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Tennis Channel All-Stars virtual tourney: Ashe Region predictions

By Brandon Daniels

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Rafael Nadal of Spain embraces Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the Rally for Relief Bushfire Appeal event at Rod Laver Arena on January 15, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Rafael Nadal of Spain embraces Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the Rally for Relief Bushfire Appeal event at Rod Laver Arena on January 15, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images) /
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Tennis Channel has revealed the Ashe Region of the men’s All-Star Championships region. The final 16 players have been officially ranked and are now ready for fans to vote.

Yesterday, we predicted the outcome of the Laver Region of Tennis Channel’s inaugural virtual tournament. Here, we’re going to break down the Ashe Region and predict who will come out on top.

WASHINGTON – AUGUST 04: Lleyton Hewitt of Australia returns a shot during his match against Arnaud Clement of France on day 5 of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on August 4, 2006 at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – AUGUST 04: Lleyton Hewitt of Australia returns a shot during his match against Arnaud Clement of France on day 5 of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on August 4, 2006 at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Ashe Region predictions: Round 1

Match #1: Rafael Nadal vs David Ferrer

It’s a shame Ferrer is being pitted against Nadal here in the first round, as I think he’d advance much further into the bracket if the tournament was done on a 1-16 seed basis instead of the current format. With this half of the bracket filled with young NextGen players and solid veterans, Ferrer could’ve made his way into the regional quarterfinals at least, giving him two victories before succumbing to the fiercer competition of the later rounds.

Unfortunately for him, he’s due to face Nadal in the first round and it won’t be pretty. Nadal has been regarded as the second-best player of all-time behind Federer. Ferrer, on the other hand, hasn’t won a major championship, and despite being one fo the best players of the last 25 years outside of the Big 3, it won’t be enough for him to move on. It’ll be a resounding victory for the King of Clay.

Winner: Nadal

Match #2: Nick Kyrgios vs Stefanos Tsitsipas

The young talent is residing on this half of the bracket, and it begins with two of the game’s current stars. Both Kyrgios and Tsitsipas are developing as players, and while they haven’t had the major championship success, they’re both still in the running to dominate the ATP Tour as the next generation.

This is going to be one of the closest matches of the region. The edge will go to Tsitsipas here, who has already captured the Nitto ATP Finals and the World #3 ranking. Kyrgios has had a few more years on tour but hasn’t produced the success in the majors that Tsitsipas has. His on-court antics is a very hot-cold aspect with fans; they either love him or hate him.

Winner: Tsitsipas

Match #3: Pete Sampras vs Pat Rafter

Both players were stars of the 90s and were out of their prime by the turn of the century, however, given that the tournament factors in players from 1995 to the present, Sampras and Rafter qualify here.

It’s difficult to go against Sampras here, who certainly has the advantage in terms of career success. Sampras held the record for most Grand Slams all-time with 14 before Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic all passed him. He also was the leader in most weeks spent at #1 before he was passed by Federer. At the time of his retirement, Sampras was regarded as the greatest player of all time. For Rafter, two major championship wins is a great achievement but simply cannot compare to Sampras.

Winner: Sampras

Match #4: Lleyton Hewitt vs Yevgeny Kafelnikov

These two had similar careers, with both winning 2 Grand Slams and achieving the #1 ranking at some point in their playing days. They’ve also won approximately the same titles (30-26, advantage Hewitt).

What really differs them is in their head-to-head history. Hewitt swept Kafelnikov 7-0 in the matches they’ve played. Furthermore, the Australian lost only two sets and held an 88% set win percentage (16 of 18 sets won). Overall, Hewitt has the advantage and should take the win. He’s more of a fan favorite on tour and should comfortably take the win here.

Winner: Hewitt

Match #5: Stan Wawrinka vs Marcos Baghdatis

Recency bias might play a small factor here, but overall, Wawrinka is the better player. This match will result in one of the bigger blowouts in the entire tournaments, and for good reason. Baghdatis struggled to break through to the final days of major tournaments, only reaching one major final in his long career (2006 Australian Open).

On the other hand, the late-bloomer Wawrinka turned pro a year before Baghdatis (2002) but didn’t win a major championship until 2014 at the Australian Open. He quickly took off on one of the best runs on tour, winning the 2015 French Open and the 2016 US Open. He hasn’t won a tournament since 2017, but the former World #3 is still consistently reaching the second week of major championships.

Wawrinka will have a comfortable win and move onto the next round.

Winner: Wawrinka

Match #6: Juan Martin Del Potro vs Milos Raonic

This matchup is very similar to the previous one. Del Potro has the tournament success, winning the 2009 US Open as part of his 20 titles and has also reached the finals of the same tournament in 2018. Raonic reached the 2016 Wimbledon finals but hasn’t broken through and won a big tournament yet in his career.

Del Potro is a true fan favorite and while Raonic has had a respectable career, it isn’t enough to overcome the Argentinian’s career success and popularity.

Winner: Del Potro 

Match #7: Dominic Thiem vs Alexander Zverev

The A-listers of the ATP NextGen, Thiem and Zverev have put together great careers so far. Thiem certainly holds the advantage as he’s made 3 Grand Slam finals (2018 RG, 2019 RG, 2020 AO). Zverev is the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals but in Grand Slams, he has struggled to show up consistently.

Thiem has already achieved the World #3 ranking (and is currently at that spot). He’s next in line to take over Paris at Roland Garros, as he’s already gone toe-to-toe with Nadal and performed well. Zverev has put together some solid performances but hasn’t broken through to compete with the Big 3. Thiem has; that’s the reason for his victory in this match here.

Winner: Thiem

Match #8: Novak Djokovic vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Djokovic is one of the best of all-time. If he were to compete in any other era of tennis, he’d be an absolute icon. While he still is today, he’s had to live under the overarching shadow of Nadal and Federer. With 17 major championships and 282 weeks spent at World #1, he’s easily one of the greatest of all-time.

Who knows what the fans will do in the tournament’s entirety. It’s very possible that fans could deliberately vote against Djokovic due to their love for Federer/Nadal. It probably won’t happen and Djokovic should have no issue moving on.

Winner: Djokovic 

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