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2011-10-24 20:10:02
“Approach Shots” is Ricky’s weekly look at what’s ahead on the ATP Tour.
The 250-point season comes to end this week, with just two 500s, the Paris Masters, and the World Tour Finals remaining on the schedule after Vienna and St. Petersburg.
While these two tournaments often have an impact on the race to London even with so few points available, that is not the case this year. There is a huge gap between the top eight and everyone else, and of the players in action, only Gilles Simon and Janko Tipsarevic have a remote chance of qualifying. In other words, the race is over—and even if it isn’t, this week won’t have an impact.
Erste Bank Open
Where: Vienna, Austria
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 250
Prize money: 650,000 Euros
Top seed: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Defending champion: Jurgen Melzer
Draw analysis: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is just about ready to wrap up a London spot and he has a great chance of adding 250 points in Vienna. The top seed faces a potentially difficult opener against either Robin Haase or Stockholm runner-up Jarkko Nieminen, but after that it could be a cakewalk to the final.
That’s because the top half of the Erste Bank draw is incredibly weak. Fabio Fognini of all people is the other seed in Tsonga’s section and the entire second quarter is made up of qualifiers and wild cards in addition to the two seeds, both of whom are unimposing (Radek Stepanek and Nikolay Davydenko).
The bottom half is much tougher; at least on paper. Juan Martin Del Potro and two-time defending champion Jurgen Melzer look to get back on track, but they will have a tough time doing so. Unseeded threats nearby include Marcos Baghdatis, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, James Blake, Tommy Haas, and Philipp Petzschner.
Melzer, mired in a dreadful slump, is in line for an especially taxing trek through the draw. The third-seeded Austrian will likely open with Blake before running into either Baghdatis or an in-form Kevin Anderson.
First-round upset alert: Tommy Haas over (5) Juan Ignacio Chela. Haas is the qualifier and Chela is the seed in this battle of 30-somethings, but Haas is the one who should get the win. The 33-year-old German is actually rounding into form, having reached the third round of the U.S. Open and winning one match last week in Stockholm before falling to Anderson in three sets. Chela is a lost soul on anything other than clay courts, so the 32-year-old Argentine can count on another early exit from an indoor hard-court event.
Hot: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kevin Anderson, Jarkko Nieminen, Albert Ramos
Cold: Jurgen Melzer, Xavier Malisse, Tommy Robredo
Semifinal predictions: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga over Radek Stepanek and Marcos Baghdatis over Juan Martin Del Potro
Final: Tsonga over Baghdatis
St. Petersburg Open
Where: St. Petersburg, Russia
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 250
Prize money: 663,750 Euros
Top seed: Gilles Simon
Defending champion: Mikhail Kukushkin
Draw analysis: The question in St. Petersburg is how much Tipsarevic has left in the tank. He has been playing a ton of tennis recently and is coming off another title—his second in four weeks—in Moscow.
If he is still motivated and feeling good, the second-seeded Tipsarevic has the draw to go places. Dmitry Tursunov is his nearest seed and Alexandr Dolgopolov is already gone from the bottom half of the bracket. Tipsarevic should be able to cruise into the semis before a possible clash against an in-form Alex Bogomolov.
Simon has a relatively tough draw in the top section. He opens against Adrian Mannarino and could face Ernests Gulbis in round two. The winner of a first-round matchup between doubles partners Mikhail Youzhny and Sergiy Stakhovsky likely awaits Simon in the quarters.
The second quarter of the draw is wide open, with Marin Cilic leading the way as the No. 4 seed. Marcel Granollers, Igor Andreev, and Andreas Seppi could contend if the 6'6'' Croat continues to play lackluster tennis. Cilic, though, has been very successful indoors and the surface may help him take care of business.
First-round upset alert: Igor Andreev over (6) Marcel Granollers. Granollers has a significant edge in current form, but Andreev is playing at home in Russia and has a surface advantage on indoor hard courts. While the Spaniard dominated their most recent encounter earlier this season, it came on clay. A much different result should be in store for St. Petersburg.
Hot: Janko Tipsarevic, Alex Bogomolov
Cold: Mikhail Youzhny, Adrian Mannarino, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Somdev Devvarman, Dudi Sela
Semifinal predictions: Mikhail Youzhny over Marin Cilic and Alex Bogomolov over Dmitry Tursunov
Final: Youzhny over Bogomolov
Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!
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Kirilenko happened
RickyDimon , 10/27/11 3:09 AM
^^^Well it's not all bad then.:)
numero , 10/27/11 3:16 AM
Agreed, many would love to have Kirilenko as a partner.
scoretracker , 10/27/11 4:23 AM
no, i would say it's not all bad!
RickyDimon , 10/27/11 5:40 AM
Ah well, gotta be a man out there responsible for Woz's inability to snag a Slam...............
rafaisthebest , 10/27/11 12:35 PM
rafaisthebest, and a woman for Andy's, lol....
deuce , 10/27/11 1:18 PM
Caroline's man has won a Major, the USO..........in golf That should inspire her to keep up.
numero , 10/27/11 2:05 PM
I hope Woz's BF does not get her head all messed up like Ivanovic, who seems to get worse with each new BF she lets into her life.
scoretracker , 10/27/11 2:07 PM
Thank goodness the Big Boys come out to play next week or we'll be reduced to discussing players' favourite brand of cereal.
ed251137 , 10/27/11 3:38 PM
ed,
That last comment made me laugh out loud! Yes, finally next week we will see all our favorites in action again! Yay!!
As far as being reduced to discussing players' favorite brand of cereal, I think that would be better than a good deal of what we have read of late.
