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CricketWeb Tennis - Season I
- Thread starter SirBloody Idiot
- Start date
SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
French Open (Singles Preview) - May 25- June 8 Season I
French Open Preview:
Talk about a stacked section. Top seed Jason Hall leads the pack here, and his poor form as of late will only be exasperated by being handed a difficult draw in the form of section one. Hall, as we know, suffered a first up exit in Madrid just over a fortnight ago, and faces a possible fourth round clash against the man who gave him his marching orders - Paolo Mandonna. That being said, the world number one showed glimpses of form in his four games last week in Düsseldorf, and will hope to start hitting his straps before he has to face seeded opposition. He's been given a tough ask of of the lower seeded players in the third round; local hero Patrick Pascaul loves the big stage and will do his best to give the Parisian crowd something to cheer about in the absence of a genuine contender to take the tournament. It is also worth noting that the volatile Danijel Micic, easily a top ten player at his best, finds himself in the section. We're never quite sure what to expect with the Serbian, and he's been given a tough ask first up with former top twenty player Pierre L'Estrange his assignment. L'Estrange has suffered with injuries this season, and his ranking has suffered so much to make him one of the most dangerous 'floating' players in the draw. Don't discount Brit Henry Charles, though; he's a finalist in Monte Carlo and a quarterfinalist in Rome to make his clay court season a successful one. Despite this, Hall is a difficult player to look past - particularly if he finds his feet against Lari Färkkilä first up.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Jason Hall (def. Danijel Micic)
Roughie: Patrick Pascaul
Could Fall Early: Danijel Micic
It looks to many like the type of draw set up for a fourth round clash between Illya Altman and Sven Oxenstierna; two of the better clay courters going around. Altman has disappointed in the lead up to Roland Garros after a brave performance in Monte Carlo against Daniel Páez Blanco (losing in straight tiebreakers). He followed that up with a third round exit in Rome and then a second round exit in Madrid, so his first round clash against Eric Henson takes on much greater importance for his overall chances. Oxenstierna, meanwhile, seems to have come out of his little slump after a fantastic performance last week in Düsseldorf. Whilst he did lose in straight sets to Miroslav Brdar, he managed wins against top three players Jason Hall and Radivoj Daneu to give him a bundle of confidence heading into this week. The Ox has a fairly straight forward run up to the third round - he should be too good for Dimitris Chasiotis and then has a qualifier in the second round. That being said, he faces Morgan Carter who won all four matches in Düsseldorf last week - admittedly not against any opposition of real note. Randy Smeltz also looks the goods for a third round appearance at the very least - he should beat German Gunther Heug first up to recover from a disappointing first round defeat in Pörtschach last week.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Sven Oxenstierna (def. Illya Altman)
Roughie: Morgan Carter
Could Fall Early: Illya Altman
In contrast to section one, this is a very soft section and you could almost raffle of who is going to prevail here. The top seed is Radek Špidla; his sole good performance on clay came in Belgrade where he made the semis before being roundly smashed by Miroslav Brdar. Even he could fall early against the hot-and-cold Rob Bowenburg; the CWLander has claimed some big scalps this year, but you do find tougher first round opponents on clay. In any event, Bowenburg will be focussing more on his doubles campaign, meaning the real threat to Špidla early is Roberto Santos who is always a frustrating opponent. Brett Read is perhaps, somewhat surprisingly, the form player of the section after a quarterfinal appearance last week in Pörtschach. He's even got a fairly straightforward run to the fourth round with veteran Ninteh Doh first up, before a possible second round clash with perennial clay court anomaly Kim Vollan. 13th seed Davis Kennedy is an unknown quantity on clay, and has been since his victory in Acapulco back in February.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Brett Read (def. Roberto Santos)
Roughie: Pascal Schmidt
Could Fall Early: Dwayne Murdoch; Radek Špidla
No massive clay court names, but the four seeds here have proven themselves to be very solid competitors. The favourite will likely be Darcy Cowan; the American teenager has surprised all with how well he's adapted to the slower courts and he's proved a formidible opponent thus far. A finals appearance in Estoril, and passable showings in Madrid and Rome suggest that he could be a quiet contender for the title. Meanwhile, Jamee Hancianu showed last week that he is one to watch - the CWLander looks at home on the surface and should be too good for Aussie Adam Murray first up. Tiago Matias has stuttered a touch late in the season, but has proven his ability to go late into clay tournaments with a win in Houston, and finals in Acapulco and Estoril. Add in Becker Haas, an in-form Nilikar Midid, young gun Yves Parmentier and János Varga and you have a very, very difficult draw to predict. We like Cowan and Matias as a fourth round clash, but watch out for the Belgian Parmentier who has shown himself to be very talented despite some ugly draws so far.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Tiago Matias (def. Darcy Cowan)
Roughie: Yves Parmentier
Could Fall Early: Becker Haas
Many will be licking their lips for a fourth round clash between seventh seed Miroslav Brdar and the rejuvinated Juan Moreno; but don't be surprised if that party is spoiled. Moreno has emerged out of nowhere as a real threat following a semifinal in Estoril and a final in Madrid, whilst Brdar made it through his three matches in the World Team Cup undefeated. That being said, there are some other players who could cause troubles to the "big two" - Viktor Vuriak made the final of Pörtschach last week and even managed to knock off Rasmus Olesen and Danijel Micic in the process. He faces the always tough Mark Harmel first up; but if form is anything to go by, he should be good for a second round showdown with the Croat Brdar. Don't be surprised if 32nd seed Dmitry Orlov gets his marching orders early; whilst Václav Zeman hasn't shown his best tennis yet, his ranking at 98 does not represent how good he is. 17th seed Sanchez Emelio finds himself seeded one in the doubles draw, and will hope that he can juggle the two tournaments with a pretty easy start to the tournament. He should be too good for the controversial CWLander Alex de Wet, and has either a qualifier or the unpredictable Heath Davis second. Moreno, however, has the toughest first match up - Marcelo Alavos has all the South American flair of his Argentinian opponent and could cause a first round boilover despite Moreno's rampant form. If he gets through that, though, it is only going to get harder in a nasty little section.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Miroslav Brdar (def. Sanchez Emelio)
Roughie: Viktor Vuriak
Could Fall Early: Juan Moreno; Dmitry Orlov
