Monday 25 February 2013

ATP/WTA Acapulco: Preview and Predictions

The final tournament this week is a joint event in Acapulco, which sees the end of the Latin America swing for the men with the best draw of the lot.

ATP Acapulco
David Ferrer
Rafael Nadal plays his third tournament on his comeback and could meet his toughest opponent yet in David Ferrer.  Ferrer is the top seed and opens against Albert Ramos.  He won in Buenos Aires last week and could meet his final opponent, Stanislas Wawrinka in the semi-finals; Wawrinka could meet David Nalbandian in the second round.  Nadal is the number two seed and has a very favourable draw with the out-of-form, Thomasz Bellucci his first possible seed in the quarter-finals. Nicolas Almagro could await in the semi-finals, which would be Nadal's highest ranked test to date. Horacio Zeballos is in Almagro's quarter, but he has not won a match since beating Nadal in the Vina del Mar final.
1st Round Predictions - Ferrer to beat Ramos in 2 tight sets, Lorenzi to beat Paire in 3 sets, Wawrinka to beat Fognini in 2 sets and Kuznetsov to beat Bellucci in 3 sets

QF Predictions - Ferrer/Lorenzi, Wawrinka/Giraldo, Berlocq/Almagro and Mayer/Nadal

Final Prediction - Ferrer d. Nadal

WTA Acapulco
Sara Errani
The women's draw is to be honest, pretty lacklustre.  Sara Errani, who continues to defy logic with her heavy schedule, will transfer from the fast courts of Dubai to the clay courts of Brazil.  Her recent form would suggest she is the clear favourite to take the title.  The highest seed she could meet before the final is Alize Cornet, but it is likely that the winner of a first round match between Lourdes Domingues Lino and Flavia Pennetta will go deep in the draw.  In the bottom half, Carla Suarez Navarro and Irina-Camelia Begu are the highest seeds, but watch out for the number 8 seed Romina Oprandi, who is my tip for the final.

1st Round Predictions - Errani to beat Cadantu in 2 sets, Bertens to beat Rus in 2 sets, Dominguez Lino to beat Pennetta in 3 long sets and Suarez Navarro to beat Johansson in 2 sets

QF Predictions - Errani/Bertens, Cornet/Dominguez Lino, Oprandi/Minella and Karatantcheva/Suarez Navarro

Final Prediction - Errani d. Oprandi

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