The ATP’s Nottingham tournament heads into the quarterfinals and so do our tennis picks. On Wednesday, we went 2-1 with our tennis picks to make it a productive day. Our lone loss on the day came in the form of Fernando Verdasco, who put forth a disappointing effort for us. He lost to Kevin Anderson in straight sets. We also had Gilles Mueller, who cashed in a hard-fought matchup with Mikhail Youzhny. The first two sets went to tiebreakers. Lastly, we ended up getting into the positives with Steve Johnson, who also had a tight match with Canadian Vasek Pospisil. Both sets needed tiebreakers but Johnson survived both to advance.
The players you will see on the Thursday card, with very few exceptions, are not likely to make the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in a few weeks. However, they can all use match play to give them the best possible chance of making the third or fourth round at Wimbledon, which would give them solid paychecks and a good return on their investment of effort in this short grass-court tennis season.
Marcos Baghdatis vs. Pablo Cuevas
There is a contradiction here. Cuevas is the second seed, which suggests that he should be favored in a quarterfinal over a lower-seeded player. He has reached the quarterfinals at this tournament, which shows that he’s playing reasonably well. Yet, he should not be picked to win. Baghdatis made the Wimbledon semifinals in 2006 and is the creative, versatile shot maker who is generally rewarded by a grass court. Grass is a surface made for shot makers, because the long and patient rallies of clay courts or slow hard courts generally decrease. The fear of an odd bounce of the ball on a worn patch of grass makes this surface a place for quick strikes and a willingness to take the initiative. Being able to do something special with the racquet, flicking shots from all corners of the court, gets players to a higher plateau on grass. Baghdatis can call upon more talents and skills particular to grass than Cuevas can. Even though Cuevas is the higher seed, Baghdatis gives every sign of being able to win the match. He beat Tomas Berdych a week ago on grass in Halle, Germany. He should be able to handle Cuevas, then. Go with Baghdatis for this Round of 16 showdown.
Pick: Baghdatis in three sets
Kevin Anderson vs. Steve Johnson
This should be a fascinating match, because Anderson is showing signs of a revival. He beat Fernando Verdasco, an established player of reasonable quality, to move forward and renew the thought that he might be a threat at Wimbledon. Remember that Anderson took a two-set lead on Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of Wimbledon a year ago. He is a huge-serving South African who can be very tough to handle. Johnson is playing well, too. He won his first-ever match over a top-10 opponent a week ago in Queen’s Club. Yet, Anderson has more natural talent, so in the end, he should beat Johnson in a very close match. Take Anderson with your tennis picks in this Round of 16 matchup.
Pick: Anderson in three sets
Dudi Sela vs. Andreas Seppi
This is a matchup in which both players are talented on grass. Sela does not sit back and play conservative tennis, and he could very well win this match if he can win a handful of key points in both sets. However, Seppi is a cool customer on grass. He made the Halle final a year ago before losing to Roger Federer. He has a solid backhand which holds up well on grass. He is a more talented player than Sela, and in the end, it’s very hard to bet against that reality. Sela is a quality veteran but this is the point in tournaments where he usually fades out and cedes to the better players. Seppi is the right choice for your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Seppi in straight sets
