Week 21: Nice; Düsseldorf; Cremona

[SirBloody Idiot]

ARAG World Team Cup II
PTA 250 - Saturday (Finals Day) - Düsseldorf, Germany - Clay (Red)

West CWLand have taken a whitewash over the United States to claim the World Team Cup in an entertaining final. Despite the 3-0 scoreline, it was entertaining tennis all round as the Americans pushed the West to the limit.

In the opening match, No. 2 Jojo Mustard finally found some singles form as he picked up a straight sets win over Jason Bradley. Having dropped a match to János Varga earlier in the week, Mustard was a surprise choice to return to the singles fold but he had just enough to edge out the American. Bradley stuck close to Mustard with some typically resilient tennis, but it was the Westerner who opened up a 1-0 lead for the slight favourites with a 6-3, 7-5 win.

It was all on the line in the hotly anticipated matchup between two of the world's top five, but it was the underdog Darcy Cowan who got the jump on Sven Oxenstierna to take the first set 7-5. But the big-serving American was brought back to Earth as he dropped the second set to love and found himself a break down in the third. Cowan clawed back with a surprise break back, but Oxenstierna was by that point creating too many chances against the American who was all-serve by that point - winning 5-7, 6-0, 7-5 to seal the title.

The scrap between the world's top two doubles pairings Hugh James and Ralph Robinson, and Heath Davis and Mustard was unfortunately a dead rubber, but the Westerners prevailed in an entertaining affair for all involved 6-3, 4-6, [10-7].
​

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Ohhh yeah, baby! Taking a trophy home for the West! And another fantastic win over the world's 2nd best pairing. Doesn't get any better!

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Mustard the big star, obviously. Has earned two cups imo.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Trofeo Paolo Corazzi II
PTA Challenger Tour - Final - Cremona, Italy - Hard

• West CWLand's Scotland Rivers has claimed the Trofeo Paolo Corazzi Challenger title with a straight sets win over third seed Ivars Emsis. The top seed hadn't dropped a set all week and was coming off a straight sets thrashing of Akihiko Veno in the semi finals, but faced his biggest test yet (literally) against the two metre Latvian. Emsis, though, wasn't on song today as he double faulted twice in his opening service game and was broken by Rivers. That was always going to be a problem for Emsis who routinely struggles when receiving, and the high energy Rivers hurt him on the scoreboard with a number of clean winners off the forehand wing. The chances on the Emsis serve were few and far between, though, so the Latvian was always in with a chance. But when he was broken in the fifth game of the second set the writing was on the wall as Rivers broke again in the ninth to secure the title 6-3, 6-3 by placing a forehand well wide of the outstretched Emsis at the net.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Ivars Emsis.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Good week this, considering Nice is all-CWLand. Hopefully Drake pulls through to give the East some joy (we need it).

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Open de Nice Côte d'Azur II
PTA 250 - Final - Nice, France - Clay (Red)

• East CWLand's Jefferson Drake has survived a classic close encounter with West CWLand veteran Brett Read to claim his sixth PTA tour title in Nice. The World No. 8 was a heavy favourite coming into the match, but it was plain early that Read intended to keep his great run of form alive. With both players coming off easy wins on Friday, the quality of tennis was high in the first set as both players looked well-placed to make a real fist of the Saturday final. With a break of serve each, a tight set went to a tiebreaker where Read clawed his way back from 1-4 down to take the first set 7-6(5) after a string of frustrating misses from Drake. Read's tactics in the first set to slowly grind Drake down had worked, but Drake was always going to be dangerous if he found his range. He did so in the second set as he showed power that Read couldn't match as he raced to a 5-0 lead. While Read staged a brief fightback, Drake quickly shut the door on him by holding to love with an overhead smash to level the score at a set each.

With it all on the line, Drake got an important early break in the third and looked to be coasting at 4-2. But after clinging onto serve as Drake blew two break points for a 5-2 lead, Read snatched back the deficit to level the set at 4-4. It was a tense few games, but ultimately both players survived break point chances to send the title match to a deciding tiebreaker. It was there that Drake's match fitness and big power served him well as he managed to fight back from a minibreak down to bring up a championship point at 6-5. Read, however, managed to save the first one with a gutsy backhand down the line, but after the change of ends immediately handed a championship point back to Drake as another attempted backhand this time caught the net and went wide. With the title on his racquet, Drake secured title No. 6 with an ace out wide to complete a tremendous 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(6) win.

• Seeded players out: None.

 

[morgieb]

**** that was close.

Still, a final at this stage is a good sign towards RG.

Also wd to all 3 winners being CWLanders!

 

[Mister Wright]

Good to see Mustard hit form leading into the French Open.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Thank God, it's been far too long.