CricketWeb Tennis - Season I

[cricketboy29]

*sigh*...fallen out of form a tad in singles. Doubles still there though

 

[Simon]

Excellent start to the campaign. A title here would help me in my quest of pushing that top 15. Would be nice to crack the top 16 in time for the final Masters Series events of the season.

 

[NUFAN]

Awesome day for CW!!

I've got to say that I'm pretty happy that Carter lost, I've played him before and found him slightly difficult. Nilikar Midid will be a better challenge, but he's Croat so he's always going to give it 100%.

Pleased for Maxum to win, hopefully we can both get ourselves on the first page of the rankings (top 50).

 

[ripper868]

Super stuff from the Lob as well, top 50 is surely only months away (hopefully)

If i can best Buchanelli, it would be awesome, Clay is Maxum's preferred surface after all, 3 sets either way the tip.

 

[NUFAN]

Reckon you'll win in 2 sets Maxum.

As the best 17 or 18 tournaments entered count for rankings is my ranking about to get worse as I've played around 25 tournaments so far, or has that already been factored in?

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Reckon you'll win in 2 sets Maxum.

As the best 17 or 18 tournaments entered count for rankings is my ranking about to get worse as I've played around 25 tournaments so far, or has that already been factored in?

Your best of 18 score is your current ranking points, but you don't have many NCs dropping off over the rest of the season because Bowenburg has been, for the most part, pretty ordinary in a lot of tournaments.

Whatever you take from this tournament you subtract eight from basically as Monte Carlo qualifying drops off.

 

[NUFAN]

because Bowenburg has been, for the most part, pretty ordinary in a lot of tournaments.

Harsh. LOL. Not sure what NC's mean but I think what you're trying to say is do good and ranking points will take care of themselves.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Non-countables. Like Bowenburg has been in 25 tournaments (if what you say is correct), but I think 6 have been 0's and another one with just four points (which has dropped off).

 

[NUFAN]

Oh I understand completely now. Cheers mate.

 

[luffy]

Hey, a wins a win. I'll take it.

 

[Jamee999]

Would be up for a pairing at French Open + clay masters (Rome, Madrid, Monte Carlo) + a couple of July tournaments.

Book it.

Pretty confident about going deep in Bucharesti

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Open de Moselle
2nd Round - Metz (France) - Indoor Hard

Qualifying (Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's Doubles (Draw)

• It was same old, same old for Rob Bowenburg as he failed to take advantage of a soft draw; bowing out in straight sets to Croatia's Nilikar Midid. Bowenburg, who impressed in his first round clash, struggled to bring that performance against the world No. 47 who played the better and more powerful tennis. The Croat took advantage of Bowenburg's tentativeness by mixing it up to great effect and managed to create plenty of chances on the Bowenburg service. Ultimately he advanced to his fourth quarterfinal of the season 6-3, 6-4.
• The second round didn't get any better for CWLand as Scotland Rivers joined Bowenburg on the loser's list. Against former world No. 5 Zhijun Sun, Rivers was always going to struggle; however he still managed to put up a decent fight against the teenage wonderkid. Carrying the future of Asian tennis on his shoulders, Zhijun managed to continue his slow ascent back up the rankings to overpower the talented Rivers and secure a 6-3, 7-5 win.
• Elsewhere, local hope Pierre L'Estrange managed to pull off a big upset as he ousted top seed Miroslav Brdar 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. In the bottom half, it will be an all-French quarterfinal as fourth seed Patrick Pascaul is set to do battle against veteran Jean-Alain Depuis.

• Seeded players out: Miroslav Brdar; Kim Vollan.

• In the doubles draw, Suryakant Singh & Gurpreet Rao continued to build on their Challenger victory in Szczecin by upsetting fouth seeded French pair Mikel Fosdike & Christian Mary. In what could only be considered an upset against a team who would hope for a fine performance in front of their home crowd, Rao and Singh showed steely determination as they produced a surprising 6-3, 5-7, 11-9 victory. The pair now face Norwegian brothers Kim & Tom Vollan in the second round after the big men ominously smashed Liam Bailey & Matthew Charnock 6-3, 6-4.
• The woes of third seeds Wayne Boyd & Morgan Carter continued elsewhere as they were belted by Björn Donaldson & Alex Peters 6-1, 6-3.

• Seeded players out: Wayne Boyd & Morgan Carter; Mikel Fosdike & Christian Mary.

