This week on tour marks the first time since the beginning of April that three ATP World Tour events will be held during the same week.

The rare occurrence on the grandest circuit that tennis has to offer means that St. Petersburg, Russia; Vienna, Austria; and Lyon, France will have the opportunity to showcase the best players in the world.

The distinct and valuable points allocated this week will assist those players on the cusp of gaining entry into the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London, as well as lending a hand to lower ranked competitors seeking a jolt in prize money.

With Nikolay Davydenko sitting out this week in St. Petersburg, and Andy Murray not defending his title due to a continued left wrist injury, Russian rocket Mikhail Youzhny will attempt to continue his recent string of good fortune on tour by advancing to his third straight final.

Youznhy will be joined by No. 2 seed Victor Hansecu, No. 3 seed Viktor Troicki, and No. 4 seed Jeremy Chardy at the St. Petersburg Open.

Other notables in the St. Pete's draw will include, Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet, and Robby Ginepri.

On to the Vienna draw and recent tour springboard Marin Cilic. The lanky Croatian youngster was a late entry into the tournament, taking an 11th hour wildcard in the hopes of continuing his late season surge.

Cilic will take his recent win over Rafeal Nadal (Beijing) and deepest run ever in a Grand Slam (l. del Potro), towards what he hopes will be his third title of the season.

The Croat will be joined by No. 2 seed Radek Stepanek, No. 3 seed Gael Monfils and No. 4 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Defending champ Philipp Petzchner will also be present, who will attempt to defend his title.

Other notables in the field will include, No. 6 seed Feliciano Lopez, No. 8 seed John Isner, and Janko Tipsarevic.

Tipsarevic will be looking to maintain his high level of play from Moscow, where he reached his first final of the season.

The French contingent will be out in full force in Lyon, led by top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who will be attempting to solidify his place amongst the elite eight in London.

Tsonga's road to a title in Lyon will be complicated by the likes of No. 2 seed Gilles Simon, No. 3 seed Ivan Ljubicic, and No. 4 seed Juan Monaco.

Fabrice Santoro, who will be retiring by years end, remains the oldest of the 11 participating Frenchmen in the draw.

Santoro will attempt to end his 20-year career with his second title in Lyon (1997), while taking part in his 18th tournament in the French suburb.

Argentine Leonardo Mayer and Joesslin Ouanna round out the lurking threats in the field.

Let us now take a look at the top and bottom halves and the obstacles the top two seeds from each of the three events will face this week.



St. Petersburg Open—Russia


Top half:

After two weeks of dominating tennis, Mikhail Youzhny will hope to make good on his second consecutive week in Russia. Some home cooking and unanimous crowd support could enable the 27-year-old Muscovite to a dominate during his St. Pete's campaign.

First up for Youzhny will be Andrey Golubev. Assuming the top seed is rested from Moscow, a Wednesday start should prevent the top seed from faltering early.

The quarterfinals could see a blockbuster all-Russian affair with retiring Marat Safin or No. 4 seed Igor Andreev setting up a Youzhny showdown

Safin will have to defeat tough Frenchman Richard Gasquet in round one, while Andreev will likely have to defeat the Safin-Gasquet winner in round two.

With Youzhny's toughest competition in his section coming from either Safin or Andreev, a semifinal clash with either No. 3 seed Viktor Troikci, or No. 8 seed Evgeny Korolev could pose a less difficult task.

Two of the hardest hitters on tour, Troicki and Korolev, are dangerous when they're on, but remain easy targets because of their overall inconsistent play.

Korolev did play well to defeat Safin in Moscow, who relied on his monster to oust the former world No. 1.

All in all, if fatigue plays a factor in Youzhny's performance, expect someone like Andreev to take over proceedings.

 

However, keep in mind that Youzhny is beginning to show the form that took him to No. 8 postion in the world back in January 2008. He loves competing in front of his home crowd and will be motivated by his recent form.

Pick: Youznhy

Bottom half:

After a disappointing week in Moscow, No. 2 seed Victor Hanescu will be hoping to crawl out of a four-match losing streak. The 6'6" Romanian has a slew of clay-court friendly players to contend with, begining with Russian hopeful Teimuraz Gabasvili.

Gabasvili's temperamental game is big enough to dispose of Hanescu, provided his racket and focus don't shatter on court.

If Hanescu survives his first obstacle, either Fabio Fognini or Illya Marchenko could be waiting.

Fognini is a tough competitor under any circumstance, while Marchenko will be coming in off his first career semifinal appearance in Moscow.

The worrisome opponent for Hanescu in this section could very well be No. 4 seed Jeremy Chardy. The flashy Frenchman has immense potential and should enter the world's elite in the foreseeable future.

Chardy's loose groundstrokes and solid serve should be good enough to carry him deep in this event. A potential semifinal clash between Chardy and Hanescu could very well spell the end for the second seed.

All in all, Hanescu's successful year inevitably ended after the clay-court season. With that being said, it would take a grand effort to live up to his seeding and make the finals of St. Pete's.

Let's go with the future of French tennis in this section.

Pick: Chardy



Bank Austria Tennis Trophy—Vienna

Top half:

Top seeded Marin Cilic was handed a favorable draw in his attempt to win his third title of the season.

