Barely a week after the US Open climaxed in a thrilling final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, the WTA juggernaut moves onto the first phase of its Asian swing. This week, there are International-level tournaments taking place in Guangzhou, China and Seoul, South Korea. Both events offer an opportunity for lower-ranked players to accumulate some points and prize money, as well as for some more high-profile stars to regain some of their lost form.

 One of those stars is Caroline Wozniacki, who enters Seoul as the top seed. Wozniacki was criticised throughout 2011 for playing too many “lesser” events such as this, accused of trying to rack up ranking points in smaller tournaments to make up for underwhelming performances in the grand slams. In 2012, however, Wozniacki has participated in only one International event, and that was in her home town of Copenhagen, the de facto “Wozniacki Open”. She has had a very difficult season, spinning from the top of the rankings to 11th, with many disappointing losses along the way.

Ironically, as the 2012 season enters the home straight, Wozniacki might be advised to play in as many tournaments as she can. For the first time since 2008, it is highly possible that the Dane will not make it to the end-of-year championships. This would be a further blow to her confidence, which has been plummeting throughout the year. She still has a chance to make it to the elite eight-player event in Istanbul, but she needs to start winning, starting in Seoul.

 For a supposedly smaller event, the draw features a lot of very accomplished players, and the top eight seeds are all in the top 30. Wozniacki will begin her campaign against the young Dutch player, Arantxa Rus. She will be the heavy favourite in that match, and would also be tipped to ease through a second round clash against either a qualifier or Alexandra Cadentu of Romania. In the quarter-finals, the competition will become noticeably stiffer, with 28th-ranked Klara Zakopalova her likely opponent. The Czech is nearing the end of her career, but is still capable of causing huge problems for the top players, as seen in her three-set battle at the French Open against Maria Sharapova.

 Should Wozniacki make it to the last four, and should results follow the seedings, she would encounter Russian veteran Nadia Petrova, another player who pushed Sharapova to the limit in the US Open. Wozniacki has won their last four meetings, but it has been a long time since their rankings were a mere seven spaces apart.

The lower half of the draw is also full of talented and formidable players, including rising American Varvara Lepchenko and second-seeded Maria Kirilenko. Somewhat ominously from Wozniacki’s point of view, her potential opponents in the final could be any one of three players who have handed her tough losses this year: Julia Georges, Kaia Kanepi and Tamira Paszek.

 So, for Wozniacki, victory in the Korea Open is far from a foregone conclusion. But if she can summon her best tennis, the event could well serve as a late turning-point for the Dane as she bids to finish her season on a high. Winning the title in Seoul would not only do wonders for her confidence, rake in useful ranking points and improve her chances of making it to the marquee Istanbul championships; it would also guarantee her a back-up place in the Tournament of Champions in Sofia. There is a lot to play for.

article source:http://www.10sballs.com/2012/09/18/tournament-preview-kdb-korea-open-seoul-wozniacki-seeks-to-rescue-a-disappointing-season/

The ATP World Tour returns to Europe after the US Open, this time to the French indoor hard courts of Metz. Since Metz returned to the tennis circuit in 2003 winners have included world no. 2 Novak Djokovic and Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga heads the field here as top seed and has a bye to the second round. Edouard Roger-Vasselin takes on a fellow countryman in qualifier Clement Reix. Having disappointed so much at the US Open, Tsonga will be looking to redeem himself here and the fast court should certainly be to his liking. Fresh off winning his countries decisive rubber in Davis Cup action at the weekend, Cedrik Marcel Stebeshould be full of confidence when he takes on Jesse Levine. Levine is an accomplished hard court player at challenger level but has struggled to make the step up to the main tour. His devastating defeat in New York is unlikely to fill him with confidence either. One of two German lucky losers, Michael Berrer will be happy with his draw here. He takes on Jan Hajek whose best performances have been on clay – Hajek is 0-8 at ATP level in the past two years on all types of hard courts.

In what should be a display of massive serving, big men Kenny de Schepper and Ivo Karlovic will duke it out for an opportunity to take on the third seed Marcel Granollers. Expect tie breaks here! Wildcard Paul Henri-Mathieu finally broke back into the top 100 after making the final of Petange challenger. His opponent will be Gilles Muller who, as top seed, was a shock early exit in the same tournament. Mischa Zverev‘s reward for qualifying is a tie with eighth seed/wildcard Nikolay Davydenko. The pair met twice in late 2010 and split matches. While Davydenko hasn’t had a great season on the whole, he did impress on one of his previous indoor tournaments this year. He managed to take a set against Roger Federer at Rotterdam and had numerous break opportunities in the final set that he was unable to convert.

