RICKY DIMON IS CLEARLY DONE WITH CLAY, HE IS LOOKING AT RAFAEL NADAL AND ALL THE GRASS WARM UPS THIS WEEK

Written by: Staff on 7th June 2015

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

RICKY DIMON IS CLEARLY DONE WITH CLAY, HE IS LOOKING AT RAFAEL NADAL AND ALL THE GRASS WARM UPS THIS WEEK

epa04781913 Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their quarterfinal match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 03 June 2015. EPA/CAROLINE BLUMBERG |

Nadal back in action as grass-court swing begins in Stuttgart and ‘s-Hertogenbosch

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal’s season-long slump continued on his normal stomping grounds of red clay, as he failed to capture even a single title in Europe and bowed out of the French Open in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Novak Djokovic. But just because he is not playing well right now, do not discount the Spaniard on grass. After all, this is a two-time Wimbledon champion we are talking out.

Nadal will begin his 2015 grass-court swing this week in Stuttgart as part of an impressive field that also features Marin Cilic and Gael Monfils. In ‘s-Hertogenbosch, meanwhile, contenders include David Goffin and Ivo Karlovic after Roland Garros semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew.

Mercedes Cup:

The tournament’s two biggest attractions find themselves in the top quarter of the draw and are part of what is a positively loaded half of the bracket. Joining Nadal is Germany’s own Tommy Haas, who is attempting to make yet another comeback at 37 years old. Haas will be unranked at this event, as he has not played since the 2014 French Open. The crowd favorite appears to have a winnable opener against Mikhail Kukushkin, but he could run into Bernard Tomic in round two. Nadal could have a tantalizing first match against 2012 Wimbledon conqueror Lukas Rosol. Also on the same side are Gael Monfils, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Cilic has to be content with his draw as the No. 2 seed. The 2014 U.S. Open champion is part of a bottom half that is nowhere near as strong but does have some dangerous performers. Feliciano Lopez and Sergiy Stakhovsky, for example, are extremely capable on the slick stuff. Those two veterans could collide in round two and neither one would get Cilic until the semifinals. At different ends of the career spectrum, both Dominic Thiem and Radek Stepanek are also ones to watch.

An intriguing first-rounder pits Viktor Troicki against Borna Coric. Their only previous encounter came earlier this season in first-round Davis Cup action. Coric, an 18-year-old Croat, stormed out of the gates and had a chance to pull off a statement-making win in his young career on the road in Serbia. Instead, the crowd helped Troicki to a comeback victory and his experienced proved too much in a 4-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 decision. Fast forward three months and both players are in solid form. This should be a high-quality encounter and one that Troicki knows will be a real danger.

Topshelf Open:

Tsonga had been the No. 1 seed at the top of the bracket, but he withdrew after the draw ceremony had already been conducted. Thus Karlovic (seeded fifth) assumes Tsonga’s place and Vasek Pospisil (now seeded ninth) slides into where Karlovic had once resided in the field of 28. Pospisil was initially scheduled to face Jurgen Melzer in the opening round before possibly running into the second-seeded Goffin. The Canadian now begins his week against an ice-cold Marinko Matosevic and his nearest seed is Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Pospisil has not won a match since Miami, where he got the best of Juan Martin Del Potro. Matosevic has been even worse—by far. He is 3-13 this season and has lost nine matches in a row. That being said, grass should give him more of a chance than clay to find the win column. Posipisil has every reason to get the job done, but nothing is coming easy for him these days (at least when he does not have Jack Sock on his side of the net).

Each tournament this week features a veteran on the comeback trail. In ‘s-Hertogenbosch it is two-time major champion and former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. The 34-year-old Aussie skipped the European clay swing and is a mere 1-4 for his 2015 campaign. He has not won a match since the first round of the Australian Open. Hewitt starts things off with either a qualifier or lucky loser before potentially meeting defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut. Goffin, Pospisil, and Garcia-Lopez are part of a weaker, less intriguing bottom half.

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

Topics: Mercedes Cup, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News, Topshelf Open

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10sBalls_com says:

June 7, 2015 at 3:57 pm

@Dimonator IS CLEARLY DONE WITH CLAY, HE IS LOOKING AT @RafaelNadal AND ALL THE GRASS WARM UPS THIS WEEK- http://t.co/drTxShsKH0 #tennis