ATP - Barcelona Monday Preview

Ramirez Hidalgo Ruben (ESP) vs. Ramos Albert (ESP)
The Open Banco Sabadell will be open with a meeting between two Spaniards, Ramirez Hidalgo and Ramos Vinollas. Last year as a qualifier, Ramos reached the third round in Barcelona beating Fernando Gonzalez in his road. He played only on clay this year and had some results, qualifying for Buenos Aires and Acapulco and reaching quarter-finals in Marrakech. Ramirez Hidalgo alternate the surface this year but with limited results as he has only two wins on clay, he beat Romboli and Machado, and looks like the last year on circuit for him. They know each other game well, they met three times last year on clay and Ramirez leads with 2-1. Hidalgo is a typical clay court with solid serve and strong defense, he relies on his defense, he put good drop shots to break the rhythm, but sometimes is too passive. The left hander Ramos also has a solid serve of his own, he knows how to keep him self in rallies but also goes for his shots, he played consistently on clay this year and is close to break the Top 100 for the first time but he needs to defend his points here.

Kamke Tobias (GER) vs. Kavcic Blaz (SLO)
Tricky encounter. Both players have similarities in their game but neither is in great form. Kamke is 1/1 on clay this year while Kavcic is 2/3 but one of his wins was a retirement of El Amrani in Casablanca.

Both players have clean shots from both wings and can play some aggressive tennis during the match, both have a solid serve and both are quick baseliners with the German being more instinctive player from the baseline but neither has the consistency to make the difference. Kavcic is still recovering from ankle injury but looked injury free in Casablanca and was solid against Fognini. Tough match as the winner will be the player who will make fewer errors on court, Kamke looks slight better from the back of the court.

Golubev Andrey (KAZ) vs. Hanescu Victor (ROU)
Romanian Victor Hanescu, present for the third time in Barcelona will open against Andrey Golubev. The Kazakhstan player is yet to win a match on clay this year and even that he looks in good form has some mental problems to close out the match, against Riba and Kohlschreiber recently, but is always a tricky player.Hanescu reached the semi-finals in Casablanca and enters with 4/6 W/L series this year but he beat twice Gimeno-Traver who is out of form, Berrer who isn’t on his favorite surface and tired Kuznetsov who still pushed him in three sets. Both players have a powerful serve with the Romanian remaining solid from the back of the court while Golubev likes to finish the points quickly and to play more aggressive. It could be the key of the match as the Romanian doesn’t like to play quick as he wants and needs time to adjust his shots, the bounce in Barcelona is lower then in a normal clay court which should favor Golubev.

Giraldo Santiago (COL) vs. Bellucci Thomaz (BRA)
Last year quarter-finalist, Thomaz Bellucci will face a difficult task in first round against Santiago Giraldo. The Columbian started great the year but he slowed down a little bit, mainly since he failed to win the Santiago title against Robredo. They know each other well, Giraldo leads the head-to-head with 2-1, the last meeting is in Auckland this year when Giraldo was in great form. The surface isn’t that fast which can help Bellucci but the bounce is lower which will favor the powerful flat ground strokes of the Columbian. Bellucci has two quarter-finals in Santiago and Costa do Sauipe and semi-finals in Acapulco, his form is average from tournament to tournament but he looks more determinate here, he is from a couple of days training with Soderling, he is more consistent from the back of the court and if he will keep his errors low he will have the upper hand.

Cipolla Flavio (ITA) vs. Haase Robin (NED)
Cipolla qualified here with two solid wins over Gonzalez and Bolelli. Against Bolelli had a problem until he found his rhythm on serve but from the second set he started to control the match. He is in good form this year and had good results on hard courts too but he will have a tough first round against Haase. The Italian doesn’t hit with a lot of power but relies on chasing the balls and put them back on court, he opens the court before making a winner, he has a good slice on backhand wing, he is a grinder who doesn’t give cheap points. The Dutchman looked good in Monte Carlo losing a close match to Melzer after beating Davydenko, he has the power on his side, serve and ground strokes to win cheaper points then Cipolla. The Italian has some confidence in his game recently.

Paire Benoit (FRA) vs. Carreno-Busta Pablo (ESP)
The Barcelona resident, Pablo Carreno-Busta, received a WC for the main draw after his good results this year on clay, culminating with a quarter-final in Rabat. He will be for the second time here, last year he lost in first round of qualifications. He is a tall guy with solid serve, he hit with power and make even a step on court to be more aggressive but overall is a baseliner who resist well in long rallies. He will meet qualifier Benoit Paire who advanced after two tough rounds against Niland and Ilhan. The Frenchman is in good form, he played the final in St.Brieuc recently but that on indoor clay. Also the Frenchman has a powerful serve but is more prone to errors from the back of the court, he will rely on his solid baseline display but the Spaniard will be supported here and he trains for a couple of days here, he played well recently and is a player who put a lot of fight on court.

Granollers Marcel (ESP) vs. Brands Daniel (GER)
Making his debut in Barcelona, the German Daniel Brands hasn’t an easy opening round but still has chances as the Spaniard Marcel Granollers has a poor record here having only one win from ten matches played, including qualifications, over the years. Also he made a poor match against Almagro in Monte Carlo, was without rhythm on serve and his retrieving were poor. Brands has only one match on clay this year, in Casablanca lost to Starace but he has the better serve and he can play some aggressive tennis advancing a lot to the net putting Granollers under pressure. Also the Spaniard advances to the net but he is better from the back of the court, still the German has powerful ground strokes which will push the Spaniard a step, two behind the baseline which isn’t the most comfortable zone for him. Tricky match, Granolles has the game to take this one but the poor record doesn’t let us to go confident in this one.

