ATP Dusseldorf Sunday Preview

ATP Dusseldorf starts today with a limited schedule that includes Janko Tipsarevic and Mikhail Youzhny. ATP Nice and ATP Dusseldorf are to be played out over the next week ahead of the start of the 2011 French Open. Dusseldorf will start today as the team event features a limited schedule.

The ATP World Tour returned to Nice in 2010 for the first time in 15 years with the inaugural Open de Nice Cote d’Azur. It is held in Nice, France at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club and is a good preparation for Roland Garros as is played with the same balls as in Paris.

The courts being near Mediterranean coasts, some winds and wet currents are expected which should heavier the balls and make the courts slower but overall the surface is on fast side favoring powerful baseliners. Being held the week before Roland Garros some players are still in search of form and might not push too hard so try to keep the stakes low. Last year champion is Richard Gasquet.

Somdev Devvarman vs. Adrian Mannarino

 Hometown hope Adrian Mannarino will be the first Frenchman who will open the main draw against Indian Somdev Devvarman. He isn’t at his best on red dirt but he managed to qualify for Madrid and was a lucky loser in Rome.

Last year went through qualifications and stopped in first round to Olivier Rochus, overall has wins over tough baseliners like Chela, Munoz de la Nava, Viola this year but he likes to play with powerful players which can open up the court while against the Indian he needs to play an extra shot and to be more patient in long rallies.

Neither Devvarman is used to play on the red dirt but he leads the head-to-head with 2-0, one of the meetings being in qualifications for Roland Garros last year.

The Indian relies on his solid defense, he likes to force long rallies as he is quick around the court and that will be the key of the match as his serve can be negate on this surface. He tends to lose against powerful hitters, he lost to Veic, Tipsarevic, Garcia-Lopez this year and the key of the match will be if the Frenchman will have the upper hand on retrieving, also the Frenchman has a solid defense but he became impatient in long rallies and he has some luck on movement on clay. A match can go either way and despite Mannarino playing at home we see Devvarman more consistent

Filippo Volandri vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov

A struggling Alexandr Dolgopolov looks to regain his good form in Nice when he will meet Volandri in first round. The Ukrainian is yet to win a match on European clay, which is his best surface. Is for the second time in Nice, last year he lost in second round to the eventual champion, Gasquet.

He knows Volandri well as he met him twice and in both occasions the Ukrainian imposed but this time the Italian came in good form. The only problem for the Italian will be his last match in Rome against Wawrinka as might be a setback for Volandri who plays a level above in Rome.

The Italian has a solid defense and is more consistent then Dolgopolov, but the Ukrainian can mix up on court and has a better serve to win cheap points, he can use his good drop shots to break the rhythm and also can change the pace well.

The Ukrainian has reached the second round in doubles in Rome but he needs a win to boost his confidence, he has the game to take this one.