Week 7: Rotterdam [Boros], Brazil [Altman], San Jose [Murdoch], Bergamo [Cobos]

[SirBloody Idiot]

SAP Open
Quarter Finals - San Jose, CA (United States)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• Revenge was the order of the day for Scotland Rivers as he came back from the brink to make it to his second ATP semi final in San Jose, California. In his previous meeting against Davis Kennedy in Chennai, Rivers was overawed by the occasion as he slumped to a 3-6, 3-6 defeat. But on the back of a win over top 15 player Henry Charles, Rivers looked far better than he did on the subcontinent as he snatched a late break of service to steal the first set 7-5 despite being on the back foot for most of the set (saving five break points). However the enormity of the occasion did threaten to overwhelm Rivers as he was smashed in the second set 6-1 inside of a half hour. Kennedy looked ominous as he began ending points quickly, but Rivers stepped it up on his behalf in the third set and had a look in at a 3-1 lead. Kennedy saved two break point opportunities, though, and a tense match went to a deciding tiebreaker. With a class backhand, Rivers set up four match points - three of which were saved by a combination of deep hitting from Kennedy and nervous striking from Rivers. It was the fourth that did the trick, though, as Kennedy sent a forehand just long; Rivers through to the semis 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(5). He gets a stiff task against a Grand Slam finalist, though, after Oneil Stewart beat qualifier Oliver Thursfield 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in an unimpressive performance.

• In the first semi final, it is an All-American affair as Wimbledon champion Darcy Cowan and three time Grand Slam quarter finalist Dwayne Murdoch won their respective quarter finals. Murdoch smashed defending champion Wayne Boyd two and love, whilst Cowan came from 3-5 down in the opening set to string ten games together against Becker Haas in a 7-5, 6-0 win. Cowan made the semi final of the same tournament last year before losing to Boyd, whilst Murdoch fell to Kim Vollan in the quarter finals.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Becker Haas;
  
  Davis Kennedy.

• There were few surprises in doubles action, but wildcard entrants Dean Delgado & Andrew Madera were able to advance to the semi finals with a 6-4, 6-3 rout of Doug Plunkett & Anthony Weatherby. They need to continue their form into the showdown with second seeds Tal Cohen & Raz Teper who came from a set down to be Hau Li-an & Artit Wanna 2-6, 6-4, (10-4).

• Seeded players out: None.

 

[Simon]

**** yeah!

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Quarter Finals - Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• Seventh seed Jojo Mustard will no doubt be extremely disappointed with his performance in the quarter finals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam as he was trounced in straight sets by József Boros. The World No. 7 proved far too good for the West CWLander No. 2 as he ran to victory in just seventy-four minutes in a comprehensive display. Mustard hadn't been all that impressive in the earlier rounds, and his inability to string together some real form was capitalised on by Boros who controlled rallies and even came to the net to surprisingly good effect as he mixed it up. Mustard, meanwhile, was lacklustre on serve and far too attached to the baseline as Boros easily advanced 6-1, 6-3. He now faces Australian Open semi finalist Rasmus Olesen who came from a set down to beat Zoltán Varga of Hungary 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2).

• In the top half, defending champion Rick Henson was sensationally ousted in three sets by Danijel Micic to set up an all-Serbian semi final. Henson was typically consistent early as he claimed the first set 7-5, but was blitzed by the highly-strung Micic who took the next two sets 6-1, 6-3. Ranked No. 21 in the world, Micic will look to move inside the top 20 for the first time when he faces compatriot Radivoj Daneu. Daneu also came from a set down to win convincingly; beating Johannesburg champion Zhijun Sun 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Despite winning the Davis Cup together, Micic and Daneu have a noted dislike for each other and have thus far produced some fiery affairs.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Rick Henson;
  
  Jojo Mustard;
  
  Zoltán Varga;
  
  Zhijun Sun.