Third seed Radivoj Daneu's form following the Australian Open started exceptionally with back-to-back Masters Series victories in Indian Wells and Miami; but since the tour moved to clay he's suffered a bit of a fall. Outside of a win in Belgrade, he's not made it past the quarterfinals of a tournament (in Monte Carlo and Madrid) and topped it off with just one victory in Düsseldorf last week. That being said, one would be very brave to bet against him advancing late in the tournament; a victory over qualifier Johan Ortiz first up should be enough to get him back on track (if he isn't already after finishing up in Düsseldorf with a win over Sanchez Emelio). Jason Bradley, though, has proved to be a frustrating opponent for many players this season, and the 29th seed looks set to face off against Daneu in the third round. Meanwhile, Italian sensation Carlo Amato essentially has a pretty easy run. Wildcard Lawrence Trumper-Smith earned his spot in the draw with a win over Jarko Maxum - a far cry from the Rome semifinalist. 16th seed David Champion has basically written off the clay season - only playing events he has to. He has a qualifier first up, and Alex Peters might very well pull off the biggest win of his life.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Radivoj Daneu (def. Carlo Amato)
Roughie: Diego Hurtado
Could Fall Early: David Champion
Another tough section to predict as all sixteen players directly qualifier for the Open. Rasmus Olesen, seeded tenth, has suffered from poor form as of late - he fell in the quarters of Pörtschach last week when he never should have; this on the back of early exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid. It is a worry for the Dane who has been given a tough unseeded opponent first up - world number 49 Atthaphol Sae-ul. It gets tougher for Olesen as he could face either Munich runner-up Oneil Stewart or Pörtschach winner Toby Brookes. Almen Benaglio is another unknown quantity; coming back from injury no one is quite sure where his fitness is at. Takis Georgilas is hardly likely to test it out, so we'll wait for a second round clash with Morton Blundell or JC Genghini. József Boros looks the likely quarterfinalist, but even he could find issues against Maarten Berg and Wayne Boyd in the first three rounds of the tournament. In any event, Boros has shown he's a fine clay courter this season and will be fresh after last week off.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: József Boros (def. Oneil Stewart)
Roughie: Toby Brookes
Could Fall Early: Rasmus Olesen
On paper it looks like a race to see who can lose in the fourth round to second seed Daniel Páez Blanco who heads into the tournament as overwhelming favourite. With wins in Vina del Mar, Buenos Aries, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Madrid this season, Blanco hasn't lost on clay and has looked an unpenetrable fortress. The draw has been kind to him as well, with chances to build form after a week off against Dane Kasper Buur, and then either qualifier Sheng Yiming or wildcard Sébastien Lachance in the second round. 26th seed Zoltan Varga could be a nasty proposition in the third round; but even he probably won't have enough to prevail in a best of five match agaisnt the second seed. As for his fourth round opponent, you can raffle that off. Jefferson Drake looks the likely one after some OK form this season, but he's got a tough prospect first up in Ivan Genov; the Bulgarian hasn't, however, followed up on his quarterfinal appearance in Miami by advancing past the first round in a Masters event on clay. 22nd seed Li Wang looked like a contender up until a week ago, but three straight singles losses will have likely demoralised him enough to make him vunerable against a Felipe Menon or an Oscar Highsmith.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Daniel Páez Blanco (def. Jefferson Drake)
Roughie: Oliver Engel
Could Fall Early: Li Wang
Predictions:
Quarterfinals:
Sven Oxenstierna def. Jason Hall
Tiago Matias def. Brett Read
Radivoj Daneu def. Sanchez Emelio
Daniel Páez Blanco def. József Boros
Semifinals:
Sven Oxenstierna def. Tiago Matias
Daniel Páez Blanco def. Radivoj Daneu
Final:
Daniel Páez Blanco def. Sven Oxenstierna
French Open Preview:
Talk about a stacked section. Top seed Jason Hall leads the pack here, and his poor form as of late will only be exasperated by being handed a difficult draw in the form of section one. Hall, as we know, suffered a first up exit in Madrid just over a fortnight ago, and faces a possible fourth round clash against the man who gave him his marching orders - Paolo Mandonna. That being said, the world number one showed glimpses of form in his four games last week in Düsseldorf, and will hope to start hitting his straps before he has to face seeded opposition. He's been given a tough ask of of the lower seeded players in the third round; local hero Patrick Pascaul loves the big stage and will do his best to give the Parisian crowd something to cheer about in the absence of a genuine contender to take the tournament. It is also worth noting that the volatile Danijel Micic, easily a top ten player at his best, finds himself in the section. We're never quite sure what to expect with the Serbian, and he's been given a tough ask first up with former top twenty player Pierre L'Estrange his assignment. L'Estrange has suffered with injuries this season, and his ranking has suffered so much to make him one of the most dangerous 'floating' players in the draw. Don't discount Brit Henry Charles, though; he's a finalist in Monte Carlo and a quarterfinalist in Rome to make his clay court season a successful one. Despite this, Hall is a difficult player to look past - particularly if he finds his feet against Lari Färkkilä first up.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Jason Hall (def. Danijel Micic)
Roughie: Patrick Pascaul
Could Fall Early: Danijel Micic
It looks to many like the type of draw set up for a fourth round clash between Illya Altman and Sven Oxenstierna; two of the better clay courters going around. Altman has disappointed in the lead up to Roland Garros after a brave performance in Monte Carlo against Daniel Páez Blanco (losing in straight tiebreakers). He followed that up with a third round exit in Rome and then a second round exit in Madrid, so his first round clash against Eric Henson takes on much greater importance for his overall chances. Oxenstierna, meanwhile, seems to have come out of his little slump after a fantastic performance last week in Düsseldorf. Whilst he did lose in straight sets to Miroslav Brdar, he managed wins against top three players Jason Hall and Radivoj Daneu to give him a bundle of confidence heading into this week. The Ox has a fairly straight forward run up to the third round - he should be too good for Dimitris Chasiotis and then has a qualifier in the second round. That being said, he faces Morgan Carter who won all four matches in Düsseldorf last week - admittedly not against any opposition of real note. Randy Smeltz also looks the goods for a third round appearance at the very least - he should beat German Gunther Heug first up to recover from a disappointing first round defeat in Pörtschach last week.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Sven Oxenstierna (def. Illya Altman)
Roughie: Morgan Carter
Could Fall Early: Illya Altman
