World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

Mike McIntyre

Around the Corner: Roger Federer is the top Seed at the Paris Masters

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By Mike McIntyre

The final ATP World Tour event that those outside of the top eight players in the world can enter is about to begin in Paris, France. It just so happens it is a Masters 1000 tournament so you’ll have one last chance to cheer for your favorite player in all likelihood.

World number one and the most dominant force on tour this year, Rafael Nadal, has withdrawn due to undisclosed injury issues. I would expect him to be ready for the tour finale in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, Roger Federer assumes the number one seed in Paris and has a relatively good draw, although he will be challenged from the get-go with a likely second round encounter with Richard Gasquet.

Roger Federer is the top seed at the Paris Masters

Roger has Andy Murray in his half of the draw and given their head-to-head results of late you would have to give the edge to Murray should they meet here in Paris. While Roger has owned all of the major battles between these two during Grand Slam competition, Murray has a stark advantage in all other events where he leads 8-3.

On the other side of the draw, defending champion Novak Djokovic is the second seed and will open against either Sam Querrey or Juan Monaco after his first round bye. He could potentially face big serving John Isner next and then perhaps Tomas Berdych. No walk in the park for Novak.

Robin Soderling the fourth seed could see Andy Roddick in the quarter finals of that side of the draw in what would be an entertaining match. Look out for Mikhail Youzhny in that section as well who has played well since late-summer.

Other names who could make a splash this week include Gael Monfils or veteran Ivan Ljubicic who has had quite the year in 2010.

While in many ways it will be sad to close the book on another year of fantastic tennis achievements I’m sure many of you, like the players, are ready for a short and deserved break.

The ATP World Tour Finals from London take place starting November 21st and then there is the Davis Cup wrapping-up in early December.

With Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Murray and Soderling already qualified for the Finals, there are still three spots to be claimed for the year-end event.

I’m going with Youzhny, Roddick and Berdych to round out the final eight. How about you?

Around The Corner: ATP Tour Touches Down in Europe

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By Mike McIntyre

Back over to Europe for three indoor hard court tournaments this week on the ATP World Tour. The big news on the circuit last week was that Roger Federer tied Pete Sampras’ all-time tournament tally with his 64th career win in Stockholm. Only another 45 before he equals Jimmy Connors mark of 109!

This week we have stops in Austria, France and Russia as the season begins to draw to a close.

Bank Austria Tennis Trophy

It’s gimmick time in Vienna as the event has chosen to dust off 43 year-old Thomas Muster with a wild-card into the main draw. The former world number one and French Open champion has been playing a few challenger and futures level events this fall and has a 1-6 record so far in his “comeback.”

Muster opens against enigmatic Ernests Gulbis in the first round. I’m not really too sure what to make of this stunt. Muster is over ten years past being able to play at a high level – why make a return to the tour now?

Mikhail Youzhny

Local Jurgen Melzer gets the number one seed and deservingly so. Not only is he the defending champion at this event, but he has had a terrific 2010 that has seen him reach his first career Grand Slam semi-final and also defeat Rafael Nadal for the first time. Melzer gets a first round bye and could face wild-card James Blake in the second round.

Melzer will likely have to face Philipp Kohlschreiber in his section of the draw, and could also see clay-court guru Nicolas Almagro or veteran Xavier Malisse as well.

In the bottom half, Marcos Baghdatis and second seeded Marin Cilic are lurking. Cilic could really use a strong result to close out his season as it has been one great disappointment for him since a semi-final appearance at the Australian Open back in January.

Open Sud de France

Doesn’t it seem like there is an ATP event in France every couple of weeks? The French must really love their tennis and who can blame them? They have an abundance of players in the top one hundred in the world. Their players also have a variety in their game that makes them among the most enjoyable to watch in the sport.

Look over the qualifying draw and you might be surprised to see an A. Agazzi entered. That would be Andrea Agazzi from Italy…no joke.

The main draw boasts number one seed Nikolay Davydenko who appears to be on his last legs of competitiveness since returning from a wrist injury back in the spring. His long-term hold on a top-ten position has reached its end as he has been unable to put together any type of consistent tennis all season. Davydenko gets a first round bye, which will probably actually hurt his chances.

Defending champion Ivan Ljubicic is in the top-half of the draw along with Frenchman Richard Gasquet who is my pick to win the tournament.

