Predicted Winners in BOLD
A Great Slate of Matches
[6] Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs. Jérémy Chardy (FRA) H2H – Nishikori needs to be sharp as Chardy has had a few good results over the past 4 months. If Nishikori returns well and gets to Chardy’s backhand, the 6th seed will advance. If Chardy’s serve and forehand dictate play, watch out for an upset.
[10] Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs. Leonardo Mayer (ARG) H2H – Gasquet won two 250 level events and reached the Wimbledon semifinal and US Open quarterfinal to post a nice 2015. He also played well in Basel last week.
[2] Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Borna Coric (CRO) H2H – Coric posted a relatively easy win over Verdasco. That was not what I expected. The good news for Coric is that I really do not expect him to defeat Andy Murray in this match.
[7] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Lukas Rosol (CZE) – I half expect Rosol to win this match, but Rafa beat him last week and played through other tough matches in Basel as well. Rafa’s runner-up finishes in Basel and Beijing as well as his semifinal finish in Shanghai have given him some momentum as 2015 reaches its conclusion.
[3] Roger Federer (SUI) vs. Andreas Seppi (ITA) H2H – I cannot discount what happened in Melbourne earlier this year, but I think Federer wins in a fairly routine indoor match for the 3rd seeded Swiss.
[9] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) H2H – Agut is the form horse in this match. Tsonga on an indor court in Paris is too much for me to pick against though.
[16] David Goffin (BEL) vs. [Q] Dusan Lajovic (SRB) H2H – The youthful Goffin should advance.
[12] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) H2H – This match could go either way, but I think Cilic’s serve is more reliable so I am picking him.
[13] John Isner (USA) vs. [Q] Aljaz Bedene (GBR) H2H – Isner will live and die by his serve. Since this is indoors, I think Isner lives.
[5] Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. [Q] Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) H2H – Berdych had a good start to 2015. He seems to be putting together a nice ending to 2015. The middle portion of the year was a bit soft for the Big Czech.
[15] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs. Viktor Troicki (SRB) H2H – FLo is playing solid tennis.
[11] Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs. Dominic Thiem (AUT) H2H – If Thiem takes care of his own serve, I can see an upset. I had to pick one upset even if I think Anderson is a favorite on this surface.
