TENNIS – RICKY’S PICKS FROM ATP EVENTS – NOVAK DJOKOVIC RETURNS TO ACTION IN DUBAI, KEI NISHIKORI & DAVID FERRER LEAD THE WAY IN ACAPULCO BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 22nd February 2016

TENNIS - RICKY'S PICKS FROM ATP EVENTS - NOVAK DJOKOVIC RETURNS TO ACTION IN DUBAI, KEI NISHIKORI & DAVID FERRER LEAD THE WAY IN ACAPULCO BY RICKY DIMON

epa05175843 Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Tommy Robredo of Spain during their first round match of Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 22 February 2016. EPA/ALI HAIDER |

Roger Federer is still sidelined by a knee injury, Andy Murray is on self-imposed paternity leave until the BNP Paribas Open next month, and Rafael Nadal’s journey on the Golden Swing has come to an unsuccessful end. That means the focus this week will be on Novak Djokovic’s bid to keep his perfect 2016 record alive. The Doha and Australian Open champion tops a Dubai draw that also includes Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, and Marseille champ Nick Kyrgios.

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Djokovic has not failed to win a tournament since last August (Cincinnati). His only loss since then has come against Federer at the World Tour Finals, but that was during round-robin action and the world No. 1 avenged it in the title match. Only Djokovic has come close to stopping Djokovic in 2016 (he committed 100 unforced errors in a five-set Aussie Open defeat of Gilles Simon). Robredo won only three games against the Serb on Monday in Dubai and the Djokovic’s favorable draw will continue in the form of Malek Jaziri on Wednesday. He is on course for a potential semifinal meeting with an in-form Roberto Bautista Agut.

Two of tennis’ most recent title winners will be squaring off on Tuesday, when Kyrgios goes up against Martin Klizan. The 20-year-old’s Marseille triumph was preceded by an amazing run to the Rotterdam trophy by Klizan. Berdych potentially awaits the winner of that showdown in the quarterfinals. Wawrinka’s week will begin with a rematch against Sergiy Stakhovsky, whom the Swiss beat 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(8) in Marseille after fighting off two match points.

Final pick: Djokovic over Kyrgios

Abierto Mexicano Telcel

At least on paper, Ferrer and Nishikori are the class of this field. There are plenty of challengers such as Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, Bernard Tomic, Ivo Karlovic, and Grigor Dimitrov, but all are question marks for the time being. Tomic, Karlovic, and Dimitrov are slumping. Thiem’s recent surge finally came to an end when he ran out of gas against Guido Pella in the Rio de Janeiro semifinals. Cilic will be making a quick turnaround after finishing runner-up to Kyrgios in Marseille.

Nishikori should have no trouble whatsoever prior to a possible date with Thiem in the semifinals. The second seed will open with Thiemo De Bakker before likely facing Sam Querrey. Nishikori has won four in a row at Querrey’s expense, including two weeks ago en route to the Memphis title. Thiem is likely to coast through two rounds before potentially meeting either Dimitrov or Gilles Muller. Ferrer could clash with either Steve Johnson or Alexandr Dolgopolov in the last 16. Cilic’s path to the semis may feature a trio of Americans in Ryan Harrison, Tommy Paul, and Rajeev Ram.

Sound the round-one upset alert when Taylor Fritz takes the court against Jeremy Chardy. Fritz is up to No. 102 in the world and will be inside the top 100 next week regardless of his main-draw result. The 18-year-old’s incredibly fast rise has been highlighted by a recent runner-up showing in Memphis. Chardy played awful tennis in his Delray Beach quarterfinal loss to Juan Martin Del Potro.

Final pick: Nishikori over Ferrer

Spanish David Ferrer (front) returns a ball against Mexican Santiago Gonzalez (back), during an exhibition game next to the school ship ‘Cuauhtemoc’ of the Mexican Naval Military School, before their participation in the Mexican Open in Acapulco, Mexico, 22 February 2016. The event runs from 22 to 27 February 2016. EPA/Alex Cruz

Brasil Open

Any event in which Benoit Paire and Thomaz Bellucci are the top two seeds is going to be wide open. That is especially the case this week, as Paire is making quick transition from a different continent (Europe to South America) and different surface (indoor hard courts to clay). Additionally, the Frenchman is not as skilled on clay as he is on hards—even though he is better on clay than grass. Bellucci generally underwhelms amidst the pressure of playing at home in Brazil.

This could be a huge opportunity for Nicolas Almagro, who is rounding into form after slowly making his way back from injury in 2015. Almagro has a good draw through two rounds and his nearest seed is Pablo Cuevas, who has to be running on fumes following a grueling run to the Rio de Janeiro title. Belucci could face the winner of an all-Spanish first-rounder between Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarters.

Final pick: Almagro over Delbonis

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Acapulco tennis, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, BNP Paribas Open, Brazil Open, David Ferrer, Dubai Duty Free tennis, Kei Nishikori, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis News

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ElenaFoundation says:

February 23, 2016 at 8:05 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Novak Returns To Action In Dubai, Nishikori & Ferrer Lead The Way In Acapulco By @Dimonator
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pipmartins says:

February 23, 2016 at 10:49 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Novak Returns To Action In Dubai, Nishikori & Ferrer Lead The Way In Acapulco By @Dimonator
https://t.co/CmF0lodGU0 https…
rothman_andrew says:

February 23, 2016 at 12:51 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: Novak Returns To Action In Dubai, Nishikori & Ferrer Lead The Way In Acapulco By @Dimonator
https://t.co/CmF0lodGU0 https…