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ATP Buenos Aires: Preview and Predictions

By Nate Slaymaker

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ATP Buenos Aires: Preview and Predictions

Rafael Nadal suffered a major loss at the Rio Open. It was the first time he lost in a clay court semifinal in his last 53 tries! Nadal is the top seed at the Argentina Open, but the field includes the man who took him down in Rio, Fabio Fognini, as the four seed. No.2 seed Tommy Robredo and No.3 seed Pablo Cuevas will have something to say about the outcome as well.

The field is full of all the players who prefer the red dirt courts to the quick hard courts of Dubai and Acapulco, so great clay court matches will abound.

For the entire ATP Buenos Aires draw, click here.

Predictions

No.1 seed Rafael Nadal’s Quarter

Nadal needs to find his mojo by being more aggressive, moving up to the baseline, and trusting his offense.

Nadal has not looked himself since winning the French Open last year. Injuries and apprehensive play have lead to a 14-7 record since his Grand Slam victory. Nadal needs to find his mojo by being more aggressive, moving up to the baseline, and trusting his offense. He has relied too heavily on his retrieval skills. Nadal will likely face Albert Montanes in the second round. That shouldn’t be a problem. The four players opposite Nadal in his section are in for some tough matches.

Paolo Lorenzi faces Thomaz Bellucci in a clay court specialist duel. Federico Delbonis, who played the hotly contested match versus Fognini in Rio, will take on No.8 seed Pablo Carreno Busta.

Prediction: Nadal

No.4 seed Fabio Fognini’s Quarter

Fognini is an enigma. Some weeks he looks like a top ten player and beats Rafael Nadal on clay and other weeks he looks like he’d rather be anywhere except on a tennis court. Actually, those fluctuations can happen from point to point. Fognini’s potential is incredibly high. It will be up to his mental fortitude to see who far he goes in Argentina.

There are not big names in Fognini’s quarter. He should have no problem beating No.6 seed Jiri Veseley and moving on to a rematch with Nadal in the semifinal. Then again, he may check out in the first round.

Prediction; Fognini

No.3 seed Pablo Cuevas Quarter

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After taking the first set and losing a tight second set against Nadal in the quarters of Rio, Cuevas visibly tanked in the last set. After slapping awful shots all over the court, Cuevas was booed off the court. And this after securing the title the week before in Sao Paulo. Where Cuevas’ head is will determine a lot for him this week.

Cuevas should face either Juan Monaco or No.5 seed Leonardo Mayer in the quarterfinal. Monaco’s experience and expertise on clay will see him through.

Prediction: Monaco

No.2 seed Tommy Robredo’s Quarter

Robredo will be looking to make up for an early exit last week. There are some veteran clay courters in his path. He will have to get past Jarkko Nieminen in the second round. On the other side. No.7 seed Pablo Andujar faces Nicolas Almagro. The winner should get past Horacio Zeballos to face Robredo. Almagro has the game to pull the upsets necessary to make the semis.

Prediction: Almagro

Semifinal Predictions: Nadal over Fognini, Almagro over Monaco

Final Prediction: Nadal over Almagro

Next: ATP Dubai Preview & Predictions

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