TENNIS NEWS – IT’S RICKY’S BIRTHDAY PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR THE CLAY-COURT SWING IN KITZBUHEL, GSTAAD & UMAG

Written by: Staff on 18th July 2016

TENNIS NEWS - IT'S RICKY'S BIRTHDAY PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR THE CLAY-COURT SWING IN KITZBUHEL, GSTAAD & UMAG

epa05430427 Yann Marti of Switzerland returns a ball to Jan Mertl of Czech Republic during a first round game at the Suisse Open tennis tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland, 18 July 2016. EPA/PETER SCHNEIDER |

By Ricky Dimon

As the American summer hard-court season begins in Washington, D.C., the clay-court swing continues this week with a trio of 250-point tournaments in Europe. In the wake of some much-needed and extremely rare rest, Dominic Thiem is back in action to lead the field in Kitzbuhel along with occasional doubles partner and familiar singles foe Philipp Kohlschreiber. Feliciano Lopez is the top seed in Gstaad, while recent Hamburg winner Martin Klizan will hope to capture another title in Umag.

Generali Open

This will not exactly be golf’s duel at Troon that took place on Sunday, but Thiem and Kohlschreiber feel almost as out of place in Kitzbuhel as Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson did during the British Open at Royal Troon. Nobody else even belonged on the same course as Stenson and Mickelson, with Stenson clobbering everyone not named Mickelson by at least 14 strokes and Mickelson beating all other contenders not named Stenson by 11 swings of the club. Now, back to tennis; Thiem is ranked ninth in the world and Kohlschreiber registers at No. 23. No other man in the field is ranked better than No. 46 (Marcel Granollers). All you really need to know about the draw is that Paolo Lorenzi has an opening-round bye.

Of the two obvious favorites, Kohlschreiber is looking at a tougher draw. The defending champion’s opener will come against 20-year-old Russian Karen Khachanov and Kohlschreiber could face either Granollers or Lukas Rosol in the semifinals. In the top half, it is hard to see anyone even taking a set off Thiem during the Austrian’s seemingly inevitable march to the final.

Semifinal picks: Dominic Thiem over Roberto Carballes Baena and Philipp Kohlschreiber over Maximo Gonzalez

Final: Thiem over Kohlschreiber

Sarasin Swiss Open

In what is arguably the most wide-open event of the week, Albert Ramos-Vinolas should have a real chance of lifting back-to-back trophies. The red-hot Spaniard had never captured an ATP title until he triumphed last week in Bastad over compatriot Fernando Verdasco. Ramos-Vinolas and Verdasco could collide again in the semis this time around in Gstaad. On tap for Verdasco right off the bat is a rematch of a third-round thriller in Miami, where Horacio Zeballos–who got in as a lucky loser when Roger Federer pulled out–outlasted him in a third-set ‘breaker. Second seed Gilles Simon also finds himself in the Verdasco-Zeballos section of the draw.

Thomas Bellucci and Guido Pella are the only true clay-court specialists in the top half and they will have every opportunity to reach the last four. That being said, Lopez cannot be discounted. The veteran Spaniard is a threat on every surface and he is still going strong at 34 years old and ranked 21st. From an entertainment standpoint, don’t miss an intriguing first-round battle between Juan Monaco and Dustin Brown.

Semifinal picks: Guido Pella over Thomaz Bellucci and Fernando Verdasco over Albert Ramos-Vinolas

Final: Verdasco over Pella

Konzum Croatia Open

Klizan and Pablo Cuevas just squared off in the Hamburg title match, and they are on a collision course for another final showdown in Umag having been placed on opposite sides of the bracket. Will anyone be able to stop them? Klizan, of course, has a tendency to stop himself. His last 10 match wins have come at the 500-point level (he won Rotterdam in February) and he has scored no other kind of victory since February 5. Will the Slovak be motivated to build on his Hamburg success at a much smaller event in Umag? Klizan has a favorable road through two rounds but could go up against either Joao Sousa over Leonard Mayer in the quarters. Potential semifinal adversaries are Jeremy Chardy and unexpected Wimbledon quarterfinalist Jiri Vesely.

Cuevas could have a tough opener with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez before possibly running into Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarters. A proverbial wild card in the top half of the draw, as always, is Fabio Fognini. The Italian is coming off significant Davis Cup failure (lost the doubles match and the clinching singles rubber to visiting Argentina), so his mental state is–as usual–a question mark.

Semifinal picks: Pablo Cuevas over Nicolas Almagro and Martin Klizan over Carlos Berlocq

Final: Cuevas over Klizan