McIntyre Tennis

The Week Ahead on the ATP World Tour: Estoril, Istanbul and Munich

By Mike McIntyre

With the resurgent Rafael Nadal taking the week off to prepare for the Madrid Masters 1000 that begins on May 7th, the rest of the ATP World Tour will have an opportunity to show what they can do on the red clay of Europe. Here are the draws to all three events with a quick synopsis of who to keep an eye on.

Millennium Estoril Open

Pablo Carreno Busta is the top seed while Richard Gasquet and Juan Martin Del Potro are other big names and are seeded second and fifth respectively. Clay court names such as the aging David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro are also entered. So is the only man to defeat Roger Federer in 2017 - Evgeny Donskoy.

TEB BNP Paribas in Istanbul

The oft-injured Milos Raonic is seeded first in Istanbul and will be looking to get through a tournament in one piece. Ranked third behind Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic to start the season, Raonic has fallen to sixth in the rankings thanks to his injury woes. Marin Cilic is the second seed while other names of note include Borna Coric who has yet to build on his promise, Diego Schwartzman, Viktor Troicki and Bernie Tomic. In other words, this is an event that Raonic could use to re-start his year if his body can keep it together.

BMW Open by FWU in Munich

Gael Monfils takes the top spot in Munich and is playing on clay for the first time in 2017. A modest 8-4 record with no results past the quarter-finals of any event this season will have the thirty year-old Monfils looking to register a breakthrough. Roberto Bautista-Agut, Alexander Zverev and Fabio Fognini round out the top-four seeds while 39 year-old Tommy Haas will play the sixth event of his comeback in what is undoubtedly the final season of his stellar career.

Injury Withdrawals Mounting at French Open

By Mike McIntyre

Need more proof that the grueling ATP schedule is taking its toll on the players? Look no further than the growing list of injury withdrawals at this year's French Open.

The men's field has been depleted by injuries that have removed some of the game's most exciting stars.

Most notable is the world number five Juan Martin Del Potro who is out of action until at least the U.S. Open after undergoing surgery on his right wrist. Del Potro will not be able to defend the ranking points he gained a year ago when he reached the semi-finals and pushed Roger Federer to a terrific five-set match. World number six and also a former French Open semi-finalist Nikolay Davydenko is also sidelined with a wrist injury.

Chronically injured David Nalbandian of Argentina is once again on the disabled list, this time with a left hamstring injury he suffered recently. The past year has been a health nightmare for the former Wimbledon finalist who has seen limited action.

Other players who will be missed at Roland Garros include American James Blake, big-serving Ivo Karlovic (right foot), former French Open champ Carlos Moya, Radek Stepanek, Tommy Haas, Igor Andreev and local hope Gilles Simon who is still trying to get into game shape following a knee injury.

I cannot remember a Grand Slam tournament with this many top-50 caliber players missing in action. In a tournament that is already likely to be dominated by two men (hello Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer) it is quite disappointing that the field has been so decimated.

The only positive is that this will certainly allow some other players the chance to make a name for themselves and perhaps enjoy some success on the clay that we do not normally see.

With only a few days to go before the singles tournament begins, stay tuned for more injury updates at ProTennisFan.

Tommy Haas to Play for United States?

By Mike McIntyre

When German veteran Tommy Haas gained his U.S. citizenship in January he maintained that he was not switching his playing status from his native Germany to the United States. Well that seems to have changed as can be noted on his official ATP Tour player profile. I'm sure if you have a look you'll quickly notice what I mean.

Haas is out of action until closer to the U.S. Open after having hip surgery, so there has not been any official comment on the reasoning behind this move.

Around the Corner: Acapulco, Delay Beach and Dubai

By Mike McIntyre

Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships

With Venus Williams successfully defending her title this past week, the pressure will now be on Novak Djokovic to accomplish the same feat as the men take to the hard-courts in Dubai. Djokovic is seeded second, but is the top ranked player in the draw, as Roger Federer has withdrawn with a lung infection. This year's edition has a slightly tougher field than a year ago, so Djokovic will have to be on top of his game in order to repeat as champion.

In the top-half of the draw is Andy Murray who is playing in his first tournament since losing the Australian Open final to Federer almost a month ago. Murray will likely advance to face rising star Marin Cilic in the semi-finals.

The bottom-half is where we can find both Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko who will also be entered in the doubles draw. Djokovic is paired with fellow-Serb Dusan Vemic while Davydenko is teamed with compatriot Igor Kunitsyn. This is a rare treat for fans in Dubai, as these two players do not usually partake in the doubles competition Also in this section of the draw is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who will threaten for the title.

One first round match to note is between eighth seeded Gilles Simon and Marcos "please keep your shirt on" Baghdatis. The winner will likely face Davydenko in the third round.

Absent from Dubai for a second year in a row is American Andy Roddick who withdrew a year ago due to the treatment of Israel's Shahar Peer. This year scheduling has placed Roddick at back-to-back tournaments in the United States and he likely needs some rest to his shoulder before the Masters Series event in Indian Wells in two weeks time.

Also missing is Israeli doubles specialist Andy Ram, who a year ago was allowed into the United Arab Emirates to compete a week after the Peer incident. 

