Serena Williams Back on Court; Isner at Newport; ATP/WTA Previews
Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
Newport, R.I., USA; Surface: grass
Seeds: John Isner, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, Denis Istomin, Alex Bogomolov Jr., Ryan Harrison, Donald Young, Gilles Muller
ADHEREL
Floaters: Nicolas Mahut, Sam Querrey, (WC) Lleyton Hewitt
Notes: Of course Isner could meet Mahut in the second round; players looking to get additional grasscourt practice in for the Olympics in London at Wimbledon; first-rounders of interest are (5) Bogomolov Jr. vs. Querrey, and (WC) Hewitt vs. Canadian riser Vasek “Popsicle” Pospisil; other wildcards went to Americans Jack Sock and Harrison; Isner (2011) is the lone returning champ in the field.
SkiStar Swedish Open
Bastad, Sweden; Surface: red clay
Seeds: David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro, Albert Ramos, Jarkko Nieminen, Mikhail Kukushkin, Grigor Dimitrov, Filippo Volandri, Adrian Ungur
Floaters: (WC) Tommy Robredo
Notes: Robin Soderling, still out with mono, cannot defend his title; defending champs in the field are Almagro (2010), Robredo (2008, ’06), and Ferrer (2007).
Mercedes Cup
Stuttgart, Germany; Surface: red clay
Seeds: Janko Tipsarevic, Juan Monaco, Bernard Tomic, Pablo Andujar, Robin Haase, Nikolay Davydenko, Lukasz Kubot, Tommy Haas
Floaters: Thomaz Bellucci, Jeremy Chardy, Al Montanes
Notes: Returning champs in the field are Montanes (2010) and Chardy (2009).
Bank of the West Classic
Stanford, California, USA; Surface: hard
Seeds: Serena Williams, Marion Bartoli, Dominika Cibulkova, Jelena Jankovic, Yanina Wickmayer, Chanelle Scheepers, Marina Erakovic, Sorana C�rstea
Floaters: Sorana Cirstea, Sloane Stephens
Notes: Wimbledon singles and doubles champ Serena Williams heads the field with fellow Top 10er Marion Bartoli; thin field otherwise, with a couple first-round matches of interest in (8) Erakovic vs. Cirstea, and Stephens vs. Brit Heather Watson; returning champs in the field are Serena (2011) and Bartoli (2009).
XXV Italiacom Open
Palermo, Italy; Surface: red clay
Seeds: Sara Errani, Roberta Vinci, Julia Goerges, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Carla Suarez Navarro, Polona Hercog, Alize Cornet, Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova
Floaters: none
Notes: Rough event featuring one Top 10er and No. 62 Zahlavova-Strycova clocking in as the No. 8 seed. Medina Garrigues beat Hercog in last year’s final.
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