LOADED CINCINNATI DRAW BEGINS PLAY ON SUNDAY WITH HEWITT AND QUERREY BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: on 9th August 2014
French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros
LOADED CINCINNATI DRAW BEGINS PLAY ON SUNDAY WITH HEWITT AND QUERREY BY RICKY DIMON

epa04224832 Sam Querrey of the USA in action during his first round match against Filippo Volandri of Italy at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 25 May 2014. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT  |

With Rafael Nadal out of the tournament, this year’s draw was never going to be as nightmarish for Roger Federer as the 2013 version (his No. 5 ranking led him into a quarterfinal clash against Nadal, which the Spaniard won in three sets). It is, however, no walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. Joining the world No. 3 in a tough bottom quarter of the bracket are Andy Murray, Gael Monfils, Washington, D.C. runner-up Vasek Pospisil, Toronto quarterfinalist Kevin Anderson, and 2013 Cincinnati finalist John Isner.

 

Federer’s road to the semis could feature Pospisil, Monfils, and either Murray or Isner. It is also an unkind draw for a struggling Isner, who has runner-up points to defend and would likely have to beat Anderson (in round one) and Murray just to reach the last eight.

The third section of the bracket is loaded with talent but also riddled with question marks. Milos Raonic is in great form but may be fatigued and struggled mightily with his return game in Toronto. Tomas Berdych has not won more than two matches at a tournament since Roland Garros and Ernests Gulbis has not won more than one match at a tournament in the same span. Fabio Fognini has been losing consistently on all three surfaces. Dominic Thiem, a potential opening opponent for Raonic, has cooled off slightly since this spring but he recently reached his first career ATP final in Kitzbuhel.

Nobody is sitting prettier than Novak Djokovic, the top seed. His biggest threat prior to the semis is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but the Frenchman will undoubtedly be fatigued after reaching the Toronto title match. David Ferrer could displace Tsonga as Djokovic’s quarterfinal opponent, but the Spaniard has not scored a victory over Djokovic since 2011 and has lost six in a row. Tsonga may have a tough opener on his hands against Mikhail Youzhny, while Ferrer possibly awaits Philipp Kohlschreiber for his first match.

Stan Wawrinka’s quarter includes a few other masters of the one-handed backhand in Grigor Dimitrov, Richard Gasquet, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Toronto semifinalist Feliciano Lopez. Marin Cilic, though, is a candidate to crash the party. The Croat, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist, nearly beat Federer in the Rogers Cup third round and he is an awesome 38-15 for the season. One of the most intriguing first-round matchups pits Cilic against Lopez. Wawrinka, dealt a taxing draw, is likely to begin against Ivo Karlovic and would meet either Cilic or Lopez immediately thereafter. Dimitrov, whose Toronto semifinal performance against Tsonga was “unacceptable” according to coach Roger Rasheed, will hope to get back in business with a potential opener versus an ice cold Jerzy Janowicz.

First-round action will begin simultaneously with the final over in Toronto on Sunday. Two of the men’s first-round matches will be contested: Lleyton Hewitt vs. Jurgen Melzer and Sam Querrey vs. Alejandro Falla.

 

Lleyton Hewitt vs. (PR) Jurgen Melzer: Something will have to give in this one. Hewitt is coming off a 6-1, 6-2 blowout loss to Julien Benneteau in Toronto. Melzer lost his opener to Jack Sock 6-1, 6-3. It cannot get much worse than that and for one of these two veterans, it won’t.

 

Alejandro Falla vs. (WC) Sam Querrey: A battle is developing for the No. 2 American ranking behind Isner, and Querrey is among a group of four competing for it. He could face another contender, Sock, in the second round. But Querrey first must get past Falla.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

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