Meles
Bionic Poster
I'm very pleased with hard courts in July the last few years with the Washington draws and Atlanta looks tasty in 2019 as well (The Isner Open will also have baby Isner(Opelka), FAA, Diego, the Demon, Tiafoe, Kecmanovic, Hurkacz-very nice IW/Miami swing, and grass fiend Humbert.) All players to watch for the upcoming US Open Series.
But, now we have some excellent clay fields incoming:
1. Thiem is attempting to vulture Kitzbuhel and Hamburg once again after two failed runs in recent years. In 2015 Thiem broke out in this part of the season winning UMAG and Gstaad back to back before Kohlschreiber stopped him in SF's at Kitzbuhel for this 3rd title in a row.
2. Ruud joins Thiem in those two fields (plus Bastad 1st week) and Ruud has had stellar clay stats in 2019 with high points won and even gave Federe a bit of a match at RG. The first Ruud v Thiem match may happen.
3. Garin won Houston and Munich taking down Zverev, plus another final in Sao Paulo. He jumps to Los Cabos on hard courts, but will play Bastad and Hamburg.
4. Peak Fognini (Monte Carlo) going to Los Cabos, but first UMAG and Hamburg (all 4 of these above clay talents will be in Hamburg)
5. The very new Davidovich Fokina (just turned 20) will be in Hamburg Qualifiers and maybe more (this guy is very bizarre with power groundies that complement a diabolical drop shot and lob game). Checkout Fokina playing Monfils at Estoril for a taste of the wizardry.
6. The week of Hamburg (a ATP 500). Gstaad will have Berrettini, Pella, Lajovic, & Sonego (so 4 interesting and newerer clay court players)
7. Struff, Djere (won Rio), Cecchinato, Cuevas, Gasquet, Jarry, Rublev, and Kohly round out a solid and interesting Hamburg field (what Thiem rolled through in 2015 was weak July clay era in comparison).
8. The first week of 2017 clay UMAG and Bastad have very interesting combinations of all of the above players.
9. Coric will only play UMAG, but perhaps a good result there will encourage him to wild card another July event plus perhaps the 2020 South American clay swing.
These are all new up and coming players for the most part with some like Pella probably hitting their clay peak. Quite interesting compared to the declining players populating the July clay seasons for years now with just a sprinkling of new talent. (Most players decline first on clay, so a best these are just old favorites with a known top level from past years.) This year is very, very different. Hamburg has been a travesty for years now and deserves a really good event after Madrid robbed it of Masters 1000 status. Many, many showdowns incoming that will influence the 2020 Spring Clay season.
But, now we have some excellent clay fields incoming:
1. Thiem is attempting to vulture Kitzbuhel and Hamburg once again after two failed runs in recent years. In 2015 Thiem broke out in this part of the season winning UMAG and Gstaad back to back before Kohlschreiber stopped him in SF's at Kitzbuhel for this 3rd title in a row.
2. Ruud joins Thiem in those two fields (plus Bastad 1st week) and Ruud has had stellar clay stats in 2019 with high points won and even gave Federe a bit of a match at RG. The first Ruud v Thiem match may happen.
3. Garin won Houston and Munich taking down Zverev, plus another final in Sao Paulo. He jumps to Los Cabos on hard courts, but will play Bastad and Hamburg.
4. Peak Fognini (Monte Carlo) going to Los Cabos, but first UMAG and Hamburg (all 4 of these above clay talents will be in Hamburg)
5. The very new Davidovich Fokina (just turned 20) will be in Hamburg Qualifiers and maybe more (this guy is very bizarre with power groundies that complement a diabolical drop shot and lob game). Checkout Fokina playing Monfils at Estoril for a taste of the wizardry.
6. The week of Hamburg (a ATP 500). Gstaad will have Berrettini, Pella, Lajovic, & Sonego (so 4 interesting and newerer clay court players)
7. Struff, Djere (won Rio), Cecchinato, Cuevas, Gasquet, Jarry, Rublev, and Kohly round out a solid and interesting Hamburg field (what Thiem rolled through in 2015 was weak July clay era in comparison).
8. The first week of 2017 clay UMAG and Bastad have very interesting combinations of all of the above players.
9. Coric will only play UMAG, but perhaps a good result there will encourage him to wild card another July event plus perhaps the 2020 South American clay swing.
These are all new up and coming players for the most part with some like Pella probably hitting their clay peak. Quite interesting compared to the declining players populating the July clay seasons for years now with just a sprinkling of new talent. (Most players decline first on clay, so a best these are just old favorites with a known top level from past years.) This year is very, very different. Hamburg has been a travesty for years now and deserves a really good event after Madrid robbed it of Masters 1000 status. Many, many showdowns incoming that will influence the 2020 Spring Clay season.