Week 19: Belgrade, Estoril, Munich, Ramat HaSharon

[SirBloody Idiot]

Lol, Kim Vollan the #4 seed. High quality tournament.

Three top tenners in a 250, though...

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

PREVIEWS

Belgrade, Serbia
The top two seeds return to Belgrade with Daneu the defending champion. Both, however, are battling poor form. Third seed Jojo Mustard has, unfortunately for him, been given the tougher half with the defending champ a possible semi final opponent but this is a pretty weak draw all told. He should, at the very least, make it to the final four and in the form he's in push to go further. Heath Davis is the fifth seed fresh off a magnificent run in Rome last week. Kasper Buur and Oliver Engel aren't easybeats, but Morgan Carter in the quarters is the big threat - he beat Illya Altman in Rome. Prediction: Daneu def. Carter (roughies Orlov, Davis).

Estoril, Portugal
By far the toughest draw of the three PTA level events this week, but dominated by the top three seeds. Sven Oxenstierna has run riot in recent weeks and with no Blanco in his way should make his way through to the semis blindfolded. Rasmus Olesen is his likely opponent there, though the third seeded Dane has a tough quarter to navigate with the likes of Jean-Alain Depuis and Paolo Mandonna. Brett Read was bounced out in the first round in Rome and will likely take a big hit in the rankings tomorrow when they are released. He will hope to mitigate some of that damage here - Mark Harmel was beaten love and love by Spas Delev in Rome qualifying, while Ion Andueza isn't in his best form. Prediction: Oxenstierna def. Hall.

Ishan Narang and Rick Langley are currently competing in the final round of qualifying. Should they manage victories, the plum places in this draw are vs. Dorogan and vs. Maurer.

Munich, Germany
Munich is stacked with CWLanders (though none seeded), and while it doesn't have huge names it is probably the deepest field for this surface. West CWLand's Rob Bowenburg qualified for Rome and had a tremendous run to the quarters last week, but the real question is whether he runs out of gas here. Toby Brookes is a gentle start considering his form and the fact his ranking is almost exclusively propped up by a title in Pörtschach that will drop off in a fortnight, while third seed Diego Hurtado has not competed since suffering an injury in Miami in March. In the same quarter, Scotland Rivers meets Almen Benaglio in a particularly tough start for the West CWLander whose great hard court form has hit a road block on the red clay.

In the bottom half, Spas Delev and Jarkko Maxum realistically could not have asked for much better in terms of their draws. Delev meets Miguel Bertolotto who is a handy yet limited player, but fourth seed Antonio Bachunelli is a tough assignment. Maxum on current form would be a very fine chance to make the quarters, but Rick Henson or a resurgent Johan Ortiz could await in the quarters. Prediction: Altman def. Haas.

Ramat HaSharon, Israel (Tretorn Serie+ Challenger on hard courts)
Big points on the line in Israel in a tournament that last year took place late in the season. In current form, Marcuss Deane would rate himself a chance to make the quarters at least where he would look to atone for his Rhodes loss to top seed Ivars Emsis. There's no reason he cannot: he tamed Atthaphol Sae-ul last week who is a superior player to Paquette and the out-of-form doubles star Ross Onwye. Roy Daniels... who knows? He could go deep or could get smashed by Henrikk Henrikkson. Probably the latter. Prediction: Emsis def. Bruce.

 

[ripper868]

Very happy to have a qualifier in the first round

expect to crash out tbh.

 

[Mister Wright]

Mustard should make the finals, and improve on ranking points.

Will there be a doubles tournament or is doubles now just for major tournaments?

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Just for major tournaments now.

 

[Johnners]

Decent shot at the quarters imo.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Late Bulletin:

In Belgrade, Denmark's Kasper Buur has withdrawn from his first round match with fifth seed Heath Davis with a wrist injury. He has been replaced by French lucky loser Christian Mary. The World No. 203 lost his qualifying matchup against Hungary's Imre Medgyessy 3-6, 6-4, 4-6.

(LL)Christian MARY vs.

(6)Heath DAVIS
​

In Estoril, Ishan Narang and Rick Langley have both picked up straight sets victories in the qualifying round to earn places in the main draw. Narang meets the Ukraine's Roman Dorogan in the first round before a possible second round clash with fourth seed Kim Vollan while Langley lf against Bogdan Maurer who returns from injury.

Roman DOROGAN vs.

(Q)Ishan NARANG

(Q)Rick LANGLEY vs.