Delray Beach International Tennis Championship:

With only a third of the prize money being offered compared to Dubai, the tournament in Delray Beach has a lower-ranked clientele yet there are still many familiar names floating in the draw this year. Good luck picking a winner from this group, as there are many players who are capable and several who have won this very event in years past.

Leading the group of former Delray Beach champions is number one seed, Tommy Haas. The German veteran has not had any note-worthy results thus far in 2010 so expectations are low. Haas won this event in 2006 but is 3-3 on the year and has failed to advance beyond the third round of any tournament he has entered.

Mardy Fish is the defending champion from 2009 and opens against Christophe Rochus. Despite being unseeded, Fish has a nice section of the draw and could get on a good roll.

Other former champions here include Xavier Malisse ('05, '07) who opens against fourth seeded Jeremy Chardy, and Kei Nishikori ('08) who is making his return to the ATP Tour after season-ending elbow surgery a year ago. Nishikori opens against third seed Benjamin Becker.

Other names to keep an eye on include seventh seed James Blake who starts the tournament against fellow-American Taylor Dent. Finally an early round match where Blake should be considered the favorite, although Dent's old-school serve and volley style is capable of giving anyone fits. Big-serving Ivo Karlovic is the tournament's number two seed and should be counted on to win a few rounds as well.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel:

This week's clay court stop on the tour is in sunny Acapulco, Mexico, where Nicolas Almagro is the two-time defending champion. Almagro will be looking for his third title in Acapulco in a row, while Tomas Muster has the all-time record of four consecutive wins from 1993 to 1996.

While the draw has not yet been released from the tournament, Fernando Verdasco is listed as the top ranked entry, with Fernando Gonzalez and David Ferrer also in the draw.

Around The Corner: Buenos Aires, Marseilles and Memphis

By Mike McIntyre

Open 13 - Marseille, France

With six players in the top-fifty of the ATP rankings system, France is certainly well represented in the upper echelon of the men's game. The tournament in Marseille enjoys a significant French presence that starts with number two seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The defending champion from a year ago has had a solid start to 2010, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open where he lost in straight sets to Roger Federer. France enjoyed a sweep in this tournament a year ago with Arnaud Clement and Michael Llordra taking the doubles title as well.

Top seed Robin Soderling will be trying to prevent a Frenchman from hoisting the trophy and is currently experiencing a deep-run in Rotterdam where he knocked-off Nikolay Davydenko in the semi-finals. Soderling has a first-round bye in Marseilles, and could encounter Marcos Baghdatis in the quarter-finals.

Other locals to keep an eye on include Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon.

Expect a Frenchman to hoist the trophy in a week's time.

Regions Morgan Keegan Championships - Memphis, Tennessee

Andy Roddick will make the move from San Jose to Memphis for back-to-back hard court tournaments. With so many top players skipping these smaller events, it is nice to see regular appearances from Andy. The only World Tour 500-level tournament this coming week, there is some serious prize money to be had and I'm surprised we are not seeing more top-ranked players in attendance.

Roddick faces fellow-American James Blake in a tough first round match. Blake has dropped to 52nd in the world and is realizing how tough it is to enter tournaments without a seeding. He faced Del Potro in the second round of the Aussie Open, and Baghdatis in the first round last week in Rotterdam. Things do not get any easier for him here in Memphis.

Roddick leads their career head-to-head meetings 6-3, however Blake has won their last three matches in a row. They have only met once in the last three years, with Blake winning by default at the Queen's tournament in 2009 when Roddick pulled-out with injury at 4-4 in the first set. With the way he has played thus far this year, Roddick should prevail in straight sets in this one.

Fernando Verdasco is the number two seed and has a pretty good draw in the bottom half. He;ll have to keep an eye on big-servers John Isner and Ivo Karlovic as well as veteran Tommy Haas. Haas has not looked sharp thus far in 2010, and faces a stiff challenge from veteran Xavier Malisse in the first round. The German might finally be showing his age - although he has won this very tournament three times before, in 1999, 2006 and 2007.

Copa Telmex - Buenos Aires, Argentina

David Ferrer takes the pole position in Buenos Aires but has lacked the consistency so far this year to lead him to the title. Ferrer has lost to lower ranked players such as Stephane Robert, Marcos Baghdatis and Arnaud Clement in his three tournament appearances up to now.

The tournament has quite the interesting mix of players including clay court specialists such as Juan Monaco, Nicolas Almagro, Albert Montanes and even wildcard entry Gaston Gaudio. Having dropped off the radar in recent years, Gaudio's name still pops up from time to time on the challenger circuit and he is obviously benefiting from the hospitality of his local Argentinian Tennis Federation. He'll always have his lone Grand Slam title to look back on, from Roland Garros in 2004.

Gaudio isn't the only former French Open winner present, as Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya are also in the draw. Richard Gasquet is also lurking, which is a surprise since you would think he would be playing in his home country's tournament in Marseille. Perhaps he is not yet ready to face the French press over his doping suspension from a year ago.

Also showing in the draw as of right now is Argentinian David Nalbandian who has been off the tour since May 2009 due to a serious hip injury. Nalbandian was supposed to return to play a month ago at the Australian Open but had to withdraw after sustaining an abdominal injury in practice. Nalbandian will ease back into competition with a favorable first round opponent in Italian Potito Starace.