Scouting Report: Tsonga The One To Watch

Jan102016

An executive summary of what every fan should know about the 2016 ATP World Tour season

After a busy opening week of the 2016 season with seven of the Top 10 in action, 11 of the Top 25 (as of Jan. 4 ranking) are playing this week with Bernard Tomic the top seed in Sydney and David Ferrer the highest-ranked player in Auckland.

ASB Classic (Auckland) – There are eight Top 25 players in this year’s ASB Classic Open, led by World No. 7 David Ferrer, who took a wild card into the draw after a 1R loss in Doha. The 33-year-old Spaniard is a four-time champion in Auckland (2007, ’11-13). Rounding out the seeds are: No. 2 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 3 John Isner, No. 4 Kevin Anderson, No. 5 Benoit Paire, No. 6 Fabio Fognini, No. 7 Ivo Karlovic and No. 8 Roberto Bautista Agut. There are three other former winners in the field: defending champ Jiri Vesely, two-time titleholder John Isner (2010, ’14) and Philipp Kohlschreiber (2008).

Ferrer Top Seed Again – Ferrer comes in as the top seed for the sixth time since 2008. He was the top seed last year but withdrew. As the top seed, Ferrer has compiled a 16-2 match record. He put together a 14-match winning streak from 2011-14, capturing the title three straight years (2011-13) before falling in the semi-finals to Yen-Hsun Lu two years ago. Here is a look at his results as the top seed:

2014: l. in SF to Yen-Hsun Lu

2013: Winner d. Philipp Kohlschreiber

2012: Winner d. Olivier Rochus

2011: Winner d. David Nalbandian

2008: l. to in SF to Julien Benneteau

Reigning Champion – Jiri Vesely qualified into the main draw last year ranked No. 63. He won two qualifying matches and five in the main draw to capture his maiden ATP World Tour title. He defeated Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in an all-left-handed final. Afterwards he jumped from No. 63 to No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Later in the season Vesely reached the final in Bucharest (l. to Garcia-Lopez). He finished as the No. 2 player from the Czech Republic with a 24-30 match record and No. 41 ranking.

Tsonga Makes Debut– No. 2 seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga makes his Auckland debut and he is one of two Frenchmen in the draw along with Benoit Paire. Tsonga is coming his sixth Top 10 ranking finish in the last eight years at No. 10 (except ’10 & ’14). He captured his 12^th career ATP World Tour title in Metz and was runner-up at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai.

One to Watch – No. 1 German Philipp Kohlschreiber has compiled an impressive 24-8 match record in Auckland, winning the title in 2008, reaching the final in ’13, the semi-finals in 2010, ’12 and the quarter-finals four other times. The six-time ATP World Tour winner has won four titles on home soil, one in Kitzbuehel and one in Auckland. Kohlschreiber opens against a qualifier and if he advances, he would meet Tsonga in the 2R.

Americans Lead the Way – The top five Americans in the Emirates ATP Rankings are in the draw, led by World No. 11 John Isner, who is a two-time champion (2010, ’14) and owner of a 12-2 record in Auckland. No. 2 American Jack Sock, who reached the quarter-finals two years ago in his debut, is coming off a career-best No. 26 ranking in 2015. Other Americans are: Steve Johnson, Donald Young and Sam Querrey, who reached the final in 2009. Johnson reached the quarter-finals the last two years and Young was a quarter-finalist a year ago.

Kiwis in the Draw – There are two local wild cards in the main draw: No. 1 Finn Tearney at No. 363, and No. 44 in doubles Michael Venus, who reached the 2R last year in the singles draw. Tearney is making his ATP World Tour main draw debut. He played in the qualifying draw three previous times, losing in the 1R in 2009, ’14-15. Venus beat Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez last year in a third set tie-break before losing to Lucas Pouille.

Bryans

Apia International (Sydney) – No. 1 Aussie Bernard Tomic leads the 28-player field and is making his fifth appearance in six years at the Apia International. He won the title in 2013 and reached the final the following year. The other seeds are: No. 2 Dominic Thiem, No. 3/reigning champion Viktor Troicki, No. 4 Grigor Dimitrov, No. 5 Andreas Seppi, No. 6 Jeremy Chardy, No. 7 Leonardo Mayer, and No. 8 Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Tomic Top Seed – Tomic is the top seed on the ATP World Tour for the first time in his career. A year ago he came in ranked No. 71 and he reached the quarter-finals (l. to Muller). He owns an 11-3 career record at the tournament. Tomic has a 36-17 career record in ATP World Tour level events in Australia, including 31-11 from 2012-16. He is coming off a semi-final showing in Brisbane where he beat No. 8-ranked Nishikori before losing to Raonic 76 76.

Defending Champion – A year ago, Viktor Troicki qualified into the main draw ranked No. 92. He won three qualifying matches and capped off his title run by defeating fellow qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin in the final. After winning his second career ATP World Tour title, the Serb climbed to No. 54 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. He went on to compile a 35-28 match record and he finished the season ranked No. 22, equaling his year-end best in 2011.

Aussies In The Draw – Tomic is one of five Aussies in the main draw. He is joined by Sam Groth and wild cards James Duckworth, John Millman and Jordan Thompson, who is making his main draw debut. Besides Tomic, Millman is the only player in the group to win a main draw match. He reached the 2R in 2013. Duckworth and Groth are both 0-2.

Coric Eyes Maiden Title – Borna Coric, who improved from No. 91 in 2014 to No. 44 last season in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is making his Sydney debut. He opens against Gilles Muller in the 1R. On Sunday, the 19-year-old Croat tries to capture his maiden ATP World Tour title in Chennai against World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka. Coric, the youngest player in the Top 50, is attempting to become the first teenager singles winner on the ATP World Tour since countryman Marin Cilic won New Haven in August 2008.

Benneteau Returns – Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who reached the final in 2012, returns to the ATP World Tour for the first time since Indian Wells last March Benneteau has been sidelined with an abductor injury. He underwent surgery on June 9. He opened the 2016 season by reaching the quarter-finals at the Noumea, New Caledonia, Challenger. He is in the draw with a protected ranking of No. 39.

Nestor Eyes 1,000 Wins – Daniel Nestor is closing in on a historic doubles milestone. The 43-year-old Canadian is one match win away from becoming the first player in the Open Era to register 1,000 career doubles match wins on the ATP World Tour. Nestor is playing for the first time with No. 1 Marcelo Melo. Nestor has a 33-11 career record in Sydney, winning the title five times (1999, ’01, ’10, ’14-15).

Top Two Teams in Draw – Last year’s top two teams in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings headline the doubles draw. Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, who finished No.1 and were finalists in Sydney, are the top seeds. The No. 2 seeds are Bob and Mike Bryan have won the Sydney title three times (2009, ’12-13) while reaching the final three other times (2004, ’08, ’11). The Bryans have a 26-8 career tournament record. In addition to the top two teams, the No. 1 doubles player, Marcelo Melo, who is playing with Nestor, is in the draw. Melo won a career-high six titles last season, including his first Grand Slam crown at Roland Garros (w/Dodig).

Dimitrov