In contrast to section one, this is a very soft section and you could almost raffle of who is going to prevail here. The top seed is Radek Špidla; his sole good performance on clay came in Belgrade where he made the semis before being roundly smashed by Miroslav Brdar. Even he could fall early against the hot-and-cold Rob Bowenburg; the CWLander has claimed some big scalps this year, but you do find tougher first round opponents on clay. In any event, Bowenburg will be focussing more on his doubles campaign, meaning the real threat to Špidla early is Roberto Santos who is always a frustrating opponent. Brett Read is perhaps, somewhat surprisingly, the form player of the section after a quarterfinal appearance last week in Pörtschach. He's even got a fairly straightforward run to the fourth round with veteran Ninteh Doh first up, before a possible second round clash with perennial clay court anomaly Kim Vollan. 13th seed Davis Kennedy is an unknown quantity on clay, and has been since his victory in Acapulco back in February.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Brett Read (def. Roberto Santos)
Roughie: Pascal Schmidt
Could Fall Early: Dwayne Murdoch; Radek Špidla
No massive clay court names, but the four seeds here have proven themselves to be very solid competitors. The favourite will likely be Darcy Cowan; the American teenager has surprised all with how well he's adapted to the slower courts and he's proved a formidible opponent thus far. A finals appearance in Estoril, and passable showings in Madrid and Rome suggest that he could be a quiet contender for the title. Meanwhile, Jamee Hancianu showed last week that he is one to watch - the CWLander looks at home on the surface and should be too good for Aussie Adam Murray first up. Tiago Matias has stuttered a touch late in the season, but has proven his ability to go late into clay tournaments with a win in Houston, and finals in Acapulco and Estoril. Add in Becker Haas, an in-form Nilikar Midid, young gun Yves Parmentier and János Varga and you have a very, very difficult draw to predict. We like Cowan and Matias as a fourth round clash, but watch out for the Belgian Parmentier who has shown himself to be very talented despite some ugly draws so far.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Tiago Matias (def. Darcy Cowan)
Roughie: Yves Parmentier
Could Fall Early: Becker Haas
Many will be licking their lips for a fourth round clash between seventh seed Miroslav Brdar and the rejuvinated Juan Moreno; but don't be surprised if that party is spoiled. Moreno has emerged out of nowhere as a real threat following a semifinal in Estoril and a final in Madrid, whilst Brdar made it through his three matches in the World Team Cup undefeated. That being said, there are some other players who could cause troubles to the "big two" - Viktor Vuriak made the final of Pörtschach last week and even managed to knock off Rasmus Olesen and Danijel Micic in the process. He faces the always tough Mark Harmel first up; but if form is anything to go by, he should be good for a second round showdown with the Croat Brdar. Don't be surprised if 32nd seed Dmitry Orlov gets his marching orders early; whilst Václav Zeman hasn't shown his best tennis yet, his ranking at 98 does not represent how good he is. 17th seed Sanchez Emelio finds himself seeded one in the doubles draw, and will hope that he can juggle the two tournaments with a pretty easy start to the tournament. He should be too good for the controversial CWLander Alex de Wet, and has either a qualifier or the unpredictable Heath Davis second. Moreno, however, has the toughest first match up - Marcelo Alavos has all the South American flair of his Argentinian opponent and could cause a first round boilover despite Moreno's rampant form. If he gets through that, though, it is only going to get harder in a nasty little section.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Miroslav Brdar (def. Sanchez Emelio)
Roughie: Viktor Vuriak
Could Fall Early: Juan Moreno; Dmitry Orlov
Third seed Radivoj Daneu's form following the Australian Open started exceptionally with back-to-back Masters Series victories in Indian Wells and Miami; but since the tour moved to clay he's suffered a bit of a fall. Outside of a win in Belgrade, he's not made it past the quarterfinals of a tournament (in Monte Carlo and Madrid) and topped it off with just one victory in Düsseldorf last week. That being said, one would be very brave to bet against him advancing late in the tournament; a victory over qualifier Johan Ortiz first up should be enough to get him back on track (if he isn't already after finishing up in Düsseldorf with a win over Sanchez Emelio). Jason Bradley, though, has proved to be a frustrating opponent for many players this season, and the 29th seed looks set to face off against Daneu in the third round. Meanwhile, Italian sensation Carlo Amato essentially has a pretty easy run. Wildcard Lawrence Trumper-Smith earned his spot in the draw with a win over Jarko Maxum - a far cry from the Rome semifinalist. 16th seed David Champion has basically written off the clay season - only playing events he has to. He has a qualifier first up, and Alex Peters might very well pull off the biggest win of his life.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Radivoj Daneu (def. Carlo Amato)
Roughie: Diego Hurtado
Could Fall Early: David Champion
Another tough section to predict as all sixteen players directly qualifier for the Open. Rasmus Olesen, seeded tenth, has suffered from poor form as of late - he fell in the quarters of Pörtschach last week when he never should have; this on the back of early exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid. It is a worry for the Dane who has been given a tough unseeded opponent first up - world number 49 Atthaphol Sae-ul. It gets tougher for Olesen as he could face either Munich runner-up Oneil Stewart or Pörtschach winner Toby Brookes. Almen Benaglio is another unknown quantity; coming back from injury no one is quite sure where his fitness is at. Takis Georgilas is hardly likely to test it out, so we'll wait for a second round clash with Morton Blundell or JC Genghini. József Boros looks the likely quarterfinalist, but even he could find issues against Maarten Berg and Wayne Boyd in the first three rounds of the tournament. In any event, Boros has shown he's a fine clay courter this season and will be fresh after last week off.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: József Boros (def. Oneil Stewart)
Roughie: Toby Brookes
Could Fall Early: Rasmus Olesen
On paper it looks like a race to see who can lose in the fourth round to second seed Daniel Páez Blanco who heads into the tournament as overwhelming favourite. With wins in Vina del Mar, Buenos Aries, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Madrid this season, Blanco hasn't lost on clay and has looked an unpenetrable fortress. The draw has been kind to him as well, with chances to build form after a week off against Dane Kasper Buur, and then either qualifier Sheng Yiming or wildcard Sébastien Lachance in the second round. 26th seed Zoltan Varga could be a nasty proposition in the third round; but even he probably won't have enough to prevail in a best of five match agaisnt the second seed. As for his fourth round opponent, you can raffle that off. Jefferson Drake looks the likely one after some OK form this season, but he's got a tough prospect first up in Ivan Genov; the Bulgarian hasn't, however, followed up on his quarterfinal appearance in Miami by advancing past the first round in a Masters event on clay. 22nd seed Li Wang looked like a contender up until a week ago, but three straight singles losses will have likely demoralised him enough to make him vunerable against a Felipe Menon or an Oscar Highsmith.