Nativenewyorker , 10/28/11 6:10 AM
Well, I for one have a microscopic knowledge about Andy's preferred breakfast cereal...why 'tis gruel of course....;) Actually, now with gluten free diet it probably isn't...
deuce , 10/28/11 7:35 AM
I haven't a clue in the world what Rafa eats for breakfast! Why do I have this feeling that some enterprising fan is going to come on here and tell me! :)
Nativenewyorker , 10/28/11 8:31 AM
NNY: Everybody, but everybody, the answer to that one. He reheats the left over seafood paella from the night before. He is also partial to a few jam doughnuts when Toni is not around.
Deuce: I heard it was just a PR stunt to say he had copied Nole by going on a gluten-free diet. It's still huge bowls of porridge with lashings of cream and brown sugar followed by oatie cakes at breakfast time.
OTOH Roger follows a more ascetic diet and drinks only fizzy water at breakfast time.
Strictly speaking this is not on-topic but it is of general interest to know the top players food preferences as they limber up for the European swing. ;-)
ed251137 , 10/28/11 2:54 PM
Thank goodness the Big Boys come out to play next week ...........................
ed251137
, 10/27/11 3:38 PM
Hear, hear...........................can't wait to see the sexiest, most exciting tennis hunk to come out of the Balearic Islands EEEEEEEVER, strutting his stuff in a manner only he can!!!
Vamos Rafa!!!!!
rafaisthebest , 10/29/11 10:49 AM
RITB: Have you forgotten Moya already? I used to hyper-ventilate when they played doubles together.
ed251137 , 10/29/11 11:46 AM
lol ed I do hope Andy isn't eating that lot for breakfast or very soon we will have to re-name him "Roly Poly Man."
deuce , 10/29/11 12:50 PM
Hear, hear...........................can't wait to see the sexiest, most exciting tennis hunk to come out of the Balearic Islands EEEEEEEVER, strutting his stuff in a manner only he can!!!
Vamos Rafa!!!!!
rafaisthebest, 10/29/11 10:49 AM
Lol
nadline , 10/29/11 4:57 PM
I can't wait either.
I am anxious to see whether he has added anything new to his repertoire and whether he will play more inside the baseline, whether he will hit dtl forehand etc.
holdserve , 10/29/11 10:56 PM
lol approach shots is now about how sexy rafa looks. I'm sure he mujst be old enough to be your son. Some Judy Murray types around here. I'd be embarassed if my mom were to drool over a guy old enough to be her son, around my age.
scoretracker , 10/30/11 1:07 AM
It's Cheryl's job to delete posts. Maybe she is okay with some levity on this site among forum members.
I say let her be the one who decides what is embarrassing or too off topic. I have confidence that she will do her job well as she has always done in the past.
Nativenewyorker , 10/30/11 2:32 AM
Nothing wrong with Judy Murray. Lol
nadline , 10/30/11 4:30 AM
Scoretracker: Nothing wrong with a bit of hilarity. Laugh and the world laughs with you.
BTW: Some guys like older women so there.
ed251137 , 10/30/11 4:57 AM
Anyway, look who started it. None other than Ricky himself. lol
ed251137 , 10/30/11 5:03 AM
ed,
Right on for sticking up for older women and for laughter! :)
Nativenewyorker , 10/30/11 6:08 AM
ed, I don't mind it if there's some hilarity being indulged here, coz laughs are good for the mind. I'm all for good fun, but things are somewhat confusing here at times where some posters elect to play molderator. I just don't understand why the rules change so much that's all. I remember a few days ago, just after one of my posts, a poster, mentioned that we're supposed to stay on topic, albeit, my post was not so much way off topic, but in response to another poster's comments.
Yes, a lot of young guys like older women, and vice versa, but I do think that sometimes Judy Murray is a bit over the top with her drooling. The drooling here reminded me of her, hence my comment. Also, I find it funny that some of the ladies here are so openly drooling over Nadal's bod. And, I still would find it very embarrasing if my 58 Y/o mother were to drool over a guy my age. I guess i need to be reminded of the times we live in. anyway, have fun enjoying the eye candy.
scoretracker , 10/30/11 6:24 AM
I haven't a clue in the world what Rafa eats for breakfast! Why do I have this feeling that some enterprising fan is going to come on here and tell me! :)
Nativenewyorker, 10/28/11 8:31 AM
Here you are, NNY:
MONDAY, 10 JANUARY 2011
Rafael Nadal & his breakfast
I have to have breakfast. No tea. No coffee. Hot chocolate. And Quelitas (traditional Majorcan crackers made of wheat flour, sunflower oil, yeast, olive oil and sea salt). I have them with Majorcan sheep's cheese, or sometimes marmalade, or with sobrasada (Majorcan pate made from pig meat and paprika). I have oranges and orange juice too. When travelling, I might have a croissant with Nutella, or cornflakes with chocolate. I like breakfast.
Courtesy: Guardian
nadline , 10/30/11 7:09 AM
nadline,
How appropriate that you would be the one to give me the answer! Pig meat? Well, whatever makes Rafa happy and keeps him strong and healthy.
Thanks for the information! :)
Nativenewyorker , 10/30/11 7:40 AM
at least i got Tsonga right
otherwise not very good!
RickyDimon , 10/30/11 11:36 PM
Ricky,
Aw, it's okay! You can't win em all! As long as you are right more often than you are wrong. I am happy for both Cilic and Tsonga.
Nativenewyorker , 10/31/11 3:31 AM
Sun 20/05 03:13
Rome final expert picks: Djokovic vs. Nadal
Mon 14/05 03:45
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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Good call on the Igor upset. What's happened to that guy anyway?
numero , 10/27/11 2:42 AM