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CricketWeb Tennis - Season I
- Thread starter SirBloody Idiot
- Start date
Mister Wright
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I have high hopes for Mustard in his first grass court appearance. A semi final is not out of the question. Has a favourable draw to at least reach a quarter final.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Hoping to face a Norwegian in the semis. Benaglio could be dangerous though, hopefully not too much running in the early stages.
SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
London; Warsaw; Halle (Quals) - June 8-15, I
AEGON International
Qualifiers - London
Qualifying (Draw)
CWLanders Vladimir Stakhanov and Martti Korpinen have missed out on a spot in the main draw of the AEGON Championships after failing to make real in roads into the qualifying draw. The top seeded Korpinen came back from a set down against Imre Medgyessy to walk away with a fairly comfortable victory, but fell away in his second round clash against Robert Isaacs of South Africa. Korpinen and Isaacs struggled to hold service throughout the match, but it was the South African who produced the goods at the most opportune times as he sealed an upset 6-4, 7-6(9) upset. Meanwhile, Stakhanov met his end in a three-set slog against American Sam Lazzeri. The veteran Lazzeri dropped the first set against an on-song Stakhanov, before producing a fine comeback to take the second set after a late break. Whilst Stakhanov took the match deep into the third set, he was unable to clinch a break on the accurate Lazzeri serve as the American advanced 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Orange Warsaw Open
Qualifiers - Warsaw
Qualifying (Draw)
Jarko Maxum was the only CWLander to qualify for the main draw of the Orange Warsaw Open after a successful period. The teenager, who has struggled for form as of late, looked to have revitalised himself as he breezed past Argentina's Miguel Bertolotto in the first round. But the 19-year old found himself in some real trouble in the second qualifying round as his match against Guilliano Soave was deadlocked at 5-5 in the third set. Maxum would clinch the break of service after a lengthy rally to secure the match, before having a much easier time of it in his qualifying final against Andrej Konc. He will move into the main draw with a real chance of winning a match - his opponent being Austrian Zbiginiew Boniek.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Trumper-Smith's campaign came to a disappointing straight sets win in the second round against Colombia's Johan Ortiz. After coming from a set down to defeat an impressive Matt Bre in his first match for the country, Trumper-Smith wilted against Ortiz who controlled the match right around the court. Elsewhere, Randy Banks made the transition to ATP events with a first up loss in qualifying; he was roundly beaten by local prospect Mateusz Wójtowicz in straight sets.
Gerry Weber Open
Qualifiers - Halle
Qualifying (Draw)
Scotland Rivers will play his first ATP International Series tournament in Halle this week after earning a spot in the main draw after a win over Estonia's Taavi Aleksejev in the final. The impressive youngster did things the hard way as all three of his matches went to three sets, starting with his first round win over Bosnia & Herzegovina's Zoran Demonjic. But the CWLander began to grow in confidence and showed flashes of his undoubted potential; fourth seed Marc Carretero falling victim to his exciting style as he claimed a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 upset. He looked like he might fall just short when down a set and 2-4 in his final against the seventh seed Aleksejev, before he rallied to level the match at a set each. In just under two hours, the CWLander earned the biggest win of his career 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to set up an interesting first round clash against Croatia's Ivan Cesljar. At 6'5", Cesljar is a tough prospect for the CWLander - his main weapon being his height and his surprising speed around the court.
AEGON International
Qualifiers - London
Qualifying (Draw)
CWLanders Vladimir Stakhanov and Martti Korpinen have missed out on a spot in the main draw of the AEGON Championships after failing to make real in roads into the qualifying draw. The top seeded Korpinen came back from a set down against Imre Medgyessy to walk away with a fairly comfortable victory, but fell away in his second round clash against Robert Isaacs of South Africa. Korpinen and Isaacs struggled to hold service throughout the match, but it was the South African who produced the goods at the most opportune times as he sealed an upset 6-4, 7-6(9) upset. Meanwhile, Stakhanov met his end in a three-set slog against American Sam Lazzeri. The veteran Lazzeri dropped the first set against an on-song Stakhanov, before producing a fine comeback to take the second set after a late break. Whilst Stakhanov took the match deep into the third set, he was unable to clinch a break on the accurate Lazzeri serve as the American advanced 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
- Qualifying for the main draw: Pat Ambrose; Randy Bruce; Mikel Fosdike; Robert Isaacs.
Orange Warsaw Open
Qualifiers - Warsaw
Qualifying (Draw)
Jarko Maxum was the only CWLander to qualify for the main draw of the Orange Warsaw Open after a successful period. The teenager, who has struggled for form as of late, looked to have revitalised himself as he breezed past Argentina's Miguel Bertolotto in the first round. But the 19-year old found himself in some real trouble in the second qualifying round as his match against Guilliano Soave was deadlocked at 5-5 in the third set. Maxum would clinch the break of service after a lengthy rally to secure the match, before having a much easier time of it in his qualifying final against Andrej Konc. He will move into the main draw with a real chance of winning a match - his opponent being Austrian Zbiginiew Boniek.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Trumper-Smith's campaign came to a disappointing straight sets win in the second round against Colombia's Johan Ortiz. After coming from a set down to defeat an impressive Matt Bre in his first match for the country, Trumper-Smith wilted against Ortiz who controlled the match right around the court. Elsewhere, Randy Banks made the transition to ATP events with a first up loss in qualifying; he was roundly beaten by local prospect Mateusz Wójtowicz in straight sets.
