Now, let’s take a look at this week’s seeds and their potential for the week.
Seeds
As a 250 level event, you always have to monitor the seeds where upsets
happen. In 2014, only top seed John Isner made the semifinals. A lot of
that carnage came after the opening match though for the seeds as only
2nd seeded Kevin Anderson fell in his 1st match. In 2013, two seeds were
dumped in their 1st matches of the Atlanta Open. Three seeds did make
the semifinals that year; #1 Isner, #2 Anderson & #7 Lleyton Hewitt.
Back in 2012, three seeds were stunned in their 1st matches. Seeds 1,4
& 8 made the semis that year with one unseeded outside in Gilles
Muller. In 2011, half the seeds were done after their 1st matches with
two seeds making the semis. And in the first year of the tournament in
2010, there were four seeded upsets in their 1st matches with three
seeds making the semis.
So what do we make of the past history of this event? Treat it as you
would any 250 level event. Some seeds will be keyed in to play. Isner
has done extremely well at this tournament, while other seeds may want
nothing to do with the heat & humidity in the ATL. Let’s take a look
at the seeds this week & what you might expect from them early
& late at the Atlanta Open.
#1 John Isner
Isner is 16-3 at this event. His draw isn’t the most simplistic though
as he has #6 Steve Johnson running opposite of him in his quarter. He
could potentially go up against Radek Stepanek in his 1st match.
Stepanek will have had great practice to go up against Isner’s serve
after nearly knocking off Ivo Karlovic in Bogota. Stepanek could be one
of the guys who struggles with the switch from the altitude & cooler
temps in Bogota to the roasting conditions in Atlanta. Expect Isner to
keep his streak intact and at least get to the semis.
#2 Vasek Pospisil
Right away, you have to highlight Pospisil as a potential flameout
candidate in Atlanta. He is 1-1 at this tournament with 2014 the only
time he played here. He lost in the 2nd round to Dudi Sela. He comes in
at less than 100% health. He’s nursing a bone bruise in his right wrist
that he suffered during his quarter final run at Wimbledon. He has not
played a match since then. Pospisil will face either Malek Jaziri or
Yen-Hsun Lu who is 4-3 lifetime at this tournament.
#5 Marcos Baghdatis is in the other portion of this quarter and comes
in off a rough 1st-up loss in Bogota. Nonseed Sam Groth could also be a
tough out in this quarter if he gets some rest after a whirwind couple
of weeks. I’m not a big fan of Pospisil running deep this week. I think
he’ll look foremost to see how much his wrist will allow thim to do and
will be happy to get a match or two under his belt. I’d be surprised he
if wins more than a match this week.
#3 Jack Sock
Sock is switching from grass to hard courts after playing Newport in the
post-Wimbledon stretch. Sock played well here last year making the
semifinals before losing to Isner, so the conditions won’t surprise him.
This could be a big Summer for Sock leading up to the U.S. Open, so all
matches should matter for him. He’s ranked just inside the Top 40, but
has room to gain points with every tournament he’s played in this U.S.
Open build-up.
He has Harrison or a qualifier first-up which could be tricky, but it
is a must-win given the lack of form for Harrison in general at this
level. Harrison can be dangerous though when motivated and has two
semifinal runs in Atlanta in 2013 & 2011. Becker is the 8th seed in
the bottom of the quarter with some interesting floaters like Fish
& Bogota semifinalist Michael Berrer. All-in-all though, this is a
quarter where Sock should push through if he’s at his best.
#4 Adrian Mannarino
The big thing for Mannarino will be how he handles the switch in
conditions from Bogota to Atlanta. He had a stellar run in Bogota that
ended up with a spot in the Final. The Frenchman has never played in
Atlanta. His first match will be against the winner of Soeda vs.
Dolgopolov. I’ve got Mannarino on upset alert in that one. While Soeda
isn’t in great form, he did make the semis in Atlanta back in 2012.
Dolgopolov is a human game of Roulette from week to week. He has never
played Atlanta, but has played well on hard courts at-times. Dog &
Mannarino played a tense three set match in Stockholm last Fall on an
indoor court that saw the Frenchman win in a third set tie break. Dog
could definitely push a tired or DGAF Mannarino after his Bogota run.
The top half of the quarter has Gilles Muller who has enjoyed this
tournament with an 11-3 mark. More on him later. As for Mannarino, I
don’t expect him to do much this week. I think he may go down in his
first match.
When I used to pay attention to tennis, clay courts were very good. Always struggled hard courts. Will be following this week. Thanks for the research and all you do. 
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