Fognini Fabio (ITA) vs. Vagnozzi Simone (ITA)
Italian affair. Vagnozzi leads the head-to-head with 2-0 against his compatriot Fognini and he managed to qualify against tricky opponents like Marchenko and Donskoy. He served well in both matches and won a lot of cheap points behind the serve but he looked also consistent in long rallies. Can be a tricky player as when he is confident in his game he can play some aggressive tennis stepping on court, he resist well in long rallies and uses the drop shot to bring his opponent to the net and break the rhythm. A lot of rallies will be seen here but Vagnozzi will break the rhythm better as Fognini is a deep standing player, even that he is quick and can catch a lot of them, Vognizzi will hit a long and deep ball and then will put a drop shot. Fognini looked good recently but he is 0/3 in Barcelona and didn’t managed to win here even as a qualifier, Vagonizzi will be confident and will put a lot of fight on court.

Granollers Pujol Gerard (ESP) vs. Andujar Pablo (ESP)
Minutes after his brother will end his match, Gerard Pujol Granollers will enter on court for the first time in the main draw in Barcelona against Pablo Andujar. Granollers is yet to win a match this year in Challenger or ATP level but he benefit by a WC to enter here while the defending champion was left behind. Andujar is the fresh champion of Casablanca showing some aggressive tennis recently and a solid form. But, Granollers is a player who doesn’t give free points on court and fight for every ball, he has a solid serve of his own and when he is switched on he can be a hard nut to crack, he might have some downs on serve during the match but has good retrieving skills to punish any letdown on Andujar’s game.

Garcia-Lopez Guillermo (ESP) vs. Istomin Denis (UZB)
Both players came from Monte Carlo where lost to the same player, Richard Gasquet. Istomin made overall a better match but benefit by some downs in Frenchman’s game, some nerves in the beginning, but then he controlled the match while Garcia-Lopez made a lot of errors in his defeat. The Spaniard is only 2/5 in Barcelona, only last year he managed to win his first match here but overall both players struggles to found some form as both are in average form with a win here and there. Both have a powerful serve and can win some free points behind that, the Spaniard founds better angles in his shots and if he will found the depth on his ground strokes he will push Istomin way behind the baseline but the Uzbekistan player resist well from the back of the court and he was good on court against Gasquet while still the Spaniard makes too many errors recently, it looks like a match with a lot of ups and downs, Istomin managed to lose in Davis Cup to Statham on clay while still the Spaniard played well in Houston reaching the semi-finals in double and quarter-finals in single. We see Garcia-Lopez as the likely winner in a hard three sets but the odds are too low for a confident bet regarding his recent form.

Kuznetsov Andrey (RUS) vs. Roger-Vasselin Edouard (FRA)
The Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin isn’t seen as a clay court player but he beat Schukin and Machado easily in two sets here and has wins over other clay court specialists. He is a good baseliner with good shots from both wings, he advance to the net from time to time to finish the points quickly and overall looked in good form recently. The Russian received a WC into main draw after he had good results on clay recently with quarter-final in Casablanca where he beat Baghdatis. The Russian has a solid serve and resist well in long rallies but overall we see the Frenchman much stable here, Kuznetsov will not give free points and puts a lot of fight on court but the Roger-Vasselin is used with the conditions and the surface here and came with some morale.

Anderson Kevin (RSA) vs. Cuevas Pablo (URU)
On his first match on clay in almost one year, Kevin Anderson had put a lot of fight against Fognini in Monte Carlo and won the opening set but then the South African was bother by a back problem and his power in his serve and ground strokes started to diminish. He will meet Pablo Cuevas who is in good form recently, he reached the semi-finals in Houston in single and double and his game suits well to the conditions in Barcelona, the Uruguayan is 2/2 in Barcelona. Anderson will rely on his powerful serve and ground strokes but Cuevas will need to put the ball back in and force an extra shot and errors should appear in Anderson’s game.

Gabashvili Teimuraz (RUS) vs. Montanes Albert (ESP)
Last year the Spaniard Albert Montanes was in great form, he lost in the opening round here to Chardy but had a busy week in Monte Carlo while now is fresher. He has a good record in Barcelona over the years reaching one quarter-final and once semi-final. The Russian is 2/6 in Barcelona and overall tends to lose to players who force him to play an extra shot, lost to Sweeting and Vassallo recently and to Volandri, Riba, Gaudio last year. The Russian likes to dictate the rhythm from the back of the court but he plays some risky tennis as against a tough baseliner he tends to go for lines which will push him into more errors, head-to-head is 2-0 for Montanes with a meeting on hard court.

Monaco Juan (ARG) vs. Dimitrov Grigor (BUL)
The Argentine Juan Monaco didn’t start well the European clay court as he lost against Tsonga in Monte Carlo. He lost his serve too easily but the match will be played in the night session and things will be slower which should help better his game. He is 3/3 in Barcelona and has a good opening round. Dimitrov looked good recently on court but still plays with some pressure in ATP level, pressure which makes him to made more errors on court. Dimitrov can be a tricky player but his powerful serve will be negate by the surface and Monaco will force him to play an extra shot and he starts to became impatient in long rallies going for his shots often unprepared.