The flamboyant Fabio Fognini leaps back into action on the French Riviera.
Only the intrepid and the desperate play the week between a Masters 1000 tournament and a major, where the 250 events in Nice and Dusseldorf fall. Rarely does a ...
The flamboyant Fabio Fognini leaps back into action on the French Riviera.
Only the intrepid and the desperate play the week between a Masters 1000 tournament and a major, where the 250 events in Nice and Dusseldorf fall. Rarely does a player who forges deep into one of these tournaments carry that success onto a stage with a brighter spotlight. Thus, these draws feature struggling players searching for momentum or clay specialists seeking to squeeze every opportunity to gain rankings points out of their favorite season. Now that the dust has settled on Madrid and Rome, Nice and Dusseldorf conclude the crushed-brick Road to Roland Garros in gentler fashion.
Nice:
Top half: Decapitated with the withdrawal of top seed Tomas Berdych, the draw at this Mediterranean tournament now lacks any man in the top 15. The only seed in the top quarter, Marcel Granollers, may feel some of the fatigue that forced Berdych out of Nice, for he reached the quarterfinals in Rome last week. His success there impresses more from a distance than on closer inspection, built upon a Murray retirement and ending with a demolition by Benoit Paire. Granollers could face Carlos Berlocq, an Argentine who won a set from Nadal on South American clay but has done little on the European terre battue. Gifted a bye into the second round with Berdych’s withdrawal, Albert Montanes has accomplished little in 2013 after a tepid 2012 at the ATP level. Another Spaniard, Barcelona quarterfinalist Albert Ramos, won a set from Wawrinka in Portugal and has developed more consistency this year than many of the men around him.
The third-seeded Sam Querrey rarely has enjoyed his trips to Europe despite winning the occasional small event such as Belgrade and Queens Club. Less formidable away from home, he submitted perfunctory efforts while losing in the opening rounds of Madrid and Rome. But Querrey has landed in a mild section of the draw, only a qualifier standing between him and the quarterfinals. There, he could face Lithuanian phenom Ricardas Berankis, whom he dismantled in the Los Angeles final last year. Perhaps a more likely opponent, Denis Istomin has troubled Querrey on faster surfaces while winning two of their five career meetings. Their first clay match might not happen if Alejandro Falla deploys his superior clay skills effectively. The best clay player in this quarter, Falla has lost twice to Querrey on indoor hard courts this year and has enjoyed scant recent success even on his favorite surface.
Semifinal: Granollers vs. Querrey
Bottom half: Another American who can grow weary in his travels, John Isner has flickered into form only sporadically this year. He did win a title on red clay in Houston, defeating creditable clay specialists in the process, and he remains the only man to play a fifth set against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. Frequently contesting tiebreaks, Isner will feel confident that he can extend the record-breaking tiebreak losing streak of Robin Haase in the second round (currently 17 and counting). As did Roland Garros, Nice has handed home hope Gael Monfils a wildcard to ease his ongoing comeback from a host of injuries. Unable to gain any sustained traction this year, Monfils received no favors from a draw that pits him against Fabio Fognini in the second round. The Italian reached the semifinals of Monte Carlo with victories over two top-ten opponents, establishing himself as one of the surprise threats to watch at Roland Garros. Last fall, Fognini took Isner deep into a final set on an indoor hard court, so he will expect to reverse that result on clay.
Defeated twice by Fognini at clay Masters 1000 tournaments this spring, his countryman Andreas Seppi looks to mitigate the damage from losing his Rome quarterfinal points. Seppi faces an intriguing early test against Madrid semifinalist Pablo Andujar, who had won just five matches since the US Open before recording the best result of his career two weeks ago. These
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