Portugal Open

The Portugal Open takes place in Oeiras, formerly Estoril, this week with a joint event containing both a men's draw and a women's draw. It's one of only four tournaments (Roland Garros, Rome, Madrid) in the European clay court swing that has both men and women in the same week. So let's have a look at who the players to watch in both draws are this week.
     In the men's event the top seed and favourite is David Ferrer after the Spaniard accepted a wildcard into the event following a disappointing loss in the opening round of Barcelona last week.
Ferrer lost his opening match on clay last year before going on to show his qualities in the remaining events of the clay court season. I expect him to do something similar this year. Although we do have a strong field this week, I don't see anyone here who is at the level Ferrer is especially on a clay court. However, if he is as sluggish as he was last week then he will be found out by someone early on. There are some tricky players in his section (Benoit Paire, Edouard and Roger-Vasselin) and he will need to be playing at a high level.
     For me the second seed here has been one of the best players this year. Stanislas Wawrinka has had some memorable matches this year and I think he will break the top ten this year, if he carries on in this form. He almost beat Djokovic in Melbourne, came close to beating Federer in Indian Wells and almost won the title in Buenos Aires. He's always been good on clay, reaching the Rome final a few years back, and has had some great wins this year on the dirt, including straight sets wins over Nicolas Almagro and Andy Murray. I see him being a real threat this week.
     There are three other players I see capable of winning this week. Fabio Fognini has been super this year so far and now that he is on his favoured surface he can express himself more and get some big wins. Since losing in the opening round of Sao Paolo he has been as good as anyone on the tour. The only players to beat him in his last five tournaments are Djokovic, twice, and Ferrer, three times. He could be dangerous this week. Two players on a collision course this week are Andreas Seppi and Tommy Robredo. Seppi has been disappointing in his last few matches but he is too good a player for that to continue. I did fancy him as a contender before I saw the draw but with Robredo in there, I'm not sure anymore.
     Robredo has been rolling back the years this season with some sublime tennis. He reached the semi final in Buenos Aires before winning the title in Casablanca. In Barcelona this week, he beat Tomas Berdych before losing a very close match with Milos Raonic in the quarter final. He is playing some great tennis and now that he is fit again he can sustain his level throughout a full week. It will be interesting to see how he copes with back to back weeks.
      I think Ferrer will get the win this week, simply because he needs to. With Federer struggling and Murray very vulnerable on clay, Ferrer could see himself as the third best on the surface this year. Depending on the draw at the French Open, Ferrer could find himself in the final. With Djokovic and Nadal streets ahead it's unlikely he can win the French but making a final would at least give him a chance. To do that he needs to hit form soon and winning this week would be the perfect way to prepare for some big weeks ahead. Watch our for Wawrinka to be his biggest challenge.
      The women's draw is much more difficult to call. The top seed is Marion Bartoli but I'm not sure she has the form or consistency to win it. In fact, I think Shuai Peng could beat her in the opening round. Kiki Bertens is her second round opponent and she has some good clay court qualities which make her dangerous. Dominika Cibulkova is the second seed and a player who could go all the way here. She has an aggressive style but if she is off form she can be beaten. Laura Robson is there but I don't think she is good enough to go deep. Kaia Kanepi is the defending champion and she could be one to watch this week if she can rediscover the form she has last year.
       The first round clash between Francesca Schiavone and Lourdes Dominguez Lino is a mouth watering one. Both players met in the final of Marrakech today where Schiavone won easily. The winner of that one could be a threat this week. Elena Vesnina and Julia Goerges are also big threats this week. The two players I'm looking at are Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Kuznetsova is a great clay court player and former world number two. She is back to full fitness now and will compete with the best at the majors. I like her chances of going deep this week and at least reaching the semi final.
     Payluchenkova is now being coached by Martina Hingis who is aiming to bring consistency to the young Russian's game. After winning the title in Monterrey, confidence will be high and this week provides a chance to see what changes Hingis has made to her game. I said at the start of the year that this girl was one to watch this year and I feel her results have justified that statement. If she can stay consistent this week then she will win the title. If not, then I think Kuznetsova could be one to sneak in and take it. 

ATP Barcelona & Budapest

This week the ATP Tour moves to Barcelona for an ATP 500 event and Budapest for an ATP 250 event. There is a number of high quality players in both fields but we're going to narrow it down to see who the dangers are.
     Starting in Budapest and although we don't have any of the top ten playing. Janko Tipsarevic is the top seed but he's been off form lately so I don't think he will contend here. Players like Horacio Zeballos and Santiago Giraldo are early opponents for him and I wouldn't be surprised if either of those men took him out. Mikhail Youzhny is fourth seed but I'm not convinced he has the consistency to go all the way.
     I've been very impressed with Gilles Simon this season. He might not be winning titles every week but he has played some great tennis. I like his chances of at least a semi final appearance this week. He is going for his fourth title here and has only lost once so he has to be considered a strong favourite. Jarkko Nieminen is a second round opponent for him and that could go either way. Nieminen has also been impressive this year and if he could shock Simon then he could have a very good week.
     There are two other players I'm really liking this week. David Goffin is a young Belgian who burst on to the scene last year during the clay court season. He is a bit inconsistent but I think he is going to be a strong player in the coming months. He has a tough draw but he could be a potential dark horse this week. My favourite this week is Andreas Seppi. The Italian has impressed me a lot since last Summer despite not always having strong results. I think he could be the one to watch this week.
      In Barcelona we should have a very interesting week. Rafa Nadal has been in scintillating form since his return from injury in which time he won two clay court titles and the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. Last week he lost for the first time in eight years at Monte Carlo against Novak Djokovic. After watching that game I don't think Nadal is in a bad place with his game. The courts were wet and that just allowed Djokovic to take a further step up the court and he could play very aggressively from there. I don't see anybody else in the game who can possibly play that kind of style against Nadal and be successful and for that reason Nadal will win this week.
      David Ferrer is a very talented clay court player and has a good record here which includes four final losses to Nadal. I see him possibly being in the final but I don't see him beating Rafa, especially after the 6-0 6-2 loss he suffered a few weeks ago against Nadal. Milos Raonic lost a thrilling match to Ferrer last week and I think he could have another good week this year. Tomas Berdych has been brilliant this season and he could be a possible contender but again I'm not sure he could beat Rafa on clay. Grigor Dimitrov impressed in Monte Carlo last week and will be looking to build on that this week but it remains to be seen if he has the consistency.
      So this week will see two events on the clay and I have given a number of contenders for both events. In Barcelona I see Nadal at 2/5 as a certain winner and I think Ferrer e/w at 5/1 is the best bet outside of backing Rafa. In Budapest, I''m torn between two players. Gilles Simon has the history in Romania to suggest he can win another title but Seppi has impressed me a lot and is very capable of beating Simon. My heart says Seppi at 13/2 but I am going to follow my head and go Simon at 5/1.