Predicted Quarterfinalist: Daniel Páez Blanco (def. Jefferson Drake)
Roughie: Oliver Engel
Could Fall Early: Li Wang
Predictions:
Quarterfinals:
Sven Oxenstierna def. Jason Hall
Tiago Matias def. Brett Read
Radivoj Daneu def. Sanchez Emelio
Daniel Páez Blanco def. József Boros
Semifinals:
Sven Oxenstierna def. Tiago Matias
Daniel Páez Blanco def. Radivoj Daneu
Final:
Daniel Páez Blanco def. Sven Oxenstierna
Last edited:
dontcloseyoureyes
BARNES OUT
The last picture is wrong.
And of course I get put in the same section as Blanco, ffs.
And of course I get put in the same section as Blanco, ffs.
Except you've repeated the Section 7 Picture.
SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
Fixed.
As good a chance as Read will get to make a Grand Slam quarterfinal for now. Absurdly easy section when compared to some of the others (like 1 and 7).
As good a chance as Read will get to make a Grand Slam quarterfinal for now. Absurdly easy section when compared to some of the others (like 1 and 7).
HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Bloody hell, Bloody Idiot. Top effort.
Only hope the CWLand players can live up to the amount of time you've put into that and make it through. Will be pissed if I get knocked out by a Qualifier. Hopefully winning the Challenger tournament and the fitness gained from some long matches in the Team Tournament will stand me in better stead than I'd been in. Would be excellent to make some progress.
Will be cheering on Jojo and the Drake from the sidelines when not playing.
Only hope the CWLand players can live up to the amount of time you've put into that and make it through. Will be pissed if I get knocked out by a Qualifier. Hopefully winning the Challenger tournament and the fitness gained from some long matches in the Team Tournament will stand me in better stead than I'd been in. Would be excellent to make some progress.
Will be cheering on Jojo and the Drake from the sidelines when not playing.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Itstl. Hope to back up the optimistic predictions. One match at a time, etc.
Mister Wright
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Very tough draw for Mustard and it will be interesting to see how he goes over 5 sets. Tough ask if he gets to the second round to overcome the 5th seed.
Top effort SBI btw. Great stuff, certainly keeping all of us interested.
Top effort SBI btw. Great stuff, certainly keeping all of us interested.
SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
French Open (Doubles Preview) - May 25- June 8 Season I
French Open Doubles Preview:
Top seeds Ion Andueza and Sanchez Emelio are an experienced doubles pairing, and will be a very difficult team to beat on their favoured clay surface. The fact that Andueza was paired with Sergio Joaquin in Spain's Davis Cup tie against Holland earlier in the year surprised many - in that match Andueza-Joaquin produced a straight sets thrashing of Dutch pair Maarten Berg and Sipko Wetzel (63 60 62). Never-the-less, Andueza and Emelio find themselves together again, and come into the tournament with a couple of wins under their belt in last week's World Team Cup. Eighth seeds Hayden Onwye and Ross Onwye will, however, cause the pair trouble. The brothers have experience together and on clay, and will perhaps be surprised to see that they are seeded so low. They should beat wildcard pairing Christian Auvray and Augustin Morjuet first up, before facing a difficult third round showdown against local hopes Mikel Fosdike and Christian Mary. Another team to look out for is Paraguan pair Marcelo Alavos and Gustavo Arce who are an experienced duo on the South American circuit. In their Davis Cup showdown against Jamaica earlier in the year, they showed their mettle with a straight sets win against Jamaica's Devon Irving and Maurice Walters. In the absence of brother Rick, Eric Henson teams up with little known American teenager Jesse Adams.
Predicted Semifinalists: Ion Andueza / Sanchez Emelio (def. Hayden Onwye / Ross Onwye)
Roughies: Marcelo Alavos / Gustavo Arce
Section 2 is headlined by fourth seeds Wayne Boyd and Morgan Carter who, in all likelihood, are the best singles pairing in the draw. Doubles is a different story, though, as they showed in their loss to the Vargas last week in Düsseldorf. Despite that hiccup, the pairing were instrumental in pulling the Americans over the line to win the World Team Cup, and should produce a win first up against Indian brothers Ashim Kumar and Seby Kumar. Fifth seeds Sandro Bachunelli, brother of Antonio, and Hicham Hadir find themselves drawn against Ivars Emsis and Aleksander Alitspritsin first up - the Baltic pair could be a massive threat to the fifth seeds' chances considering the unpredictability of the massive-serving Emsis. It is, for the most part, a section full of teams capable of pulling off upsets. Israeli pair Tal Cohen and Raz Teper have experienced Davis Cup success already, whilst the Boniek Brothers of Austria work well together despite their loss to Haas/Heug earlier in the season.
Predicted Semifinalists: Wayne Boyd / Morgan Carter (def. Jurgen Boniek / Zbiginiew Boniek)
Roughies: Aleksander Alitspritsin / Ivars Emsis
Section 3 is yet another very interesting section to predict with only János Varga and Zoltan Varga looking like having a relatively cruisy run to the quarterfinals. They were somewhat surprised by Haas-Heug in the World Team Cup last week, but showed enough to suggest that they are the team to beat. Little known Russian pair Grigory Khugaev and Alexey Korskakov shouldn't trouble them early, whilst the Uzbek duo of the nimble Denis Inomov and giant Rustam Toshpulatov loom as the only real threats in the second half of section 3. The top half, however, is open wider; CWLand pair Heath Davis and Jojo Mustard played long matches in Düsseldorf, but only produced one victory (against Serbs Dusko Milosevic and Savo Petkoviä) and find themselves seeded sixth. They face Valery Belousov and Mykhaylo Martynenko first up, and if they win that another CWLander could await - Spas Delev who teams with Ukraine's Roman Dorogan. Also worth watching out for are the eleventh seeds; Andrej Konc of Slovakia and Evgeny Maximov of Belarus.
