RICKY’S PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS FOR THE 250-POINT EVENTS IN LYON AND GENEVA ATP TENNIS

Written by: Staff on 21st May 2017

RICKY'S PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS FOR THE 250-POINT EVENTS IN LYON AND GENEVA ATP TENNIS |

Premier set 6/4 pour le Coréen Hyeon CHUNG, 66e mondial! Et déjà du monde en tribune pour profiter du spectacle #OpenParc – Photo by @OpenParcARA via Twitter.

Ricky’s preview and predictions for the 250-point events in Lyon and Geneva

By Ricky Dimon

Despite being sandwiched in between multiple Masters 1000 events and a major, a pair of 250-point events on this week’s schedule boast surprisingly intriguing draws. Among those taking the court in Geneva and Lyon are Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, John Isner, Milos Raonic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, Nick Kyrgios, and Juan Martin Del Potro,

Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon

Where: Lyon, France

Prize money: 540,310 Euros

Top seed: Milos Raonic

Defending champion: Inaugural event

Draw analysis: Four Grand Slam finalists, including one slam winner, headline a stellar field in Lyon. Two of them (Del Potro and Raonic) may have to go head-to-head as early as the quarters. Del Potro first has to get past Marcel Granollers and either Radu Albot or Gastao Elias in round two, while Raonic awaits either Denis Istomin or Thanasi Kokkinakis. In the second section of the draw, Tomas Berdych has a more favorable path that could begin with qualifier Hyeon Chung–which would likely be even tougher than Berdych’s potential quarterfinal contest.

On the other side of the draw, Tsonga and Kyrgios—who have played sparingly this spring—are searching for some momentum heading into the French Open. Tsonga could have a difficult clay-court opener with Carlos Berlocq and he is on a collision course with Karen Khachanov for the quarters. Kyrgios’ draw looks like a friendly one, but a highly entertaining showdown against Dustin Brown could be in the cards for the second round.

Semifinal picks: Tomas Berdych over Juan Martin Del Potro and Karen Khachanov over Nick Kyrgios

Final: Berdych over Khachanov

Banque Eric Studza Geneva Open

Where: Geneva, Switzerland

Prize money: 482,060 Euros

Top seed: Stan Wawrinka

Defending champion: Stan Wawrinka

Draw analysis: Not unlike Simon, Wawrinka has played fewer clay-court matches than expected and thus took a wild card for an event in front of his home fans. The world No. 3 is on course to meet Joao Sousa in round two, Sam Querrey in the last eight, and an in-form Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the semifinals. Both Querrey and Ramos-Vinolas have every reason to progress through relatively soft sections of the bracket, although Andrey Kuznetsov is capable of giving Ramos-Vinolas some trouble early in the tournament.

Isner’s stay in Geneva could be a short one, which may not be a bad thing given that he should want all the rest he can get prior to a slam. The 6’10’’ American is coming off a grueling week in Rome (singles semis, doubles quarters), is likely to open with decent clay-courter Robin Haase, and he could encounter recent nemesis Steve Johnson on Friday. If 100 percent, Nishikori should have no trouble playing his way into the weekend.

Semifinal picks: Albert Ramos-Vinolas over Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori over Steve Johnson

Final: Nishikori over Ramos-Vinolas