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  • Cincinnati Preview: First Round, Third Quarter

    7/28/08 2:25 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Fernando Gonzalez and Tomas Berdych steal the headlines in round one of the draw's third quarter, but other intriguing showdowns loom large. Among those in action are Ernests Gulbis, Nicolas Kiefer, and Gilles Simon.

    Ernests Gulbis vs. Jarkko Nieminen

    Gulbis had his coming out party at last year's U.S. Open with a fourth-round showing, and he lived up to the wild expectations that came with that by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open last month. It's been an up-and-down 2008 campaign, however, as you might expect for the 19-year-old. Last week in Toronto he led Jose Acasuso 5-1 in the third set before losing the last six games of the match. Nieminen started out the season scorching hot, but th Finn has really struggled to win matches ever since. Gulbis has more talent and a much bigger game, so this is his match to win if he can keep it together mentally, serve well, and pick the right times to go for his forehand. This is a dangerous matchup for the Latvian, though, because Nieminen is rock solid and can make opponents beat themselves. He should steal a set, but Gulbis in three is the pick.

    Simone Bolelli vs. Kevin Anderson

    Both of these guys are fast-rising stars. Anderson, who left the University of Illinois after his junior year in 2007, reached the final of Las Vegas earlier this season and is rapidly approaching the top 100 at 117th in the world. Bolelli is up to No. 50 in the rankings, thanks to third-round appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon. The Italian also reached the Munich final on clay, the surface on which most have best results have come. Still, Bolelli can obviously get it done on all surfaces and he is the favorite to advance to play Novak Djokovic, the man Anderson stunned at the Masters Series Miami. Anderson has already advanced through qualifying this week, so Bolelli needs to watch out because his opponent is in form.

    Nicolas Kiefer vs. Gilles Simon

    A rematch of the Masters Series Canada semifinals is ready to go in the first round of Cincinnati. The draw ceremony certainly did not turn out to be too kind for Kiefer and Simon, although Simon is probably eager for revenge. The Frenchman, who won the first U.S. Open Series event in Indianapolis before stunning Roger Federer in Toronto, fell to Kiefer in a third-set tiebreaker. Kiefer will be able to dictate play again in this one, because he has a much bigger serve and a bigger game altogether. The German will be tired, however, and Simon is absolutely not the kind of player you want to face if you are at all fatigued mentally or physically. Expect Simon to turn the tables on Kiefer in two tight sets.

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