CricketWeb Tennis - Season I

[SirBloody Idiot]

Miami Masters (QF) - Mar 23 - Apr 5 Season I

Sony Ericsson Open
Quarterfinals - Miami

Top Half
Bottom Half
Finals
Seeds

CWLand's Sven Oxenstierna's inability to make it to the final dance has continued with a quarterfinal exit to world number two Radek Špidla at the Miami Masters. Oxenstierna, who has yet to compete in a final in the Open Era, started brightly as he edged ahead 3-1 in the first set. But a break of service by the big-hitting Czech allowed the second seed an avenue back into the set - an avenue he took full advantage of to break serve again and claim the first set 7-5. But Oxenstierna wasn't done yet, and sent the second set to a tiebreaker as he more than matched it with Špidla. With no love lost between the pair, Oxenstierna proved the better player and should have taken this momentum into the decider. But it wasn't to be: Špidla's assertion that his increased court time actually benefitted him seemed to ring true as he broke early in the set to take a commanding lead. A dispirited seventh seed couldn't claw back as Špidla advanced to a semifinal clash with Radivoj Daneu 7-5 6(2)-7 6-2.

Seeds Out: 6-Zhijun Sun (CHN); 7-Sven Oxenstierna (CWL); 13-Almen Benaglio (SUI).

Cowan the best Hall has seen

World number one Jason Hall has started the mind games ahead of his semifinal against countryman Darcy Cowan; labelling the 18-year old a "prodigy" and potentially the best player he's seen. In a post-match press conference following his dominant straight sets win over sixth seed Zhijun Sun, Hall talked up his opponent's class. "I see no reason that Darcy won't become the best player in the world," Hall said. "He's got it all; I wouldn't be surprised if he challenged me within the next couple of years". The somewhat backhanded compliment comes following Cowan's easy win over Indian Wells finalist Almen Benaglio - the Swiss youngster thudding back to Earth with a 6-2 6-1 thumping at the hands of Cowan.

In the other semifinal, world number two and three, Radek Špidla and Radivoj Daneu, battle it out for a spot in the Miami final and the number two spot. Daneu won his first ever tournament just over a week ago against Benaglio in the Indian Wells final.

---

Un-****ing-believable that Oxenstierna goes again. Hopefully the clay season might see him push into the top five.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Oxenstierna not willing to concede ground to Špidla
Has been given easy ride, CWLand-Swede insists

Sven Oxenstierna ended a gruelling tour of the Americas with another quarter-final defeat at Miami today, his fourth quarter-final of a two-month career. In a post-match interview, he credited opponent Radek Špidla for his service and stamina, but noted that things so far had played into the Czech's favour and confirmed suspicion that a large rivalry is brewing between the big Slav and the wily, agile upstart.

"When you're ranked 300th in the world before the season, it's a remarkable achievement just to make it into the main draw of tournaments, let alone play among the top eight," Oxenstierna railed. He also levelled the Czech's criticism of his late-stage tournament performances back at him, noting his "predictable and emphatic" defeat to Jason Hall at the Melbourne final, that both players' career titles stood firmly at zero, and that the Czech had the advantage of a high ranking all season while the CWLander needed to play all through the early months of the year to keep his ranking high.

In a last parting shot, Oxenstierna answered no to a question of whether he'd look forward to a rematch at Roland Garros, as he claimed the Czech's lack of running speed "would see him meet his doom at a 140-ranked South American in the first round". He hoped, however, to face Czech Republic in the Davis Cup play-off in September.

Oxenstierna managed to come with some positive words, though most of them were directed at countryman Heath Davis for a decent performance in Miami, who was credited with "considerable mental strength" to come back from a set down against No. 4 Henson. He stated that Davis "is on the way up" and would be the young nation's "strongest player" in the home tournaments in August.

The world number seven also announced that he would not be competing at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, citing the need to rest after playing 13 matches in the past six weeks, as well as adjusting to European time zones before the larger clay court tournaments. He assured the fans in Northern Europe that the post-Wimbledon clay tour and the grass warm-up in Halle was still on the schedule.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Miami Masters (SF) - Mar 23 - Apr 5 Season I

Sony Ericsson Open
Semifinals - Miami

Top Half
Bottom Half
Finals
Seeds

Radivoj Daneu will be the new world number two regardless of the result of the Miami Masters final when the new ATP Rankings are released this week after a straight sets win over second seed Radek Špidla. Daneu will face-off against world number one Jason Hall, and will attempt to make it two Masters titles from two following his Indian Wells crown. The Serbian third seed proved too good for Špidla as he raced through the match in little over an hour and a half. The big-serving Špidla's time on court seemed to catch up with him as he came out stiff and struggled to overcome the Serb; Daneu taking advantage of the sluggish Špidla by forcing him to play extra shots and tiring him out further. Advancing to his second Open Era final with a 6-4 6-2 win, Daneu now faces his biggest test so far.

