RICKY DIMON REPORTS ON HARD-COURT SWING BEGINS IN BOGOTA, IT’S BACK TO THE CLAY IN EUROPE

Written by: Staff on 19th July 2015

RICKY DIMON REPORTS ON HARD-COURT SWING BEGINS IN BOGOTA, IT'S BACK TO THE CLAY IN EUROPE

Gael Monfils of France in action in the round of 16 match against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan during the ATP tennis tournament in Halle, Germany, 18 June 2015. EPA/MAJA HITIJ |

Hard-court swing begins in Bogota, it’s back to the clay in Europe

The grass-court season has come to an end and now it’s back to clay—at least in part—until the two U.S. Open Series Masters 1000 events set the stage for the final Grand Slam of the year. This week’s action on the red stuff will take place in Umag and Bastad. Among those participating in one of the two tournaments are Gael Monfils, David Goffin, and Fernando Verdasco.

Meanwhile, the hard-court swing (but not the U.S. Open Series) kicks off in Bogota. Ivo Karlovic and Bernard Tomic headline that field after experiencing contrasting fortunes in Newport.

Goffin headlines the Skistar Swedish Open as the No. 1 seed as he has to be chomping at the bit to get this time of the year started. After all, it was after Wimbledon in 2014 went he went on a ridiculous 25-match winning streak. So far, so good once again for the 14th-ranked Belgian. Goffin cruised through a Davis Cup singles rubber this past weekend and Belgium finished off Canada 3-0; thus Goffin did not have to play another match and will be well-rested heading into Bastad.

The top seed’s quarter is difficult, as it also includes Diego Schwartzman, Benoit Paire, and a first-rounder between Verdasco and Nicolas Almagro. Defending champion Pablo Cuevas also finds himself in the top half of the bracket. The bottom half is littered with hit-and-miss performers. Among them are Thomaz Bellucci, Jeremy Chardy, and Ernests Gulbis.

These may be the dog days of summer after Wimbledon and well before the U.S. Open Series really heats up, but the Kozum Croatia Open draw is nothing to sneeze at—especially by 250-point standards. If the seeds go according to form, three of the quarterfinal matchups would be Monfils vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Andreas Seppi vs. Fabio Fognini, and Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Borna Coric. Also on hand at this event are Dominic Thiem, Mikhail Youzhny, Russian teenager and recent Davis Cup star Andrey Rublev, and the recently-married Lukas Rosol.

Of course, the likelihood of seeded players taking care of business all the way through to the quarters is slim. Kohlschreiber, plagued by a number of terrible draws this summer, has a difficult opener in front of him against Santiago Giraldo. Fognini will kick off his campaign with Jiri Vesely on the other side of the net, while Coric is set to face Marcel Granollers. Rublev, who helped the Russians overcome Spain on Sunday, hopes to get a shot at another Spaniard—Bautista Agut—in the last 16.

The only previous meeting between Fognini and Vesely will not soon be forgotten. On the clay courts of Rio de Janerio earlier this season (also in the first round), Fognini saved three match points (all in a row starting at 3-6 in the second-set tiebreaker) en route to a stunning 1-6, 7-6(7), 6-1 comeback win.

Assuming Tomic shows up for the Claro Open Colombia (who knows with this guy right now?), he will be defending his title from an epic run last year in Bogota. The Aussie won each of his last two matches in third-set tiebreakers—over Victor Estrella Burgos in the semis and at Karlovic’s expense in the final. Tomic does not often have a ton of crowd support and this week may be no different. He could face Colombia’s own Alejandro Gonzalez in the second round, fan favorite Marcos Baghdatis in the quarterfinals, and possibly Estrella Burgos again the semis.

A whole host of established veterans will make for a tougher top half. Newport finalists Karlovic (runner-up) and Rajeev Ram (champion) are on a collision course for the last four but must bounce back from a long week on grass. The 6’11’’ Croat does not have a hard draw but could be in line for a big-serving showdown against Sam Groth in the quarters. The winner of a first-round meeting between Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Radek Stepanek will also have a chance of doing some damage.

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

Topics: Atp, Bogota, Newport, Ricky Dimon, SkiStar Swedish Open, Sports, Tennis News, U.S. Open Series Masters

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10sBalls_com says:

July 19, 2015 at 6:32 pm

RICKY DIMON REPORTS ON HARD-COURT SWING BEGINS IN BOGOTA, IT’S BACK TO THE CLAY IN EUROPE- http://t.co/YmPcBhvDjq #tennis #Newport #Bogota

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