Bogdan MAURER
​

Finally in Munich, sixth seed Almen Benaglio has withdrawn with a facial injury which has resulted in a seeding shuffle. Jarkko Maxum moves into Benaglio's spot as the ninth seed and will meet Scotland Rivers in an all-CWLand affair while Thomas Velten is placed in Row 27.

Scotland RIVERS vs.

(9)Jarkko MAXUM
​

 

[ripper868]

Very happy to have a qualifier in the first round

expect to crash out tbh.

Late Bulletin:

Scotland RIVERS vs.

(9)Jarkko MAXUM
​

EDIT: or was the rivers the qualifier

 

[vic_orthdox]

May as well be on Clay.

 

[Paid The Umpire]

Woot.

I'm on my way through to the final... or so i hope.

 

[Jarquis]

inb4SFchoke

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Israel Open II
PTA Challenger Tour - Monday (1st Round) - Ramat HaSharon, Israel - Hard

• Teenage star Marcuss Deane was too good for his lowly Canadian opponent Michel Paquette overnight Israel time with a 6-1, 6-3 victory. The heavily-bandaged West CWLander has apparently struggled with a thigh injury as of late, but showed no signs of weakness as he tore past the World No. 208 in breezy fashion. On one of the outer courts of the Israel Tennis Centre, Deane's powerful serve and aggressive volleying served him well as the defensive Paquette failed to create enough chances. Deane's win sets up a second round clash with 25-year old Croatian Stipo Vučemilović who who produced an upset of sorts with a 7-5, 7-6(6) win over the out-of-form seventh seed Ross Onwye.

• There was no luck for Campsfield champion Roy Daniels as the World No. 144 was comprehensively beaten by Swedish fourth seed Henrikk Henrikkson. To Daniels' credit, he fought back from 0-4 down in the first set to lose it 3-6, but made too many errors and hit too few winners to oust the solid Swede who advanced to the second round 6-3, 6-3.

• Seeded players out: Waylon Jones; Eric Henson; Ross Onwye.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

inb4SFchoke

Good chance of QFchoke tbh.

 

[Jarquis]

Good chance of QFchoke tbh.

Variety ftw.

 

[Cevno]

Dorogan can GAGF.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Serbia Open II
PTA Tour 250 - 1st Round - Belgrade, Serbia - Clay (Red)

• Red hot West CWLander Heath Davis has made a winning start to his Serbia Open campaign with a 6-3, 6-1 win over French lucky loser Christian Mary. Davis made the quarter finals in Rome last week, and goes from strength-to-strength on the red clay as he trounced the late replacement for Dane Kasper Buur in just over an hour. After a tight start, Davis roared into action as he punished the Frenchman with his big forehand to secure a second round berth in quick time. He plays Luxembourg's Oliver Engel who picked up a rare clay win; 6-1, 6-4 over Hungarian qualifier Imre Medgyessy.

• Elsewhere, unseeded Russian teen Boris Denisov returned to action with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Chilean veteran Jefferson Quezada to advance to a showdown with Jojo Mustard while eighth seed Tom Vollan was beaten in three by Nilikar Midid of Croatia.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Tom Vollan.

Man, Vimes said Estoril was bad but this draw is pretty on clay. Would be pretty disappointing for Heef if he doesn't make the semis at least.
​

 

[Mister Wright]

Well done Heath!

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Estoril Open II
PTA Tour 250 - 1st Round - Estoril, Portugal - Clay (Red)

• Qualifier Ishan Narang has continued what will no doubt be a magnificent week for the young lad regardless of future results as he outgunned World No. 100 Roman Dorogan in three sets. The erratic Easterner bowed out first round last week in a Greek Challenger, but was dealt a winnable first round clash here in Portugal on clay for the first time this season. After three victories in qualifying, Narang was riding high as he took two service breaks in the opening three games as the Ukrainian No. 3 struggled to stay in the match. But after taking the first set 6-2, things took a turn for the worse as Dorogan stepped up to some rather lacklustre serving from the "usually" solid serving of the Indian-born player. After dropping the second set to one, Narang needed to find his feet fast and got lucky as Dorogan put a forehand wide to give him the early break. It turned out to be a game-changing moment as young Narang grew in confidence and secured a quarter final place with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 win. He now plays fourth seed Kim Vollan; a player who has yet to back up great Grand Slam results at these smaller tournaments.