Predicted Semifinalists: János Varga / Zoltan Varga (def. Andrej Konc / Evgeny Maximov)
Roughies: Denis Inomov / Rustam Toshpulatov
Many were surprised by the news that Bahamas' Morton Blundell and Brazillian Carlos Machado were seeded second, but the pairing have been teamed together for a number of years in American tournaments. They do, however, face a tough prospect first up; we rank Swedish pair Martin Moberg and Linus Petrus at twentieth in the world and they are one of the dangerous floating seeds in the draw. It is a tough little section with Indian pair Ritwik Bhutia and Harpreet Gupte waiting in the third round should they make it past the likes of Moberg-Petrus and Mark Harmel-Yves Parmentier. Elsewhere, Jefferson Drake teams up with little known countryman Martti Korpinen, and they should account for British pair Liam Bailey and Matthew Charnock first up. The big dogs to beat in the top half of the section, though, are Asian champs Lee Inmin and Qingdong Tsai; CWLander Brett Read and Croat Nilikar Midid charged with that task in the first round. Coming back from injury, Pierre L'Estrange teams up with fellow Frenchman Jean-Alain Depuis; a pair who will no doubt trouble many in the draw.
Predicted Semifinalists: Lee Inmin / Qingdong Tsai (def. Jean-Alain Depuis / Pierre L'Estrange)
Roughies: Jefferson Drake / Martti Korpinen; Mark Harmel / Yves Parmentier
As this is the first doubles tournament of the Open Era, there are no ranking systems available. In conjunction with the International School of Sports Science, the ATP has compiled a rankings guide for the teams competing in this tournament. The ranking system takes into account talent, experience, how well the teams work together and the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Predictions:
Quarterfinals:
Ion Andueza / Sanchez Emelio def. Marcelo Alavos / Gustavo Arce
Wayne Boyd / Morgan Carter def. Jurgen Boniek / Zbiginiew Boniek
János Varga / Zoltan Varga def. Andrej Konc / Evgeny Maximov
Lee Inmin / Qingdong Tsai def. Jean-Alain Depuis / Pierre L'Estrange
Semifinals:
Wayne Boyd / Morgan Carter def. Ion Andueza / Sanchez Emelio
János Varga / Zoltan Varga def. Lee Inmin / Qingdong Tsai
Final:
János Varga / Zoltan Varga def. Wayne Boyd / Morgan Carter
French Open Doubles Preview:
Top seeds Ion Andueza and Sanchez Emelio are an experienced doubles pairing, and will be a very difficult team to beat on their favoured clay surface. The fact that Andueza was paired with Sergio Joaquin in Spain's Davis Cup tie against Holland earlier in the year surprised many - in that match Andueza-Joaquin produced a straight sets thrashing of Dutch pair Maarten Berg and Sipko Wetzel (63 60 62). Never-the-less, Andueza and Emelio find themselves together again, and come into the tournament with a couple of wins under their belt in last week's World Team Cup. Eighth seeds Hayden Onwye and Ross Onwye will, however, cause the pair trouble. The brothers have experience together and on clay, and will perhaps be surprised to see that they are seeded so low. They should beat wildcard pairing Christian Auvray and Augustin Morjuet first up, before facing a difficult third round showdown against local hopes Mikel Fosdike and Christian Mary. Another team to look out for is Paraguan pair Marcelo Alavos and Gustavo Arce who are an experienced duo on the South American circuit. In their Davis Cup showdown against Jamaica earlier in the year, they showed their mettle with a straight sets win against Jamaica's Devon Irving and Maurice Walters. In the absence of brother Rick, Eric Henson teams up with little known American teenager Jesse Adams.
Predicted Semifinalists: Ion Andueza / Sanchez Emelio (def. Hayden Onwye / Ross Onwye)
Roughies: Marcelo Alavos / Gustavo Arce
Section 2 is headlined by fourth seeds Wayne Boyd and Morgan Carter who, in all likelihood, are the best singles pairing in the draw. Doubles is a different story, though, as they showed in their loss to the Vargas last week in Düsseldorf. Despite that hiccup, the pairing were instrumental in pulling the Americans over the line to win the World Team Cup, and should produce a win first up against Indian brothers Ashim Kumar and Seby Kumar. Fifth seeds Sandro Bachunelli, brother of Antonio, and Hicham Hadir find themselves drawn against Ivars Emsis and Aleksander Alitspritsin first up - the Baltic pair could be a massive threat to the fifth seeds' chances considering the unpredictability of the massive-serving Emsis. It is, for the most part, a section full of teams capable of pulling off upsets. Israeli pair Tal Cohen and Raz Teper have experienced Davis Cup success already, whilst the Boniek Brothers of Austria work well together despite their loss to Haas/Heug earlier in the season.
Predicted Semifinalists: Wayne Boyd / Morgan Carter (def. Jurgen Boniek / Zbiginiew Boniek)
Roughies: Aleksander Alitspritsin / Ivars Emsis
Section 3 is yet another very interesting section to predict with only János Varga and Zoltan Varga looking like having a relatively cruisy run to the quarterfinals. They were somewhat surprised by Haas-Heug in the World Team Cup last week, but showed enough to suggest that they are the team to beat. Little known Russian pair Grigory Khugaev and Alexey Korskakov shouldn't trouble them early, whilst the Uzbek duo of the nimble Denis Inomov and giant Rustam Toshpulatov loom as the only real threats in the second half of section 3. The top half, however, is open wider; CWLand pair Heath Davis and Jojo Mustard played long matches in Düsseldorf, but only produced one victory (against Serbs Dusko Milosevic and Savo Petkoviä) and find themselves seeded sixth. They face Valery Belousov and Mykhaylo Martynenko first up, and if they win that another CWLander could await - Spas Delev who teams with Ukraine's Roman Dorogan. Also worth watching out for are the eleventh seeds; Andrej Konc of Slovakia and Evgeny Maximov of Belarus.
