RICKY’S PICKS | PREVIEW TENNIS 10SBALLS • ATP • TOKYO • BEIJING

Written by: Staff on 30th September 2018

RICKY'S PICKS | PREVIEW TENNIS 10SBALLS • ATP • TOKYO • BEIJING |

Photo by @ChinaOpen via Instagram

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal is sidelined and both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are taking a break prior to the Shanghai Masters, but Beijing and Tokyo are still traditionally loaded as they begin a big two weeks of action to conclude the Asian swing. Beijing hosts Juan Martin Del Potro, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, and Fabio Fognini. Tokyo is home to Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson, Kei Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Japan Open

Where: Tokyo, Japan

Prize money: $1,781,930

Top seed: Marin Cilic

2017 champion: David Goffin (not playing)

Nishikori is already a two-time champion in front of the Tokyo home crowd and a third title would go a long way toward putting him in serious contention for a berth in the Nitto ATP Finals. The world No. 12 and No. 3 seed, who missed what is perhaps his favorite tournament due to injury last fall, has a favorable draw for his return trip to Tokyo. Up first is Japanese wild card is Yuichi Sugita, while potential seeded quarterfinal foe Tsitsipas appears to wearing down at the end of a long season. Nishikori and Anderson are on a collision course for the semifinals, but Anderson has a tougher road with Frances Tiafoe likely in round two and possibly Kyrgios in the quarters.

In the top half, the unseeded contingent is extremely dangerous. Wawrinka and Shapovalov could square off in round two, with the winner perhaps in line to face Cilic in the last eight. In-form competitors Daniil Medvedev and Martin Klizan qualified for the main draw, while Taylor Fritz earned a special exemption by advancing to the Chengdu semis. Medvedev, Klizan, Diego Schwartzman, and Steve Johnson are potential semifinal adversaries for Raonic, who is a three-time runner-up in Tokyo.

Quarterfinal picks: Denis Shapovalov over Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic over Martin Klizan, Kei Nishikori over Alex de Minaur, and Kevin Anderson over Nick Kyrgios

Semifinals: Raonic over Shapovalov and Nishikori over Anderson

Final: Nishikori over Raonic

China Open

Where: Beijing, China

Prize money: $3,401,860

Top seed: Juan Martin Del Potro

2017 champion: Rafael Nadal (not playing)

Although only two top-10 players are on hand in Beijing (a low number by this event’s standards), 13 of the top 28-ranked players make up a particularly deep field. Del Potro and Zverev are the obvious favorites, but if they falter the title could go in any number of directions. Potential stumbling blocks for the Argentine include Karen Khachanov in round two and Fognini in the semis. Fognini, who toppled Del Potro in the Los Cabos final this summer, is coming off a brutal third-set tiebreaker loss to Bernard Tomic in Sunday’s Chengdu championship match.

Zverev arguably has a more favorable draw at the bottom of the bracket. The other three seeds on that side—Dimitrov, Jack Sock, and Kyle Edmund—have been struggling. Roberto Bautista Agut is a tough opening opponent on paper, but the Spaniard also finds himself in a slump. Thus the sailing could be smooth for Zverev, but Fernando Verdasco or Nikoloz Basilashvili could present some challenges in the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinal picks: Juan Martin Del Potro over Borna Coric, Joao Sousa over Andreas Seppi, Grigor Dimitrov over Peter Gojowyczk, and Alexander Zverev over Nikoloz Basilashvili

Semifinals: Del Potro over Sousa and Zverev over Dimitrov

Final: Del Potro over Zverev