• Another comeback kid was West CWLand's Brett Read, and he had half the trouble of Narang as he proved his class with a 6-1, 6-3 thrashing of Belgium's Mark Harmel. The veteran Belgian has been in diabolical form as of late, and year off or not Read is clearly a superior player on all surfaces. Despite a rough exit last week in Rome, Read is a steady player with good enough groundstrokes to get him past opposition of this quality. After struggling to find his feet over the past few weeks, Read will face a real litmus test on the red clay against Spanish sixth seed Ion Andueza. Andueza, fresh off a 6-3, 6-1 opening round triumph, will be hoping to put a new twist on a thoroughly disappointing clay court season with a good showing in Portugal.

• It wasn't all smooth sailing for the Westerners, though, as qualifier Rick Langley bowed out in straight sets to Romanian Bogdan Maurer. Having smashed little-known local Joaquim Santos one and love in the qualifying round on Sunday, Langley was disappointing against Maurer who was just back from injury. The tall and powerful Romanian showed that Langley has some way to go as he kept him well behind the baseline and denied the Westerner many chances to pass him with his long reach and great defensive play. Langley, meanwhile, struggled to get a read on the first serve of Maurer who found the sweet spot from the southern end and never really looked troubled on serve. The 3-6, 2-6 loss is a setback for Langley, but he will be grateful for qualifying points that will at the very least push him just a touch closer to the top hundred. He currently sits at No. 118.

• Second seed Sven Oxenstierna learned of his second round opponent as local wildcard Luis Amaral beat out compatriot Helder Lópes in three sets. It gets easier for him as possible quarter final opponent Yves Parmentier the eighth seed was beaten easily by Aldo Marín of Paraguay.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Yves Parmentier.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

BMW Open II
PTA Tour 250 - 1st Round - Munich, Germany - Clay (Red)

• Fresh off a quarter final run in Rome, Rob Bowenburg has come through a tough first round clash with Pörtschach champion Toby Brookes relatively unscathed after a come-from-behind win in Munich. Bowenburg was down a set and a break at 1-3 in the second set, but in a dramatic reversal took the second set in a tiebreaker 7-3. Brookes hasn't had many victories this clay season and looked desperate to oust the West CWLander, but in a dramatic final set he came from a break down twice before falling short in a second tiebreaker. Bowenburg, having failed to serve out the match once, was dynamic as his power proved too much for the Aussie as he secured a 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) win. He now meets Brazilian qualifier after third seed Diego Hurtado dropped out in his return from injury 6-4, 1-6, 6-7(6).

• A quarter final clash with partner Jarkko Maxum could be on the cards after the ninth seed got the better of CWLand rival Scotland Rivers. The end of the clay swing cannot come soon enough for Rivers as he slumped to another loss to extinguish the last of the momentum he created in a dramatic post-Australian Open charge. In a competitive first set, Rivers had a number of chances on Maxum's serve but failed to secure any of them as Maxum claimed the set 6-4. He managed a break of serve in the second but that was it as a clinical Maxum made the most of his post-draw move with a 6-4, 6-1 win. He plays Austrian Heinz Hainisch who won his match 6-2, 6-2 against Switzerland's Pascal Schmidt.

• Finally, Spas Delev is the only CWLander in the bottom half and had no troubles in his win over Argentina's Miguel Bertolotto. Delev was in damaging form as he put some hurt on the World No. 97 in a 6-2, 6-2 win. His form has been questionable since a fine American hard court swing, but against a lower ranked opponent like the steady Bertolotto that trademark forehand was on display in a great win. A tougher test awaits him with fourth seed Antonio Bachunelli surviving a tight match with a French qualifier.

• Touted as a real French Open contender, top seed Illya Altman's losing streak extended to three in a bizzare loss to Spain's Fernando Aguero. The Ukrainian has been under an injury cloud with a knee complaint, and many were surprised to see him take a wildcard into the draw this week. After claiming the first set, Altman looked concerned by his right knee and was bizzarely beaten 6-4, 3-6, 1-6 in an awful display. The confusing loss was compounded by an announcement on his Twitter that he has pulled out of next week's Madrid Masters.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Illya Altman;
  
  Björn Donaldson;
  
  Diego Hurtado;
  
  János Varga.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Well, I can't complain about that result. I must be in the form of my career at the moment. Still, will have to ward of complacency as a good run here would be very helpful.

How many weeks off is the French Open now?

Good to see some other quality wins from the CWLand contingent too.