In the bottom half we find many other talented locals such as number two seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils. Again, what a great time to be a tennis fan in France. David Nalbandian is also present with a wild-card.

St. Petersburg Open

Russia welcomes Mikhail Youzhny as the top seed and a slew of other lesser known players into the field. It is arguably the weakest draw of the three tournaments and does not offer any first round exemptions.

Youzhny won the event way back in 2004 which speaks to his longevity on the tour. In 2009, Sergiy Stakhovsky emerged as the champion and he is back as the second seed this time around.

Viktor Troicki who just won his first ever tour event in Moscow is in the top-half of the draw, while Jeremy Chardy, Janko Tipsarevic and P.H. Mathieu are in the bottom section.

Enjoy the tennis this week everyone.

The ATP Tour Continues its Swing in Asia – Around the Corner

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By Mike McIntyre

The ATP Tour continues its swing in Asia with stops in both China and Japan this coming week. All of the top players in the game with the exception of Roger Federer will be making an appearance in either Beijing or Tokyo. Both events are at the 500 level which means bigger pay-days and bigger competition. The first Masters 1000 event of the fall is just a week away as well.

China Open:

Defending champion Novak Djokovic takes the top seed in Beijing and makes his first appearance on the Tour since falling to Rafael Nadal in the U.S. Open final a month ago. Djokovic need not worry about facing the Spaniard this week but will still be pushed hard in order to advance to the finals.

Mao-Xin Gong, a Chinese wildcard, will be Djokovic’s first opponent. Given Gong’s world ranking of 353rd, I don’t think we have to worry about any potential upsets here. He gets the winner of the Mardy Fish vs. Janko Tipsarevic match in round two which will surely be a much bigger test of his abilities.

Novak Djokovic

Tomas Berdych the fifth seed could be Djokovic’s quarter-final opponent, while both Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco could await in the semis. It’s about time that Davydenko has a strong result and he has typically played well this time of year.

Gilles Simon and Sam Querrey are also lurking in the top half of a very strong draw and must face each other in the opening round.

David Ferrer and Sweden’s Robin Soderling are seeded to meet in the quarter-finals of the bottom section of the draw. Meanwhile Andy Murray will try to get back on track as the second seed and could end up meeting Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the final eight of his quarter.

Some great first round matches in Beijing include Alexandr Dolgopolov against Marcos Baghdatis, Youzhny vs. Ivan Ljubicic and the already mentioned Querrey vs. Simon.

Fans are going to be treated to some top-level tennis without a doubt this year in Beijing.

Rakuten Japan Open:

Nadal appears as the top seed in Tokyo and will try to improve upon his semi-final result this past week in Thailand where he was defeated by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.Nadal opens against little-known Santiago Giraldo in the opening round. Next he could face either Florent Serra of France or a qualifier.

The draw here in Tokyo is not quite as strong as the one in Beijing, which should allow Nadal a clear path to the finals.

Names in his half of the draw that could cause some hurdles include Ernests Gulbis, Jurgen Melzer and Richard Gasquet.

In the bottom half, Andy Roddick is the second seed. Roddick will try to return to the form that helped him knock-off the likes of Djokovic and Soderling in Cincinnati earlier this summer, rather than his lackluster performances at the last two Grand Slams. Tatsuma Ito will be the American’s first opponent followed by the winner of either Jeremy Chardy or a qualifier. I foresee Chardy giving Roddick some trouble, especially if Andy has not been getting in a lot of court time lately.

Frenchman Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsong and Michael Llodra have all been slotted into the bottom half of the draw and one of them should be advancing to the semi-finals. Perhaps Tsonga can rekindle some magic from a year ago where he won this very tournament. He is making his first tournament appearance since a quarter-final loss at Wimbledon.

This week’s tournaments boast a strong contingent of the world’s best competitors with only two players missing from the top twenty. Oddly enough both of those players, Federer and Stan Wawrinka, come from Switzerland.

The push for the final spots at the season ending Tour championships in London is about to kick-off. Time to see who has been preparing the best game plan since the U.S. Open ended.

Around the Corner: Tennis on the Rise in Asia

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By Mike McIntyre

The ATP Tour crosses several time zones this week and sets up shop in Thailand and Malaysia where it hopes to attract new fans and sponsors in an effort to spread its global presence.

