ATP Rotterdam

Surface: Indoor Hard Court

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This is the highlighted tournament of the week with Roger Federer heading in as the top seed in a strong field of competitors on this indoor hard surface.

Federer's quarter has some potential speed bumps. Alexandr Dolgpolov is the other seed at the bottom of the quarter as the number six. Federer will go up against Mahut first. While Mahut has shown that he can keep matches tight on this surface when his serve is working, it's difficult to see him doing it consistently enough to overtake Federer. Youzhny could be up second for Federer if he survives fellow Russian, Igor Kunitsyn. Dolgpolov is no cinch to get to the quarters. He's got Kubot up first and indoor stud Jarkko Nieminen likely up second. Federer hasn't played this tournament since 2005 when he won it and comes in here with some question marks after losing in Davis Cup play. You've got a red hot Youzhny who won a title in Zagreb who could battle him in the second round. Dolgopolov hasn't had a ton of success lately on this surface, so it could win up being Federer or Youzhny who makes their way out of this quarter after they battle head-to-head. Federer is 11-0 vs. Youzhny, so that's a head game in his favor.

In the second quarter, Feliciano Lopez and Richard Gasquet are the seeds. The match-up between Haase and Davydenko in the opening round is an interesting one. Haase has shown some ability on this surface while Davydenko looks like his best days have long passed. The winner may have a shot to work through this quarter with Lopez being a .500 player on this surface. Down on the bottom half, Gasquet has no excuses here. He gets Cipolla first and then Stakhovsky or Bogomolov, Jr. This isn't his best surface though as it seems maybe the quickness doesn't allow him to work quite as well. Still, he's the best talent down here with Stakhovsky and Bogomolov being terribly out-of-form. I think Haase rates a potential dark horse to come out of this quarter, but Gasquet has every shot to beat him there.

We get to see the return of Juan Martin Del Potro for the first time since Melbourne in the third quarter where he stands as the third seed and Troicki as the #7. Del Potro has a tough match-up first-up against Llodra. The good thing is Llodra does his better work on this surface at home in France. All things being equal, Del Potro wins that match-up nine times out of ten. It also might be his toughest in this quarter. He'll likely meet Troicki or Ljubicic for a trip to the semifinals. I don't see either as a major issue for him if he's focused on making a statement. Since he skipped Davis Cup to prepare for this tournament, I am guessing he is here to make that statement.

The bottom quarter in this portion of the draw looks tailor made for Tomas Berdych. He does have the danger of playing Baghdatis in the second round, but in current form, Berdych should advance. Granollers is the other seed here, but could well crash out in the first round against Kohlschreiber. Given Berdych's roll to the title on a similar indoor surface in Montpellier and a win in Davis Cup action on the same surface, it would be a large surprise to not see him in the semifinals.

Semifinalists: Federer, Gasquet, Del Potro, Berdych
Final: Berdych over Federer
Player to Watch: Robin Haase
Upset Watch: Stakhovsky Over Bogomolov, Jr.