ABN AMRO CHAMPION STAN WAWRINKA BACK IN ACTION IN MARSEILLE, JOHN ISNER HEADLINES IN DELRAY BEACH BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 16th February 2015

ABN AMRO CHAMPION STAN WAWRINKA BACK IN ACTION IN MARSEILLE, JOHN ISNER HEADLINES IN DELRAY BEACH BY RICKY DIMON

epa04621597 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland poses with his trophy after beating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their final match of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands, 15 February 2015. EPA/KOEN SUYK |

Rafael Nadal is back in Rio de Janeiro this week to defend his 2014 title, but he won’t be able to steal the entire spotlight away from the other two ongoing tournaments. It is is another jam-packed seven-day stretch in the frantic February swing, with additional action taking place in Marseille and Delray Beach.

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal talks during a press conference about his participation, from 17 February, in the Rio Open tennis tournament, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 13 February 2015. Nadal had also said that along with his fellow countryman David Ferrer will join the Escola de Samba Unidos do Viradouro during the parade at the 2015 Rio Carnival, on 15 February. EPA/Marcelo Sayão

ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament champion Stan Wawrinka will have to mentally and physically regroup after a long, successful week in Rotterdam, but he should be able to do it. The second-seeded Swiss not only has a first-round bye at the Open 13, but he may also benefit from a favorable draw. Up first for Wawrinka could be good friend Benoit Paire, who also lifted a trophy on Sunday (Bergamo Challenger). Two of Wawrinka’s nearest seeds are an ice-cold Ernests Gulbis and a slumping Lukas Rosol.

Milos Raonic leads the way in a much deeper top half. Unseeded threats include Simone Bolelli, Vasek Pospisil, Dominic Thiem, and Jerzy Janowicz. The top-seeded Canadian will kick off his campaign against either Bolelli or surprise Sao Paulo runner-up Luca Vanni. Gael Monfils also has a nice road through two rounds and should coast into a possible quarterfinal date with Raonic.

A potential first-round upset alert is Janowicz vs. No. 8 seed David Goffin. Janowicz is the man who ended Goffin’s 25-match winning streak last summer.

The Delray Beach Open features an almost identical field to that in Memphis, aside from the obvious fact the Kei Nishikori (now a three-time reigning champion of the Tennessee-based tournament) is not in the field. That could open the door for big hitters like John Isner and Memphis runner-up Kevin Anderson.

Anderson’s draw is a great one, with a qualifier to start and Adrian Mannarino as his nearest seed. Mannarino has cooled off drastically since beginning his 2015 campaign with a runner-up finish in Auckland. Anderson could be in line for a huge-serving semifinal against Ivo Karlovic, but the 6’11’’ Croat would likely have to get past both Dustin Brown and Steve Johnson along the way.

There is more of an American flavor in the bottom half of the bracket (five entries, compared to two up top). Sam Querrey, Donald Young, and Tim Smyczek are all in fine form and Stefan Kozlov is starting to make a name for himself at 17 years old. The winner of Smyczek vs. Kozlov could have a huge opportunity in a section where third-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov is extremely vulnerable right now. Isner has not yet gotten things going in 2015 and may have a difficult first-rounder on his hands against Marinko Matosevic. The No. 2 seed is in a tough quarter that also boasts Viktor Troicki and Bernard Tomic.

Don’t be surprised if a slumping Dolgopolov gets sent packing right away by Teymuraz Gabashvili.

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

Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands returns the ball to Fabrice Santoro of France during their match of the gala tournament Tennis Classics in Papp Laszlo Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary, 29 October 2011. Santoro defeated Krajicek. EPA/IMRE FOLDI

Editors Note : LONG TIME FRIEND OF GEEZERS AND I GUESS NOW LOVEY , RICHARD KRAJICEK PUT ON ANOTHER GREAT EVENT IN ROTTERDAM. 1996 WIMBLEDON CHAMPION ANS HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE DAPHNE DECKERS AND GORGEOUS , CHARMING KIDS GRACIOUSLY HOSTED THE PLAYERS AND THEIR FAMILIES . Richard is able to produce a great field of players as well as future stars. The kids day there was a real scene. The place was packed like a holiday line at an airport or toy store or concert at Coachella . Ok you get it. It was just great. Wall to wall kids. The Worlds top coach Sven Groeneveld was there too. Always with that smile on his face.

Topics: ABN AMRO, John Isner, Marseille, Rafa, Richard Krajicek, Rio De Janeiro, Rotterdam, Sports, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

February 16, 2015 at 9:35 am

#ABNAMRO CHAMPION @stanwawrinka BACK IN ACTION IN #MARSEILLE, @JohnIsner HEADLINES IN @DelrayBeachOpen BY @Dimonator http://t.co/HEZYqS6kEv
Dimonator says:

February 16, 2015 at 9:40 am

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rgn156 says:

February 16, 2015 at 11:35 am

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chda7777 says:

February 16, 2015 at 11:35 am

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akramsag says:

February 16, 2015 at 11:56 am

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sushimaccheese says:

February 16, 2015 at 1:18 pm

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