- Qualifying for the main draw: Aleksander Alitpsritsin; Kasper Buur; Jarko Maxum; Martin Reiter.
Gerry Weber Open
Qualifiers - Halle
Qualifying (Draw)
Scotland Rivers will play his first ATP International Series tournament in Halle this week after earning a spot in the main draw after a win over Estonia's Taavi Aleksejev in the final. The impressive youngster did things the hard way as all three of his matches went to three sets, starting with his first round win over Bosnia & Herzegovina's Zoran Demonjic. But the CWLander began to grow in confidence and showed flashes of his undoubted potential; fourth seed Marc Carretero falling victim to his exciting style as he claimed a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 upset. He looked like he might fall just short when down a set and 2-4 in his final against the seventh seed Aleksejev, before he rallied to level the match at a set each. In just under two hours, the CWLander earned the biggest win of his career 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to set up an interesting first round clash against Croatia's Ivan Cesljar. At 6'5", Cesljar is a tough prospect for the CWLander - his main weapon being his height and his surprising speed around the court.
- Qualifying for the main draw: Dmitris Chasiotis; Anvar Juraev; Scotland Rivers; Ivan Vuka.
Simon
Request Your Custom Title Now!
With a name like Randy what do you expect? oh wait.
SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
London (R56) - June 8-15, I
AEGON International
Round of 56 - London
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)
CWLand has experienced a gem of a start to the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club, London, with all four players in the round of 56 sealing impressive victories. At the head of it all was French Open quarterfinalist Jojo Mustard who slotted back into the swing of things on grass perfectly with a straight sets thrashing of Andy Russell. The British wildcard did little to curb the explosive match from Mustard who sounded out a warning to his competition en route to a 6-1, 6-1 win. In just fifty eight minutes, Mustard controlled the court perfectly - coming up to the net regularly to give his opponent the run around. The victory essentially a warm up for the fourteenth seed, who will now focus his energies on his second round clash with Russia's Dmitry Orlov. The broad-shouldered player was forced to come from a set down in his win over Samoan Murphy S'ua.
In the same section, Alex de Wet produced his second tour victory in a come-from-behind win against Australian Pat Hewitt. In breezy start, the enigmatic de Wet looked to be having a bad day as Hewitt romped to the first set in just twenty-seven minutes. But the gutsy CWLander stormed back into the contest with some much better tennis in the second set to send it to a tiebreaker. Saving three match points, de Wet edged the tiebreaker 15-13 to send the match to a decider. There, de Wet snuck a late break of service against the Australian journeyman to seal a confidence boosting 2-6, 7-6(13), 7-5 victory. His second round opponent is, however, much more highly rated. Ninth seed Rick Henson made a successful return to competitive tennis after two months on the sidelines as he eased to victory against Adam Murray. Despite the close margain, Henson never really looked troubled by the Australian as he eased back into the rigours of international tennis in a secure 7-5, 6-3 victory.
After an indifferent clay season, Heath Davis has begun his season on the faster courts encouragingly with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Belarusian Denis Isaev. Davis barely broke stride as he thrashed the Alessandria Challenger champion in just under an hour; firing down eleven aces and twelve winners at the net to dispatch the Belarusian. In a section of the draw stacked with power servers, Davis showed that he had more strings in his bow than just his served as he controlled the match right from the word go. Not giving the Belarusian any break points undoubtedly helped, but the three breaks of service throughout the match proved the difference between the two. Davis' next task is to try to upstage Australian number one David Champion. Champion also suffered from a lack of form in the clay season, but began his grass court assault in style with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the aggressive Zhenyu Fok. The clash will be a battle of the serves - Davis' booming right against Champion's blistering left - with Champion's edge around the court possibly proving the difference between the two.
Finally, Spas Delev made it four from four for CWLand with a straight sets win over local wildcard Scott Whitehouse. Delev has been quietly going about his grass court preparations over the past month, and it paid dividends as he thrashed Whitehouse. The CWLander started well by breaking service immediately; a break which proved enough for him to run away with a one set to love lead. The second set was tighter, but Delev managed to overcome an early hiccup to advance in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. He, like de Wet, has much tougher prospect in the second round as eleventh seed Oneil Stewart awaits. Stewart, a French Open quarterfinalist, proved far too good for forty year old Russian Vladimir Gryzlov; thrashing him 6-1, 6-4.
