Pablo Andujar is looking to make a quick transition from his preferred clay-court surface to indoor hard courts.
First-round upset alert: Tobias Kamke over (8) Pablo Andujar. This obviously has a lot more to do with Andujar than it does with Kamke. Not that Andujar is playing poorly—quite the opposite. The Spaniard is in the midst of a breakout 2011 campaign and he just reached the Bucharest final, losing to Florian Mayer on Sunday. It will be tough for Andujar to endure such a fast turnaround. Kamke has not been playing well, but he has an advantage over Andujar on this surface.
Hot: Andy Murray, Gilles Simon, Robin Haase, Pablo Andujar, Donald Young
Cold: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Michael Berrer, Danai Udomchoke
Semifinal predictions: Andy Murray over Gilles Simon and Robin Haase over Igor Andreev
Final: Murray over Haase
Malaysian Open
Where: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize Money: $850,000
Points: 250
Top seed: Nicolas Almagro
2010 champion: Mikhail Youzhny (not playing)
Draw analysis: The Malaysian Open boasts a decent field for a 250-point event, but rarely are ATP titles more up for grabs. Parity and more parity is the name of the game in this player field.
All four seeded players with byes head into Kuala Lumpur with question marks. Nicolas Almagro is underrated on hard courts, but he did not do much during the U.S. Open Series; Viktor Troicki is in a dismal funk; Janko Tipsarevic is in outstanding form but retired from his U.S. Open quarterfinal against Djokovic; Jurgen Melzer is slumping.
Troicki is in by far the weakest quarter of the draw, but his game may not be ready to capitalize on the opportunity. Seventh-seeded Dmitry Tursunov has a chance to take advantage of a wide-open quarter. Whoever advances out of the bottom section could meet either Melzer, Alex Bogomolov, or Marcos Baghdatis in the semifinals.
Tipsarevic has to be the title favorite if he is 100 percent, but the draw did not do him any favors. The Serb faces a likely opener against Bernard Tomic before a possible quarterfinal meeting with Nikolay Davydenko. Almagro, meanwhile, is in a top quarter of the bracket that also includes Kei Nishikori and Philipp Petzschner.
First-round upset alert: Ryan Harrison over (5) Nikolay Davydenko. Baghdatis over Bogomolov can hardly be considered an upset, so a real one to watch out for is Harrison against Davydenko. The veteran Russian should prevail, but you never know what you are going to get from him on any given day at this point in his career. At 30 years old, Davydenko is just 20-20 for the season and he is down at No. 36 in the world rankings. Harrison, on the other hand, is on the rise after really making a name for himself this summer.
Hot: Janko Tipsarevic, Alex Bogomolov
Cold: Viktor Troicki, Jurgen Melzer, Nikolay Davydenko, Mischa Zverev, Lukasz Kubot, Marcos Baghdatis
Semifinal predictions: Janko Tipsarevic over Philipp Petzschner and Marcos Baghdatis over Dmitry Tursunov
Final: Tipsarevic over Baghdatis
Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!
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250 points won't be enough for that rafaisthebest.
bleck , 9/29/11 1:47 PM
Andy looking very sleek and "polished." :) Come on!
deuce , 9/29/11 7:41 PM
Amazing what a good haircut does for a man!
Did you watch the match? He seemed on very good form.
ed251137 , 9/29/11 8:40 PM
ed, saw second set, the boy looked good :) Of course, knowing Andy....
Seems very well appreciated by the Bangkok crowd too.
deuce , 9/30/11 7:29 AM
Yeah. I clocked there was nearly a full house and the crowd were really enjoying the match.
ed251137 , 9/30/11 8:23 AM
yep the clean-shave-&-haircut muzz definitely seems more up for things than the just-rolled-out-of-bed-no-time-for-breakfast muzz.
alex , 10/1/11 11:27 AM
NAILED Tipsarevic vs. Baghdatis
only Donald Young escaped me in my finalists predictions
RickyDimon , 10/1/11 1:55 PM
No shame in that. I dont think anyone saw that one coming.
ed251137 , 10/1/11 2:19 PM
Monfils needs to develop a tennis brain. Brawn alone is not going to get the job done. I thought he had it when he was up a break in the third. The funny thing is that I sensed he was going to double fault the match away. He always likes to go for broke and that's what he did when it was match point against him.
I thought for sure he would be in the final. So much for that.
Nativenewyorker , 10/2/11 4:58 AM
I heard that Monfils has some injuries. I didn't get to watch many of these matches as not telecast here and have to go for Internet streaming, and it clashes with the KL tournament which is telecast here in my country, and there's also the WTA tournament in Tokyo. My goodness, so busy switching channels and getting streaming so can't concentrate on any tournament. I did see the Murray Dimitrov match and some of Murray Simon match. I think Murray should win this tournament.
luckystar , 10/2/11 8:07 AM
Sun 20/05 03:13
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Approach Shots: Djokovic, Nadal look to rebound on red clay
Sun 06/05 03:03
Approach Shots: Tangled up in blue at Madrid Masters
Mon 30/04 05:57
Approach Shots: Djokovic out, Del Potro starts French Open prep
Mon 23/04 05:29
Approach Shots: Nadal, Murray return to action in Barcelona
Sat 21/04 19:01
Monte Carlo final expert picks: Djokovic vs. Nadal
Mon 16/04 02:46
Approach Shots: Djokovic, Nadal begin clay season in Monte Carlo
Tue 10/04 15:48
Approach Shots: Houston, Casablanca begin clay-court swing
Thu 05/04 18:40
Approach Shots: Davis Cup precedes clay-court swing
Tue 27/03 16:14
John Isner Top 10 tribute
Wed 21/03 05:08
Approach shots: On-fire Federer can pass Nadal in Miami
Thu 08/03 07:03
Approach shots: First Masters event of the year in Indian Wells
Tue 28/02 18:41
Approach Shots: Federer, Djokovic back in action
Mon 20/02 05:10
Approach Shots: Ferrer, Tsonga, Del Potro headline busy week
Sun 12/02 15:44
Approach Shots: Federer looks to rebound in Rotterdam
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C'mon Muzza, now's your chance...................claim your rightful current rank........#3!
rafaisthebest , 9/27/11 11:28 AM