I don’t have a great deal of time tonight so here’s a selection of predictions with a few comments to some of the more interesting matches. I’ve been out of the loop today, but I am slightly perplexed about the news that Rafael Nadal has appendicitis, but is set to play tomorrow with permission from doctors. Tianjin and Osaka have both gone shockingly well so far for my predictions, meanwhile Linz took a hit today as Camila Giorgi thrashed my champion, Andrea Petkovic. I’ll be back tomorrow with more detailed previews.
ATP Shanghai:
Novak Djokovic v Dominic Thiem: An interesting match as Thiem gets his first shot at Djokovic. I can’t see Thiem getting the win or even a set, particularly as he stated on Facebook that his chances are 5:95% maximum! The fact they have never played will probably go in Thiem’s favour so I expect one of the sets to be close.
Prediction: Djokovic d. Thiem in 2 sets (1 tight, 1 easy)
Andy Murray v Jerzy Janowicz: Murray and Janowicz will play for the second time in a week. Murray defeated Janowicz in three sets in Beijing, coming from a set down to prevail. I’d take Murray to win this in more comfortable fashion.
Prediction: Murray d. Janowicz in 2 tight sets
David Ferrer v Martin Klizan: Ferrer has lost first round in his last two tournaments, meanwhile Klizan had arguably his best ever victory in a sensational win over Rafael Nadal in Beijing. Klizan definitely has chances in this one, but I have a feeling Ferrer might sort his form out.
Prediction: Ferrer d Klizan in 3 sets
Gilles Simon v Stan Wawrinka: My wacky semi-final prediction of Simon nearly blew up early as Simon lost the first set to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Simon recovered to win the next two sets for the loss of one game. It’s risky, but i’m sticking by my original prediction.
Prediction: Simon d. Wawrinka in 3 sets
ATP Shanghai 2nd Round Predictions
Roger Federer d. Leo Mayer in 2 sets
Vasek Pospisil d. Roberto Bautista Agut in 3 sets
Grigor Dimitrov d. Julien Benneteau in 3 sets
Jack Sock d. Kei Nishikori in 2 sets (or retirement)
Tomas Berdych d. Richard Gasquet in 2 sets
Malek Jaziri d. Wang Chuhan in 3 sets
Milos Raonic d. Juan Monaco in 2 tight sets
Mikhail Youzhny d. Ivan Dodig in 2 sets
John Isner d. Steve Johnson in 2 tight sets
Feliciano Lopez d. Rafael Nadal in 3 sets
WTA Osaka 2nd Round Predictions
Luksika Kumkhum d. Eri Hozumi in 3 sets
Elina Svitolina d. Naomi Osaka in 2 sets
Misaki Doi d. Madison Keys in 3 sets (Madison has an injury?)
Heather Watson d. Yulia Putintseva in 3 tight sets
WTA Tianjin 2nd Round Predictions
Alison Riske d. Olga Govortsova in 3 sets
Sorana Cirstea d. Andrea Hlavackova in 2 sets
Ajla Tomljanovic d. Duan Ying-Ying in 3 tight sets
Varvara Lepchenko d. Liu Fangzhou in 2 sets
WTA Linz 2nd Round Predictions
Marina Erakovic d. Klara Koukalova in 3 sets
Stefanie Voegele d. Anna Schmiedlova in 2 sets
Camila Giorgi d. Ons Jabeur in 3 sets
Moo's Tennis Blog 
I have a feeling Djokovic will drop a set against Thiem for some reason…
I too am confused with Nadal. Why not operate now and be rested come the finals?! To me he always seems to announce injury and then play better than ever. Whether it’s to put his opponents off or to excuse him any upsets in advance- I just don’t buy it half the time. Pressure is on Federer now to sweep in and steal #2 ranking.
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Rafa is the master of the injury excuse. I expect him to be fine to beat Lopez tomorrow or he wouldn’t bother
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Nah the master of the injury excuse should belong to Serena. Bows out 2+ rounds before meeting her true potential upset. getting almost bagelled by some random un-suspect prior to that only to win it heroically in 2 sets. Creating all that drama afterwards like in the Wimbledon doubles match-that was a shame. Going on a hiatus after losing to Klijsters at the US Open and waiting for her to retire. Excuses for that one:
foot injury from glass at a restaurant cuz she was serving wine with her toes.
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There is footage of Serena in surgery/recovery for her 2010/11 problems with the glass/embolism. She didn’t serve with her toes, it went through her shoe…
Kim only ever beat Serena twice and wasn’t ever likely to add much to that head to head. The 2009 US Open was her swan song.
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@ achoocrony: How sure are you to know Serena was not truly injured? Did you carry out medical examination on her before and after her matches? Every player wants to play at their highest level. Players have the right to speak out about the status of their health. In case you don’t know, most time it’s even the journalists that forcefully and cunningly ask all sort of questions. Serena, Nadal and Djokovic are consistent players so whenever they lose especially to low ranked players, press and fans often want to know why. Any player is beatable. Playing tennis at highest level week in week out is not always easy please let’s learn to respect the so called “excuses” Thanks.
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Well Kim won it again in 2010 so it wasn’t exactly by chance. @ tripletennis so you’re saying I don’t respect people’s injury claims because once in a while I don’t trust them but you blindly do all the time? spare me your lectures
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Maybe he’s avoiding getting thrashed by Djokovic? but they know what theyr’e about so not much surprise there. Cilic,Nadal and Serena all played much better after their long hiatus so maybe your suspicions are true. But Nadal’s playing pretty badly…can’t see him playing much better any time soon. If its not too serious I think its worth it for Nadal to have another match under his belt-he can use it lol. Also appendicitis doesn’t take months to recover from if thats what it really is.
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Haha. Not a serena fan I take it!
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@createdsick nope…but I am a big fan of Venus!
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Serena doesn’t play better now than she used to before her break off. She’s visibly less powerful and also much less instinctual. What she *does* do better is not rush to finish points so quick and aggressively, which started costing her matches when she wasn’t 100%. That credit goes to Patrick.
Nadal is an undeniably brilliant player, but all of his bullshit just puts me off him completely.
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Pleased to see Giorgi following up her win over Petkovic with another convincing result. Jabeur looked like a potential banana skin for an erratic player like her. I love watching her play when she’s on form and I hope she can keep it up all week.
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Some pretty decent predictions all round today Moo, good stuff
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Great job today man especially the upsets, Nishikori and Nadal. Well done.
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Cheers.
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