ATP Metz: Preview and Predictions

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The men are back in action in Metz and St. Petersburg this week, and I will be focusing on the event in Metz.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga headlines the draw and will be looking to avenge a shock second round exit at the US Open to Martin Klizan.  He is by far the strongest player in the draw so if his brain is fully engaged he should win the title.  Tsonga has a bye in the first round before a second round meeting with Edouard Roger-Vasselin or a qualifier awaits.  He is due to meet Jarkko Nieminen in the quarter-finals.

Philipp Kohlschreiber is the number two seed and will face a tricky second round match against either Xavier Malisse or Benoit Paire.  Kohlschreiber has had an excellent year and has finally started to realise his potential; in the last two Majors, he has reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the fourth round at the US Open.  His projected quarter-final opponent is Gael Monfils, who makes his long awaited return from injury having not played on the tour since back in May.

Marcel Granollers and Florian Mayer are the next two highest seeds; Granollers has had a consistent year of late and is due to meet Nikolay Davydenko in a quarter-final showdown.  Mayer, who had a great week with the German Davis Cup team over the weekend, is likely to face the resurgent, James Blake in the second round.

Final Prediction - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Florian Mayer

I believe Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will come through the top half, meanwhile the bottom half is more up for grabs.  I fancy Mayer to beat Kohlschreiber in an all German semi-final.

You can view my full predictions for Metz this week HERE

I shall now be blogging this week with all the updates from this weeks tournaments so please keep reading :-)