Predicted Semifinalists: János Varga / Zoltan Varga (def. Andrej Konc / Evgeny Maximov)
Roughies: Denis Inomov / Rustam Toshpulatov
Many were surprised by the news that Bahamas' Morton Blundell and Brazillian Carlos Machado were seeded second, but the pairing have been teamed together for a number of years in American tournaments. They do, however, face a tough prospect first up; we rank Swedish pair Martin Moberg and Linus Petrus at twentieth in the world and they are one of the dangerous floating seeds in the draw. It is a tough little section with Indian pair Ritwik Bhutia and Harpreet Gupte waiting in the third round should they make it past the likes of Moberg-Petrus and Mark Harmel-Yves Parmentier. Elsewhere, Jefferson Drake teams up with little known countryman Martti Korpinen, and they should account for British pair Liam Bailey and Matthew Charnock first up. The big dogs to beat in the top half of the section, though, are Asian champs Lee Inmin and Qingdong Tsai; CWLander Brett Read and Croat Nilikar Midid charged with that task in the first round. Coming back from injury, Pierre L'Estrange teams up with fellow Frenchman Jean-Alain Depuis; a pair who will no doubt trouble many in the draw.
Predicted Semifinalists: Lee Inmin / Qingdong Tsai (def. Jean-Alain Depuis / Pierre L'Estrange)
Roughies: Jefferson Drake / Martti Korpinen; Mark Harmel / Yves Parmentier
As this is the first doubles tournament of the Open Era, there are no ranking systems available. In conjunction with the International School of Sports Science, the ATP has compiled a rankings guide for the teams competing in this tournament. The ranking system takes into account talent, experience, how well the teams work together and the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Code:
Pos. Names & Nationality
1 Andueza, Ion (ESP) / Emelio, Sanchez (ESP)
2 Blundell, Morton (BAH) / Machado, Carlos (BRA)
3 Varga, János (HUN) / Varga, Zoltan (HUN)
4 Boyd, Wayne (USA) / Carter, Morgan (USA)
5 Bachunelli, Sandro (ITA) / Hadir, Micham (MAR)
6 Davis, Heath (CWL) / Mustard, Jojo (CWL)
7 Lee, Inmin (KOR) / Qingdong, Tsai (TPE)
8 Onwye, Hayden (MAR) / Onwye, Ross (MAR)
9 Fosdike, Mikel (FRA) / Mary, Christian (FRA)
10 Dênis Rodrigues (BRA) / Roberto Santos (BRA)
11 Konc, Andrej (SVK) / Maximov, Evgeniy (BLR)
12 Bowenburg, Rob (CWL) / Doh, Ninteh (JPN)
13 Moss, Sebastian (GBR) / Thursfield, Oliver (RSA)
14 James, Hugh (USA) / Robinson, Ralph (USA)
15 Gupte, Harpreet (IND) / Bhutia, Ritwik (IND)
16 Malachenko, Sergiy (RUS) / Yarkin, Alexey (RUS)
17 Iftime, Viorel (ROU) / Micu, Marius (ROU)
18 Harmel, Mark (BEL) / Parmentier, Yves (BEL)
19 Delev, Spas (CWL) / Dorogan, Roman (UKR)
20 Moberg, Martin (SWE) / Petrus, Linus (SWE)
21 Milosevic, Dusko (SRB) / Petkoviä, Savo (SRB)
22 Cohen, Tal (ISR) / Teper, Raz (ISR)
23 Gai, Kai (CHN) / Lu, Xun (CHN)
24 Midid, Nilikar (CRO) / Read, Brett (CWL)
25 Manz, Manfried (GER) / Schiller, Walter (GER)
26 Drake, Jefferson (CWL) / Korpinen, Martti (CWL)
27 Murray, Adam (AUS) / Mulenga, Boyd (ZIM)
28 Moss, Robert (GBR) / Moss, Sebastian (GBR)
29 Golub, Davor (CRO) / Ryce, Tomas (CZE)
30 Reiter, Martin (AUT) / Schroder, Adam (GER)
31 Depuis, Jean-Alain (FRA) / L'Estrange, Pierre (FRA)
32 Manuel Cortés, Juan (ESP) / Villaneuva, Javier (ESP)
33 Acosta, Mario (URU) / Castro, Gonzalo (URU)
34 Rodriguez, Julio (ARG) / Rodriquez, Diego (ARG)
35 Inomov, Inomov (UZB) / Toshpulatov, Rustam (UZB)
36 Gritsjuk, Anton (EST) / Medgyessy, Imre (HUN)
37 Kumar, Ashim (IND) / Kumar, Seby (IND)
38 Highsmith, Oscar (GBR) / O'Raherty, James (IRL)
39 Claverini, Marzio (BRA) / Martins, Flávio Augusto (BRA)
40 Alvarez, Mario (ECU) / Rosseli, Junior (PER)
41 Karlen, Alex (SUI) / Sas, Jochem (BEL)
42 Alavos, Marcelo (PAR) / Arce, Gustavo (PAR)
43 Dosnysk, Gregor (POL) / Greda, Michal (POL)
44 Badlee, Strongth (USA) / Ficher, Anothy (USA)
45 Boniek, Jurgen (AUT) / Boniek, Zbiginiew (AUT)
46 Alitspritsin, Aleksander (LIT) / Emsis, Ivars (LAT)
47 Adams, Jesse (USA) / Henson, Eric (USA)
48 Khugaev, Grigory (RUS) / Korskakov, Alexey (RUS)
49 Krohmal, Artem (UKR) / Shvelidze, Merab (GEO)
50 King, Karl (NZL) / S'ua, Murphy (SAM)
51 Cole, Steve (AUS) / Thompson, Harry (AUS)
52 Arsov, Branko (MKD) / Ivic, Srdjan (SRB)
53 Bonnin, Abel (FRA) / Berthier, Jean-Jacques (FRA)
54 Overgaard, Jesper (DEN) / Vilkke, Ville (FIN)
55 Belousov, Valery (RUS) / Martynenko, Mykhaylo (UKR)
56 Hartmann, Benjamin (SUI) / Pasveer, Mischa (NED)
57 Bailey, Liam (GBR) / Charnock, Matthew (GBR)Quarterfinals:
Ion Andueza / Sanchez Emelio def. Marcelo Alavos / Gustavo Arce
Wayne Boyd / Morgan Carter def. Jurgen Boniek / Zbiginiew Boniek
János Varga / Zoltan Varga def. Andrej Konc / Evgeny Maximov
Lee Inmin / Qingdong Tsai def. Jean-Alain Depuis / Pierre L'Estrange
Semifinals:
Wayne Boyd / Morgan Carter def. Ion Andueza / Sanchez Emelio
János Varga / Zoltan Varga def. Lee Inmin / Qingdong Tsai
Final:
János Varga / Zoltan Varga def. Wayne Boyd / Morgan Carter
Last edited:
Mister Wright
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Doubles tournament should be interesting. Wouldn't be too disappointed if Mustard had a successful doubles career.
SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
Just noticed I had you playing both doubles and Alessandria.
That has been changed.
HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Seeded 6th. It seems that our seeding is considered overhyped by the pundits. We'll just have to see what happens, but I'm expecting big things.
SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
French Open (Day One) - May 25- June 8 Season I
Roland Garros
Day One - First Round - Paris
Seeds
Draw - Section One
Draw - Section Two
Draw - Section Three
Draw - Section Four
Draw - Section Five
Draw - Section Six
Draw - Section Seven
Draw - Section Eight
In an exciting opening day of clay court tennis, one seed fell and a tournament favourite was pushed to five sets as the inaugural French Open got underway in Paris. The nation of CWLand had mixed results; whilst two players progressed to the second round, four of their lesser lights met their end in their first matches of the tournament. Fifteenth seed Jefferson Drake's tournament started shakily as the CWLander dropped the first set to Bulgarian Ivan Genov, before storming back into the match with a much more confident second set. Drake, who took the week off after a passable showing in Madrid, got better as the match went on; the fifteenth seed doing his best to iron out some of the cobwebs which plagued him in the first set as he scraped the second set tiebreaker. With the match level, Drake got the better of the Bulgarian and continued to control the points right the way through the match - exiting with a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-3 win. Drake will now face Luxembourg's Oliver Engel in the second round after he claimed a deceptively easy win over Niko Ulemek.
Heath Davis has struggled at times this season on clay, but would have been disappointed to have fallen to a qualifier first up. Just a week removed for his maiden tournament victory - a challenger in Lugano - the powerful CWLander looked to get back into the swing of singles tennis against Italy's Michael De Kinsele. Whilst Davis was dominant against the world number 120 in the opening two sets, he seemed to show signs of struggle as the match wore on. After easing to a two-sets-to-love lead, Davis became more sluggish and relied more heavily on his service to do most of the work. Whilst it eventually paid off in a marathon tiebreaker, the CWLander will worry about his durability over five sets - particularly considering that he will also play in the doubles draw. Davis' 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(11) victory included twenty-three aces, but he will have to hope he can preserve more energy in his intimidating second round clash against seventeenth seed Sanchez Emelio.
Emelio had little trouble in defeating enigmatic qualifier Alex de Wet in their first round clash as he prevailed in a straight sets tussle. The seventeenth seed struggled early against the dogged de Wet; the Zimbabwean-born player making Emelio earn his points with a fantastic counter-attacking display. But his best chance to take a set went begging in heartbreaking fashion; the CWLander was only two points from claiming the first set before he served up a poorly placed double fault. From there his confidence seemed to dwindle against highly rated opposition; Emelio finding his groove as he raced through the third set to seal a dominant 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-0 victory. Young gun Billy Spleen also suffered a disappointing straight sets victory against noted clay court straggler Haiku Morkel. Morkel's game followed a similar pattern to that of Heath Davis; whilst his booming serve overwhelmed Spleen early, his game deteriorated as his fitness reserves were called into the equation. Never-the-less, the Norwegian had enough about him to pull off an expected 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(5) victory, but will almost certainly face a tougher task in the second round against third seed Radivoj Daneu.
In the same section, Spas Delev suffered a disappointing four-set loss to Spanish qualifier Marc Carretero. The world number 181 surprised the hard-working Delev early with some aggressive tennis to take an early break. But after claiming the opener 6-2, Carretero let his CWLand opponent right back into the contest as he blew a 40-15 lead early to hand Delev the all-important early break. But Carretero, who grew up on clay courts, picked up the biggest win of his career with some very impressive tennis in the next two sets as he advanced to a showdown with 29th seed Jason Bradley 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. Section 6 continued to be an unhappy hunting ground for CWLand as wildcard Lawrence Trumper-Smith fell to an expected loss against 18th seed Carlo Amato. The fiery Itallian looked like he meant business early, before he was given a wake up call by the controversial CWLand figure in the second set. LTS produced a sensational second set display against a bewildered Amato, but the former athlete looked a different player after calling for an injury break as he overcame the indignity of the second set to seal a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.
Elsewhere, big-serving Australian David Champion's abysmal form continued as he fell in five sets to qualifier Alex Peters. Separated by 135 placed on the world rankings, few would think that even Champion would fall in the first round; but the Aussie surprised all as he dropped the first set. With the scores level at 2-2, Champion finally broke back to get a bit of a run on as he claimed ten of the next fourteen games to take a two-sets-to-one lead, but there was another twist in the tale as Peters came flying back into the clash. The German took the fourth set 6-3 before getting the early break of service against the ailing Champion as he advanced to a second round clash with Roman Dorogan 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. One of the favourites to take the tournament, Miroslav Brdar, was forced to come from two-sets-to-one down against Domingo Gutiérrez Gómez to keep his Open dreams alive. Down 4-5 and 30-40 in the fourth set, Brdar looked on the verge of a most unlikely defeat before the most important ace of his season helped keep the match alive. In a brave performance from the Puerto Rican, he was just unable to pull off an amazing upset as Brdar showed his undoubted class under pressure to seal a 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win. The Croat will use this match as a giant wake-up call ahead of his second round match against Mark Harmel.
