By Ricky Dimon
A new year is here and with it comes a new season on the ATP World Tour. Many fans will be hoping that the old Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal return to the scene, healthy and rejuvenated. Whereas Federer warming up for 2017 at the Hopman Cup, Nadal has a chance to make an early statement in Brisbane. The recent Abu Dhabi winner headlines an impressive field that also includes Milos Raonic, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, and Dominic Thiem. Among those also in action during opening week are Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, David Goffin, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Marin Cilic.
Brisbane International
Where: Brisbane, Australia
Prize money: $437,380
Top seed: Milos Raonic
Defending champion: Milos Raonic
Draw analysis: It’s not every week that Nadal fails to snag one of four byes at a 250-point event. This week is one of those weeks. At least according to the rankings, Raonic, Wawrinka, Nishikori, and Thiem are all ahead of the Spaniard on the Brisbane depth chart. Nadal, though, is coming off a title at the Abu Dhabi event and should have regained some much-needed confidence. In this week’s quarters he could face Raonic, whom he beat 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in Abu Dhabi. Nadal will open with Alexandr Dolgopolov before potentially running into Mischa Zverev. Raonic awaits either Sam Querrey or Diego Schwartzman in the last 16.
Danger lurks throughout this bracket, but Nishikori arguably has the easiest path in the third section. Potential second-round foe Gilles Muller can be tough, while the winner of an opener between David Ferrer and Bernard Tomic could be the Japanese star’s quarterfinal opponent. Wawrinka will likely begin his 2017 against Viktor Troicki in advance of a potential date with either Lucas Pouille or Gilles Simon.
Quarterfinal picks: Rafael Nadal over Milos Raonic, Dominic Thiem over Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori over David Ferrer, and Gilles Simon over Stan Wawrinka
Semifinals: Nadal over Thiem and Nishikori over Simon
Final: Nishikori over Nadal
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Where: Doha, Qatar
Prize money: $1,237,190
Top seed: Andy Murray
Defending champion: Novak Djokovic
Draw analysis: To say the Doha draw is top heavy would be a serious understatement. It features the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world, but its depth pales in comparison to that of Brisbane. Murray may have a slightly more difficult draw with both Tsonga and Tomas Berdych in the top half, but the Scot can meet only one of those two challengers in the semis. Jeremy Chardy awaits Murray in the first round, while Philipp Kohlschreiber and Nicolas Almagro are potential quarterfinal opponents. Djokovic will open with Jan-Lennard Struff before possibly facing Florian Mayer and then Marcos Baghdatis.
A rematch of a recent Abu Dhabi semifinal in which Murray was upset by Goffin cannot take place until the Doha title match. The Belgian finds himself in the bottom half of the draw along with Djokovic, Ivo Karlovic, Fernando Verdasco, and Karen Khachanov. Goffin will kick off his season against Robin Haase and could run into Verdasco in round two. In the second section of the draw, Berdych and Tsonga are on a collision course for the quarterfinals. Andrey Kuznetsov, Jiri Vesely, and Dustin Brown may be able to crash that party.
Quarterfinal picks: Andy Murray over Nicolas Almagro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga over Tomas Berdych, David Goffin over Ivo Karlovic, and Novak Djokovic over Marcos Baghdatis
Semifinals: Murray over Tsonga and Djokovic over Goffin
Final: Djokovic over Murray
Aircel Chennai Open
Where: Chennai, India
Prize money: $447,480
Top seed: Marin Cilic
2016 champion: Stan Wawrinka (not playing)
Draw analysis: As usual, Chennai is saddled with by far the weakest of the three opening-week fields. But Cilic is back and as a two-time champion with a 14-3 lifetime record at the event, he will have plenty of fan support. He should be able treat the crowd to another extended week in Chennai, where his nearest seed is Yen-Hsun Lu. It is hard to see either Lu or No. 3 seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas giving Cilic too much trouble. Borna Coric could pose some problems for his fellow Croat, but the 20-year-old has not played any event since the U.S. Open because of knee surgery.
Also no stranger to this tournament, Roberto Bautista Agut will be making his fifth Chennai appearance in the last six years. He finished runner-up in 2012, lost a semifinal thriller to Aljaz Bedene in 2015, and fell to Coric in last year’s quarters. The Spaniard should be able to take advantage of an extremely favorable draw this week. Mikhail Youzhny is his nearest seed and Martin Klizan, the other opening-round bye recipient in the bottom half of the draw, struggled mightily during the second half of 2016.
Quarterfinal predictions: Marin Cilic over Yen-Hsun Lu, Albert Ramos-Vinolas over Borna Coric, Aljaz Bedene over Benoit Paire, and Roberto Bautista Agut over Renzo Olivo
Semifinals: Cilic over Ramos-Vinolas and Bautista Agut over Bedene
Final: Bautista Agut over Cilic
Topics: 10sballs.com, Aircel Chennai Open, Atp World Tour, Brisbane International, Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News