AEGON International
Round of 56 - London
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)
CWLand has experienced a gem of a start to the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club, London, with all four players in the round of 56 sealing impressive victories. At the head of it all was French Open quarterfinalist Jojo Mustard who slotted back into the swing of things on grass perfectly with a straight sets thrashing of Andy Russell. The British wildcard did little to curb the explosive match from Mustard who sounded out a warning to his competition en route to a 6-1, 6-1 win. In just fifty eight minutes, Mustard controlled the court perfectly - coming up to the net regularly to give his opponent the run around. The victory essentially a warm up for the fourteenth seed, who will now focus his energies on his second round clash with Russia's Dmitry Orlov. The broad-shouldered player was forced to come from a set down in his win over Samoan Murphy S'ua.
In the same section, Alex de Wet produced his second tour victory in a come-from-behind win against Australian Pat Hewitt. In breezy start, the enigmatic de Wet looked to be having a bad day as Hewitt romped to the first set in just twenty-seven minutes. But the gutsy CWLander stormed back into the contest with some much better tennis in the second set to send it to a tiebreaker. Saving three match points, de Wet edged the tiebreaker 15-13 to send the match to a decider. There, de Wet snuck a late break of service against the Australian journeyman to seal a confidence boosting 2-6, 7-6(13), 7-5 victory. His second round opponent is, however, much more highly rated. Ninth seed Rick Henson made a successful return to competitive tennis after two months on the sidelines as he eased to victory against Adam Murray. Despite the close margain, Henson never really looked troubled by the Australian as he eased back into the rigours of international tennis in a secure 7-5, 6-3 victory.
After an indifferent clay season, Heath Davis has begun his season on the faster courts encouragingly with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Belarusian Denis Isaev. Davis barely broke stride as he thrashed the Alessandria Challenger champion in just under an hour; firing down eleven aces and twelve winners at the net to dispatch the Belarusian. In a section of the draw stacked with power servers, Davis showed that he had more strings in his bow than just his served as he controlled the match right from the word go. Not giving the Belarusian any break points undoubtedly helped, but the three breaks of service throughout the match proved the difference between the two. Davis' next task is to try to upstage Australian number one David Champion. Champion also suffered from a lack of form in the clay season, but began his grass court assault in style with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the aggressive Zhenyu Fok. The clash will be a battle of the serves - Davis' booming right against Champion's blistering left - with Champion's edge around the court possibly proving the difference between the two.
Finally, Spas Delev made it four from four for CWLand with a straight sets win over local wildcard Scott Whitehouse. Delev has been quietly going about his grass court preparations over the past month, and it paid dividends as he thrashed Whitehouse. The CWLander started well by breaking service immediately; a break which proved enough for him to run away with a one set to love lead. The second set was tighter, but Delev managed to overcome an early hiccup to advance in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. He, like de Wet, has much tougher prospect in the second round as eleventh seed Oneil Stewart awaits. Stewart, a French Open quarterfinalist, proved far too good for forty year old Russian Vladimir Gryzlov; thrashing him 6-1, 6-4.
- Seeded players out: Ross Onwye; Zoltan Varga.
dontcloseyoureyes
BARNES OUT
In a tough section with Hall, but I'm really hoping to get over him and go a long way on my best surface.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Impressive stuff. Makes up for poor qualifying.
HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Solid win that. Should be a good game against Champion next up. Hoping to sneak through for a huuuge match against Drake! Come on Heef!!
SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
London; Warsaw; Halle (2R/1R/1R) - June 8-15, I
AEGON International
Second Round - London
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)
Men's Doubles (Top Half - Bottom Half)
Eighth seed Jefferson Drake will headline the CWLand contingent in the third round of the AEGON Championships after a decidedly poor day for the nation. After four players joined Drake in the second round yesterday, the same four fell out in disappointing fashion in a frustrating day of tennis. Drake had little trouble in dispatching American Samuel Thorpe in straight sets; Drake's explosive brand of tennis proving all too much for Thorpe as he raced to a 6-0, 4-1 lead. Whilst Thorpe managed to edge back into the contest, Drake merely lifted a gear to secure a 6-0, 7-5 mauling. His opponent will not, however, be fellow CWLander Heath Davis after the world number 43 was edged out in straight sets by David Champion. As expected, it was an ace-a-thon on court three as they combined for a total of twenty-six aces in just 22 games. But it was Davis who dropped service at the most crucial times as the Aussie sounded out a warning to the rest of the circuit with an impressive match - the tenth seed sealing a third round clash with Drake 7-5, 6-4.
Elsewhere, French Open quarterfinalist Jojo Mustard fell to a surprise defeat against Russian workhorse Dmitry Orlov. With many heralding Mustard as the "dark horse" in the clay season, he found himself troubled early by the world number 38. Orlov broke service early in the first set to surge to a 3-1 lead; a lead Mustard was unable to claw back despite his best efforts. Lacking a monster serve like some of the others in the draw, Orlov relied heavily on some superb placement to undo the fourteenth seed; a late break in the second set sealing a big 6-3, 6-3 win. Orlov now faces fourth seed Miroslav Brdar in the third round, and will see himself as a real chance of stealing a win after the Croat struggled to a win against Morocco's Hayden Onwye. Onwye brought up two set points in the first set tiebreaker, before dropping it 10-12; the Croat not finding his best form to start the grass season. Nevertheless, he managed to pull himself back from the brink again in the second set as he came back from 3-5 down to claim four games on the trot and a 7-6(10), 7-5 win.
