ATP Montreal – Monday Preview

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Fabio Fognini

France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had an impressive run to the semifinals of Wimbledon. He took out Fernando Gonzalez, David Ferrer and Roger Federer before falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. The Frenchman hasn’t played a tournament since.

He shouldn’t have much difficulty against Italy’s Fabio Fognini. The Italian is a clay-courter who plays retrieving tennis. He is ranked 34 in the world, but he isn’t likely to be able to handle Tsonga’s pace of shot. Tsonga in straight sets.

Bernard Tomic vs. Yen-Hsun Lu

Surprise Wimbledon quarterfinalist Bernard Tomic will take on lucky loser Yen-Hsun Lu in his first round match. Tomic broke through in a big way at the All-England Club. He came through 3 rounds of qualifying there, after which he took out the likes of Nikolay Davydenko, Robin Soderling and Xavier Malisse. The Australian even gave eventual champion Novak Djokovic a hard time before losing in 4 sets.

Yen-Hsun Lu got into the main draw because Tommy Haas of Germany had to withdraw from Montreal with a hip injury. He is actually ranked higher than No. 71 Tomic at 67 in the world, but the Australian is decidedly playing better tennis at the moment.

David Nalbandian vs. Stanislas Wawrinka

Ordinarily, drawing Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round of a tournament would be bad news, but the Swiss No. 2 has not been up to his normal form since making the round of 16 at the French Open. In fact, Wawrinka has failed to win more than 1 match at a time at any tournament since then.

David Nalbandian hasn’t struggled as much as Wawrinka has, but the Argentine, who was defending a 2010 title in Washington, lost in his second round match against James Blake.

Wawrinka holds a winning record over Nalbandian at 5-3, but the Argentine won their last meeting in 2010 in Washington. 

Pablo Andujar vs. Kevin Anderson

Big-serving South African Kevin Anderson has had the year of his career so far. He had a number of good results in 2011, including a first-ever title at his home tournament in Johannesburg.

His opponent Pablo Andujar also won a title this year, but that was on the clay courts of Casablanca. As with many Spaniards, Andujar’s ATP success is limited almost exclusively to the dirt.

Andujar is not likely to have much success defending against the big serve of Anderson. The South African’s game works best on fast hard courts. Anderson should have no trouble getting through this match.

Ernests Gulbis vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero

Ernests Gulbis and Juan Carlos Ferrero, both of whom come into Montreal with titles to their names, will headline Monday play at the Montrel Masters.

Two weeks ago, Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis was ranked 84 in the world and had lost in 4 first rounds in a row – including Wimbledon and the French Open. Out of nowhere, the Latvian ran through the LA draw, defeating Xavier Malisse, Juan Martin Del Potro and Mardy Fish along the way. He now sits at 55 in the world.

Juan Carlos Ferrero also added a surprising title to his trophy collection this year. The Spanish veteran still sits outside the top 100 (104), but he surged to the title in Stuttgart last month, though that was on Ferrero’s preferred clay.

Gulbis and Ferrero have only met once before, way back in 2007. Ferrero won that encounter easily, but that meeting was 4 years ago on a clay court.

The Latvian is the better hard-court player at the moment, but he is one of the most unpredictable players on the men’s tour. He can in turns be brilliant, as he was in LA or awful like at Wimbledon.

Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Jarkko Nieminen

Former finalist Juan Martin Del Potro is set to begin his run at the Rogers Cup, as he faces veteran Jarkko Nieminen in the opening round.

World No. 20 Juan Martin Del Potro holds a 3-0 series lead over first-round opponent Jarkko Nieminen. The players last met at the 2008 Masters Series Madrid, where the Argentine recorded a second-round victory via retirement.

Del Potro will make his hard-court return following a second-round loss to Ernests Gulbis in Los Angeles. The 22-year-old is 36-10 for the year, having put together title-winning efforts in Delray Beach and Estoril.

World No. 51 Jarkko Nieminen looks to regroup after a third-round loss to Radek Stepanek at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. The 30-year-old Finn is a modest 13-17 for the season.