Quarter One: Gilles SImon (1)
The top half of the quarter will see Simon open against Aljaz Bedene or a
qualifier. The field of qualifiers has some talent with Frances Tiafoe,
Ryan Harrison, Martin Klizan and Pierre Hugues-Herbert all in the mix
on Sunday to qualify. That could make for a tricky out for someone in
the draw. Marcos Baghdatis is the seed opposite of Simon in this half as
the #14. Baggy opens with Sergiy Stakhovsky or a qualifier. The Cypriot
flashed some good form in Atlanta before he got injured in the final
against John Isner. He has not played since, which could help or hinder
him here. I think the rest was needed more than the reps, so it could
have him as the one to watch for a quarterfinal spot in this draw if
Simon isn’t motivated. Baghdatis is 3-2 against Simon lifetime.
The bottom half of the quarter is led by 7th seeded Sam Querrey and #10 seed Joao Sousa. Querrey should be the favorite to move through to the quarterfinals. The American has played well at Winston-Salem and should be better than Federico Delbonis or Simone Bolelli in the second round. Sousa could have more trouble advancing with Pablo Carreno-Busta or Tommy Haas waiting for him after the bye. If Querrey is taken out earlier than expected, it could be by a motivated Haas. Haas dropped down to the Challenger level last week to play Aptos, but still is struggling to find his best. That being said, he isn’t that far off and these are the tournaments were surprises spring up.
Quarter Two: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (3)
Tsonga is boom or bust for me here. If he gets by Denis Istomin or
Donald Young to open, he could be in the mood to make a run this week.
His mood however is the question as a small tournament like this prior
to a Slam may not exactly excite the Frenchman to do his best. Even if
motivated properly, Tsonga has some landmines in this part of the
quarter with hard hitters like Sam Groth and 13th seed Steve Johnson in
his way to the quarters. The gut says Tsonga is more bust than boom.
Watch Groth in this section. He played well at the Citi Open and seems
to perform better on the smaller stage.
In the bottom of the quarter, it’s 5th seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and 9th seed Benoit Paire. This quarter could go any which way and looks like it could blow up for an unseeded player. The most dangerous floater will likely be Robin Haase or Yen-Hsun Lu. They square off in the opening round on Sunday. The survivor or their opening round match will be a solid darkhorse. Both have played well in Winston-Salem and should have the form edge on Garcia-Lopez who has been out with an injury. With Paire’s lack of consistency perhaps awaiting in the third round, watch Haase or Lu to work in and get a quarterfinal spot.
Quarter Three: Viktor Troicki (4)
Troicki could certainly use a change in form with an 0-3 record on the
North American hard court swing this summer. The losses were highlighted
last week when Mardy Fish crushed him last week in Cincinnati 6-2, 6-2.
Troicki looked poor and needs to gain some form or he’s an early out at
the U.S. Open in round one. He should have a chance to start well
against either Joao Souza or Malek Jaziri, although both can be tricky
at times on this surface. Opposite of him in this half is 15th seeded
Temuraz Gabashvil. Gabashvili will be pressed from the jump as he gets
either Alexandr Dolgopolov or Thanasi Kokkinakis to open the second
round. If Troicki can find some traction early, this could be his
quarter. If not, look for the Dolgopolov-Kokkinakis vs. Gabashvili
second round match winner to be in the quarters.
The other half of this quarter also looks open with 6th seeded Thomaz Bellucci and 11th seeded Jiri Vesely as the two seeds. Bellucci has a poor record on hard courts at 38-78 for his career, but he does usually perform well against players of similar skill. That is what he finds this week. Vesely is the one to watch for me. He lost his transitional match back to hard courts in Cincinatti to Bellucci, but has shown the ability for successon this surface. Vesely won his only career ATP title early this season in Auckland which is played on an outdoor hard surface. James Duckworth is an interesting floater in this part of the quarter and the qualifiers will bear watching when they get slotted into the draw. Vesely might be the better shot this week here, but also take a look at those qualifiers who go against James Duckworth and Marsel Ilhan. They could spring some upsets.
