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By Chris Oddo | Monday February 13, 2017

And away we go! The third week of February will feature the first 500-level ATP event of the season as well as a stacked WTA Premier event in Doha and 250’s in Buenos Aires and Memphis.

Let’s break ‘em down, shall we?

Draws:

Rotterdam
Doha
Argentina
Memphis


No Nadal and Wawrinka, but Still Plenty of Top Talent in Rotterdam

All of the seeds are Top 20 players, and this 32-player draw is loaded with big matches from the get-go. No.2-seeded Dominic Thiem will square off with last week’s titlist in Montpellier, Alexander Zverev, while Borna Coric will look to get his season on track with a first-round matchup against Russia’s Karen Khachanov. Marin Cilic is the top seed, but it truly feels like any of the seeds have a shot to win this title.


Can No.5-seeded Grigor Dimitrov keep his hot streak rolling? He’s 14-1 with two titles on the season already. He’ll face Mischa Zverev in his opener, and if he wins Denis Istomin is looming.

Other names to watch: No.3-seeded David Goffin; No.6-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who faces Greek Wild Card Stefanos Tsitsipas, a highly touted former World No.1 junior. No.8-seeded Lucas Pouille, defending champion Martin Klizan, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon are also in the draw.

WTA Doha

Five of the WTA’s top seven players will vie for the title at the Qatar Total Open, a tournament that serves as a highly prestigious lead-in to the Indian Wells-Miami double of March. Doha may be smaller than Indian Wells (32 draw) but it definitely packs a punch.

World No.1 Angelique Kerber will look to get her season on track at Doha, and at this point it’s going to take some effort from the German. She’s gone just 4-3 on the season and has lost all three matches against the Top 50. Kerber could face Daria Kasatkina, who beat her in Sydney, in her second match.


In the lower half of the draw, No.2-seeded Karolina Pliskova and No.5-seeded Garbine Muguruza are slated to meet in the quarterfinals. Muguruza has now lost five in a row to Pliskova after this weekend’s Fed Cup tie in Ostrava.

Other Names to Watch:

Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic (who qualified), No.3-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, the always fiery Yulia Putintseva and No.7-seeded Timea Bacsinszky.

Nishikori Set to Play in Argentina

World No.5 Kei Nishikori is the Argentina Open’s only Top 10 player, but there’s a pretty good cast of dirtballers in the draw to ring in the second week of the Golden Swing in South America.

World No.20 Pablo Cuevas will claim the second seed and David Ferrer will be seeded third, but don’t sleep on what could be an entertaining first-rounder between Janko Tipsarevic and Alexandr Dolgopolov. Tipsarevic is back in the Top 100 this week for the first time since 2013. Another good first-rounder? Italy’s Fabio Fognini, seeded seventh, will take on Tommy Robredo, who is entered with a provisional ranking.

Ferrer is a three-time champion at Buenos Aires, and Robredo claimed the title in 2009, which began a run of seven consecutive Spanish champions that was ended by Dominic Thiem last season.

Memphis has an American vibe

What’s more American than Memphis barbeque? How about the Memphis Open, where 10 Americans, three of them Wild Cards, will play the Memphis Open. The tournament hasn’t had the same cachet since it went from a 500 to a 250, but it’s still held at a really cool, intimate venue, and it provides a great opportunity for young Americans to make their mark. Unless the old Americans (John Isner is the No.2 seed, Sam Querrey is No.3 and Steve Johnson is No.4) get in their way.

Last year Taylor Fritz broke out in a big way, reaching the final as an 18-year-old before being knocked off by four-time champion Kei Nishikori.

Other Players to Watch

Top-seeded Ivo Karlovic could be devastating on the indoor hard. Could Wild Card Frances Tiafoe be this year’s Taylor Fritz? Dustin Brown, Bernard Tomic and Steve Darcis will give the event some international flavor.

 

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