My most difficult group to predict for round 16

[ctbmar]

My most difficult round of 16 to predict are the players I have chosen in this group of 16.

My picks for the 2nd round:-
Blake
Kunitsyn
Garcia-Lopez
Robredo

For the 3rd round, I am torn between these 4 players above.
Blake is not having a good record for his last few/several matches, losing in many 1st rounds in the Majors, Masters Series, etc. But Blake seems to do better at the US Open due to the home crowd support and his group of rowdy fans.

Kunitsyn is a player that can upset any top 30 players and he can be quite dangerous. Although his head-to-head against Blake is 1-2, but his sole win is their latest encounter when he knocked out James Blake at Cincinnati, so I am not sure whether Kunitsyn can upset James Blake again since this match is still fresh in both these players' minds.

Garcia-Lopez is a player that has beaten Verdasco, Youzhny, Lopez and Wawrinka in the latter half of this year. He also had a 4-6, 4-6 close loss to Andy Murray at Queens, so he is capable of upsetting Robredo.

Robredo, on the other hand has a 2-0 Head-to-Head vs Garcia-Lopez. However, Robredo has been losing 1st round and 2nd round matches for the last 4 to 5 tournaments, against players ranked 46 to 103. Since Garcia-Lopez is currently ranked 49 and playing good tennis, it's hard to predict whether Robredo can overcome Garcia-Lopez in the 2nd round.

What is your prediction for the 3rd round matches, based on this group?
Who do you think will advance among these 4 players to meet Federer in the round of 16?

 

[Tobias Fünke]

I have no idea. Flip a coin on any of these.

 

[GPG]

it was hard that part, but I did this at least

 

[ctbmar]

Thanks GPG. I am going with Kunitsyn to beat Rochus. 76.3% of the people chose Kunitsyn, but you never know.

Blake has a 4-2 Head to Head vs Robredo. But their last match was in 2007.

How did you add an image/photo/picture? I also "snapped" a photo of my picks for this group.

As of now, I am going with Blake vs Kunitsyn (2nd round). And Garcia-Lopez vs Robredo (2nd round). Then it will be Blake vs Robredo (3rd round). I am choosing Blake to beat Robredo and face Federer in the round of 16 (4th round).
I don't dare take a risk that Kunitsyn will upset Blake and Garcia Lopez will upset Robredo. Better follow the crowd and put a higher seed for the 4th round encounter with Federer (Blake 50.8%, Robredo 41%, Garcia Lopez 4.8%, Kunitsyn 2.7%).

 

[grafselesfan]

Robredo will probably beat Blake if they play in the 4th round. Robredo is mediocre and his career and abilities have already plateaued, but Blake is seemingly clearly past his prime now and has regressed bigtime with age this year.

 

[ctbmar]

Thanks grafselesfan for your comment. I also know Blake is playing badly now since he is getting older. But how about the crowd factor, his J-box fans, US crowd cheering him on? Any positive effect on his play? Cincinnati was also played in the USA and Blake lost early. But somehow Blake has always reached at least the 3rd or 4th round at the previous US Open(s) before losing to a hot player like Roger. I love to watch Blake vs Federer, where Blake keeps blasting all the balls and Roger can alternate blasting back all the balls or transit towards the net and put away volleys. Somehow, Roger always plays his "A" game against Blake except at the Olympics.

 

[GPG]

Thanks GPG. I am going with Kunitsyn to beat Rochus. 76.3% of the people chose Kunitsyn, but you never know.

Blake has a 4-2 Head to Head vs Robredo. But their last match was in 2007.

How did you add an image/photo/picture? I also "snapped" a photo of my picks for this group.

As of now, I am going with Blake vs Kunitsyn (2nd round). And Garcia-Lopez vs Robredo (2nd round). Then it will be Blake vs Robredo (3rd round). I am choosing Blake to beat Robredo and face Federer in the round of 16 (4th round).
I don't dare take a risk that Kunitsyn will upset Blake and Garcia Lopez will upset Robredo. Better follow the crowd and put a higher seed for the 4th round encounter with Federer (Blake 50.8%, Robredo 41%, Garcia Lopez 4.8%, Kunitsyn 2.7%).

you're welcome ctbmar.

To add the pic, I just used the Prt Scrn key, then paste with paint, save file and then upload to tinypic.com


For the possible Blake v/s Robredo Match, I would go with Tommy because he has done better over the apst few months than Blake, who hasn't won any important match on the last few months

 

[grafselesfan]

Thanks grafselesfan for your comment. I also know Blake is playing badly now since he is getting older. But how about the crowd factor, his J-box fans, US crowd cheering him on? Any positive effect on his play? Cincinnati was also played in the USA and Blake lost early. But somehow Blake has always reached at least the 3rd or 4th round at the previous US Open(s) before losing to a hot player like Roger. I love to watch Blake vs Federer, where Blake keeps blasting all the balls and Roger can alternate blasting back all the balls or transit towards the net and put away volleys. Somehow, Roger always plays his "A" game against Blake except at the Olympics.

Hopefully it will have a positive effect on his clay. Blake at his best should definitely beat the predictable and boring Robredo, but he seems to have lost something this year. Natural in tennis at his age, I think forget he is now 29 years old since he was a late bloomer. However hopefully the crowd and atmosphere in New York inspires him to some of his old form to post a good tournament in the twilights of his career.

I agree the Federer-Blake matches are usually very high quality. Federer likes playing Blake so isnt prone to choking and sloppy concentration like he is vs some players who make him uncomfortable mentally. Blake often plays his best tennis vs Roger but isnt good enough to win or hardly ever win a set, since as you said Roger most times seems to play great when they play too.

 

[ctbmar]

Blake has been losing 4 straight matches since a final in Queens. He has lost in the 1st round and 2nd round for most of the tournaments this year. Now I am worried whether he can beat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in the 1st round, who has beaten Blake in their only meeting in New Haven 2006. But if Blake has been losing so many times, he should be quite fresh physically, but mentally he should be downcast. Yeah, Robredo is a little more consistent than Blake, but Robredo is also losing his fair share of matches recently.

 

[GPG]

it was hard that part, but I did this at least

So far, I have in this section my 4 predictions right! I'm just hoping that Rochus is an easy task to blake so he'll end up meeting tommy robredo in the 3rd round

 

[rnrockz1]

Im in the top 1000 in USO Picks right now..

 

[GPG]

Well, everything went as I predicted = D , now I'm 41st out of like 19500