• After a decidedly disappointing loss earlier in the day, World No. 3 doubles player Jojo Mustard had a happy end as he and singles star Danijel Micic trounced third seeds Andrej Konc & Evgeniy Maximov. With both players appearing on court for the second time on Friday, they ensured their stay would be brief as they combined very well to coast to a 6-1, 6-3 victory. They'll find it tougher in the semi finals, though, as they face off against top seeds Hayden & Ross Onwye. The Moroccan brothers were too good in their quarter final for Vladimir Gryzlov & Dmitry Orlov; winning 6-0, 6-3. Despite remaining in the singles draw, Micic has confirmed he will take to the court in both semi finals tomorrow.

• Seeded players out: None.

 

[NUFAN]

Good work Maxum for winning a couple of matches, you beast of a man.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Rivers rapidly heading for No. 1 in the West.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Internazionali di Tennis di Bergamo
Day 4 - Third Round singles - Bergamo

Men's singles: Seeds - Finals - Quarter 1 - Quarter 2 - Quarter 3 - Quarter 4

Indian Leander Solent got off to a good start in his singles clash with Matt Bre, taking the first two games, but from then on the World No. 97 had the match on the indoor hard courts under control. Finding the rhythm in his serve and return, he won twelve of the next thirteen games, helped by a nervous opponent who seemed out of his league. Bre breezes into the quarter-finals, where he'll face Chilean No. 8 seed Renato Varas; he turned around a 3-0 deficit in the second set to win 6-3.

The story of the evening, however, was the Western qualifier Jack Loughman. Fighting the odds, Loughman concentrated on his own service points, and had surprisingly little trouble holding against Ecuadorian second seed Néstor Moreno. With the score at 3-all, Moreno double faulted and committed an error to give Loughman two break points, which the CWLander converted with ease to bring up a winning break in the first set.

The second set began similarly, but again Loughman brought up winning break points and was particularly cynical, launching himself into excellent returns. With a 3/3 break point conversion rate, the unfancied westerner proceeds into a winnable quarter-final with Chilean Leonel Romero.

Most seeds had little problems with advancing to the quarter-final stage, though Jeremy Natale of Australia struggled in the country of his homeland, as he was fairly easily dispatched by Frenchman Sébastian Lachance 6-2 6-3. World No. 113 Michael De Kinsele was particularly brutal, winning 6-1 6-0 in his clash with Québecois star Michel Paquette.

Day 4 - First & Second Round doubles - Bergamo
Men's doubles: Finals

In the doubles, CWLand's only representative pair of Marcuss Deane and Koal Kao looked set to complete a remarkable comeback as they turned 2-5 to 5-5 in the second set, but some poor serving from Kao resulted in the Croats Nikolich/Petrichevich taking the match fairly easily.

Wildcards Andrea Ciano and Stefano Vicini continue to be wooed by doubles suitors as they continue to carve a Cinderella-like path through the draw; this time they won 10-5 in the super tie-breaker against a Letzebuergesch/Israeli pairing.

 

[Jarquis]

Kao

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Bre looking in an awesome position to give the East another tournament win. What a gun.

Loughman also scything through the bottom half. Big chance of semis, too.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Brasil Open
Semi Finals - Costa do Sauípe (Brazil)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• East CWLand's Randy Smeltz is through to his second ATP final of the season after coasting past dangerman Diego Hurtado in straight sets. Hurtado has escaped from a tight quarter final by the skin of his teeth, but was widely tipped to be a real threat to Smeltz's campaign should he be on. Unfortunately for the Colombian third seed, he wasn't as he sprayed the ball around in an error-ridden first set to hand Smeltz a decisive lead on a platter. Obviously seeing something needed to be changed, Hurtado changed to a more conservative approach as he elected to keep the ball in in situations he would have ordinarily attempted to hit the cover off the ball. That played straight into the hands of Smeltz who was able to dictate proceedings and repeat the scoreline of the first set in a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing.

• The final obstacle for him is World No. 9 and defending champion Illya Altman after he smashed Oliver Engel in straight sets. The Luxembourgish player, in his second ATP semi final of the season, was distinctly unimpressive as the in form Ukrainian coasted through the first set in just 28 minutes. There was a brief scare at 1-2 down in the second for Altman, but he broke back immediately to charge into his second final of the year 6-0, 6-3.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Diego Hurtado.

