Azarenka Leads Stacked Brisbane: ATP/WTA Previews

QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN
Doha, Qatar; Surface: hard

Seeds: David Ferrer, Richard Gasquet, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Mikhail Youzhny, Jeremy Chardy, Viktor Troicki, Feliciano “F-Lo” Lopez, Pablo Andujar
ADHEREL
Floaters: Gael “Force” Monfils, Nikolay Davydenko, Lukas Rosol

Notes: Not the prettiest field for the million-dollar oil-laden event, as the top dogs take the exo cash this week in Abu Dhabi…”Gasquet Back!” says the ATP website!…(8) Andujar opens against the Wimbledon Nadal-killer Rosol, and (3) Kohlschreiber will likely meet Monfils in the second round…Of the seeded players, only Youzhny and Troicki have career winning records in Doha…Davydenko (2010) is the lone returning champ in the field.

BRIBANE INTERNATIONAL
Brisbane, Australia; Surface: hard

Men’s Seeds: Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Gilles Simon, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Kei Nishikori, Florian Mayer, Jurgen Melzer, Martin Klizan

Men’s Floaters: Radek “The Worm” Stepanek, Lleyton Hewitt, Marinko Matosevic, Marcos Baghdatis

Men’s Notes: The unseeded Worm opens against Hewitt…Seeds Raonic and Klizan make debuts at event…Murray after a bye opens against Japan’s Tatsuma Ito or a qualifier…Other notables in the draw include Tommy Robredo, Julien Benneteau, Jarkko Nieminen…No. 2 seed Raonic after a bye will face the winner of American Brian Baker and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov…Former champs in the field are Murray (2012), The Worm (2009), and Hewitt (2000,’98).

Women’s Seeds: Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova, Samantha Stosur, Caroline Wozniacki

Women’s Floaters: Sabine Lisicki, Lucie Safarova, Sloane Stephens, Daniela Hantuchova

Women’s Notes: A loaded draw features all eight seeds ranked in the Top 10…The top-seeded Azarenka starts after a bye against the winner of Lisicki and Safarova…Receiving wildcards were Jarmila Gajdosova and Olivia Rogowska, and qualifying to the main draw were Bojana Bobusic, Ksenia Pervak, Olga Puchkova, and Monica Puig…Former champs in the field are Kvitova (2011) and Azarenka (2009).

AIRCEL CHENNAI OPEN
Chennai, India; Surface: hard

Seeds: Tomas Berdych, Janko Tipsarevic, Marin Cilic, Stanislas Wawrinka, Benoit Paire, Robin Haase, Yen-Hsun Lu, Go Soeda

Floaters: (WC) Somdev Devvarman

Notes: Chennai is India’s only ATP stop…Brutally bad field, but the locals can get a thrill if Devvarman advances to the second round against (1) Berdych…(6) Haase also starts against Indian riser (WC) Yuki Brambri…Returning champs in the field are Wawrinka (2011) and Cilic (2010-09).

SHENZHEN LONGGANG GEMDALE OPEN
Shenzhen, China; Surface: hard

Seeds: Li Na, Marion Bartoli, Jelena Jankovic, Hsieh Su-wei, Klara Zakopalova, Peng Shuai, Laura Robson, Bojana Jovanovski

Floaters: Shahar Peer

Notes: Receiving wildcards were Chan Wing-yau, Duan Yingying and Zheng Saisai…Qualifying to the main draw were the ageless Kimiko Date-Krumm, Anne Keothavong, Jessica Pegula and Stefanie Vogele…Pulling from the event were Iveta Benesova, Petra Martic, Mirjana Lucic and Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova.

You Might Like:
WTA Previews: Henin, Clijsters in Brisbane; Auckland No Top 10
Azarenka Tops Bartoli for 1st Career Title at WTA Brisbane
Is Roger Federer Under An Injury Cloud Ahead Of 2016 Opener Tonight In Brisbane?
Nadal, No. 1 Kerber Among Headliners Next Week at Brisbane International Tennis; Previews
Chasing 1,000: Roger Federer Opens 2015 Tonight In Brisbane, Four Wins From 1K