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Klizan started training very late, so he had to dose. He has wrist issues occasionally, his old problem, but the shoulder is new and more serious. He might even have to get surgery. He said he trains half an hour at a time because he doesn't want to take risks. Bautista lost to Lopez last week, but then defeated two Top 10 players. Klizan isn't ready, while Bautista is fighting to get to Top 15, and is not a player to lose in series. He should use the Slovakian's problems here. That's what the Spaniard built his Top 20 status on. Details

Benneteau obviously decided to show his best tennis in an otherwise weak season on American hardcourt. The Indian Wells final and the third round of Miami from the first part of the season are still remembered, while he left a really good impression in Toronto last week. He defeated Hewitt and Gulbis, and gave Raonic a hard time, ending the bad series. His self-confidence definitely grew here, and he should be given attention. In the first round, he got lucky and will face the lucky loser who'll premier in the Masters series, instead of Gasquet with whom he has 0-3 ratio. This is the first hardcourt tournament for Rola after almost five months, and that definitely showed in the qualifiers. I expect a result similar to the final round when he only got four games against Paire, so I think Benneteau is a big favorite today. It's simple, the form, motivation, experience, and quality are all on his side. Details

Wigan weren't brilliant on the league premiere, but the team's last year's weakness, offense, worked well. The defense failed in the rest of the game when Reading scored for a tie. Coach Rosler will lead the best center back duo Ramis-Barnett instead of Boyce and Kiernan, and he announced that the reinforcement from Newcastle, Tavernier, will start, as well as the midfielder Espinoza. Only four players will get spared in the midfield and the offense (Cowie, McArthur, Huws, Maloney), but there are good substitutes for them, like Fyvie, and McManaman.
Burton started the fourth league in their style, with the firm defensive show that got them three points in Oxford. The only question is whether they can do something like that against a much stronger opponent only three days later. Coach Rowett admitted he doesn't have a wide roster last week ("we reduced the number of players, improved the level of quality"), and three important first-team players are still recovering from injuries (McCrory, Phillips, Bell). Details

Puerto Rico proved their quality by winning first place in the group C where they defeated Spain and Italy. The same Spain defeated Egypt by +50 before the WC. The Egyptians lost to Argentina on this tournament, too, by 35. The Portoricans and the Argentinians are about the same quality. The evened out match before the WC on Troyes tournament showed it best. Yesterday, Puerto Rico had a light training against the UAE. They defeated them by 57, could have by +100 if they needed because they already secured their first place. The Egyptians lost to China by 26, and got really tired physically. Egypt don't have real centers, only one player is taller than 190cm, and the Puerto Rico's biggest strength is in the paint game. Besides, the African team don't have a convincing defense, their the second worst rebounders, and that's a great chance for the Islanders. I think the difference in quality will bring over 30 points difference here. Details