The joint tournament in Acapulco this week features a WTA international draw and an ATP 500 event.  I have fond memories of watching the ATP event in Acapulco last year.  There were some brilliant matches towards the end of the tournament with the semi-final between Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray a particular highlight.  The crowds last year were awesome with matches finishing early in the morning and the stands still pretty full.  Of all the draw releases, Acapulco is probably the latest in the entire year.  Thankfully I have a day off work today (yay!) so let’s take a look at both draws…

WTA International draw:

Maria Sharapova has opted to join Grigor in Acapulco this year as she headlines the WTA draw.  There are less points up for the grabs but on paper, she really should sweep through the draw.  In the first round, Sharapova will take on Shelby Rogers.  The 22-year-old American had an impressive set of results during the second half of 2014, but hasn’t won a match this year having gone 0-3 down under.  Sharapova could meet Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round.  This would be an interesting match because Tomljanovic certainly has some weapons.  The Croat / Aussie reached the final in Pattaya City two weeks ago.  However, she has the tendency to be very erratic so if the pair were to meet, I wouldn’t expect a close match unless Sharapova is out-of-sorts.  Sharapova’s projected quarter-final opponent is Daniela Hantuchova.  After beating Tomljanovic in the final of Pattaya City, Hantuchova proved that she has still has the desire to compete on the tour.  Even more impressive was that she was able to win a lengthy three setter against Mona Barthel in Dubai the next day.  She plays Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round, who has won just one match in 2015.

Caroline Garcia is the highest seed in the second quarter of the draw.  The Frenchwoman has made a solid start to the year.  In WTA main draw action, all of Garcia’s losses have come against top ten opposition and she has beaten all the players ranked below her.  This wasn’t always the case last year! Garcia’s first match of the week will be against Polona Hercog.  Also of note in this quarter are Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Madison Brengle.  Sloane Stephens and Timea Bacsinszky headline the third quarter; Sloane opens against Johanna Larsson, who she lost to at the US Open last year while Bacsinszky opens a qualifier.  After making waves on the ITF tour and then the WTA tour in 2014, Bacsinszky has made a very encouraging start to 2015.  She reached the final in Shenzhen at the start of the year including a victory over Petra Kvitova and then beat an undercooked Jelena Jankovic in Melbourne en route to reaching the third round of the Australian Open.  I am confident that the Swiss player will be a top 32 player by the time the French Open swings round and her draw in Acapulco looksd favourable early on.

The final quarter is bolstered by the world number one pair in doubles, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.  Errani should have picked up some confidence after winning the International event in Rio.  She didn’t look convincing during the week, but still came away with the title.  In the final against Anna Schmiedlova, she was there for the taking in the first set as Schmiedlova was unable to convert on a set point.  Once it got into the tiebreak, the young Slovak fell away rather dramatically.  Errani’s first match in Acapulco will be against a qualifier before a potentially testing second rounder against Tereza Smitkova or Monica Puig.  Vinci suffered a surprising second round loss in Rio to the world number 155, Veronica Cepede Royg.  In the first round of Acapulco she plays Kiki Bertens, which feels like a 50/50 match to me.

1st Round Predictions: Sharapova d. Rogers in 2 sets, Hantuchova d. Rybarikova in 2 sets, Garcia d. Hercog in 2 sets, Brengle d. Torro-Flor in 2 tight sets, Stephens d. Larsson in 3 sets, Bertens d. Vinci in 3 sets and Puig d. Smitkova in 3 sets

Quarter-Final Predictions: Sharapova v Hantuchova, Garcia v Brengle, Stephens v Bacsinszky and Bertens v Errani

Final Prediction: Sharapova d. Bacsinszky

ATP 500 draw

Kei Nishikori will be seeking his second ATP title of 2015 as he tops the draw in Acapulco. His last appearance on the tour was winning a title in Memphis where he recovered from a set down in three consecutive matches before beating Kevin Anderson in straight sets in the final.  Kei always seems to do it the hard way! His start to the year has been solid, yet unspectacular.  Nishikori’s first match of the week in Acapulco will be against the qualifier, Alejandro Gonzalez.  Nishikori is seeded to meet Alexandr Dolgopolov in the quarter-finals.  In his return from injury, Dolgopolov has compiled a 3-4 W-L record although he did enjoy his best result of the year so far in Delray Beach last week where he reached the quarter-finals.  Dolgopolov’s first round opponent is Sam Groth.

Last year’s finalist in Acapulco, Kevin Anderson is the highest seed in the second quarter of the draw.  Anderson has made a good start to the year with a semi-final appearance in Auckland, a last 16 showing in Melbourne and a final appearance in Memphis.  He opens against the sometimes lethal, Dustin Brown.  Brown has won just one match in last six although he remains a very uncomfortable opponent to play on tour.  The number seven seed, Santiago Giraldo will play Austin Krajicek in the first round.  The 24-year-old American qualifier made a name for himself in Memphis where he qualified for the main draw, beat Mikhail Kukushkin and Ivo Karlovic and then even took a set off Kei Nishikori.  Against Giraldo, he may have a shot at another upset.

The champion from Delray Beach last week, Ivo Karlovic joins the defending champion in Acapulco, Grigor Dimitrov in the third quarter of the draw.  At the time in 2014, this was Dimitrov’s most impressive showing on the ATP tour as he beat Ernest Gulbis (then in-form), Andy Murray and Kevin Anderson in back-to-back-to-back three set thrillers to win his first ATP 500 title.  Since reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon, Dimitrov has lost his mojo a little.  He has been consistently making the latter stages of tournament, but has lost his last seven matches against top ten players.  I think this will be an important tournament for him.  In the first round, Dimitrov will play the qualifier, Filip Krajinovic, meanwhile Karlovic opens against Teymuraz Gabashvili.  Also of note in this quarter is an all-American first rounder between Donald Young and Ryan Harrison.  The very promising Aussie, Thanasi Kokkinakis is also in this section after he successfully qualified for his third ATP main draw in a row (Memphis, Delray Beach and now Acapulco).

David Ferrer bookends the draw and arrives in Acapulco off the back of his second ATP title of 2015.  In the final of Rio on Sunday, Ferrer produced an excellent performance to defeat Nadal’s semi-final slayer, Fabio Fognini in straight sets, 6-2 6-3.  There was a late wobble from Ferrer, but it was a very solid performance against an erratic Fognini.  There were some moments of magic from the Italian but unsurprisingly, this was not sustained.  Ferrer will have to adjust from clay to hard courts, but his draw should allow him time.  He opens against Igor Sijsling and is projected to meet Benjamin Becker in the quarter-finals.  Bernard Tomic, who has won at least two matches at every tournament he has played this year, is looming and unseeded, and takes on Adrian Mannarino in the first round.

1st Round Predictions: Nishikori d. Gonzalez in 2 sets, Dolgopolov d. Groth in 2 tight sets, Anderson d. Brown in 3 sets, Johnson d. Dodig in 3 sets, Giraldo d. Krajicek in 3 sets, Kokkinakis d. Lajovic in 3 sets, Tomic d. Mannarino in 3 sets and Ferrer d. Sijsling in 2 sets

Quarter-Final Predictions: Nishikori v Dolgopolov, Anderson v Troicki, Karlovic v Dimitrov and Tomic v Ferrer

Final Prediction: Nishikori d. Ferrer