Top seed Hall was forced to overcome a slow start against 18-year old countryman Darcy Cowan en route to his victory, but he continued to prove unflappable under pressure. After dropping the opening set 4-6, Hall stormed back into the contest with an inspired second set which he claimed 6-3. To Cowan's credit he remained in the contest in the third, but it wasn't enough as Hall broke service to love to advance to yet another career final 3-6 6-4 7-5.

Seeds Out: 2-Radek Špidla (CZE); 5-Darcy Cowan (USA).

Daneu tells of meteoric rise

Just one day from possibly winning back-to-back Masters events, new world number two Radivoj Daneu has told of his dramatic rise to the top of the tennis world. Fresh off a straight sets win over the Czech Republic's Radek Špidla, the media-friendly usually coy 23-year old spoke out ahead of arguably the biggest match of his career. "It is great to be able to come out here and compete with some of the best players in the world," Daneu said following his semifinal victory. "To be able to play against [Jason] Hall, [Rick] Henson and even Danijel [Micic] is a dream for me. These are people I've heard about all my life, and now I play them". Daneu had previously struggled to break through the 'glass ceiling' in terms of winning an event, but the five foot seven inch Serb is loving every minute of his success. "I've worked very hard to get where I am today, so I'm happy it is finally paying off".

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

SUNDAY PREVIEW - HALL AND DANEU TO DECIDE MIAMI

After going the distance on two occasions already, Jason Hall and Radivoj Daneu are set to light up the Sony Ericcson Open in the final of the Masters event. On the previous occasions (Rotterdamn and Dubai), Hall has proved victorious despite dropping a set on both occasions. Hall is attempting to win his first ATP Masters Series title after bowing out in the third round at Indian Wells - he also has three tour titles. Daneu is the Indian Wells champion, which is his only tour title.

WHAT'S AT STAKE -
Winner: $590,000 and 500 ATP Ranking points
Runner-up: $295,500 and 350 ATP Ranking points

FINALS HISTORY -
Benaglio: Appearing in his 4th career ATP World Tour final…He is 3-1 lifetime in finals
Daneu: Appearing in his 2nd career ATP World Tour final…He is 1-0 lifetime in finals

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH-UPS

HEAD-TO-HEAD

(1) Jason Hall (USA) vs (3) Radivoj Daneu (SRB) Hall leads 2-0
0I Rotterdam (Netherlands) Hard SF Jason Hall 76 36 62
0I Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard QF Jason Hall 64 67 75

Hall FastFasts:
Season I Highlights:
Winner: Australian Open (d Špidla); Aucklund (d R Onwye); Dubai (d Champion); Finalist: Rotterdam (Hall); 3R: Indian Wells (Bradley).
Season I W-L: 27-2
Season I Titles: 3
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: 21 July, 1984
ATP Ranking: 1

- Hall, 25, is making his first tournament appearance and en route to the final, defeated Pascal Schmidt (36 63 61); Ross Onwye (76 62); Marcelo Alavos (61 75); Zhijun Sun (64 63) and Darcy Cowan (36 64 75)
- He is appearing in his first ATP Masters Series final which is his fifth tournament final
- His only Grand Slam saw him win the Australian Open
- Hall's first defeat before the final of a tournament came at the Indian Wells Masters, where he lost in the third round so Jason Bradley
- Hall's only two defeats have come against Americans
- Played a part in the United States side which defeated Israel in the Davis Cup World Group first round. He won the first rubber against Tal Cohen in five sets

Daneu FastFacts:
Season I Highlights:
Winner: Indian Wells (d Benaglio); SF: Brisbane (Hurtado); Rotterdam (Hall); QF: Australian Open (Cowan); Zagreb (Berg); Dubai (Hall);
Season I W-L: 25-5
Season I Titles: 1
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: November 11, 1985
ATP Ranking: 3

- Daneu, 24, is making his first tournament appearance and en route to the final, defeating Néstor Moreno (62 61); Jamee Hancianu (62 57 62); Morgan Carter (64 76); Ivan Genov (60 64) and Radek Špidla (64 62)
- He is appearing in his second ATP Masters Series final, which is also his second tournament final
- His only Grand Slam showing was a quarterfinal loss to American Darcy Cowan
- He was the first winner of an ATP Master Series event, defeating Almen Benaglio at Indian Wells
- Has made it to the quarterfinals and beyond in every ATP tournament he has appeared in this season.
- He won both his singles ties in Serbia's Davis Cup World Group first round match against France by beating Sébastien Lachance and Jean-Alain Depuis

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Miami Masters (Final) - Mar 23 - Apr 5 Season I

Sony Ericsson Open
Finals - Miami

Top Half
Bottom Half
Finals
Seeds

New world number two Radivoj Daneu is on top of the world after a marathon win against top seed Jason Hall in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. In an intriguing continuation of their developing rivalry, Daneu advanced in a tremendous match between the undisputed top two players in world tennis. Daneu and Hall had little trouble on service in the opening set as the first ten games went to service, but it was Hall who faltered first in the twelfth game as he missed an open court smash to hand the first set to the Serb. It was a mistake Hall was keen to rectify immediately, and he did so in style as he closed out the second set with a booming ace (his fourth of the set) to level the final at one set each. It seemed only right that the match went to a deciding tiebreaker - and in a tense finish, Daneu did enough to prevail and to hoist his second Masters crown. In just under three hours, the Serbian star sealed a sensational 7-5 3-6 7-6(7) victory.