Quarter Four: Kevin Anderson (2)
Kevin Anderson is just 1-2 all-time at Winston-Salem and he has never
advanced past the third round. That makes him a candidate for a flame
out this week. Anderson will need to be on point as he opens his
campaign against a crafty veteran in either Nicolas Mahut or Mikhail
Kukushkin. Mahut made the third round last year at this event. Kukushkin
would be the trickier out to me and he has beaten Anderson before at
last year’s Shanghai Masters. The other part of this quarter is loaded
with 2014 finalist Jerzy Janowicz as the 16th seed along with defending
Winston-Salem champion Lukas Rosol as an unseeded player. And then there
is The Gulbis, Ernests Gulbis that is, who draws Rosol to open. This
part of the draw is full of potential and mental anguish. Expect an
unseeded surprise to work through to the quarters perhaps, likely the
Rosol-Gulbis winner having a leg up to do so.
In the opposite half of this quarter, rising star Borna Coric is seeded eighth with Pablo Andujar in as the 12th seed. Coric is still gaining experience on hard courts. This is his first full year playing these hard court tournaments at the ATP level. He showed well in Cincinnati with a three set win over Alexander Zverev and he took a set off Stan Wawrinka before losing in three. Coric will face a veteran test in Santiago Giraldo or Steve Darcis to start. While both are tough, it is a match that he needs to win if he is going to continue to gain confidence on the surface. Andujar is not suited to hard courts as evidenced with his 2-8 record in his last ten on the surface. Still, he gets either Daniel Gimeno-Traver or Diego Schwartzman in his first match. Gimeno-Traver is on an eight match losing streak, so Schwartzman is more likely. Coric is the clear talent in this part of the draw, but his inexperience will be put to the test by the veteran players he comes up against. I still think he can have success this week and a deep run.
Quarter One: Gilles SImon (1)
The top half of the quarter will see Simon open against Aljaz Bedene or a
qualifier. The field of qualifiers has some talent with Frances Tiafoe,
Ryan Harrison, Martin Klizan and Pierre Hugues-Herbert all in the mix
on Sunday to qualify. That could make for a tricky out for someone in
the draw. Marcos Baghdatis is the seed opposite of Simon in this half as
the #14. Baggy opens with Sergiy Stakhovsky or a qualifier. The Cypriot
flashed some good form in Atlanta before he got injured in the final
against John Isner. He has not played since, which could help or hinder
him here. I think the rest was needed more than the reps, so it could
have him as the one to watch for a quarterfinal spot in this draw if
Simon isn’t motivated. Baghdatis is 3-2 against Simon lifetime.
The bottom half of the quarter is led by 7th seeded Sam Querrey and #10 seed Joao Sousa. Querrey should be the favorite to move through to the quarterfinals. The American has played well at Winston-Salem and should be better than Federico Delbonis or Simone Bolelli in the second round. Sousa could have more trouble advancing with Pablo Carreno-Busta or Tommy Haas waiting for him after the bye. If Querrey is taken out earlier than expected, it could be by a motivated Haas. Haas dropped down to the Challenger level last week to play Aptos, but still is struggling to find his best. That being said, he isn’t that far off and these are the tournaments were surprises spring up.
Quarter Two: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (3)
Tsonga is boom or bust for me here. If he gets by Denis Istomin or
Donald Young to open, he could be in the mood to make a run this week.
His mood however is the question as a small tournament like this prior
to a Slam may not exactly excite the Frenchman to do his best. Even if
motivated properly, Tsonga has some landmines in this part of the
quarter with hard hitters like Sam Groth and 13th seed Steve Johnson in
his way to the quarters. The gut says Tsonga is more bust than boom.
Watch Groth in this section. He played well at the Citi Open and seems
to perform better on the smaller stage.
In the bottom of the quarter, it’s 5th seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and 9th seed Benoit Paire. This quarter could go any which way and looks like it could blow up for an unseeded player. The most dangerous floater will likely be Robin Haase or Yen-Hsun Lu. They square off in the opening round on Sunday. The survivor or their opening round match will be a solid darkhorse. Both have played well in Winston-Salem and should have the form edge on Garcia-Lopez who has been out with an injury. With Paire’s lack of consistency perhaps awaiting in the third round, watch Haase or Lu to work in and get a quarterfinal spot.
