Predicted Winners in BOLD

The Defending Champion and World #1 Headline

[9] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs [27] Jérémy Chardy (FRA) – I am half tempted to pick Chardy, but I think Chardy’s backhand is a weakness.  These two big men play similar styles, but I think Cilic has a more well-rounded game that is less easy to exploit.

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [23] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) – Novak should win this match.  Goffin could have been more difficult, but he is the #1 seed and is likely to reach the final four before facing any real challenge to his supremacy.

[19] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs Benoit Paire (FRA) – I’ll take Paire in a minor upset.

[18] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs [32] Fabio Fognini (ITA) – This match drives me nuts as each guy has a clear set of advantages.  Fognini has better ground strokes.  Lopez’ serve is in a different class than Fabio’s.  Also, Lopez can and will attack Fognini’s second serve in ways Rafa didn’t.  Of course, there is no head-to-head data to predict who is more likely to establish the tone of the match.  I think Fognini for all of the fight he showed versus Rafa has a serve that can be victimized.  That means I am taking Feliciano.  If Fabio takes care of his serve and puts 75+% first serves in play, my pick might very well look uninformed.