Beijing & Tokyo Tennis

This week the ATP Tour is in two of Asia's main cities. The World Tour 500 events in Tokyo and Beijing attract the very best players year upon year and this year is no different. After the US Open many players choose to take well earned breaks to recover for the remaining leg of the calendar. The two finalists from the US Open have both opted to make their returns to the courts, for the first time since that epic final, this week. Andy Murray is the top seed in Tokyo while Novak Djokovic is the top seed in Beijing. So getting straight into it here is a quick preview and prediction of this weeks event.
Starting with Tokyo and the favourite is obviously Andy Murray fresh from his US Open triumph and so far he's accounted for Lucas Lacko and Ivo Karlovic in straight sets. Neither were able to compete with the British number one but he should have a very tricky match with Stanislas Wawrinka in his quarter final. I think Murray will finish the year strongly but I don't think Murray will win this week because he hasn't had much match practice in the last few weeks and he is sure to be lacking intensity when he finds himself in a tricky situation. The end of the year has never been a strong part of Murray's game but he will be confident of doing well in the masters events and the end of year championships this season on the back of a strong Summer. If he does manage to beat Wawrinka he will face either Janko Tipsarevic or Milos Raonic in the semi finals. Juan Monaco is certainly the man in form and with a possible appearance in London on offer if he continues his winning ways he is going to be tough to beat. I see him being in a semi final against Thomas Berdych this week and that match will be high quality. Berdych will feel hard done by at the US Open as he would have beaten Murray in normal conditions but he has to put that to one side and focus on the end of the year and preparing for a fast start to next season. I think he will be very strong and will add to his list of titles before the year is out.
The main contenders for the title this week are Murray, Raonic, Tipsarevic, Monaco and Berdych. I think with the surface and conditions if Raonic gets on form then he could be victorious by Sunday. However, the main man for me this week is the Czech Thomas Berdych who has been brilliant for much of this season and I think he will only get stronger starting with a win here
.In Beijing it's slightly less competitive with half the seeds already eliminated. American Sam Querrey has had a great year and I think he might just continue that form in the coming weeks provided fitness doesn't catch up with him. If he gets on a run he could be a prominent player by the weekend. Richard Gasquet is becoming a much more consistent player in recent months and if he can continue that then there is no limit to where he can end up. He won a title last week and as 5th seed this week I give him a great chance of getting another this week. He is certainly among the top contenders and I think a semi final appearance is the least he will accomplish. Third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will benefit from David Ferrers withdrawal and reach a final this week. I think he has got the power and experience to get through the remainder of that half and I would be surprised to see him lose before the final. The favourite and rightly so is obviously the world number one Novak Djokovic and I can't see him losing. He has been at the top for long enough to know how to win when he's not at his best and I expect him to win the title here this week. Gasquet and Tsonga could challenge but Novak Djokovic will take the title.