Seeds Out: 1-Jason Hall (USA).

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Rankings

Hall the first two million dollar man
Daneu the second million dollar man

Radivoj Daneu's epic victory in the Miami Masters final not only sees him shoot up to number two in the ATP Rankings released today; his hefty US$500,000 winner's cheque sees him become just the second man cross the US$1,000,000 prize money barrier. Daneu has also narrowed the gap on world number one Jason Hall to 495 points. Hall also completed a milestone as he passed the two million dollar mark - his career prize money totalling a whopping US$2,074,800. The biggest riser this week from the top hundred players is Belgian Yves Parmentier who shot up seventeen places to number 90. Also a big mover was Ivan Genov; his quarterfinal showing in Miami saw him climb thirteen spots to 34. Missing out on a Masters event is clearly dangerous to your ranking this early in the rankings era; János Varga and Atthaphol Sae-ul were among the big losers as they slumped by seven and six spots respectively.

Top Fifty

Sven Oxenstierna's quarterfinal appearance has made no change to his rankings as he still remains safely at number seven. The CWLander has been rewarded for his consistency throughout the first quarter of the season, and will hope to push into the top five in the upcoming clay season. Jefferson Drake and Brett Read didn't suffer big falls following disappointing tournaments, but will be frustrated on their inability to capitalise on good form. The big mover-and-shaker is Heath Davis whose brave four-round run sees him climb nine spots to world number 40. Randy Smeltz's injury cost him a spot in the top fifty as he drifted out to number 55. Elsewhere, Lawrence Trumper-Smith will look to improve his ranking from 220 after announcing he was returning to professional tennis mid-week.

CWLanders

 

[Mister Wright]

Up 2 places and a positive W/L is pleasing.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Špidla out of top two and I remain seventh. Happy with that.

Shame to see Morkel out of the fifty though.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Injuries

World number four in doubt for Roland Garros
Henson suffers major setback

With the French Open just over a month away, world number four Rick Henson already faces an uphill battle to be fit following news he has been ruled out for the next month with a torn calf muscle. The news compounds Henson's poor performance at the Miami Masters event, with his estimated return being late-May. The French Open commences on May 25, and Henson may be forced to withdraw from the tournament as he will miss all the clay tournaments leading up to the Open. Elsewhere, Oscar Highsmith has returned from a torn PCL which has kept him out action since February, and Randy Smeltz has recovered well from a flu which forced him to miss Miami.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Next tournaments

Choice to compete in either:

US Men's Clay Court Championships
Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Clay
ATP International Series

WHAT'S ON OFFER -
R32: 0 pts / US$4,000
R16: 15 pts / US$6,800
QF: 40 pts / US$11,500
SF: 75 pts / US$20,750
RU: 120 pts / US$37,350
W: 175 pts / US$68,800

Grand Prix Hassan II
Casablanca, Morocco
Clay
ATP International Series

WHAT'S ON OFFER -
R32: 0 pts / €3,470
R16: 15 pts / €5,850
QF: 40 pts / €9,200
SF: 75 pts / €17,450
RU: 120 pts / €31,000
W: 175 pts / €59,100

Roy Daniels will stay in the USA, and compete in Texas.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Pah! Clay. Heef could come unstuck now.

I'll have a go in Morocco though.

 

[cpr]

Trumper-Smith will be holidaying at his disputed territory, sorry, holiday home, in Morrocco, due to it being a short yacht ride from his main base in Monaco. That and the fact he might've upset some Texan oil billionaire by bedding both his daughters last week. Going to America would mean returning them, and he hasnt quite finished yet.


He will also play some tennis for his adoring fans to witness, though rumours he demanded his own personal grass court flown in due to his dislike of clay are flying round the locker room

 

[NUFAN]

I was thinking I'd need a rest, but losing in the first round often doesn't get me too tired.

Casablanca for Bowenburg thanks.

 

[Mister Wright]

Texas for Mustard.

 

[Simon]

Randy Smeltz will play in Houston, a tournament Tommy Haas has won before so I'll go there with a positive attitude.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Svensson will head out to Casablanca.

 

[Johnners]

Delev will be looking to set Houston alight.

 

[Nate]

Houston for Read thanks.

 

[ripper868]

Casablanca for Maxum cheers, surely must make at least the main draw with clay being the preferred surface

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Drake will head out to Morrocco.