wernerfri

Ryan Harrison with numerous set-backs on and off court over the last years. He is looking more stable now, and a huge talent who is overdue to get back on track. Harrison was ranked around 170 only a few months ago, and has climbed steadily.

Berdych a bit rusty I think, defeated Tsonga in the Doha QF, but gave the Frenchman 7 break opportunities (of which he took none) and at the same time converted 2 out of 3 break opportunities that Tsonga gave him to win the match. Last fall Berdych lost to lower ranked players numerous times. Rumors say he has practiced his serve - due to the wind at the AO the way he throws the ball high (higher than the average player) up in the air could pose a problem. At age 31, this should have been corrected years ago...

Harrison did a nice job defeating Mahut in straight sets in R1, and I see very good value here, even if Berdych is the obvious favorite.

Johan Nikles, a rising star ready to take over from his two favs Federer and Wawrinka in very few years. Only time will tell if he can make it, but he has clay has his favourite surface, and the home crowd to support him. Youzhny is over the top, and no particular fan of the red stuff. He is also very inconsistent. A long shot, yes. Great value? Yes.