JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO TENNIS COME BACK STARTS IN DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA & RAFA NADAL IS LOOKING TO GET BACK ON TRACK IN BUENOS AIRES BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 15th February 2016

JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO TENNIS COME BACK STARTS IN DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA & RAFA NADAL IS LOOKING TO GET BACK ON TRACK IN BUENOS AIRES BY RICKY DIMON

epa04072321 Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro returns the ball to France's Gael Monfils during their first round match at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands, 12 February 2014. EPA/KOEN SUYK |

The first week of the South American clay-court swing did nothing to help assuage the grief of Rafael Nadal supporters. Nadal, who is still looking to dig out of a season-opening slump, got upset by Dominic Thiem in the Buenos Aires semifinals. An equally stellar field will be on hand in Rio de Janeiro, where the fifth-ranked Spaniard is the top seed ahead of David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Delray Beach will also garner a fair share of headlines. That’s because it is home to the long-awaited return of Juan Martin Del Potro, who has not played since last March in Miami because of a recurring wrist issue. An outstanding Marseille draw, meanwhile, features Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych.

Rio Open

There is some semblance of good news for Nadal: his Rio draw is a favorable one. Ferrer is obviously on the other side as the No. 2 seed, but so are Thiem, Fabio Fognini, and Juan Monaco. Nadal opened in Buenos Aires against one of his best friends (Monaco) and he will do the same this week with occasional doubles partner Pablo Carreno Busta on the other side of the net. With Nicolas Almagro undoubtedly fatigued following a runner-up performance in Buenos Aires, Nadal should have no trouble reaching at least the Rio semis. Even in the former world No. 1’s current state, nobody in the top half looks poised to seriously challenge him.

Given Thiem’s certain fatigue, Ferrer should also enjoy a relatively simple trek through the draw.

Final pick: Ferrer over Nadal

Spanish Rafael Nadal in action against Argentine Juan Monaco during his match of the tennis ATP Tournament of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 11 February 2016. EPA/David Fernandez

Open 13

You will never find a much better field at a 250-point tournament on European indoor hard courts. Leading the way are Wawrinka, Berdych, Richard Gasquet, and Marin Cilic (those four have opening byes). Rounding out the seeded contingent are Gilles Simon, David Goffin, Benoit Paire, and Rotterdam finalist Gael Monfils. And the draw is not simply top-heavy; it is also extremely deep. That is evident in the fact that Feliciano Lopez and Nick Kyrgios are unseeded floaters. So, too, are Vasek Pospisil, Alexander Zverev, and Ernests Gulbis.

The bottom half is especially loaded. Berdych’s inital test could come against a red-hot Zverev, Gasquet may await Gulbis in the second round, and Simon is on course to face either Kyrgios or Pospisil in the second round.

Final pick: Wawrinka over Berdych

Delray Beach Open

He’s back! Del Potro has not played 11 months, but he is returning to a place where he is undefeated. In his only previous trip to Delray Beach, the 2009 U.S. Open champion captured the title with five consecutive straight-set victories, none of which required even one tiebreaker. Del Potro’s draw looks like it could be a good one. Up first for the 27-year-old Argentine is Denis Kudla, after which unheralded John-Patrick Smith would follow. Other seeds in a relatively wide-open top half of the bracket are Kevin Anderson, Jeremy Chardy, and Donald Young. Young’s second contest would come against the winner of an all-American clash between Tim Smyczek and Memphis runner-up Taylor Fritz.

On paper, Bernard Tomic and Grigor Dimitrov are the cream of the crop on the other side. There is no reason why they should be unable to set up a semifinal showdown, although you never know exactly what you are going to get from Tomic on any given day. Challengers include Steve Johnson and Memphis semifinalist Ricardas Berankis.

Final pick: Tomic over Querrey