Philly Open NRT/Viking PCQ Men’s Preview

February 15, 2018
Philadelphia, PA

There is no doubt who the favorite is to win the Philly Open Men’s draw—John Hughes and Marc Powers. They have dominated the second half of the 2017-2018 season, racking up wins in their last three tournaments, the Duane Hayden Long Island Invitational, the Western New England Men’s, and the Boston Open knocking out all of the top teams Drew Broderick and Jared Palmer, Johan du Randt and Mark Parsons, and Juan Arraya and Jeff Morneau (three times)—along the way.

Prior to Long Island, Arraya/Morneau had Hughes/Powers’ number, beating them four consecutive times dating back to the 2016-2017 season. As the second seeds in Philly, they won’t get a crack at Hughes/Powers until the final, assuming they can beat all of the tough teams in their path, including possible encounters with Marco Grangeiro and Scott Kahler (5) in the quarters and du Randt/Parsons (4) in the semis.

Martin Bostrom and Sebastian Bredberg have been consistent performers this season, putting them at number four in the rankings and number three in the Philly seedings. They could face Graham McNerney and Casey Watt (6) in the quarters and Hughes/Powers in the semis. Hughes/Powers are projected to play Tyler Fraser and Paulo Gonzalez (8), who reached the finals of the Hinsdale Men’s Challenge last weekend, in the quarters.

Ranked fifth and seeded fourth, du Randt and Parsons are looking to regain their perch at the very top of the men’s game. After disappointing losses to Hughes/Powers in the semis of Boston and to Sven Burus and Roman Stoisavljevic in the quarters of Short Hills, du Randt/Parsons are projected to face the winner of Burus/ Stoisavljevic and Brian Compton/Marek Czerwinski (7) in the Philly quarters and Arraya/Morneau in the semis.

Can Hughes/Powers make it four in a row? Can Arraya/Morneau or du Randt/Parsons reassert their dominance? Watch Live Streaming of the Philly Open Men’s draw beginning Saturday morning at 9AM and find out.