BCR Romanian Open
2nd Round - Bucharest (Romania) - Clay

Men's Singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's Doubles (Draw)

• In contrast to the boys in Metz, Jarkko Maxum produced arguably his finest performance of the year to upstage world No. 34 Antonio Bachunelli in three sets to advance to the quarterfinals of Bucharest. Bachunelli, the Montréal semifinalist and French Open round of 16 competitor, came into the match as favourite to secure a victory, and started well to take the first set from Maxum 6-4. But the ever-improving Maxum why he has risen 77 spots since late June as he played some fine tennis to beat Bachunelli in rallies to level the match at a set each. In a tense third set, the CWLander played the better tiebreaker to secure a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) upset and a second ATP level quarterfinal of the season.
• There will be at least one CWLander in the semifinals as Maxum set up a quarterfinal clash with top seed Randy Smeltz. The world No. 19 was less convincing in his second round clash than he was in the first round, but against tougher opposition he managed to come up with a victory again as he defeated Casablanca finalist Ion Andueza 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to advance to his ninth quarterfinal of the year.
• In the bottom half, Jamee Hancianu won a bizarre clash to surge to a blockbuster quarterfinal. The local crowd was bitterly against Hancianu and pro-Bogdan Maurer in what was billed as an all-Romanian clash between Maurer and Hancianu who left the central European nation to take up greener pastures in CWLand. Despite that, he managed to come from a set down in a determined performance to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory. Since returning to the European clay, Hancianu has looked much more comfortable than he has over the previous months on grass and hard courts, and will have a chance to advance to the semifinals against third seed Sanchez Emelio.

• Seeded players out: None.

• In the doubles draw, Dutch duo Sipko Wetzel & Thomas Velten produced the biggest surprise of the day in defeating fourth seeds Jürgen & Zbiginiew Boniek. French Open runners up Tal Cohen & Raz Teper survived another scare in their first round clash, coming from a set down to beat Romanians Radu Ghiţă & Bogdan Maurer 3-6, 6-3, 10-8. The Israeli top seeds have been in a downward spiral since losing at Roland Garros, and need some good performances late in the season to maintain their spot in the World Tour Finals

• Seeded players out: Jürgen Boniek & Zbiginiew Boniek.

Ethias Trophy
2nd Round - Mons (Belgium) - Indoor Hard

Men's Singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's Doubles (Draw)

• In the Mons Challenger, Spas Delev again was tested but pulled free convincingly to secure a 7-5, 6-4 win over Poland's Pawel Wisniewski. In what was a heartening performance after his tendancy to drop games he should win, Delev played attractive tennis to secure his straight sets victory and a quarterfinal showdown with Mario Timko. The highly talented Slovakian youngster has been found out at times with his serve and volley game despite some success; Delev will have to counter the tactic if he wants to continue on into the weekend.
• Marcuss Deane will play his first quarterfinal on Friday after come from a set down to belt Swedish lucky loser Patrik Boman. Boman countered the big Deane service in the first set to steal the sole break of service in the first set, but that was the end of him as he succumbed to the increased power of Deane who eased to a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win. Deane now faces Iceland's Gunnar Valsson in the quarterfinal; a winnable clash, though Valsson was impressive in his win over Britain's Sebastian Moss.
• Matt Bre made it 3/3 as he spanked Andy Russell in straight sets in his best performance of the year. The eighth seed looked lethargic in contrast to Bre's high tempo game that allowed him to run out a 6-4, 6-0 victor. Bre has a big test in the quarterfinals against Latvian giant Ivars Emsis; a man who has pushed Darcy Cowan to five sets at Wimbledon.

• Seeded players out: Sebastian Moss; Andy Russell; Harry Thompson.
• Seeded players out: None.

 

[ripper868]

Awesome to be in the quarters, looking forward to this duel with Smeltz as well, will be good to have a cwlander through to the final 4.

Unlucky for the Lob, we'll get it back in doubles soon.

 

[Johnners]

Nice Into the quarters and quietly confident about making it to the final after finally starting to show some fight.

 

[Mister Wright]

Great work from the CWLand team to secure the Davis Cup tie, felt pretty good. Would have liked a game one of the dead rubbers, but can't deny a great performance from the whole team.

 

[Simon]

Looking forward to the clash with Maxum, should go in as favourite but wont be underestimating him.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Open de Moselle
Quarter Finals - Metz (France) - Indoor Hard

Qualifying (Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's Doubles (Draw)

• Two Frenchmen will be in action on Saturday in the Metz semifinals despite some one-sided quarterfinals. Patrick Pascaul won the battle against 37-year old Jean-Alain Depuis; the veteran showing that he can't quite match it with the world's better players as he succumbed to a 0-6, 5-7 loss. In the top half, Pierre L'Estrange will face off against Croat Nilikar Midid in the first semifinal. L'Estrange accounted for Wayne Boyd 7-5, 6-4, whilst Midid edged a watertight clash with Zhijun Sun 6-4, 6-7(1), 7-6(4).

• Seeded players out:
  
  Wayne Boyd;
  
  Zhijun Sun.