Elsewhere, the big names of the tournament got underway without a hitch as the second and third seed produced easy wins. Tournament favourite Daniel Páez Blanco barely got out of first gear as he delivered a straight sets thrashing to world number 104 Kasper Buur. The 26-year old took just four games off the Spanish second seed as Blanco began his charge to a seventh title of the season with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 win. Third seed Radivoj Daneu also had little trouble in dispatching Colombian qualifier Johan Ortiz. Ortiz put up a small fight in the first two sets, but never looked like challenging the Serb as the third seed advanced 6-4, 6-4, 6-0.
Roland Garros
Day One - First Round - Paris
Seeds
Draw - Section One
Draw - Section Two
Draw - Section Three
Draw - Section Four
Draw - Section Five
Draw - Section Six
Draw - Section Seven
Draw - Section Eight
In an exciting opening day of clay court tennis, one seed fell and a tournament favourite was pushed to five sets as the inaugural French Open got underway in Paris. The nation of CWLand had mixed results; whilst two players progressed to the second round, four of their lesser lights met their end in their first matches of the tournament. Fifteenth seed Jefferson Drake's tournament started shakily as the CWLander dropped the first set to Bulgarian Ivan Genov, before storming back into the match with a much more confident second set. Drake, who took the week off after a passable showing in Madrid, got better as the match went on; the fifteenth seed doing his best to iron out some of the cobwebs which plagued him in the first set as he scraped the second set tiebreaker. With the match level, Drake got the better of the Bulgarian and continued to control the points right the way through the match - exiting with a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-3 win. Drake will now face Luxembourg's Oliver Engel in the second round after he claimed a deceptively easy win over Niko Ulemek.
Heath Davis has struggled at times this season on clay, but would have been disappointed to have fallen to a qualifier first up. Just a week removed for his maiden tournament victory - a challenger in Lugano - the powerful CWLander looked to get back into the swing of singles tennis against Italy's Michael De Kinsele. Whilst Davis was dominant against the world number 120 in the opening two sets, he seemed to show signs of struggle as the match wore on. After easing to a two-sets-to-love lead, Davis became more sluggish and relied more heavily on his service to do most of the work. Whilst it eventually paid off in a marathon tiebreaker, the CWLander will worry about his durability over five sets - particularly considering that he will also play in the doubles draw. Davis' 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(11) victory included twenty-three aces, but he will have to hope he can preserve more energy in his intimidating second round clash against seventeenth seed Sanchez Emelio.
Emelio had little trouble in defeating enigmatic qualifier Alex de Wet in their first round clash as he prevailed in a straight sets tussle. The seventeenth seed struggled early against the dogged de Wet; the Zimbabwean-born player making Emelio earn his points with a fantastic counter-attacking display. But his best chance to take a set went begging in heartbreaking fashion; the CWLander was only two points from claiming the first set before he served up a poorly placed double fault. From there his confidence seemed to dwindle against highly rated opposition; Emelio finding his groove as he raced through the third set to seal a dominant 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-0 victory. Young gun Billy Spleen also suffered a disappointing straight sets victory against noted clay court straggler Haiku Morkel. Morkel's game followed a similar pattern to that of Heath Davis; whilst his booming serve overwhelmed Spleen early, his game deteriorated as his fitness reserves were called into the equation. Never-the-less, the Norwegian had enough about him to pull off an expected 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(5) victory, but will almost certainly face a tougher task in the second round against third seed Radivoj Daneu.
In the same section, Spas Delev suffered a disappointing four-set loss to Spanish qualifier Marc Carretero. The world number 181 surprised the hard-working Delev early with some aggressive tennis to take an early break. But after claiming the opener 6-2, Carretero let his CWLand opponent right back into the contest as he blew a 40-15 lead early to hand Delev the all-important early break. But Carretero, who grew up on clay courts, picked up the biggest win of his career with some very impressive tennis in the next two sets as he advanced to a showdown with 29th seed Jason Bradley 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. Section 6 continued to be an unhappy hunting ground for CWLand as wildcard Lawrence Trumper-Smith fell to an expected loss against 18th seed Carlo Amato. The fiery Itallian looked like he meant business early, before he was given a wake up call by the controversial CWLand figure in the second set. LTS produced a sensational second set display against a bewildered Amato, but the former athlete looked a different player after calling for an injury break as he overcame the indignity of the second set to seal a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.
Elsewhere, big-serving Australian David Champion's abysmal form continued as he fell in five sets to qualifier Alex Peters. Separated by 135 placed on the world rankings, few would think that even Champion would fall in the first round; but the Aussie surprised all as he dropped the first set. With the scores level at 2-2, Champion finally broke back to get a bit of a run on as he claimed ten of the next fourteen games to take a two-sets-to-one lead, but there was another twist in the tale as Peters came flying back into the clash. The German took the fourth set 6-3 before getting the early break of service against the ailing Champion as he advanced to a second round clash with Roman Dorogan 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. One of the favourites to take the tournament, Miroslav Brdar, was forced to come from two-sets-to-one down against Domingo Gutiérrez Gómez to keep his Open dreams alive. Down 4-5 and 30-40 in the fourth set, Brdar looked on the verge of a most unlikely defeat before the most important ace of his season helped keep the match alive. In a brave performance from the Puerto Rican, he was just unable to pull off an amazing upset as Brdar showed his undoubted class under pressure to seal a 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win. The Croat will use this match as a giant wake-up call ahead of his second round match against Mark Harmel.
Elsewhere, the big names of the tournament got underway without a hitch as the second and third seed produced easy wins. Tournament favourite Daniel Páez Blanco barely got out of first gear as he delivered a straight sets thrashing to world number 104 Kasper Buur. The 26-year old took just four games off the Spanish second seed as Blanco began his charge to a seventh title of the season with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 win. Third seed Radivoj Daneu also had little trouble in dispatching Colombian qualifier Johan Ortiz. Ortiz put up a small fight in the first two sets, but never looked like challenging the Serb as the third seed advanced 6-4, 6-4, 6-0.
- Seeded players out: David Champion.
HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Pretty happy with that start. A straight sets win, but a stern test at the same time. I'm not expecting to progress and further, but I can hopefully push Emelio to having to play more than 3 sets. You never know though, he's beatable.
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
Hmm, no qualifier for Svensson? Was that just inactivity, or because of ranking?