Ninth seed Rick Henson will face the truest test of his fitness in the third round after he cruised past controversial CWLand figure Alex de Wet. De Wet played some exciting tennis in the first set as he surprisingly went a break up against the highly rated American. But Henson has shown again and again that he's one of the best players in the world with his back against the wall, and the Rotterdam champion fired back with a double salvo to seal the first set. From there, de Wet repeated his frustrating fade out at the French Open as Henson romped to a 6-4, 6-1 victory. His opponent will be local hope Henry Charles, who, with the crowd firmly behind him, will undoubtedly test the injured calf of the 28-year old. The fifth seed overcame an early scare against The Ukraine's Roman Dorogan to record an eventually straightforward victory 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Finally, Spas Delev was unable to cause a boil over against Oneil Stewart, but he did trouble the Jamaican eleventh seed in the sixty-six minutes they were on court. The French Open quarterfinalist is well known for his dogged nature, but he found himself in trouble against the lightening quick CWLander who made sure the Jamaican would be forced to play that one extra shot. Trailing 2-4 in the first, Stewart managed to break back to return the set to a level footing before stealing another break as a result of Delev putting a simple forehand volley straight into the net. The second set followed a similar path to the first, only this time it was Delev who got the immediate break back against the Stewart serve. Despite that hiccup, the ultra-talented Jamaican had just enough about him to seal a 7-5, 6-4 win. His opponent in the third round will be Canadian Davis Kennedy who started his tournament well with a straight sets win over Belgian prospect Yves Parmentier. Parmentier showed glimpses of the form that makes him one of the most highly rated youngsters in world tennis, but couldn't sustain it against the always solid seventh seed. Kennedy served out the match with a pair of backhand winners to advance 7-6(4), 6-3.
In other matches, the two top seeds started their tournaments brightly with straight sets wins. Top seed Jason Hall started slowly against Paolo Mandonna, but eventually picked up the pace to get a measure of revenge for his second round exit in Madrid with a 7-5, 6-1 win. He will face giant Latvian wildcard Ivars Emsis in the third round after he out-gunned Oscar Highsmith in three sets after firing down twenty-eight aces. Meanwhile, second seed Radek Špidla showed he will be a force to be reckoned with at Wimbledon as he smashed Dutchman Sipko Wetzel in straight sets. Things get tougher from here, though, as thirteenth seed Morgan Carter awaits; the American came from a set down to defeat his doubles partner Wayne Boyd in three sets. In the upset of the round, Zhijun Sun made a worrying return to competitive action as he bowed out in three to Lee Inmin. In a bizarre clash, Zhijun looked like he hadn't missed a step after two months out in a dominant first set which lasted just twenty minutes. But Lee fired as Zhijun went back into his shell, and despite no obvious signs of his broken toe hampering his efforts, Zhijun fell to defeat. Lee's 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win sets up an unlikely third round clash with French qualifier Mikel Fosdike.
In doubles action, Spas Delev's couple of days just got a lot worse as for the second tournament in a row, he and partner Roman Dorogan bowed out in the first round. To be fair to the CWLand-Ukraine pairing, they were given a horrid draw as the team once ranked as high as five, Morgan Carter and Wayne Boyd, handed them an early defeat. Showing no signs of tension ahead of their second round clash against each other, Boyd and Carter had little trouble in disposing of the underdogs who still look like they are getting used to each other's style of play. The 6-2, 6-2 win sets up a blockbuster second round clash against fifth seeds Heath Davis and Jojo Mustard.
Elsewhere, Denis Isaev and Evginiy Maximov combined well to smash wildcards Henry Charles and Michael Posinković. Maximov, minus regular doubles partner Andrej Konc who surprisingly attempted to qualify in Warsaw, meshed well with his fellow Belarusian as they crushed the British number one and his partner 6-1, 6-0. Elsewhere, Zhijun Sun managed to at least get a win on the board in one of his matches as he and Hau Li-an combined to account for Uzbek pair Rustam Toshpulatov and Denis Inomov. The Henson Brothers also paired up for the first time in an international tournament; signalling their Wimbledon intentions with a 6-2, 6-3 mauling of Indian brothers Ashim and Seby Kumar. The win sets up a mouth-watering clash with French Open finalists Tal Cohen and Raz Teper.
