David Ferrer has been handed what is probably the toughest start in his quest to claim a fourth Valencia crown, as he could face the unpredictable Nick Kyrgios in the second round.
Ferrer enjoys a bye in round one, but with Kyrgios expected to get past his qualifier opponent in the first round, could set up a blockbuster encounter between a experienced veteran and a explosive youngster. Intriguingly, the pair have not met on tour in more than two years, when Ferrer dismissed a teenager Kyrgios in the US Open. This potential match sees a more experienced Kyrgios, with wins over Nadal and Federer under his belt, arrive in Valencia.
The other seeds who benefit from a first-round bye are Feliciano Lopez, Bernard Tomic, and Fabio Fognini.
Fifth seed Benoit Paire also faces a qualifier, whom he should beat, before facing one of two-in form players. Gilles Muller will face Joao Sousa for the right to probably face Paire. With Muller’s more consistent year and lefty serve, and Sousa’s recent early exits since his final appearance in St Petersburg, Muller looks the favourite. Prediction: Muller
In contrast, sixth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez faces a horrible match-up against former top-ten player Fernando Verdasco. Despite Garcia Lopez’ higher ranking, Verdasco dominates the head-to-head six-one, and Garcia Lopez has not beaten him since 2009. Prediction: Verdasco
Another all Spanish affair sees seventh seed Roberto Bautista-Agut take on wildcard entry Nicolas Almagro. Since a foot injury plagued Almagro in 2014, the former top-ten star has struggled to return to the highest level, but did end the career of Jarko Nieminen in Stockholm. Still, Bautista-Agut is more consistent than the now retired Finnish veteran. Prediction: Bautista-Agut.
Eighth seed Jeremy Chardy faces Brit Aljaz Bedene in the first round. Bedene is in very poor form, winning just one main draw match since the US Open (def. Youzhny). Recent one-sided defeats to Denis Istomin and Hyeon Chung suggest this is likely to be a predictable encounter. Prediction: Chardy
In a battle of wildcards, Marcel Granollers will face young Russian Andrey Rublev. Granollers has slid heavily down the rankings this term, and has actually reverted to playing as many Challengers as ATP events. Rublev was dismissed rather easily by Mikhail Kukushkin in Moscow, but Granollers has been shocked by young players already this season (Chung) and it could happen again in Valencia. Prediction: Rublev
For the tournament: There are some big names in Valencia this week, and the potential Ferrer-Kyrgios encounter could go some way to deciding the champion. Bernard Tomic had a great run that was only stopped by Djokovic in Shanghai, and will be a major threat despite his early loss to Baghdatis last week. Prediction Tournament winner: Tomic
Main Draw Valencia:
(1) Ferrer, David ESP vs Bye
Kyrgios, Nick AUS vs Qualifier
Pospisil, Vasek CAN vs Giraldo, Santiago COL
Bedene, Aljaz GBR vs (8) Chardy, Jeremy FRA
(3) Tomic, Bernard AUS vs Bye
Cuevas, Pablo URU vs Carreno Busta, Pablo ESP
Sousa, Joao POR vs Muller, Gilles LUX
Qualifier vs (5) Paire, Benoit FRA
(7) Bautista Agut, Roberto ESP vs (WC) Almagro, Nicolas ESP
(WC) Granollers, Marcel ESP vs (WC) Rublev, Andrey RUS
Bellucci, Thomaz BRA vs Qualifier
Bye vs (4) Fognini, Fabio ITA
(6) Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP vs Verdasco, Fernando ESP
Andujar, Pablo ESP vs Qualifier
Johnson, Steve USA vs Klizan, Martin SVK
Bye vs (2) Lopez, Feliciano ESP
Nor Andy Murray, last year’s winner, nor Tommy Robredo, last year’s runner-up, are taking part in the 2015 event.
