The ATP’s Nottingham tournament now flows into the round of 16 and so do our tennis picks. We’re coming of a rough day where we only cashed one of our three picks on the men’s side. That lone winner came in the form of Fernando Verdasco, who outlasted Victor Estrella in three sets. We lost with Stephane Robert, who fell in straight sets to Pablo Cuevas. We had higher hopes for him but he wasn’t able to make this competitive. Lastly, we stumbled with Ivan Dodig as well. Dodig was facing Kevin Anderson and while the match was close – three sets – Anderson was the one who advanced.
Remember that this tournament isn’t populated by any of the top stars on the ATP Tour, but it features a number of players in the third and fourth tiers who, if they can get hot at the All-England Club, can make a run into the fourth round and maybe the quarterfinals. This week in Nottingham just might give one or two players the push of momentum and confidence they need heading to Wimbledon. Some grass-court specialists are trying to develop their games and get match play after struggling (or barely playing, or both) during the clay season. Here are our tennis picks for the day.
Gilles Muller vs. Mikhail Youzhny
There is no question that Gilles Muller is a player who lives for grass season. He is unheard of on clay, a slow surface which demands a highly proficient baseline game. On grass, though, Muller’s brand of serve-and-volley tennis is useful and tactically reasonable. He has been able to threaten the best players in the world at Wimbledon over the years, not usually beating them but coming close enough to gain notice. Muller is a very tricky opponent on grass, a surface where his serve is lethal enough to carry him into tiebreakers. He lacks a consistent and powerful forehand, but he can hit a very low slice, which skids on the grass and is a very effective shot if hit well.
Youzhny is a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist. He is very sound as the user of a backhand slice. There’s plenty of finesse to his game, which is why he’s also reasonably comfortable on grass. Much like Muller, he’s not that powerful on clay, so this is the time of the season in which he tries to make a move. This match should have at least one tiebreaker if not two. Youzhny has the better all-around game, but Muller can lean on his serve and win enough of the key points to prevail in a tight one. Take him with your tennis picks.
Pick: Muller in three sets
Kevin Anderson vs. Fernando Verdasco
This should be a fascinating match, in that Anderson almost beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year, but is trying to build back his game after being hammered by injuries in the fall and winter. Anderson has become so desperate that he’s played a number of challenger circuit events this year. He has felt the need to keep playing tennis so that he can get back into shape after all of his injury setbacks. In Nottingham, on grass, Anderson is back in a tournament and on a surface where he can do some real damage.
However, Anderson has not yet won the kind of match in his 2016 comeback which suggests that he’s ready to be a contender at Wimbledon. Until that moment occurs, his opponent – in this case, Verdasco – should be viewed as the likely winner.
Pick: Verdasco in three sets
Vasek Pospisil vs. Steve Johnson
This is a matchup in which Johnson, having scored his first top-10 win last week over Richard Gasquet, will take the court with more confidence and focus. That should be more than enough to lift Johnson, an American, over his Canadian opponent, Mr. Pospisil, who has struggled this year. At one point in time, it looked like Pospisil was a player on the rise but he’s plateaued and maybe even regressed. We’ll take a Johnson with our tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Johnson in straight sets