Orange Warsaw Open
First Round - Warsaw
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
The Orange Warsaw Open got underway without any major incident as seven of the eight seeds advanced to the final sixteen. Fourth seed Jamee Hancianu bounced back from his finals loss in the Challenger tournament in Turin last week by accounting for Peruvian 25-year old José Navarro. Whilst Navarro showed some of that South American flare, he was unable to really impose himself on the match as the 19-year old showed maturity beyond his years in pulling off a victory. In two tight sets, Hancianu broke the stalemate late in the piece on both occasions to sneak through to the second round 7-5, 6-4. Hancianu will be heartened by the fact that Navarro only had one opportunity to break service (he failed), and will need to take his solid first serve percentage into his second round clash with Portugal's Valter Cordiero.
Elsewhere, Randy Smeltz stayed on course for a possible quarterfinal showdown with his younger countryman as the 28-year old took a victory over Brazil's Carlos Machado. With Machado's doubles partner, Morton Blundell, competing with Yves Parmentier in the interim in London, the Brazilian would have hoped to have advanced further into the draw. But Smeltz has been a tough cookie to crack in the early stages of clay tournaments this season (despite the showing in Pörtschach), and never really looked like giving Machado a sniff. In sixty-three minutes, the fifth seed advanced to the second round 6-3, 7-5 as he staved off a late charge from the Brazilian to seal victory.
His second round opponent will be Zbiginiew Boniek after the Austrian survived a testing clash against youngster Jarko Maxum. Maxum was certainly unlucky not to take a set off the Austrian after finding himself up 2-0 in the first set. But the Austrian number one proved just too physically strong for his younger opponent, and countered the speed and skill of Maxum with grunt and 'work' on the ball. In the second set tiebreaker, Maxum fell away completely as Boniek secured an unconvincing 6-4, 7-6(1) victory. Certainly, the path looks open for an all-CWLand clash in the quarters.
Elsewhere in the draw, seventh seed Sergio Joaquin was a surprise loser in the first round as he gave up a one set lead to be beaten by another Austrian - qualifier Martin Reiter. Reiter looked one step behind Joaquin in the first set, but the world number 39 bottled it completely against the man ranked some 150 spots lower than him. Elsewhere, Tiago Matias escaped with a victory despite being given one of the highest ranked non-seeded players in the draw first up; world number 47 Ion Andueza. The Casablanca finalist put up a real fight, but could not pull off victory despite a dominant second set as Matias edged into the second round 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. He will hope that he can produce a more convincing showing in the second round as he faces local wildcard Piotr Bak. Bak was a surprise winner against Brazil's Roberto Santos; the world number 61 unable to stop Bak from taking a 6-4, 7-6(0) boilover.
Gerry Weber Open
First Round - Halle
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Second seed Sven Oxenstierna will be thanking the tennis gods for opening the path for him to make a surprise appearance in a grass final in a blockbuster first day of action in the Gerry Weber Open in Halle. The CWLander's great round started brightly as he dispatched Japan's Ninteh Doh in a crushing victory to advance to the second round. Many have been sceptical over the clay court specialist’s ability on the quicker surface, but he never looked troubled against Doh as he smashed him 6-2, 6-0. His day got a lot better, though, as one of the favourites to take the tournament, third seed Juan Moreno, sensationally crashed out in straight sets to local Alex Peters. Peters, who surged into the top hundred last week after making the third round of the French Open, played out of his skin in front of a raucous crowd on centre court; outplaying the world number six in the hour-long clash. Moreno looked comfortable on grass, but it was Peters who took the initiative from the word go as he romped to a surprise 6-3, 6-4 win. Also falling was eighth seed Almen Benaglio who was edged out in straight sets by Bulgaria's Ivan Genov. The likely quarterfinal opponent for Oxenstierna was matched in all facets by the Bulgarian who has caused upsets right throughout the season when least expected. In two very tight sets, it was the Bulgarian who held his nerve against the Indian Wells finalist as he advanced to the second round 7-5, 7-6(2).
Rob Bowenburg was back in form in his first round clash as he had little trouble in beating German wildcard Peter Seel. Despite a late fight back from Seel, he was never in with a shot against the confident CWLander who used the court brilliantly in his 6-0, 7-5 win. Bowenburg, whose ranking suffered in the clay season, prospered on the quickly courts as he let rip with twenty-four winners to overwhelm the German. He will hope to continue his form into the second round as he faces a showdown with fourth seed Rasmus Olesen. The Dane likewise enjoyed the quicker surface as the shackles came off in a 6-2, 7-5 win over highly rated Croat Nilikar Midid.
Scotland Rivers put in a brave performance, but it wasn't enough to pick up victory in his first ever ATP International Series match against Croatia's Ivan Cesljar. Cesljar breezed through the first set in just twenty minutes, but found it much tougher in the second set as Rivers grew in confidence. But it was the experience of Cesljar which allowed him to pick up a confidence-boosting victory; breaking the Rivers serve late to advance 6-1, 7-5. His opponent in the second round will be Ivan Genov.