• The big two teams are still alive in the doubles draw, but face tough semifinals on Saturday. Sandro Bachunelli & Hicham Hadir eased past wildcards Franck Brunet & Jeremy Chateau, but will face a sterner test against Germans Matthias Müller & Tim Zander.
• In the bottom half, Lee Inmin & Qingdong Tsai will face Norway's Kim & Tom Vollan after the big men accounted for Gurpreet Rao & Suryakant Singh. Singh and Rao struggled to get into many of the rallies on the service of the powerhouse pair who made light work of the rapidly improving team 6-3, 6-2.

• Seeded players out: None.

BCR Romanian Open
Quarter Finals - Bucharest (Romania) - Clay

Men's Singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's Doubles (Draw)

• Jarkko Maxum has confirmed he is the real deal despite losing in his quarterfinal clash with Randy Smeltz in Bucharest. The world No. 65 played brilliantly to test the world No. 19, but ultimately succumbed to the experience of the top seed who pulled clear at the right time in the decider with an opportune break of service. Maxum managed to come back from a break down in the second to send the match to a third, but couldn't repeat his win from Thursday as a cool Smeltz broke Maxum's service twice in the decider to advance 6-4, 5-7, 7-5. Smeltz faces an even bigger test in the semis, though, with Danijel Micic - fresh off a win over the world No. 1 in Belgrade last week - awaits after thumping Ivan Genov 6-2, 7-6(5).
• In the second semifinal, Jamee Hancianu advances to the final four for the first time since the ATP Masters Series went to Madrid as he again came from a set down to beat Spanish third seed Sanchez Emelio. Emelio took the first set thanks to a break of service in the very first game, but the Costa do Sauipe hit back confidently in the second with some inch-perfect tennis which saw him continually hit the lines much the chagrin of the world No. 27. Emelio managed to cut down on Hancianu's effectiveness in the third set, but the 18-year old managed to win through 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. He faces another Spaniard tomorrow after Sergio Joaquín ended the impressive run of Turkey's Aksu Emrem.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Sanchez Emelio;
  
  Ivan Genov.

• Top seeds Tal Cohen & Raz Teper continue to look unimpressive in victory, and will face their sternest test yet in the semifinals after Viorel Iftime & Marius Micu smashed David Kestenholz & Daniel Zwygart 6-4, 6-1. Cohen and Teper, meanwhile, only just clawed home against Romanian wildcards Răzvan Băncilă & Carol Sima.
• The second semifinal is an all-Spanish affair; second seeds Ion Andueza & Sanchez Emelio against singles semifinalist Sergio Joaquín and his partner Marc Carretero.

• Seeded players out: None.

Ethias Trophy
Quarter Finals - Mons (Belgium) - Indoor Hard

Men's Singles (Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's Doubles (Draw)

• In Belgium, top seed Spas Delev looks headed toward a maiden final at any level after winning through to his first semifinal 6-3, 6-4 against highly rated Slovakian youngster Mario Timko. Timko abandoned his serve and volley style against top hundred opposition, and paid for it dearly as he was awkward at the baseline and ineffective when he decided to make the shift to the net. Delev, however, was crisp and clinical in victory as he overturned an 0-2 record in quarterfinals this season with a confident win.
• Big-man Marcuss Deane was unable to produce a victory in his quarterfinal, but will be happy with his 13 points which will almost certainly move him inside the world's top 250. Iceland's Gunnar Valsson prevailed in a match which largely went on service; performing admirably late in the sets against the lanky British born player to earn three breaks of service for the match. Deane, however, was caught wanting at times with his movement at the baseline as the aggressive Icelander took a tight 7-5, 7-5 win to progress to a semifinal clash with Delev.
• In the bottom half it was a different story, as Latvian giant Ivars Emsis slammed down seventeen aces to just two in his 6-3, 7-5 win over Matt Bre of CWLand. Bre did all he could to break Emsis' service, but was not able to get the breakthrough he needed despite producing six break points in the second seed's eleven service games. Emsis faces a test in the semis in the form of Macedonia's Gjorgji Dinov; the fourth seed hasn't dropped a set this week, and thumped Max Eisenhauer 6-1, 7-6(4).

• Seeded players out:
  
  Mario Timko.

• Just the one seeded team bowed out of the doubles as Karl King & Murphy S'ua advanced in three sets over fourth seeds Tomislav Kurtoviç & Kenta Yusa. King and S'ua made the late decision to enter the draw (the Samoan did not enter the singles draw where he would have been seeded three, but the pair were impressive in their 4-6, 7-5, 10-4 win over the Croatian-Japanese pair.
• In the day's longest match, third seeds Grigory Khugaev & Alexey Korskakov saved four match points in a marathon match tiebreaker to come from a set down to beat Phillippe Davide & Ivars Emsis 6-7(4), 6-2, 16-14.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Tomislav Kurtoviç &
  
  Kenta Yusa.

 

[Johnners]

Nice!

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Murphy S'ua for the doubles title.

 

[Jarquis]

Gutted to make the GF and go out 7-5 7-5.
Then again happy to have made the QF in the first place.