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

Next up for Blake: 13-year old

Nick's Picks — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:24:13 +0000

After beating 18-year old Kei Nishikori in the first round, James Blake defeated 15-year old Ryan Harrison in the second round of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston 6-3, 6-2. Now, Blake will face 13-year old…no that’s just a joke. In all seriousness, Blake did end the run of Harrison and has reached the quarterfinals of his sixth consecutive tournament. He will face fifth-seeded Agustin Calleri next.

Despite losing, Harrison should walk away from Houston with a lot to look forward too. Not only did he qualify, but winning an ATP match before your 16th birthday is quite a feat. In doing so, he became the third youngest (behind Gasuqet and Nadal) to win an ATP match since 1990. This is a very exclusive crowd, and one that I am sure he is happy to join.

Blake strikes back

Nick's Picks — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:39:18 +0000

James Blake wasn’t about to lose twice in one year to 18-year old NBTA student Kei Nishikori. After Nishikori beat Blake in the finals at Delray Beach, Blake got some revenge last night as he knocked out the young Japanese star 6-4, 6-4 in the first round at Houston. After getting broken and dropping the first set, Nishikori managed to break Blake two different times in the second set but each time Blake was able to break back.

“It definitely feels good anytime to avenge a loss,” said Blake. “Usually the slower court hinders me, but this time I think it helped because his balls are helped by a quicker court. It makes him more effective and he doesn’t seem to have a problem with pace. It makes the serve much more effective. It gave me the opportunity to look at his serve a lot better here on slow court.”

While it’s a tough loss for Kei, you had to know that Blake was going to have a little something extra for him. Kei played well, and that is an encouraging sign. It’s never easy to beat a top ten player, especially at a young age.

If you thought Blake’s opponents couldn’t get any younger, he will 15-year old Ryan Harrison in the second round. Harrison made a splash by qualifying for the tournament, and then winning his first round match over top 100 player Pablo Cuevas. If Blake wins, he will advance to the quarterfinals of his sixth straight tournament. If Harrison wins, the tennis world is going to go nuts.

Blake vs. Nishikori – Round 2

Nick's Picks — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:37:54 +0000

The last time James Blake and Kei Nishikori faced each other, Nishikori surprised the tennis world beating him 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the finals at Delray Beach. Tonight, they will renew their newly formed rivalry in Houston at the USA Men’s Clay Court Championship. Clay isn’t the favorite surface for either of these two, but you have to give a slight edge here to Blake. Don’t get me wrong, I think Nishikori has a very good chance at winning this match, but I think Blake will have a little extra tonight. Something tells me he doesn’t want this “kid” beating him twice in a row.

How do you think the match is going to go down?

Haas returns to the court…unsuccessfully

Nick's Picks — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:27:34 +0000

After taking a couple of weeks off to rest his shoulder and from a virus, NBTA alum Tommy Haas took the court in Houston against Igor Kunitsyn. Haas fell behind in the first set 4-1 but battled back to win it 7-5. In the second set, Haas was up 4-3 with Kunitsyn serving at 0-40. With three chances to break and go ahead 5-3, Haas squandered five consecutive points and lost the game to make it 4-4. Kunitsyn then broke Haas in a 14 point game, during which Haas had four double faults. Not good. In the next game, Haas once again had a break chance to get the match back on serve, but lost it and the set. In the third and final set, each player was broken in their first service game, but it was Kunitsyn who broke Haas again to win the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Tough loss for Tommy. He was the second seed in the tournament, but not having played in a month will definitely take its toll on you. “I did have chances there at 4-3 in the second, 0-40, three break points, and didn’t win the big points,” Haas said. “And that’s unfortunate.” Sure is. Kunitsyn will face Sergio Roitman, who beat American John Isner, in the second round.

Harrison moves into Round 2

Nick's Picks — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:47:14 +0000

Making his first career ATP Main Draw appearance (and having qualified no less), 15-year old American Ryan Harrison certainly is making the best out of it so far. Harrison defeated the 95th ranked player in the world, Pablo Cuevas, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the US Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston. Harrison won the match in just under one hour, and converted on four of six break opportunities. He also had six aces, and won 76% of the points on his first serve. In doing so, Harrison became the youngest player since 1990 to win an ATP match. He also became the 10th player in the Open Era to win an ATP match before their 16th birthday, and the third this decade (Gasquet and Nadal are the others). Harrison will now face either James Blake or Kei Nishikori in the second round.

What makes the win even more exciting for American tennis is that Cuevas is a very solid clay-court player, having reached the semis at Vina del Mar earlier this year. Combine that with the fact that clay is Harrison’s least favorite surface to play on (we hear), and this makes for a great victory!

Main Draw Surprise in Houston

Nick's Picks — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:36:15 +0000

If you take a look at the main draw of the USA Men’s Clay Court Championships, you may see one name that doesn’t look familiar. That name is Ryan Harrison. He is only 15-years old and didn’t use a wild card to get in. He came through qualies to reach the first ATP main draw of his career. He defeated Phillip King 6-1, 6-2 in the first round and Alex Reichel 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of qualifying. Harrison will now face Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay in the first round.

This is a great sign for American tennis. Harrison is an excellent young prospect who has a very bright future. He got to the semis of the Junior Aussie Open earlier this year and won the Osaka Mayor’s Cup last October. While you may not know his name right now, I bet you will very soon!

Nishikori receives wild card

Nick's Picks — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:25:02 +0000

A little bit of breaking news for ya…I was just told by Olivier R. van Lindonk, agent for Kei Nishikori, that the Japanese sensation has received a wild card into the main draw at Houston. Here is the player list for the River Oaks International US Men’s Clay Court Championships…