ATP Previews: Murray Heads Rotterdam, Nishikori in Memphis

by Staff | February 7th, 2015, 9:57 pm
  • 11 Comments

ABN AMRO WORLD TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Surface: indoor hard

Seeds: Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, Ernests Gulbis, Roberto Bautista Agut, Gilles Simon
ADHEREL
Floaters: Vasek Pospisil, Jerzy Janowicz, Dominic Thiem

Notes: Tough starts for (1) Murray after a bye likely vs. the Canadian riser Popsicle, (3) Berdych vs Janowicz, and (6) Gulbis vs. Thiem…Four Top 10ers in the field…Raonic and Bautista Agut make their debuts in Rotterdam…Wildcards went to Dutchmen Robin Haase and Jesse Huta Galung, and Germany’s Alexander Zverev…Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pulled from the event…Berdych ended a 16-month title drought last year by beating Cilic in the final…Berdych (2014) and Murray (2009) are the lone former champs in the field.


MEMPHIS OPEN
Memphis, Tenn., USA; Surface: indoor hard

Seeds: Kei Nishikori, Kevin Anderson, John Isner, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Ivo Karlovic, Steve Johnson, Benjamin Becker, Adrian Mannarino

Floaters: Sam Querrey, Donald Young, Bernard Tomic

Notes: Nishikori beat Ivo Karlovic in last year’s final for his second straight Memphis title…(7) Becker starts against Querrey, with the winner to meet the (WC) Jared Donaldson vs. (WC) Stefan Kozlov winner…(8) Mannarino starts against the American Young, and (4) Dolgopolov after a bye likely faces Tomic…Nishikori the lone Top 10 player in the field…The third wildcard went to Anderson…American Jack Sock and German Peter Gojowczyk pulled from the event…Former champs in the field are Nishikori (2014-13) and Querrey (2010).

BRASIL OPEN 2015
Sao Paulo, Brazil; Surface: indoor clay

Seeds: Feliciano Lopez, Tommy Robredo, Fabio Fognini, Leonardo Mayer, Pablo Cuevas, Santiago Giraldo, Fernando Verdasco, Martin Klizan

Floaters: Juan Monaco, Nicolas Almagro

Notes: Intriguing starts on the dirt for (1) Lopez after a bye likely vs. Monaco and (2) Robredo after a bye likely vs. Almagro…Lopez makes his debut at the event…No Top 10 players in the field..Wildcards went to Brazil’s Guilherme Clezar and Joao Souza, and Belgian Kimmer Coppejans…Federico Delbonis beat Paolo Lorenzi in last year’s final…Former champs in the field are Delbonis (2014), Almagro (2012-11) and Robredo (2009).

 


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11 Comments for ATP Previews: Murray Heads Rotterdam, Nishikori in Memphis

skeezer Says:

Excited to see was Nishi will do this year. …if he completes the year uninjured/healthy.
Amro has some solid players in the draw…

February 8th, 2015 at 12:07 pm


Hippy Chick Says:

I love Kie/Kei,im not ready to give up on Rafa or Andy just yet,but he is becoming my favorite player of the new up and coming generation,and i really hope he wins a GS at some point,but right now id settle for the title this week.
I hope Murray can get back to winning ways after the dissapointment of the AO and win a title this week,i also loved the way Robredo pushed Murray to the brink before he won those two titles at the end of last year,hes one of the veterans i enjoy watching on the tour….

February 8th, 2015 at 12:56 pm


KatH Says:

Kei is a stunning player but I doubt 100% that he will ever achieve a grand slam.

February 8th, 2015 at 2:11 pm


Kimmi Says:

Was it Agassi who said he will pay to watch Kei? I’d pay too. He is a fantastic player to watch. His reactions after winning a big point are sometimes just funny…no reaction at all lol. I am falling in love with his game already.

Hope there is great things coming for him. Can’t wait to watch him this week.

February 8th, 2015 at 2:23 pm


brando Says:

Kei is a gem. The way the new York crowd took to him made me think he would be the perfect heir to fedal as the flagship leader of the game. One look at his attacking game and you’ll be hooked.

February 8th, 2015 at 5:04 pm


Giles Says:

Ha, Murray playing dubs with Muller!

February 9th, 2015 at 6:04 am


TennisVagabond.com Says:

I love these mid-level tourneys, where we get to see the non-Big Three jockeying. It reminds me of a WWE Royal Rumble for the right to fight the champ.

Will Murray go on a post-Oz walkabout? If not, can Raonic, Berdych, Dmitrov challenge him?

February 9th, 2015 at 10:05 am


TennisVagabond.com Says:

Didn’t realize Wawrinka was here, this really is a great Below Big Three field.

However, the big Below Big Three question right now is, When will Cilic return?

February 9th, 2015 at 7:13 pm


jane Says:

popsicle won his match so andy will play him next round after mahut.

i didn’t see it but i guess there was some controversy in the dimitrov match versus mathieu? phm was apparently very angry.

February 10th, 2015 at 2:28 pm


Emily Says:

I heard that there was a disagreement over a late out call, which lead to the point being replayed. Sounds like PHM imploded and they were still arguing after the match was over. Dimitrov got a little lucky and Raonic needed 3 sets today as well.

Jane, read that article yesterday. Can’t believe the last time Stan played in Rotterdam was as a teenager and it was the first time he ever played Roger. Hope he can do some damage this week after a good AO.

February 10th, 2015 at 2:44 pm

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