Originally posted on 02/16/2014:

Shorty previews for the week on the two tournaments I am keying on.

ATP RIO OPEN

1st Round Upset Watch
Lajovic over Volandri
Klizan over Garcia-Lopez
Zeballos over Monaco

Futures
Ferrer
Nadal

Preview: Rafa has a supremely smooth draw to the semis assuming his back injury is not an issue. He has had little practice time reportedly since his loss in Australia when the back injury flared up. While Robredo is the best talent in heris quart, I think there could be some surprises. That may leave Andujar or one of the qualifiers to sneak through. Fognini leads his quarter with Almagro as the 5th seed up top. Fognini is in awesome form with a 10-1 mark on clay this year. Only fatigue might derail him from three straight Finals appearances. There's quite a bit of young talent in the Ferrer Quarter, but none seem the sort to work past an in-form Ferrer. If the Ultimate Grinder doesn't come out flat against Chardy, I think he can roll into the semis.

Futures: No prices found so far. Think Rafa & Ferrer though depending on price.
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ATP Delray Beach

1st Round Upset Watch
Qualifier over Karlovic
Klahn over Hewitt
Vesely over Baghdatis

Preview: Qualifiers should be monitored heavily as they have had a great run of success at Delray Beach. A qualifier has made the Final two straight season and in four of the last six. For qualis: Steve Johnson faces Sam Groth. Ryhne Williams faces Bjorn Phau. Robby Ginepri faces Gustavo Elias and Wayne Odesnik faces Mischa Zverev. Keep an eye on the Johnson-Groth winner and where they land in the draw. Haas with some rest could be due for a shot to come out of his quarter. Sock & Mannarino is a good 1st rounder there. Kevin Anderson has been off since the Australian Open, but will top his quarter. He has played well here though, so expect him to win from the get-go. The Nishikori quarter should be exciting with Cilic also there. Cilic is in superb form with back-to-back Finals appearances in Zagreb and Rotterdam. The big question is can he go a third straight week? Nishikori looks the better option here. Don't discount Ryan Harrison this week. Yeah, I know tough to trust. He gets Lu first up who retired from his last match in Memphis, so he may or may not go at all. In the last quarter, health is the major player with Isner and Pospisil headlining - but both not having played since Australia. As a result, someone like Sela, Bogomolov or even Falla might sneak through here.

Futures: Anderson @ +1200. Nishikori @+400. Monitor the qualifiers again to see their draws, but they may be more of a longshot this year.