This week in Stockholm we have an ATP 250 event but the field is so strong you could be forgiven for thinking this was a Masters 1000. The only thing missing here is the top four. Gael Monfils returns to defend his title having just recently returned to the tour after a lengthy lay off with injury and is currently seeking match fitness. Former champion Marcos Baghdatis is also in the field looking capture a second Stockholm crown. The interesting part of this event is that three players on the verge of London qualification are all in action so the reward for winning is great. This post will look at the main contenders for the title.
Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had a strong week last week before losing to Tomas Berdych and he will be looking to exact revenge on the Czech star this week. The Frenchman is having a strong season having run Djokovic close at the French Open and reached the semi final at Wimbledon. Not reaching the world finals would be a catastrophe for Tsonga but at this stage he is in a great position and his fate is in his own hands. The draw is tough for him but I think he should be able to reach a semi final at least but at this stage of the year he needs to do more. I like his chances this week and he is certainly a contender.
You've got to like second seed Tomas Berdych this week. He reached the semi final in Shanghai last week and lost only to a great performance from Djokovic. The Czech player is making nice progress in his game and I am confident he can be a threat in all the big events next season. He has some tricky players in his half but I think he is strong enough to negotiate his way through with relative ease. In the past Berdych would have suffered from a loss like he had last week and it would affect him for a week or two, sometimes longer but now he seems to be much stronger mentally and will be contesting at the business end next weekend.
Former champion Baghdatis is a player I think could have a great week. He is always capable of producing great tennis and his style could suit these courts very well. He has a tricky draw but he is more than capable of negotiating his way through. Whether he can beat someone like Tsonga deep in a tournament is the question and unfortunately for the Cypriot I don't think he can. He has the ability but he might lack the belief and mental stamina to actually win the title.
Third seed Nicolas Almagro was very disappointed last week when he lost to veteran Tommy Haas in the first round in Shanghai but he needs to recover from that and continue to play good tennis because he still has a really good chance of making it to London. He has played well this year and he would deserve his place at the finals if he could make it. This week represents a chance for him. It's in his own hands now as he could meet Tsonga and Berdych this week and he will know beating them both will leave him in a great position to qualify. I like his chances.
Other strong players this week who will could fall short are Mikhail Youzhny, who is choosing to play here rather than his home event, and Feliciano Lopez who has never won a tour event. I like the Belgian youngster David Goffin but I don't think he is quite ready for the step up to the highest level. Kevin Anderson and Lleyton Hewitt meet in the first and the winner of that has got the potential to go deep into the event if things go their way. Jarkko Nieminen is seeded here and he is a dangerous player when he finds form.
I am going to give my vote to Tomas Berdych this week. I think he is stepping up beyond just the top ten and it won't be long before he finds himself being considered as part of a top five or six. He has the ability to win the event here quite comfortably if he plays his best and I think that's what we'll see from him.
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