The only member of the Top 10 in action this week is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is playing the BMW Open in Munich. There are three European clay court tournaments in the week leading up to Madrid and Rome, all ATP 250 events that are often overlooked by the top players. This is a good decision for everyone involved, except maybe the tournaments and sponsors, who depend on the big names to bring in revenue. For top players, the shot at winning a Masters like Madrid or Rome, or the a Grand Slam like the French Open is far more important that gaining a few points at a smaller event. The clay season is a grueling stretch. Madrid, Rome, and the French Open all occur within a five week period, leaving little room for rest or recovery. On the flip side, smaller tournaments are a great chance for some of the lower ranked players to pick up much needed points, or a good chance for higher ranked players to get back their form.
Estoril Open
Located in the scenic seaside town of Cascais, Portugal, this tournament always manages to grab one or two big names to headline its draw. In ’08 and ’10, they even managed to snag Roger Federer. This year the main attraction is the defending champion, Juan Martin del Potro. So far, del Potro is yet to play a clay event this season, so the decision to play Estoril could be considered a smart one. He won here last year, and considering the field only contains one other player in the Top 20, this is a great chance for him to get some much needed match play on the red dirt. Speaking of the No. 2 seed, Richard Gasquet could also use some match play. The Frenchman was forced to pull out of Monte Carlo after injuring his ankle playing soccer. It’s tough to see anyone taking the title away from del Potro this year, but look for two time champion Albert Montanes to trouble him. Gasquet will likely have to contend with Casablanca finalist, Albert Ramos.
BMW Open
It’s unclear why Tsonga felt he needed to sneak in another tournament the week before two important events, but he is the clear favorite to win this title. He made it to the quarters in Monte Carlo before losing to countryman Gilles Simon, but elected not to play last week, so perhaps he’s looking for a bit more clay practice before heading to Madrid. Tsonga has landed himself in a distinctly German quarter. In fact, the only other non-German in the quarter is Marcos Baghdatis. However, that bunch includes three wildcards and a qualifier, none of whom should trouble the Frenchman. There are some tough opponents in his half though, including last year’s champion, Nikolay Davydenko, Marin Cilic, and Mikhail Youzhny.
Serbia Open
They should really just go ahead and rename this the Djokovic Open based on the Djokovic family’s connection with the event; however, this year, it would be missing its namesake. Novak Djokovic, as well as fellow Serbs Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki, have all elected to skip the event this year. Don’t worry, the Serbia Open will not be completely without a Djokovic, as Marco Djokovic was awarded a wildcard. Unfortunately, he lost to Fillippo Volandri on Monday. Again, do not fear, you can get your Djokovic fill at the merchandise shop where you can still pick up shirts, hats, and pillows with Novak’s face on them, even though he’s not playing at the event… Anyway, the Serbia Open features the weakest draw of this week’s events. The No. 1 seed is Pablo Andujar, who recently won Casablanca and has actually been having quite a good year. Another title win here could do him some serious good. The only other really notable name in the draw is David Nalbandian, who has an excellent opportunity to pick up some more points. Look for those two to make the finals.
If none of these events interest you, I suggest you take a cue from the pros and rest up for the big events. For those of you in the US, there are a lot of early mornings coming in the next few weeks.
