ATP - Estoril Tuesday Preview

Nielsen Frederick (DEN) vs. Bellucci Thomaz (BRA)
Thomaz Bellucci will make his debut in Estoril Open against Frederick Nielsen who surprisingly beat another left handed, Munoz de la Nava. Nielsen beat Salamanca and Dias to make the main draw on his least favorite surface. He lost to the Brazilian indoors back in 2009 in Stockholm. The Brazilian in some poor form lately even that he has a lot of training sessions still didn’t found a way to transmit that on court but Nielsen overall stays more on serve as in long rallies is prone to errors, he isn’t on his favorite surface and the Brazilian should have a good training session in his first match in Estoril.

Gimeno-Traver Daniel (ESP) vs. Berlocq Carlos (ARG)
The Argentine Carlos Berlocq impressed with his level of aggressiveness in Barcelona beating Nieminine in first round. He leads the head-to-head with 2-0 but both meetings were close.

Also some form was seen on Gimeno-Traver who responded well against Starace, the Italian retiring at the end. The surface is on slower and that will help Spaniard solid baseline display, Berlocq has the serve on his side and looks more consistent from the back of the court. Still the Spaniard slowly gains some confidence and despite that Berlocq looks a little bit more stable on court.

Falla Alejandro (COL) vs. Andujar Pablo (ESP)
The Columbian played two Challengers in his country on clay but failed to impress losing in second round in both of them. He is 1/2 in Estoril and overall the slow conditions here doesn’t favor particular neither player as both likes to play aggressive tennis. Andujar lost in Barcelona a close match to Almagro and is in better form then Columbian but that on much faster clay. The Spaniard has the edge on serve and he will play aggressive tennis even on this slow surface, Falla needs to resist well and put back in a lot of balls, he is a tough baseliner and can resist well in long rallies. Not an easy match but the Columbian looks out of form recently.

Riba Pere (ESP) vs. Cuevas Pablo (URU)
With little time to adjust to the conditions in Barcelona coming a little bit too late, wasn’t enough for the Uruguayan to past by Kevin Anderson. He put some fight on court but after he lost his serve was harder to bounce back. He leads the head to head with 3/9 against the Spaniard and overall Riba hasn’t a real weapon to trouble Cuevas on court. Also he retired in the last two matches with knee problems and is doubtful to play here. Cuevas has a quarter-final here and despite that he lost to Anderson in Barcelona we find him as the likely winner of this one.

Cipolla Flavio (ITA) vs. Gil Frederico (POR)
The Portuguese gained confidence and form at the right moment, just before Estoril where he has some points to defend from last year. He reached the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo and Napoli Challenger losing a tight match to Minar. In his recent runs he met Cipolla letting him only four games. The Italian is a qualifier here and showed great form serving good and being decisive on retrieving. He will have a hard task but the pressure is on Gil now, especially after Machado lost in first round. They have similarities in their games, Cipolla being a little bit more defensive, Gil is playing at home and will be hugely supported and we back him to take this one in another two sets.

Daniel Marcos (BRA) vs. Roger-Vasselin Edouard (FRA)
Edouard Roger-Vasselin proved that qualifying for Barcelona wasn’t a fluke and managed another qualification against tricky players like Navarro, Polansky or Gicquel. Despite the slowness of the surface he served very well and looked in good form. He will meet now Marcos Daniel. The Brazilian struggles for a while with injuries and has only four matches this year. Overall the Spaniard has a good record against left hander, he is better form while Marcos is still struggling to found some form prior to important tournaments, the Frenchman isn’t on his favorite surface but with his new confidence on court will be hard to break him.

Sousa Pedro (POR) vs. Del Potro Juan Martin (ARG)
Juan Martin Del Potro returns for a second appearance in Estoril; he lost in the second round in 2007. It will be the opening clay season for the Argentine, he is here to accommodate with the surface as Madrid and Rome are near the corner and then Roland Garrros. He was in good form on hard courts and has a good opening round against a local player who bounced back after a tough decider against Ramos Vinolass. The Argentine has the power in his game to win a lot of free points, Sousa will try to win points with his solid baseline display but he will be lot under pressure.

Raonic Milos (CAN) vs. Andreev Igor (RUS)
The match of the day. Despite not being on his favorite surface, Raonic managed some win even on clay but that mainly due to his powerful serve. The match is played in the night session and things are slower which will be a plus for Andreev. The Russian was in good form and the slowness of the surface will help his top spin to control better the balls. Also, he knows what to expect beating the Canadian on a much faster grounds. Andreev likes these slow courts as his forehand is more effective due to the top spin and with his good angles in his shots he will move the Canadian from side to side. Raonic will wait for Madrid where conditions are faster then in Estoril and could probably not play at 100% in this one.