10SBALLS NEXT GENERATION WRITER RICKY DIMON LOOKS AT CLAY-COURT TENNIS FROM HAMBURG & BASTAD & STEVIE JOHNSON IS THE TOP SEED IN NEWPORT @ THE HALL OF FAME

Written by: Staff on 10th July 2016

10SBALLS NEXT GENERATION WRITER RICKY DIMON LOOKS AT CLAY-COURT TENNIS FROM HAMBURG & BASTAD & STEVIE JOHNSON IS THE TOP SEED IN NEWPORT @ THE HALL OF FAME

epa05417364 Germany's Daniel Masur (L) in action against Michal Konecny of theÂ Czech Republic during their match at the German Tennis Championships in Hamburg, Germany, 09 July 2016. The German Tennis Championships will be held until 17 July 2016. EPA/Daniel Bockwoldt |

There’s no rest for the weary, and that goes for both players and fans. Not only are three ATP tournaments on the schedule this week, but the Davis Cup quarterfinals will also be taking center stage starting on Friday. While some of the top men in the world are suiting up for Davis Cup action, all three titles should be completely up for grabs to a motley crew of competitors.

German Tennis Championships

Question: What happens when you get an injured Rafael Nadal and a spot on the ATP calendar right after a Grand Slam? Answer: a disappointing field by 500-point standards. Nadal lifted the Hamburg trophy last summer, but he missed Wimbledon with a wrist problem and is obviously still on the sideline. That means zero top 20 players will be participating. Philipp Kohlschreiber, ranked No. 22 as of Sunday, leads the way as the No. 1 seed. He could meet Jeremy Chardy in the quarters and either Pablo Cuevas or Nicolas Almagro in the semis. Cuevas has won five career ATP titles, all on clay, including two this year. The Uruguayan, however, may have a tough first-rounder on his hands against Halle champion Florian Mayer.

Two of the four seeds in the bottom half of the draw are Benoit Paire and Martin Klizan. As such, it goes without saying that the door to a final spot is open for just about everyone. Paire is in the midst of another cold spell and Klizan has not picked up a main-tour win in almost five full months. A confident Alexander Zverev is an obvious favorite on paper to reach the final, but he could be challenged by Leonardo Mayer in the second round and by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the quarterfinals.

Semifinal predictions: Pablo Cuevas over Philipp Kolschreiber and Alexander Zverev over Jan-Lennard Struff

Final: Cuevas over Zverev

SkiStar Swedish Open

At 34 years old, David Ferrer has begun to take a tumble down the ATP rankings. A disastrous (by his standards) 23-14 record in 2016 has the Spaniard wallowing at No. 14 in the world. One thing the veteran has not done, however, is lose early at a 250-point tournament on clay. He has reached the semis of two such events in 2016; not exactly spectacular results but also not terrible. If he exits early this week in Bastad, a code-red alert may have to be issued on Ferrer’s career. The No. 1 seed will open with a qualifier following a bye and he should eventually advance to the last eight. Possible second-round opponent Dustin Brown is always dangerous, but there is no reason why Ferrer should lose to Brown on clay. A potential all-Spanish semifinal showdown against Albert Ramos-Vinolas is where things could get especially tough for Ferrer.

A much softer bottom half of the draw may also have a Spanish flavor, with Fernando Verdasco and Marcel Granollers possibly in line to square off in the quarters. Joao Sousa has never done his best work on clay, so Istanbul winner Diego Schwartzman may be able to take advantage of that section of the bracket. Three Swedes find themselves in the bottom half, but there may be no joy for the host nation because Elias Ymer would run into Verdasco if they both win their first matches.

Semifinal predictions: Albert Ramos-Vinolas over David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco over Joao Sousa

Final: Ramos-Vinolas over Verdasco

Hall of Fame Tennis Championships

As one might expect for a small, 250-point grass-court event immediately following Wimbledon, Newport has a history of producing unexpected results. In fact, since Vijay Amritraj in 1976, John Isner is the only No. 1 seed to secure the title (he did it twice in 2011 and 2012). While this year’s edition appears to be similarly wide open, Steve Johnson will have designs of following in Isner’s footsteps. The red-hot American captured an ATP title for the first time in his career last month in Nottingham and he used that momentum to make a fourth-round run at Wimbledon. Johnson looks to have a favorable draw in a weak top quarter in Newport, but he could go up against either Gilles Muller or Adrian Mannarino in the semis.

Rajeev Ram, a two-time champion of this event, is lurking in the bottom half of the draw and will certainly not be overlooked despite not being seeded. The grass-court specialist should coast through his first two matches before a possible quarterfinal encounter with Marcos Baghdatis. Ivo Karlovic and Vasek Pospisil are also on course for a potential clash in the last eight, with the winner likely to meet either Ram or Baghdatis.

Semifinal predictions: Gilles Muller over Steve Johnson and Rajeev Ram over Ivo Karlovic

Final: Ram over Muller

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

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp World Tour, Clay tennis, German Tennis Championships, Hall Of Fame Tennis Championships, Ricky Dimon, SkiStar Swedish Open, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

July 10, 2016 at 5:40 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: Ricky Looks At Clay-Court #Tennis From Hamburg & Bastad & Johnson Is The Top Seed In Newport
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