The ATP tour makes the transition from hard courts to clay courts this week with two tournaments. Casablanca, Morocco plays host to the Grand Prix Hassan ii tournament while Houston, USA is the venue for the US Men's Clay Court Championships. I'm going to take a look at the players to watch out for this week and give my pick for the outright tournament winner in each tournament.
Starting with Houston and a number of well known players have committed to playing this event including top American stars Mardy Fish and John Isner. Only 28 players are in the main draw with eight seeds. 1st seed Fish, 2nd seed Isner, 3rd seed Feliciano Lopez and 4th seed Juan Monaco all receive a first round bye. Despite being first seed I don't think Fish is one of the main contenders this week. His form isn't good and his game has let him down a lot recently. The move to clay shouldn't be helpful for him although maybe the fact that the pressure is off him slightly might allow him express himself more. Fortunately the draw has been kind to him and I think he might make the semi finals with the toughest test before that likely to be against Ryan Harrison or Xavier Malisse. Much will depend on Harrison and how he copes with the clay this year and if he gets off to a good start and wins his first match or two he might be able to cause Fish problems. If he doesn't play well then Malisse is likely to face Fish and although Malisse is having a decent year so far I don't think he'd beat Mardy. Unfortunately for Fish I don't see anything better than a semi final place.
Feliciano Lopez will be looking to kick start his season on the clay as so far his only notable win was over Isner in Australia although Isner was suffering from fatigue after a lengthy match with Nalbandian the day before. He should make a quarter final as neither Paolo Lorenzi or Wayne Odesnik will be strong enough to take him down. After that it's likely he'll face Carlos Berlocq and although that will be a very tight encounter I think Berlocq will end Lopez's run. Berlocq himself has reason to be optimistic. He has strong clay court credentials and is going to be a difficult opponent for anyone he faces. A semi final showdown with John Isner would be a good match. Isner has been in great form lately and I think this year could be very big for the American. He has already broken into the top ten and has had big wins over Federer and Djokovic. He's coming off two good wins for USA in the Davis Cup last weekend over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon. I think he is a very strong contender and will overcome Berlocq in a semi final.
Argentinian Juan Monaco is certainly the best clay court player in the draw and will fancy his chances of winning another clay title this year after already won in Vina Del Mar. Kevin Anderson and Mardy Fish will be his main challengers in making the final but neither has the game to beat him on clay. Another thing in the Argentinians favour is the fact that he had a very good American hard court season and that will give him great confidence heading onto his favoured surface.
For me there is only two players to watch here, Isner and Monaco. Both are playing well but the edge is with Isner who has been far more impressive in the beginning of the season. The clay will suit Monaco more but with Isner having already beaten Federer on clay this year and having two wins on clay in Davis Cup last weekend the advantage is with the American. Isner is just over 2/1 to take the title with Monaco just over 3/1.
Casablanca is a much more open tournament. Again only 28 players are in the singles draw. Top seed Florian Mayer is unlikely to be a major threat at this event as he isn't a strong clay court player. He does have a lot of ability and although that will be enough to see him beat some players he won't be a challenger come finals weekend. A quarter final meeting with Albert Ramos is where he could end his tournament as Ramos has been a revelation in the past year and on clay he is likely to improve further. Ramos has got the potential to go all the way and I certainly think he will make a semi final appearance. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez may not be seeded but he is a very strong contender for the title here. He is a solid player and on his day can be a match for anyone.
Defending champion Pablo Andujar has got very strong credentials this year and is a contender to defend his title. The Spaniard is at home on the clay and his experience is likely to be a factor for him this week. Robin Haase might be his toughest early proposition but the Dutchman has been so poor lately he won't trouble Andujar. I'm interested to see how Aleksandr Dolgopolov does on the clay this year. His game is so unusual and the variations of spins and slices is too much for a lot of players. He got a wildcard into the tournament and I think he could be one to watch here. Flavio Cipolla is a potential pothole for him but I think he is going to go through to a semi final meeting with Andujar.
Picking a winner of this tournament is not easy. Dolgopolov is averaging 3/1 to win the title and has got the ability to go all the way. Backing the Ukranian would be a decent bet. Don't let the 4/1 price tempt you with Florian Mayer, I like the German and he can be very useful but I just don't see him being consistent enough to go all the way this week. Albert Ramos can be got at best price of 14/1 and that's worth an each way bet. Picking just one of these is tough but a tentative vote goes to Ramos.
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