Perhaps overlooked after the massive upsets of the first round, world number one Daniel Páez Blanco made a shaky start to his grass court assault as he stumbled over the line in his first round clash against Maarten Berg. Gone was the swagger and the assertiveness on clay from Blanco's game, as he instead preferred to sit behind the baseline and try to slog it out against the Dutchman. Luckily for him, Berg has also played little tennis on grass and was unable to take advantage of the tentative top seed; Blanco scraping through to the second round 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Mid-way through the second set, it looked as if he would get his first test against an experience hard-court performer as Tom Vollan looked to have his first round match under wraps. Ahead 6-1, 4-0, Vollan suffered a strain which severely limited his ability to play his best tennis against qualifier Anvar Juraev. Essentially on one leg, Vollan managed just four points on Juraev's service throughout the rest of the match as Juraev inexplicably advanced to a showdown with the world number one 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. In the match of the second round, Serbian Danijel Micic will face off with French ace Patrick Pascaul. Arguably two of the most underachieving players on the circuit, the pair will look to surge up the rankings with a quarterfinal showing here. Elsewhere, sixth seed Carlo Amato will do battle with powerhouse Kim Vollan of Norway after the world number 49 edged a tight victory over countryman Haiku Morkel; backing up his surprise fourth round appearance in Paris with a gutsy 7-5, 7-6(0) victory.
AEGON International
Second Round - London
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)
Men's Doubles (Top Half - Bottom Half)
Eighth seed Jefferson Drake will headline the CWLand contingent in the third round of the AEGON Championships after a decidedly poor day for the nation. After four players joined Drake in the second round yesterday, the same four fell out in disappointing fashion in a frustrating day of tennis. Drake had little trouble in dispatching American Samuel Thorpe in straight sets; Drake's explosive brand of tennis proving all too much for Thorpe as he raced to a 6-0, 4-1 lead. Whilst Thorpe managed to edge back into the contest, Drake merely lifted a gear to secure a 6-0, 7-5 mauling. His opponent will not, however, be fellow CWLander Heath Davis after the world number 43 was edged out in straight sets by David Champion. As expected, it was an ace-a-thon on court three as they combined for a total of twenty-six aces in just 22 games. But it was Davis who dropped service at the most crucial times as the Aussie sounded out a warning to the rest of the circuit with an impressive match - the tenth seed sealing a third round clash with Drake 7-5, 6-4.
Elsewhere, French Open quarterfinalist Jojo Mustard fell to a surprise defeat against Russian workhorse Dmitry Orlov. With many heralding Mustard as the "dark horse" in the clay season, he found himself troubled early by the world number 38. Orlov broke service early in the first set to surge to a 3-1 lead; a lead Mustard was unable to claw back despite his best efforts. Lacking a monster serve like some of the others in the draw, Orlov relied heavily on some superb placement to undo the fourteenth seed; a late break in the second set sealing a big 6-3, 6-3 win. Orlov now faces fourth seed Miroslav Brdar in the third round, and will see himself as a real chance of stealing a win after the Croat struggled to a win against Morocco's Hayden Onwye. Onwye brought up two set points in the first set tiebreaker, before dropping it 10-12; the Croat not finding his best form to start the grass season. Nevertheless, he managed to pull himself back from the brink again in the second set as he came back from 3-5 down to claim four games on the trot and a 7-6(10), 7-5 win.
Ninth seed Rick Henson will face the truest test of his fitness in the third round after he cruised past controversial CWLand figure Alex de Wet. De Wet played some exciting tennis in the first set as he surprisingly went a break up against the highly rated American. But Henson has shown again and again that he's one of the best players in the world with his back against the wall, and the Rotterdam champion fired back with a double salvo to seal the first set. From there, de Wet repeated his frustrating fade out at the French Open as Henson romped to a 6-4, 6-1 victory. His opponent will be local hope Henry Charles, who, with the crowd firmly behind him, will undoubtedly test the injured calf of the 28-year old. The fifth seed overcame an early scare against The Ukraine's Roman Dorogan to record an eventually straightforward victory 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Finally, Spas Delev was unable to cause a boil over against Oneil Stewart, but he did trouble the Jamaican eleventh seed in the sixty-six minutes they were on court. The French Open quarterfinalist is well known for his dogged nature, but he found himself in trouble against the lightening quick CWLander who made sure the Jamaican would be forced to play that one extra shot. Trailing 2-4 in the first, Stewart managed to break back to return the set to a level footing before stealing another break as a result of Delev putting a simple forehand volley straight into the net. The second set followed a similar path to the first, only this time it was Delev who got the immediate break back against the Stewart serve. Despite that hiccup, the ultra-talented Jamaican had just enough about him to seal a 7-5, 6-4 win. His opponent in the third round will be Canadian Davis Kennedy who started his tournament well with a straight sets win over Belgian prospect Yves Parmentier. Parmentier showed glimpses of the form that makes him one of the most highly rated youngsters in world tennis, but couldn't sustain it against the always solid seventh seed. Kennedy served out the match with a pair of backhand winners to advance 7-6(4), 6-3.
