Grand Slam Professional Tennis Predictions and Picks by Nick Bollettieri. US Open, French Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open

So the draws are out for the Sony Ericsson Open and it’s time to take a look through and see what catches our eye! Here is the breakdown of the ATP draw:

The first thing that I noticed was a first round match-up between John Isner and Gael Monfils. They have played once before, with Isner winning that match last year. Both are young and talented, and the winner gets Federer in the second round. That will be interesting to watch. Another interesting first round match will be between Juan Martin Del Potro and Academy alum Jesse Levine. Here is another match-up between two very young players, but check out the height difference. Levine is 5′9″ and Del Potro is 6′5″! That will be fun to watch.

We will also be closely watching Academy alumni Kei Nishikori, Xavier Malisse, and Tommy Haas. Nishikori will face Albert Montanes, Malisse will face Oscar Hernandez, and Haas will take on fellow German Nicolas Kiefer. Speaking of Haas, he was playing great tennis last week before he got sick so it will be interesting to see how he is feeling this week.

Looking forward in the draw here are some possible matches down the road:

• Andy Murray (#13) vs. Mario Ancic – This would be a 2nd round match and would feature to players that have both spent time in the Top-10. Ancic is still coming back from a bout with mono in 2007, and Murray has already won two titles this year. Already once this year they have played, with Murray winning that match in straight sets.
• Rafael Nadal (#2) vs. Tommy Haas - This would be a 3rd round match between two guys who have been oh so close to the top spot in the world. Nadal has been #2 since 2005, and Haas was #2 back in 2002. They have played twice before with Nadal winning both those matches.
• Novak Djokovic (#3) vs. Guillermo Canas (#15) - This would be a fourth round match between last year’s finalists. Djokovic won the title last year in straight sets and beat him last week at Indian Wells relatively easily.
• Roger Federer (#1) vs. Andy Roddick (#6) - This is always a very entertaining match, especially when it is a quarterfinal match. Federer is a well-documented 15-1 against Roddick, but the two haven’t played yet this season. If there was anytime to take a shot at Federer it would be now…
• Novak Djokovic (#3) vs. Rafael Nadal (#2) - This would be a semifinal match between two of the world’s best players. These two have faced each other eight times in the last year, with Nadal winning five of those matches. They played last week in the semis at Indian Wells and Djokovic blew right by him. Djokovic also beat Nadal en route to winning the title here last year in the quarterfinals.

What matches are you most looking forward to?