NOVAK DJOKOVIC, RAFA NADAL, AND ROGER FEDERER ALL IN ACTION AS THE 2016 TENNIS BEGINS

Written by: Staff on 3rd January 2016

NOVAK DJOKOVIC, RAFA NADAL, AND ROGER FEDERER ALL IN ACTION AS THE 2016 TENNIS BEGINS

epa05033294 Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during the ATP Tour tennis finals tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 19 November 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

By Ricky Dimon

Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer. Stan Wawrinka. Tomas Berdych. David Ferrer. Kei Nishikori…. And that’s just to single out a few. The names that are in action for the beginning of the 2016 ATP World Tour campaign are too many to name. But rest assured that the fields this week in Doha, Brisbane, and Chennai are nothing short of impressive.

With the first Grand Slam of the year just two weeks away, almost everyone—even the very top players in the world—is eager to do some fine-tuning at smaller, 250-point events in preparation for Melbourne.

Qatar ExxonMobil Open

Where: Doha, Qatar

Surface: Hard

Prize money: $1,189,605

Points: 250

Top seed: Novak Djokovic

Defending champion: David Ferrer

David Ferrer of Spain returns the ball to Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic during the final match of the Qatar ExxonMobil ATP Open Tennis tournament at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, 10 January 2015. EPA

Draw analysis: This could end up being one of the most top-heavy draws of the entire year, in that the star power is huge but the depth is strikingly thin. Djokovic, Nadal, Berdych, and Ferrer are all on hand in Doha. For those counting, that means four of the top seven players are in attendance. After that, however, there is a precipitous drop-off. You have to go down to No. 17 in the world to find the fifth seed (Feliciano Lopez) and to No. 29 to find the sixth (Andreas Seppi). Fernando Verdasco is the highest-ranked unseeded floater at No. 49.

Djokovic, Nadal, Berdych, and Ferrer should all cruise into the semifinals. Berdych may have the toughest road, with Sergiy Stakjovsky in round one and possibly Lopez in the quarters. Should the Czech navigate those waters, his reward would almost certainly be a date with Djokovic in the last four. In the other half, Nadal and Ferrer should be feeling good about themselves following the Abu Dhabi exhibition. Nadal captured the title on Saturday over Milos Raonic, while Ferrer beat Stan Wawrinka for third place.

Semifinal predictions: Novak Djokovic over Tomas Berdych and Rafael Nadal over David Ferrer

Final: Djokovic over Nadal

Brisbane International

Where: Brisbane, Australia

Surface: Hard

Prize money: $404,780

Points: 250

Top seed: Roger Federer

Defending champion: Roger Federer

Draw analysis: Not unlike at many Grand Slams, Federer should be able to sleepwalk through his draw prior to the quarterfinals. It helps, of course, that the 34-year-old Swiss has an opening-round bye as the first of the top four seeds. He awaits either Australian wild card Benjamin Mitchell or a qualifier. But then things could get tricky. In the last eight, Federer will likely face the winner of a first-round showdown between Gilles Simon and Grigor Dimitrov. The top half of the bracket is also home to Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, and Korean teenager Hyeon Chung. Cilic and Chung are on a second-round collision course for a rematch of a 2015 Washington, D.C. encounter that ended at 2:27 in the morning.

Roger Federer of Switzerland during the Mens final against Milos Raonic of Canada at the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, January 11, 2015. EPA/DAVE HUNT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Simon vs. Dimitrov is the marquee first-round matchup of the entire week. This is what happens when Dimitrov has stooped so low in the rankings that he is unseeded at a 250-point tournament. In fairness to the Bulgarian, though, he would be a seed at just about any other 250-pointer this season—including in Doha or Chennai. Simon leads the head-to-head series 4-0, but they have not faced each other since 2012. As bad as Dimitrov was in 2015, he remains dangerous.

The other side of the draw is alarmingly weaker, riddled with qualifiers. It would not be surprising to see the four seeded entrants coast into the quarters. Bernard Tomic has Nicolas Mahut and Dusan Lajovic in his path to a potential date with Nishikori in the last eight. Raonic, the runner-up to Federer last season, and David Goffin should have no trouble setting up a quarterfinal tussle in their section.

Semifinals: Roger Federer over Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic over Kei Nishikori

Final: Federer over Raonic

Aircel Chennai Open

Where: Chennai, India

Surface: Hard

Prize money: $425,535

Points: 250

Top seed: Stan Wawrinka

Defending champion: Stan Wawrinka

Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka returns the ball to Spain’s David Ferrer during their match for 3rd place at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 02 January 2016. EPA/ALI HAIDER

Draw analysis: The Stan Wawrinka Invitational may be in for more of the same this time around after Wawrinka triumphed in both 2014 and 2015. That is not to say, however, that Wawrinka has an easy draw. The top-seeded Swiss finds himself in the same quarter as familiar foe Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and he could go up against good friend Benoit Paire in the semifinals. Wawrinka might first have to survive an intriguing second-round date with up-and-coming Russian Andrey Rublev.

Speaking of youngsters, Borna Coric has a nice opportunity to make a real run in Chennai. The Croat opens with Marcel Granollers before possibly facing either Rajeev Ram or Austin Krajicek in the quarters and Roberto Bautista Agut in the semis. Second-seeded Kevin Anderson, meanwhile, will likely run into either Vasek Pospisil or Aljaz Bedene in the last eight.

Bedene may be known mostly as the guy who has been unable to get an all-clear for British Davis Cup participation, but he started to make a name for himself on the court at this Chennai event in 2015. The Slovenian-turned-Brit finished runner-up to Wawrinka as a qualifier.

Semifinals: Stan Wawrinka over Benoit Paire and Borna Coric over Vasek Pospisil

Final: Wawrinka over Coric