The 42nd ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam kicks off the 2015 ATP World Tour 500 events on Monday. The event features six top 15 players in the World. It will be the first tournament for many of the draw since the Australian Open.
Seeds: #1 Andy Murray, #2 Milos Raonic, #3 Thomas Berdych #4 Stan Wawrinka, #5 Grigor Dimitrov, #6 Ernersts Gulbis, #7 Roberto Bautista Agut, and #8 Gilles Simon
Other Notable Players: Phillip Kohlschreiber, Julien Benneteau, Andreas Seppi, Gael Monfils, and Dominic Thiem.
First Round Matches To Watch:
First up is an all French match up between Julien Benneteau and Jeremy Chardy. The last time these two faced off was at the 2013 US Open where Benneteau bested his countryman in straight sets. While Chardy has had a mediocre start to 2015 going 3-3 he did have a good match against Dimitrov losing in three sets. If Chardy has had a mediocre start, Benneteau has had nothing short of a lousy start with his lone win in 2015 against coming against Vasek Pospisil. Both of these men are going to be hungry for a win which will lead to a scrappy three set match that could go either way. French fans can rejoice that at least one of them will move.
The second first round match to look for is Robin Haase versus Andreas Seppi. Seppi just beat Haase in three sets in Zagreb in route to the finals. Seppi has not lost to Haase on a hard court since a challenger event in 2008. While Seppi has had a good 2015 he is going to be tired after a long week in Zagreb. This could be a good chance for the wildcard Haase to beat Seppi. If Seppi can come out hot and build a quick lead he should be able to win but if this goes three the scales start to tip in favor of Haase.
The final first round match to keep an eye pins sixth seeded Ernests Gulbis against Dominic Thiem. This will be their first meeting since the 21-year-old Thiem upset Gulbis in the second round of last year’s US Open. Thiem came back from two sets to love to win the match. Gulbis is a talented player who is on the cusp of being a top ten player. He just lacks the consistent results especially against higher ranked foes. Thiem has been dubbed an up and comer on the ATP tour. However both have struggled mightily in 2015 with both players still searching for their first win of the season. Gulbis is the more seasoned player and therefore should be able to squeeze out a three set win which will give him a boost of confidence as he moves deeper in Rotterdam.
Possible Second Round Match To Watch:
If both Gael Monfils and Roberto Bautista Agut are able to get through their first round matches it will set up a very high level second round match. The two players have only met one previous time, which was last year in Cincinnati where Monfils won easily in straight sets. Nevertheless only four ranking spots currently separate these two contenders. Everyone recognizes that when Monfils stays focused he has the ability to play like a top ten player. Bautista Agut is a tough out who does not play the typical agressive top spinning game of a Spaniard but rather plays with a much flatter ball. This should a very flashy fun match especially for so early in the week. Anticipate Monfils to come up with the minor upset.
Predictions:
Semifinals:
Murray defeats Berdych 6-7 6-3 6-4
Raonic defeats Dimitrov 7-6 6-4
Finals:
Raonic defeats Murray 4-6 7-6 6-3
Raonic’s big serve and improved return game will prove to be too much for Murray who is still visibly having problems with his mental game. Raonic leads their head to head 4-2. It would be Raonic’s second ATP 500 title, he won the Citi Open in Washington DC last year.
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