In other matches, the two top seeds started their tournaments brightly with straight sets wins. Top seed Jason Hall started slowly against Paolo Mandonna, but eventually picked up the pace to get a measure of revenge for his second round exit in Madrid with a 7-5, 6-1 win. He will face giant Latvian wildcard Ivars Emsis in the third round after he out-gunned Oscar Highsmith in three sets after firing down twenty-eight aces. Meanwhile, second seed Radek Špidla showed he will be a force to be reckoned with at Wimbledon as he smashed Dutchman Sipko Wetzel in straight sets. Things get tougher from here, though, as thirteenth seed Morgan Carter awaits; the American came from a set down to defeat his doubles partner Wayne Boyd in three sets. In the upset of the round, Zhijun Sun made a worrying return to competitive action as he bowed out in three to Lee Inmin. In a bizarre clash, Zhijun looked like he hadn't missed a step after two months out in a dominant first set which lasted just twenty minutes. But Lee fired as Zhijun went back into his shell, and despite no obvious signs of his broken toe hampering his efforts, Zhijun fell to defeat. Lee's 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win sets up an unlikely third round clash with French qualifier Mikel Fosdike.
- Seeded players out: Jojo Mustard; Zhijun Sun.
In doubles action, Spas Delev's couple of days just got a lot worse as for the second tournament in a row, he and partner Roman Dorogan bowed out in the first round. To be fair to the CWLand-Ukraine pairing, they were given a horrid draw as the team once ranked as high as five, Morgan Carter and Wayne Boyd, handed them an early defeat. Showing no signs of tension ahead of their second round clash against each other, Boyd and Carter had little trouble in disposing of the underdogs who still look like they are getting used to each other's style of play. The 6-2, 6-2 win sets up a blockbuster second round clash against fifth seeds Heath Davis and Jojo Mustard.
Elsewhere, Denis Isaev and Evginiy Maximov combined well to smash wildcards Henry Charles and Michael Posinković. Maximov, minus regular doubles partner Andrej Konc who surprisingly attempted to qualify in Warsaw, meshed well with his fellow Belarusian as they crushed the British number one and his partner 6-1, 6-0. Elsewhere, Zhijun Sun managed to at least get a win on the board in one of his matches as he and Hau Li-an combined to account for Uzbek pair Rustam Toshpulatov and Denis Inomov. The Henson Brothers also paired up for the first time in an international tournament; signalling their Wimbledon intentions with a 6-2, 6-3 mauling of Indian brothers Ashim and Seby Kumar. The win sets up a mouth-watering clash with French Open finalists Tal Cohen and Raz Teper.
- Seeded players out: None.
Orange Warsaw Open
First Round - Warsaw
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
The Orange Warsaw Open got underway without any major incident as seven of the eight seeds advanced to the final sixteen. Fourth seed Jamee Hancianu bounced back from his finals loss in the Challenger tournament in Turin last week by accounting for Peruvian 25-year old José Navarro. Whilst Navarro showed some of that South American flare, he was unable to really impose himself on the match as the 19-year old showed maturity beyond his years in pulling off a victory. In two tight sets, Hancianu broke the stalemate late in the piece on both occasions to sneak through to the second round 7-5, 6-4. Hancianu will be heartened by the fact that Navarro only had one opportunity to break service (he failed), and will need to take his solid first serve percentage into his second round clash with Portugal's Valter Cordiero.
Elsewhere, Randy Smeltz stayed on course for a possible quarterfinal showdown with his younger countryman as the 28-year old took a victory over Brazil's Carlos Machado. With Machado's doubles partner, Morton Blundell, competing with Yves Parmentier in the interim in London, the Brazilian would have hoped to have advanced further into the draw. But Smeltz has been a tough cookie to crack in the early stages of clay tournaments this season (despite the showing in Pörtschach), and never really looked like giving Machado a sniff. In sixty-three minutes, the fifth seed advanced to the second round 6-3, 7-5 as he staved off a late charge from the Brazilian to seal victory.
His second round opponent will be Zbiginiew Boniek after the Austrian survived a testing clash against youngster Jarko Maxum. Maxum was certainly unlucky not to take a set off the Austrian after finding himself up 2-0 in the first set. But the Austrian number one proved just too physically strong for his younger opponent, and countered the speed and skill of Maxum with grunt and 'work' on the ball. In the second set tiebreaker, Maxum fell away completely as Boniek secured an unconvincing 6-4, 7-6(1) victory. Certainly, the path looks open for an all-CWLand clash in the quarters.
Elsewhere in the draw, seventh seed Sergio Joaquin was a surprise loser in the first round as he gave up a one set lead to be beaten by another Austrian - qualifier Martin Reiter. Reiter looked one step behind Joaquin in the first set, but the world number 39 bottled it completely against the man ranked some 150 spots lower than him. Elsewhere, Tiago Matias escaped with a victory despite being given one of the highest ranked non-seeded players in the draw first up; world number 47 Ion Andueza. The Casablanca finalist put up a real fight, but could not pull off victory despite a dominant second set as Matias edged into the second round 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. He will hope that he can produce a more convincing showing in the second round as he faces local wildcard Piotr Bak. Bak was a surprise winner against Brazil's Roberto Santos; the world number 61 unable to stop Bak from taking a 6-4, 7-6(0) boilover.