World number one and the dominant force in men’s tennis in 2010, Rafael Nadal was treated like royalty when he arrived a few days ago in Bangkok.

Juan Martin del Potro

While both stops on the schedule are ATP World Tour 250 events, the fact that the region has attracted the likes of Nadal and other young stars such as Juan Martin Del Potro, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych and Fernando Verdasco shows that they are committed to hosting premium quality tournaments.

Malaysian Open

Robin Soderling is the number one seed at the Malaysian Open and receives a first round bye. He should have an enticing semi-final match against Berdych if the draw holds true to form. Speedster David Ferrer of Spain is also in the top-half of the draw and should win a few rounds.

In the bottom-half, Marcos Baghdatis faces up and coming Kei Nishikori in the first round in what could provide the tournament with its first upset. Nishikori will have the crowd behind him and has been playing the best tennis of his season towards the late stages of the summer hardcourt swing. Ranked 123rd in the world, the 20 year old Japanese sensation made it through qualifying at the U.S. Open before advancing to the third round. In the process he defeated top-twenty player Marin Cilic before having to retire with an injury to Albert Montanes.

Russians Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny are also in the bottom half of the draw. Davydenko has had some big struggles since returning to the Tour in June after a lengthy injury layoff due to wrist surgery. He has not resembled his old self and has a 10-10 record since that time.

Meanwhile, Youzhny made it to the semi-finals of the U.S. Open and jumped in the rankings to 9th in the world – one spot away from his career high that he reached in 2008. I wouldn’t be surprised if he overtook Davydenko as the highest ranked Russian before the year is out.

PTT Thailand Open

Rafael Nadal is making his first ever appearance at the Thailand Open. While he was scheduled to play the event the past two years in a row, injuries derailed his plans and he was forced to withdraw. He comes in as the clear favorite following his impressive performance in New York where he captured the only missing Grand Slam from his already incredible tennis resume. Nadal gets a first round bye and will play the winner between two qualifiers in his opening match.

After tumbling down the rankings to the 35th spot in the world, Juan Martin Del Potro emerges from his nearly year-long wrist injury and holds the 5th seed here in Bangkok. His potential third round opponent is Nadal which will be a most difficult match in his first tournament back on the Tour. Let’s hope Del Potro can remain healthy and get a few tournies under his belt before the conclusion of 2010. Having him back in the mix next season will be a huge boost to the current Roger and Rafa show we have been watching this year.

Jurgen Melzer and Fernando Verdasco represent the talent in the bottom half of the draw but neither one should be able to knock-off a healthy and in-form Nadal.

The Asian tennis swing continues next week with level 500 events in both Japan and China and then we have the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai that should have all the big names out in full force.

Around The Corner: ATP Tour Shifts Focus to Europe

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The forgotten tennis season of the fall begins this week with two European events taking place. In Metz, France, there is an indoor hard-court event while in Bucharest, Romania, there is an outdoor event on clay. None of the big names are playing this week but that should come as no surprise following a hectic summer schedule and the lack of major prize money at these two ATP World Tour 250 events.

Open de Moselle

The Open de Moselle in France is a tournament that was resurrected in 2003. Previously played every two years it disappeared from the schedule in 1988. French tennis fans have much to be excited about these days with 6 players in the top 50 in the world, and 12 players in the top 100.

Gaels Monfils

Gael Monfils is the defending champion and defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber in the finals a year ago. Seeded second, he is the favorite in my opinion, especially after a strong showing in New York at the U.S. Open.

Marin Cilic is seeded first but has had such an inconsistent season that I can’t see him coming through here this week.

Other notable names include 2005 winner Ivan Ljubicic who is seeded third and fourth seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

BCR Open Romania

Romania hosts a rather sparse draw of clay-court talent led by top seeded Albert Montanes. Montanes captured the title a year ago and has the luxury of a first round bye. He could very well face Jeremy Chardy in the quarter-finals, a match that I believe will produce the champion in this year’s edition. Chardy could have played the hard court event in his home country of France but made the wise tactical move to enter the field in Bucharest instead.

Third seeded Potito Starace and fourth seeded Juan Ignacio Chela are also in the mix.

Looking further ahead on the ATP World Tour schedule reveals two tournaments in Asia next week in Thailand and Malaysia followed by larger events in China and Japan. The Masters event in Shanghai begins October 10th and that is where I expect we see all of the big names together again.