RICKY’S TENNIS PREVIEWS AND PICKS FOR WEEK 2 OF 2017 IN SYDNEY AND AUCKLAND FOR 10SBALLS

Written by: Staff on 7th January 2017

Brisbane International Tennis Tournament

RICKY'S TENNIS PREVIEWS AND PICKS FOR WEEK 2 OF 2017 IN SYDNEY AND AUCKLAND FOR 10SBALLS

epa05694801 David Ferrer of Spain in action against Bernard Tomic of Australia during their first round match at the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 02 January 2017. Ferrer won the match. EPA/DAVE HUNT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Ricky previews and makes his picks for Week 2 of 2017 in Sydney and Auckland

By Ricky Dimon

It’s easy to guess why most of the best players in the world are resting this week. That, of course, is because the Australian Open is a mere eight days away. It’s also easy to guess who is the only top 10 player in action. That, of course, is Dominic Thiem. The Austrian just can’t help himself; he has to play more, more, and more tennis. Thiem headlines the Sydney draw as the No. 1 seed, while Roberto Bautista Agut, John Isner, and David Ferrer are among those leading the way in Auckland.

Apia International

Where: Sydney, Australia

Points: 250

Top seed: Dominic Thiem

Defending champion: Viktor Troicki

Viktor Troicki of Serbia returns the ball to David Ferrer of Spain during their quarter final match of the Erste Bank Open ATP tennis tournament in Vienna, Austria, 28 October 2016. EPA/LISI NIESNER

Grigor Dimitrov arguably did Thiem a favor by making the Austrian’s stay in Brisbane a short one, as the Bulgarian toppled Thiem in the quarters on his way to the final. Another difficult quarterfinal test could await Thiem in Sydney, where Fernando Verdasco is looking to rebound from a Doha loss to Novak Djokovic in which the Spaniard blew quadruple match point—and five match points overall. Verdasco will begin his Sydney campaign against compatriot Marcel Granollers before possibly meeting Dan Evans. The top half of the draw is also home to fellow Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Nicolas Almagro.

Two-time defending Sydney champion—that’s right; two-time defending Sydney champion—Viktor Troicki has a bye along with Pablo Cuevas in the bottom half of the bracket. Troicki’s path through the early rounds is a favorable one, as nobody in his section is playing particularly fine tennis at the moment. Gilles Muller, Nicolas Mahut, or Kyle Edmund could present the Serb with a challenge in the semis.

Semifinal picks: Pablo Carreno Busta over Fernando Verdasco and Viktor Troicki over Gilles Muller

Final: Troicki over Muller

ASB Classic

Where: Auckland, New Zealand

Points: 250

Top seed: Roberto Bautista Agut

Defending champion: Roberto Bautista Agut

John Isner of the USA returns to Andy Murray of Britain during their quarter final match of the Erste Bank Open ATP tennis tournament in Vienna, Austria, 28 October 2016. EPA/LISI NIESNER

Last season Bautista Agut had to go through the defending champion (Jiri Vesely), Isner, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his way to the winner’s trophy. The Spaniard, who currently finds himself in the Chennai title match, could open once again with Vesely following an opening-round bye. Tsonga is not in the draw this time, so Bautista Agut’s road to the championship match may not be as difficult as it was last year. Ferrer is the other bye recipient in the top section but his slump continued with a disappointing Brisbane loss at the hands of Jordan Thompson.

A tougher bottom half features Isner, 2016 runner-up Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, and Feliciano Lopez. Isner may have to beat fellow Americans Johnson and Sock, respectively, in the quarters and semis if he wants to reach the final. Karen Khachanov, though, may stand in Johnson’s way and Sock is on a collision course for the last eight with Lopez.

Semifinal picks: David Ferrer over Dustin Brown and John Isner over Feliciano Lopez

Final: Isner over Ferrer