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  • Copa Telmex tournament preview

    2/18/08 3:49 PM | Cheryl Murray
    - The ATP tour heads to Buenos Aires this week for the Copa Telmex. The field is strong, and any number of players could be lifting the trophy on Sunday.

    David Nalbandian is the number one seed and the favorite going into the tournament. The Argentine had a brilliant end to 2007, posting multiple wins over Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. His results were not quite as stellar at the Australian Open in January. He lost in straight sets in the third round to Juan Carlos Ferrero. Still, Nalbandian will be playing in front of a home crowd, and he is my pick to take the championship.

    Number two seed Juan Monaco is another contender, but he sprained his ankle in a doubles match at Vina del Mar two weeks ago, and there are questions as to whether he is completely healed yet or if he is playing simply because it is his home country's tournament. Carlos Moya is in the bottom half of the draw with Monaco, however he made the finals of the Brasil Open last week. This would not be notable except that every match along the way was three sets. An early exit due to fatigue would not be surprising.

    Nicolas Almagro, who is in the top half of the draw with Nalbandian, is playing excellent tennis right now. He defeated Moya in the final of the Brasil Open on Sunday and has momentum coming into this tournament. It remains to be seen whether he will be tired from playing back-to-back tournaments. He did not spend nearly as much time on court as Moya, and this early in the season, his legs should still be fresh.

    The absence of Guillermo Coria and Gaston Gaudio is a disappointment for the tournament. Both had intended to play, but Coria claimed that there was too much pressure on him, and Gaudio is still not fully recovered from torn ligaments in his ankle.

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