Quarter Three: Viktor Troicki (4)
Troicki could certainly use a change in form with an 0-3 record on the
North American hard court swing this summer. The losses were highlighted
last week when Mardy Fish crushed him last week in Cincinnati 6-2, 6-2.
Troicki looked poor and needs to gain some form or he’s an early out at
the U.S. Open in round one. He should have a chance to start well
against either Joao Souza or Malek Jaziri, although both can be tricky
at times on this surface. Opposite of him in this half is 15th seeded
Temuraz Gabashvil. Gabashvili will be pressed from the jump as he gets
either Alexandr Dolgopolov or Thanasi Kokkinakis to open the second
round. If Troicki can find some traction early, this could be his
quarter. If not, look for the Dolgopolov-Kokkinakis vs. Gabashvili
second round match winner to be in the quarters.
The other half of this quarter also looks open with 6th seeded Thomaz Bellucci and 11th seeded Jiri Vesely as the two seeds. Bellucci has a poor record on hard courts at 38-78 for his career, but he does usually perform well against players of similar skill. That is what he finds this week. Vesely is the one to watch for me. He lost his transitional match back to hard courts in Cincinatti to Bellucci, but has shown the ability for successon this surface. Vesely won his only career ATP title early this season in Auckland which is played on an outdoor hard surface. James Duckworth is an interesting floater in this part of the quarter and the qualifiers will bear watching when they get slotted into the draw. Vesely might be the better shot this week here, but also take a look at those qualifiers who go against James Duckworth and Marsel Ilhan. They could spring some upsets.
Quarter Four: Kevin Anderson (2)
Kevin Anderson is just 1-2 all-time at Winston-Salem and he has never
advanced past the third round. That makes him a candidate for a flame
out this week. Anderson will need to be on point as he opens his
campaign against a crafty veteran in either Nicolas Mahut or Mikhail
Kukushkin. Mahut made the third round last year at this event. Kukushkin
would be the trickier out to me and he has beaten Anderson before at
last year’s Shanghai Masters. The other part of this quarter is loaded
with 2014 finalist Jerzy Janowicz as the 16th seed along with defending
Winston-Salem champion Lukas Rosol as an unseeded player. And then there
is The Gulbis, Ernests Gulbis that is, who draws Rosol to open. This
part of the draw is full of potential and mental anguish. Expect an
unseeded surprise to work through to the quarters perhaps, likely the
Rosol-Gulbis winner having a leg up to do so.
In the opposite half of this quarter, rising star Borna Coric is seeded eighth with Pablo Andujar in as the 12th seed. Coric is still gaining experience on hard courts. This is his first full year playing these hard court tournaments at the ATP level. He showed well in Cincinnati with a three set win over Alexander Zverev and he took a set off Stan Wawrinka before losing in three. Coric will face a veteran test in Santiago Giraldo or Steve Darcis to start. While both are tough, it is a match that he needs to win if he is going to continue to gain confidence on the surface. Andujar is not suited to hard courts as evidenced with his 2-8 record in his last ten on the surface. Still, he gets either Daniel Gimeno-Traver or Diego Schwartzman in his first match. Gimeno-Traver is on an eight match losing streak, so Schwartzman is more likely. Coric is the clear talent in this part of the draw, but his inexperience will be put to the test by the veteran players he comes up against. I still think he can have success this week and a deep run.
3 set win lastnight.. thoughts on these peps.
Tommy Haas
Benoit Paire
Borna Coric
Karolina Pliskova
3 set win lastnight.. thoughts on these peps.
Tommy Haas
Benoit Paire
Borna Coric
Karolina Pliskova
3 set win lastnight.. thoughts on these peps.
Tommy Haas
Benoit Paire
Borna Coric
Karolina Pliskova
3 set win lastnight.. thoughts on these peps.
Tommy Haas
Benoit Paire
Borna Coric
Karolina Pliskova
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