RICKY DIMON’S TENNIS PICKS FOR THE WEEK: FEDERER, NADAL, AND MANY OTHER STARS COME OUT FOR QUEEN’S CLUB AND HALLE

Written by: Staff on 14th June 2015

RICKY DIMON'S TENNIS PICKS FOR THE WEEK: FEDERER, NADAL, AND MANY OTHER STARS COME OUT FOR QUEEN'S CLUB AND HALLE

Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with his trophy after winning the final match against Viktor Troicki of Serbia at the ATP tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 14 June 2015. EPA/MARIJAN MURAT |

Federer, Nadal, and many other stars come out for Queen’s Club and Halle

The summer grass-court swing, which now includes three weeks of action prior to Wimbledon instead of two, began with a bang as Rafael Nadal captured his second title of the season on Sunday in Stuttgart. Now things really get kicked into high gear, with Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray–just to name a few–all set to take the court at either Queen’s Club or in Halle.

Although Nadal played this past week, the world’s other top players enjoyed a week of rest following the French Open. That had not been the case during the shorter grass-court season’s in years past, when players had to jump right into Queen’s and Halle immediately following Roland Garros. This time around they will be well-rested and recharged to take their talents from the red stuff to the green.

The result should be a whole host of high-quality tennis over the next seven days, especially given the two entry lists. Nadal, Murray, and French Open champion Stan Wawrinka are all on hand at the AEGON Championships, while Federer and Kei Nishikori are leading the way at the Gerry Weber Open.

Starting with Queen’s, it is safe to say the reigning Roland Garros champion did not have any favors done for him by the draw. Wawrinka, Nadal, and Milos Raonic are all in the bottom half of the bracket. In fact, the last quarter alone features Wawrinka and Nadal. But before the Swiss can worry about that potential blockbuster quarterfinal, he has to open against Nick Kyrgios in advance of a possible date with either Kevin Anderson or Lleyton Hewitt. Nadal’s opener will come against familiar foe Alexandr Dolgopolov. Raonic, meanwhile, could run into Richard Gasquet in round two.

Andy Murray of Britain reacts as he plays Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their semifinal match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 05 June 2015. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT

As for Murray, expectations will be high after he won two consecutive clay-court titles and lost on the red stuff only when Novak Djokovic knocked him out of the French Open semis in five sets. The Scot has to be considered the title favorite at Queen’s Club, especially based on the draw. Danger abounds everywhere because the field is so strong, but Murray’s half is weaker by comparison. It also includes Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov, and Feliciano Lopez.

One potential upset to watch in the first round is Dimitrov vs. Sam Querrey. The Bulgarian is just 18-11 on the season and Querrey has always fared relatively well on grass.

In Halle, Federer finds himself in by far the tougher half of the bracket as he bids for a third consecutive title. To begin with, he drew Tomas Berdych instead of Gael Monfils as his top-four seed. Before that comes into play, though, Federer first has to open with Philipp Kohlschreiber before old Wimbledon nemesis Sergiy Stakhovsky potentially awaits in the last 16. Dangerous grass-courters Bernard Tomic and Ivo Karlovic are also part of the top half.

Kei Nishikori of Japan in action against Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia during their fourth round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2015. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT

Nishikori should enjoy a friendlier path to the Halle final. The No. 2 seed has a difficult first-rounder on paper against Dominic Thiem, but Thiem is not as comfortable on the slick stuff as he is on hard courts or clay. Jerzy Janowicz and Dustin Brown could present problems on grass, but both men are prone to the occasional—if not frequent—disastrous performance. The draw’s third quarter is especially wide open with Monfils and Tommy Robredo as the two seeds. This may be a golden opportunity for 37-year-old German Tommy Haas to make noise in his latest comeback from injury. Haas, who begins his campaign against Andreas Seppi, is a two-time Halle champion (2009 and 2012).

Monfils may be on upset alert right away this week. Although the Frenchman at least managed to reach the Stuttgart semifinals, he promptly got routined by Nadal. Lukas Rosol may be able to use the surface to his advantage and hit through Monfils’ defense.

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

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Federer, Kei Nishikori, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Stuttgart, Tennis News, Wimbledon

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10sBalls_com says:

June 14, 2015 at 10:23 am

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Dimonator says:

June 14, 2015 at 10:59 am

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator’s #TENNIS PICKS FOR THE WEEK: #FEDERER, #RAFA, AND MANY OTHER STARS COME OUT FOR QUEEN’S CLUB AND #HALLE- htt…