My predictions for some of the hard hitting ATP and WTA players for the 2011 US Open. The Grand Slam is scheduled to run from August 29 until September 11.
All photos are uploaded and available as slideshow. Please click on the picture that says Slideshow to see the photos.
Ernests Gulbis – Quarterfinals, maybe even Semis
Ernests Gulbis, 22, Latvia (ranked #55 in the world)
In 2010 Gulbis won his first ATP Tour singles title in Delray Beach, defeating Ivo Karlović in the final. He won his second in July, 2011, by defeating Mardy Fish in the final of the 2011 Farmers Classic in Los Angeles.
Other career highlights: 4th round appearance at the 2007 US Open and a quarterfinal appearance at the 2008 French Open, as well as several other ATP World Tour semifinal appearances.
Gulbis' professional training in tennis began at the age of 12, when he was enrolled at the Niki Pilić Tennis Academy in Croatia. Beginning after Wimbledon 2011, Gulbis is being coached by Guillermo Cañas. Previously, he was coached by Hernán Gumy (Marat Safin's ex-coach), but their partnership ended due to Gumy's schedule; during that time, Darren Cahill served as Gulbis' consultant for several tournaments. Before Gumy, Ernests was coached by Karl Heinz Wetter and subsequently Nikola Pilić, the former professional Croatian tennis player and Croatian and German Davis Cup captain.
2011
Doha Quarterfinals (lost to Nadal)
Sidney Semifinals (lost to Simon)
Australian Open 1st round (lost to Becker)
Marseille 1st round (lost to Petzschner)
Dubai 2nd round (lost to Stakhovsky)
Indian Wells 3rd round (lost to Djokovic)
Miami 2nd round (lost to Berlocq)
Monte Carlo (clay) 2nd round (lost to Raonic)
Belgrade (clay) 1st round (lost to Marchenko)
Nice (clay) Quarterfinals (lost to Berdych)
London Queens (grass) 1st round (lost to Mannarino)
Wimbledon (grass) 1st round (lost to Tursunov)
Atlanta 1st round (lost to Blake)
Los Angeles Winner (Fish)
Canada 3rd round (lost to Fish)
Cincinnati 1st round (lost to Dodig)
Why am I so bullish on Gulbis? One word: Cañas. Guillermo Cañas,a retired Argentine professional tennis player, is back coaching Gulbis. His highest singles ranking was 8th (June 2005). He was known for being one of the fittest players on tour and I think he can instill such a work ethic into Gulbis. I saw Gulbis play in Los Angeles and I was thoroughly impressed. Despite that nasty 1stround loss in Cincinnati after grueling qualifying matches against Falla and Andreev, I think this US Open will show us the real Ernests Gulbis. And Cañas will bring him out for us. He's my sleeper player.
Agnieszka Radwańska - Quarterfinals
Agnieszka Radwańska, 22, Poland (ranked #12 in the world)
In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title when she won the Nordea Nordic Light Open. In 2008, she won three more singles titles: the Pattaya Women's Open, the Istanbul Cup, and the International Women's Open. Radwańska has also reached four Grand Slam Quarterfinals, becoming the first Polish woman in WTA to reach that far in a Grand Slam. On 24 May 2008, she became the first Polish female tennis player to surpass US$1 million in career prize money.
2011 (singles only)
Australian Open Quarterfinals (lost to Cljisters)
Dubai Quarterfinals (lost to Kuznetsova)
Quatar 1st round ((lost to Safrova)
Indian Wells 4th round (lost to Azarenka)
Miami Quarterfinals (lost to Zvonareva)
Stuttgart Semifinals (lost to Wozniacki)
Madrid (clay) 2nd round (lost to Gajdosova)
Rome (clay) 2nd round (lost to Vesnina)
French Open (clay) 4th round (lost to Sharapova)
Eastbourne (grass) Quarterfinals (lost to Kvitova)
Wimbledon (grass) 2nd round (lost to Cetkovska)
Stanford Quarterfinals (lost to Lisicki)
Carlsbad Winner (Zvonareva)
Toronto Semifinals (lost to Stosur)
New Haven 2nd round (lost to Cetkovska)
Everyone says Radwańska has mental issues. This may be, but I’m sure this very talented player can go deep into any tournament – as long as she is healthy. We saw her with a taped right shoulder in the Carlsbad Semis and Finals and that’s what worries me more. She often compensates her lack of attacking power and a relatively weak serve with her biggest assets: speed and smarts. But with a hurting shoulder, that would be tough against the world’s best power players. I’m giving her Quarterfinals tops. Too many strong players are ready this year to make life difficult for Radwańska.
Did you enjoy this article? Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the "Subscribe" button above.
Comments