The Malaysian Open began on Monday as one of the two 250 tournaments occurring in Asia this week. Kuala Lumpur plays host to a hard court tournament with a field of players that a few players will fancy their chances at conquering.
US Open finalist and breakout star Kei Nishikori headlines the draw as Number 1 seed. He will be treated as a home favourite throughout the Asia swing and rightly so, his achievements at Flushing Meadows were incredible, especially considering he was just returning from injury. He will have to be wary of a post-US Open lull that can affect players after their breakthrough tournament. However, I think Nishikori has had sufficient rest and is as grounded as star players come.
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A lot of eyes will be on Aussie Nick Kyrgios as he looks to kick his career into the next gear, having upset Nadal in the Fourth Round of Wimbledon. There is a tremendous level of excitement surrounding Kygrios and rightly so, he has a huge game and a confident swagger to go with it which makes him extremely watchable. If you have a chance to watch him, I would highly recommend it.
Ernests Gulbis is the second seed this week in Malaysia and will be keen to make a push for the season ending World Tour Finals in London. He will realistically need to reach the Final or better this week to give himself a shot, but the draw has been kind to him, with Julien Benneteau the highest seed in his half.
Lone American Rajeev Ram had a nice opening round draw against Omar Jasika, coming from a set down to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. He will now face Nishikori and be hoping his Japanese opponent is suffering from burn out after his US Open run.
Watch out for Nick Kyrgios this week as a potential winner of his maiden ATP title. Gulbis will be a danger if he can find some consistency and Nishikori must go in as favourite after his US Open heroics. Who do you think will lift the trophy in Kuala Lumpur?
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