After some disappointing defeats since London, Andreas Seppi will be happy to have got some wins under his belt in Davis Cup action. His hard court form, indoor or outdoor, hasn’t been great though and this could be an opportunity for Ivan Dodig to spring a shock. He will have been disappointed to lose to eventual Petange winner Tobias Kamke last week having had a break lead in the final set but did show some promising play. Another French qualifier in Vincent Millot will be hoping to move through to the next round when he faces Dutchman Igor Sijsling. Sijsling impressed against David Ferrer at the US Open and was unfortunate not to take an epic tiebreaker that eventually won the match for Ferrer. After picking up two Davis Cup victories for Germany, Florian Mayer will be hoping to keep his winning run going but has a potentially dangerous opponent in James Blake. While not as consistent these days, the American’s explosive hitting can still trouble many. It was there for all to see at the US Open when Blake blew Spaniard Marcel Granollers off the court.

After a long layoff from injury Gael Monfils finally returns to the tour but has a tough opening fixture. Despite his small stature, Olivier Rochus has often troubled Monfils – as shown by their 3-3 record. They have not played since 2010 but Monfils was successful on that occasion on the indoor courts of Stockholm.Nicolas Mahut is always a danger on fast surfaces and should be able to defeat lucky loser Daniel Brands. Both players most recently had disappointing results in the US Open, Mahut lost from two sets up against Philipp Petzschner while Daniel Brands almost came back from two sets down to defeat Marin Cilic but couldn’t handle the pressure late on, allowing the Croatian to progress. Finally, Benoit Paire has a chance for revenge against Philipp Kohlschreiber for his US Open defeat. Paire served for the match in the fifth in a rollercoaster match but was unable to convert and lost in the tie break. The unpredictable Frenchman must however first defeat Xavier Malisse.

Finals Prediction – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeats Florian Mayer

article source:http://www.stevegtennis.com/2012/09/atp-metz-draw-preview-and-analysis/

Photo: APCzech Republic's Tomas Berdych celebrates at the end of a Davis Cup semifinal tennis match against Argentina's Carlos Berlocq in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. Berdych won 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych duly won their singles with little fuss and lined up Spain and the Czech Republic for the Davis Cup final in November.

The No. 5-ranked Ferrer and No. 7 Berdych ensured their teams secured 3-1 semifinal victories with a match to spare. Spain won a 24th straight home tie since 2000 in beating the United States in Gijon, and the Czechs handed Argentina in Buenos Aires its first home loss on clay since 1998.

The Czechs will host their first cup final since 1980, when they won their only cup as the former Czechoslovakia. It's set for Nov. 16-18. "This is going to be the highlight of my career up until now," Berdych said. "It is going to be very difficult playing against Spain, the champion, but at least we are lucky to be playing at home."

Spain, the team of the century so far, will be bidding for its fourth title in five years, among them a 5-0 sweep of the Czechs in the 2009 final in Barcelona. Ferrer beat John Isner 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, his speed and defense inducing 70 unforced errors from Isner, who took out his frustration by slamming and kicking his racket. Ferrer has won all 16 of his cup singles on clay.

"(Ferrer's) a guy who never gives up, he's a gladiator and he knows the way he needs to play on clay, the way he needs to move and hit the ball," Spain captain Alex Corretja said. "It's been a wonderful year and now we want to go for more, of course."

Ferrer, in the absence of the unavailable Rafael Nadal, will have a chance to lead Spain to a fourth Davis Cup title in his career. "This is the competition in which I have felt the most emotions in. I'm a team player," he said. "I don't know how much longer my career will last so I want to do my best possible in the Davis Cup. Alex Corretja motivated me to play this season."

In Buenos Aires, Berdych accounted for cup debutant Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. It's the sixth time in the cup that Berdych has played three matches in a tie and the third time he's won all three. He also did it against Serbia in the quarterfinals in April.

"To win three points in three days — especially in this place — I just feel great," Berdych said. Berdych's achievement was made easier when Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro aggravated his left wrist injury in winning his Friday singles and had to withdraw before his scheduled match with Berdych.

Meanwhile, in the playoffs to make next year's World Group, Germany came from 2-1 down to beat Australia 3-2 in Hamburg and keep the Aussies in zonal play for a sixth straight year. Brazil earned promotion after nine years away by beating Russia, which was demoted for the first time in 19 years. Brazil avenged its loss to Russia, the 2002 and 2006 champion, in the same stage a year ago.

Japan's first appearance in the World Group after 26 years was brief after Israel won 3-2 in Tokyo, and the Roger Federer-led Switzerland was the only other team aside from Israel to win away, beating the Netherlands 3-2 in Amsterdam.

Sweden will lose its record of most World Group appearances (31) to the U.S. and Czech Republic after being swept by Belgium, Italy beat Chile 4-1 to stay up, Canada defeated South Africa, and Kazakhstan topped Uzbekistan 3-1.

 article source: http://www.mail.com/int/sports/tennis/1566480-spain-czechs-set-up-davis-cup-final-clash-nov.html#.1258-stage-set1-5