RICKY’S PICKS FOR TENNIS PULLOUTS IN PARIS: WAWRINKA, ISNER, GULBIS, AND VERDASCO BENEFIT FROM RAONIC’S WITHDRAWAL

Written by: Staff on 21st May 2015

RICKY'S PICKS FOR TENNIS PULLOUTS IN PARIS: WAWRINKA, ISNER, GULBIS, AND VERDASCO BENEFIT FROM RAONIC'S WITHDRAWAL

epa04761000 Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka returns a ball to Frederico Delbonis of Argentina during their quarter final match of the Geneva Open ATP tennis tournament in Geneva, Switzerland, 21 May 2015. EPA/MARTIAL TREZZINI |

Tomorrow Ricky will review the men’s singles draw from the French Open / Wawrinka, Isner, Gulbis, and Verdasco benefit from Raonic withdrawal By Ricky Dimon

Unable to recover from foot surgery in time for the French Open, Milos Raonic withdrew from the season’s second Grand Slam earlier this week. Raonic, who would have been the No. 5 seed at Roland Garros, reached the quarterfinals last season before falling to Novak Djokovic.

Milos Raonic of Canada reacts during his quarterfinal match against Rafael Nadal of Spain at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 20 March 2015. EPA/DANIEL MURPHY

“I am sad to have to unfortunately withdraw from Roland Garros this year,” the Canadian posted on his Twitter account. “I tried my best to be back and healthy in time after surgery…. I will continue my rehab and procceed with preparations for a 100 percent strong Wimbledon and Queens run. Thank you for the love and support”.

The primary beneficiary of Raonic’s withdrawal is world No. 9 Stan Wawrinka. Instead of being seeded ninth in Paris, Wawrinka is now the No. 8 seed. That, of course, means he cannot face anyone in the top eight prior to the quarterfinals. It also guarantees that the Swiss will not be in the same quarter of the draw as Rafael Nadal. As both men are in the 5-8 seeding group, they go into the proverbial pot together and cannot land in he same section.

World No. 17 John Isner also benefits from Raonic’s absence. Previously set to miss out on the 16th seed by one spot, Isner has now climbed into that all-important realm. The 6’10” American could have been at risk of facing Gael Monfils in the third round. Now his potential seeded opponents in the last 32 are David Goffin, Tommy Robredo, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Richard Gasquet.

Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in action against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan during their first round match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 23 February 2015. EPA/ALI HAIDER

Nothing has been working out well for Ernests Gulbis in 2015, but the Raonic announcement at least threw some kind of bone to the Latvian. Instead of being the No. 25 seed, Gulbis is now into a top 24 position. That is huge for the 2014 Roland Garros semifinalist, because he can no longer face the likes of Djokovic, Nadal, and Roger Federer in the third round. Of course, Gulbis will have a lot to worry about in the first and (if he gets there) second round based on his disastrous recent form.

Rounding out the list of players who owe Raonic a thank-you note is Fernando Verdasco. Once tipped to be on of the tournament’s most dangerous unseeded floaters, Verdasco now has a seed. Barring any last-minute withdrawals, the Spaniard will have a No. 32 by his name come Friday morning.

In other pullout news (none of which comes as any real surprise), Juan Martin Del Potro, Tommy Haas, Julien Benneteau, and Janko Tipsarevic will miss this year’s festivities in Paris.

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

Topics: Ernests Gulbis, Fernando Verdasco, French Open, John Isner, milos raonic, Paris, RG15, Ricky Dimon, Roland Garros, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

May 21, 2015 at 9:25 pm

-@Dimonator’s PICKS FOR TENNIS PULLOUTS IN #PARIS: @stanwawrinka, @JohnIsner, GULBIS BENEFIT FROM RAONIC’S WITHDRAWAL http://t.co/oe8Wt4SziQ