The Apia International Sydney does not have many flashy names but it should still provide some entertaining tennis and answer some important questions about players before the Australian Open begins.
Top Four Seeds: #1 Fabio Fognini, #2 David Goffin #3 Phillip Kohlschreiber, and #4 Julien Benneteau
Notable Players: Juan Martin Del Potro, Nicolas Almagro, Vasek Pospisil, and Sam Groth.
First Round Matches To Watch: An intersting match will be the one between Jeremy Chardy and Sam Querrey. Chardy is coming off a tough second round loss to Grigor Dimitrov in a long third set tie break. Chardy has had success down under making it all the way to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2013. He will be a tough out for Querrey who desperately needs a win before the Australian Open. He lost in the first round of the Brisbane International Open to Bernard Tomic in straight sets. Tomic played well but Querrey should be able to beat the young Australian. Querrey is not defending any points in Sydney and if he can stay positive and focused he is capable of upsetting Chardy. If Querrey gets blown off the court look for him to have little to no success in Melbourne.
The second match up to watch pits Nicolas Almagro against Pablo Cuevas. Almagro has not played since May of last year due to a foot injury and subsequent surgery. He is a very dangerous match up for almost any player. Cuevas is not a well-known commodity but is currently at a career high ranking of 29th in the world to start the year. He has won two ATP World Tour titles and two Challenger titles. He also beat top seed Fabio Fognini last year. He is able to draw errors from his opponents with his nasty one-handed backhand but also possesses the ability to slap forehand winners. It would not be surprising if Cuevas proves to be too much for Almagro’s first match back from injury.
Possible Second Round Match To Watch: If Juan Martin Del Potro is able to win his first round match against Sergigy Stakhovsky it will set up a very noteworthy match with the always-entertaining Fognini. Del Potro is coming off of a wrist injury so like Almagro it is hard to know exactly what to expect. There has been much speculation about his ability to hit his two handed backhand. Fognini is capable of playing great tennis but is also known for his meltdowns. Usually having to face the best player in a draw can be intimidating but I have a feeling Del Potro is not intimidated by Fognini. Never the less it will be good test for both players before the Australian Open.
Player To Watch: Australian Wild Card Sam Groth had a solid week in Brisbane where he pushed Milos Raonic to three sets in the third round before eventually losing. Groth has proven he is more than a big server and big forehand. In Brisbane he showed his versatility with classic serve and volleying that is rarely seen these days. He has shown that his success in doubles can translate to the singles game. He will face Gilles Muller in the first round which should be a winnable match. The winner of that match will face the winner of Chardy and Querrey.
Predictions: In a surprising first semifinal a fit and focused Almagro will face off against Vasek Pospisil who looked very strong in the Hopman Cup. The second semifinal will feature Phillipp Kohlschreiber and David Goffin. Almagro will defeat Pospisil in three sets and Kohlschreiber will edge Goffin in two close sets. In the final Kohlscreiber will prevail in three sets with Almagro running out of gas.
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