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

Written by: on 14th June 2015
unnamed-17
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: , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.