- Seeded players out: Sergio Joaquin.
Gerry Weber Open
First Round - Halle
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Second seed Sven Oxenstierna will be thanking the tennis gods for opening the path for him to make a surprise appearance in a grass final in a blockbuster first day of action in the Gerry Weber Open in Halle. The CWLander's great round started brightly as he dispatched Japan's Ninteh Doh in a crushing victory to advance to the second round. Many have been sceptical over the clay court specialist’s ability on the quicker surface, but he never looked troubled against Doh as he smashed him 6-2, 6-0. His day got a lot better, though, as one of the favourites to take the tournament, third seed Juan Moreno, sensationally crashed out in straight sets to local Alex Peters. Peters, who surged into the top hundred last week after making the third round of the French Open, played out of his skin in front of a raucous crowd on centre court; outplaying the world number six in the hour-long clash. Moreno looked comfortable on grass, but it was Peters who took the initiative from the word go as he romped to a surprise 6-3, 6-4 win. Also falling was eighth seed Almen Benaglio who was edged out in straight sets by Bulgaria's Ivan Genov. The likely quarterfinal opponent for Oxenstierna was matched in all facets by the Bulgarian who has caused upsets right throughout the season when least expected. In two very tight sets, it was the Bulgarian who held his nerve against the Indian Wells finalist as he advanced to the second round 7-5, 7-6(2).
Rob Bowenburg was back in form in his first round clash as he had little trouble in beating German wildcard Peter Seel. Despite a late fight back from Seel, he was never in with a shot against the confident CWLander who used the court brilliantly in his 6-0, 7-5 win. Bowenburg, whose ranking suffered in the clay season, prospered on the quickly courts as he let rip with twenty-four winners to overwhelm the German. He will hope to continue his form into the second round as he faces a showdown with fourth seed Rasmus Olesen. The Dane likewise enjoyed the quicker surface as the shackles came off in a 6-2, 7-5 win over highly rated Croat Nilikar Midid.
Scotland Rivers put in a brave performance, but it wasn't enough to pick up victory in his first ever ATP International Series match against Croatia's Ivan Cesljar. Cesljar breezed through the first set in just twenty minutes, but found it much tougher in the second set as Rivers grew in confidence. But it was the experience of Cesljar which allowed him to pick up a confidence-boosting victory; breaking the Rivers serve late to advance 6-1, 7-5. His opponent in the second round will be Ivan Genov.
Perhaps overlooked after the massive upsets of the first round, world number one Daniel Páez Blanco made a shaky start to his grass court assault as he stumbled over the line in his first round clash against Maarten Berg. Gone was the swagger and the assertiveness on clay from Blanco's game, as he instead preferred to sit behind the baseline and try to slog it out against the Dutchman. Luckily for him, Berg has also played little tennis on grass and was unable to take advantage of the tentative top seed; Blanco scraping through to the second round 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Mid-way through the second set, it looked as if he would get his first test against an experience hard-court performer as Tom Vollan looked to have his first round match under wraps. Ahead 6-1, 4-0, Vollan suffered a strain which severely limited his ability to play his best tennis against qualifier Anvar Juraev. Essentially on one leg, Vollan managed just four points on Juraev's service throughout the rest of the match as Juraev inexplicably advanced to a showdown with the world number one 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. In the match of the second round, Serbian Danijel Micic will face off with French ace Patrick Pascaul. Arguably two of the most underachieving players on the circuit, the pair will look to surge up the rankings with a quarterfinal showing here. Elsewhere, sixth seed Carlo Amato will do battle with powerhouse Kim Vollan of Norway after the world number 49 edged a tight victory over countryman Haiku Morkel; backing up his surprise fourth round appearance in Paris with a gutsy 7-5, 7-6(0) victory.
- Seeded players out: Almen Benaglio; Juan Moreno.
dontcloseyoureyes
BARNES OUT
Good to regain some form. Long may it continue. Disappointing to see Heaf go out, though.
Mister Wright
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Shocking to go out in the 2nd round! Back to the practice courts, and hopefully a deep tournament with Heath for the doubles.
SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
Pretty frustrating loss for Mustard, yeah. Mind you, was always going to be a pretty tough section with the likes of Henson, Charles and Brdar in there. Section 2 looks ripe for the picking for Cowan.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Shame about Queen's, didn't dare call it but it was on the cards. Drake has a tricky draw tstl, huge wraps if he gets through it
@ the seeds going out in my half though. Also @ an Argentinian being considered a grass-court favourite.
@ the seeds going out in my half though. Also @ an Argentinian being considered a grass-court favourite.
HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Very disappointing. Only dropping two games, but that's enough. On another day, I reckon I would have bettered Chumpion.
And a very tough match first up in the doubles. At least Jojo and I are 100% concentrated on the doubles.