After facing a qualifier in round one, Cilic could face either Robert Kendrick or Daniel Brands of Germany in round two.

Both Kendrick and Brands possess big serves, with Kendrick's overall game being better suited to indoor courts. 

Cilic's quarterfinal opponent could come from the challenge of 2004 champ and No. 6 Felicano Lopez. Lopez, who recently made the semifinals in Shanghai, brings a 14-6 life mark in Vienna, having the surface tailor made to his game.

In the semifinals, Cilic could face the consistent arsenal of No. 4 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber. "Coleslaw," as he is known on tour has proven his mettle against the world's best and has the potential to derail Cilic's campaign.

All in all, it is without question that Cilic is the best player in this half and it is truly his to win or loss. Look for Lopez to be his toughest foe in his half.

Pick: Cilic

Bottom half:

No. 2 seed Radek Stepanek was dealt a trickier section than Cilic and will have to be on full guard from the get go.

Stepanek faces under-the-radar Lukasz Kubot in round one. For those of you who are not familiar with Kubot's name, he recently defeated Andy Roddick in Beijing, while advancing to his first career final earlier this season in Belgrade (loss to Djokovic).

Kubot has the firepower to upend Stepanek in the first round if he's not dialed into his serve-and-volley game.

Apart from a potential nostalgic effort from veteran Austrian Stefan Koubek in round two, Stepanek's next obstacle could come in the form of hometown favorite No. 7 Jurgen Melzer.

Melzer will hold the patriot card during this week and could cause an upset or two in the draw. His unorthodox style holds the variables to create an early departure for Stepanek.

The semifinals could provide Stepanek with the challenge of either Philipp Petzchner, No. 3 seed Gael Monfils, No. 8 seed John Isner, and recent Moscow finalist Janko Tipsarevic.

Petzchner will not go down without a fight in defending his title; Monfils looks to be the best player in this section and should live up to his seeding; Isner can never be taken lightly with his serve; and Tipsarevic will unlikely repeat his heroics from Russia.

All in all, with Radek's mind likely focused on the Davis Cup final in December, look for Monfils, who has a realistic shot at making the tour finals in London to step and return to finals.

Pick: Monfils

 

Grand Prix Tennis de Tennis de Lyon—France

Top half:

No. 1 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will attempt to win his third career title in France this week, adding to his Marseilles title earlier this year, and his Paris Masters 1000 triumph of a year ago.

The draw gods were kind to Tsonga in this half, which will see the Le Mans native begin his Lyon journey against wily veteran Kevin Kim. Kim's best results have occurred on the Challenger circuit and he will be hard-pressed to dent Tsonga's weaponry.

Round two could see Tsonga up against recent Stockholm finalist Oliver Rochus. Rochus, who possesses the most effortless game of any small man on tour, will likely be fatigued from his Swedish success.

Arnaud Clement could set up an all-French quarterfinal with Tsonga in the event he can squeeze by No. 7 seed Benjamin Becker. Becker has struggled as of late, leaving Clement, who made the quarterfinals of Stockholm last week a realistic threat to make the final eight.

The semifinals could line up a contrast of styles between Tsonga and Fabrice Santoro. Santoro's last dance in Lyon could likely be complicated by No. 3 seed Ivan Ljubicic, or wildcard recipient Sebastien Grosjean.

Grosjean has been out of action for most of the season, leaving Ljubicic, who recently made the quarterfinals of Shanghai (loss to Rafael Nadal), the logical choice to make the semifinals.

Tsonga and Ljubicic have met on two occasions, with either man holding one victory.

All in all, with the feel-good story of Santoro being present, Tsonga's game will ultimately be too difficult to match in this half. Ljubicic is by no means a gimme for Tsonga, but with the indoor surface playing fast, look for the French flair to peak right where it should.

Pick: Tsonga

Bottom half:

With an outside shot at qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour finals, No. 2 seed Gilles Simon will be taking nothing for granted in Lyon this week.

The recent Bangkok champ has historically performed well indoors and a comfortable draw would suggest that Simon's luck will continue on home soil. 

Simon's first opponent, Simone Bolelli could in fact be his toughest adversary until the finals. Bolelli's forehand and serve are top notch, leaving the world's best with nothing short of compliments for the young Italian.

The quarterfinal round could see yet another all-French battle between Simon and 2008 finalist Julien Benneteau. Benneteau, who lost to Robin Soderling in 2008, possesses a crafty all-court game that could translate well against Simon.

In the event that Simon progresses to the semifinals, No. 4 seed Juan Monaco or No. 6 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu could be waiting.

Both Monaco and Mathieu will be in tough in their first round matches against Joesslin Ouanna and Leonardo Mayer respectively. Don't be surprised in the least to see both seeds ousted in the opening round.

With that in mind, Mayer, who is making quite the name for himself this year could in fact make the final four. His hard-court resume is building by the week, though, clay is still his best surface.

All in all, look for Mayer to be the surprise story of this half and Simon producing the tennis he needs to make his second final of the season.

Pick: Simon

Please check back throughout the week for daily reports from St. Petersburg, Vienna, and Lyon.

Cheers.