• It was a poor day all round for Engel as he and Antonio Bachunelli were on the end of a smacking in the doubles semi finals. Top seeds Carlos Machado & Dênis Rodrígues were far too good in their 6-1, 6-3 victory as they moved into the first final together as a team. Their opponents will be Uruguay's Mario Acosta & Gonzalo Castro who made their first ATP final with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Julio Rodriguez & Diego Rodriquez.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Antonio Bachunelli &
  
  Oliver Engel.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

SAP Open
Semi Finals - San Jose, CA (United States)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• West CWLand's Scotland Rivers will this Sunday compete in the biggest match of his short career when he makes his first appearance in an ATP final following a three-set upset of CW Open finalist Oneil Stewart. Having already claimed the scalps of Henry Charles and Davis Kennedy this week, Rivers set his sights on the vunerable Jamaican whose recent form had been scratchy at best. In a tense first set, it was some desperate work from the Jamaican that allowed him to save two set points; but he was blitzed in the tiebreaker to love as Rivers got on the board in his second semi final. Much like the quarters, though, there was a lull following the opener as he botched a break point opportunity and subsequently dropped his own serve twice in a row. That was enough for Stewart to shake some of the rust out of his game and to serve out the second set 6-2. But he could never hit the peaks struck in Nixonstown last season as Rivers continually came to the net to great effect and struck huge blows against the Jamaican's second serve. In the end, it was the unseeded Westerner who prevailed and secured a berth in his maiden ATP final with a 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-3 boilover.

• He must now beat former World No. 10 and third seed Dwayne Murdoch if he wants to break inside the world's top fifty after the American defeated compatriot and Wimbledon champion Darcy Cowan. In a spicy affair, it was Murdoch's fantastic returning that gave him opportunities on the Cowan serve; opportunities he made count with two break point conversions from two in the third set as he moved into the final 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Darcy Cowan;
  
  Oneil Stewart.

• There were a pair of upsets in the doubles semi finals, too, as the top two seeds were ousted in amazing circumstances. In no doubt the best match of the tournament, third seeds Morton Blundell & Wayne Boyd earned a spot in their first ATP final as a team in a tense come-from-behind 4-6, 7-6(4), (10-7) win over the World No. 1 team Hugh James & Ralph Robinson. The win comes as a consolation for Boyd who, in failing to defend his points from winning the singles last year, is almost certain to drop down the rankings considerably.

• In the other semi, the unbelievable run of wildcard entrants Dean Delgado & Andrew Madera continued into the final as they out-gunned French Open finalists Tal Cohen & Raz Teper in three sets. Despite being massacred in the first set, the Israeli second seeds came back strongly in the second only to be cut down in a super tiebreaker; Delgado and Madera into the final 6-1, 2-6, (10-5).

• Seeded players out:
  
  Tal Cohen &
  
  Raz Teper;
  
  Hugh James &
  
  Ralph Robinson.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Semi Finals - Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• Serbia's Danijel Micic has managed to win through to the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam as he beat compatriot and top seed Radivoj Daneu in three sets. The match promised a spiteful affair and did not disappoint as the noted rivals engaged in a three-set war on Centre Court. The Davis Cup team mates have had noted disagreements in the past, and it was Micic that got the better of his opponent as he took the first set in a tiebreaker. However, he missed a chance to go ahead 5-4 with a chance to serve for the match in the second as he sent an easy volley long. The result was a broken racquet and a code violation for the sixth seed. The two exchanged words between sets, but it was Micic that allowed his tennis to do the talking as he all but ensured his debut inside the world's top 20 with a fantastic 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3 win.

• In the final, Micic will face second seeded Hungarian József Boros who kept in touch with the world's top five with a come-from-behind win over Australian Open semi finalist Rasmus Olesen. It seems that semi finals are the order of the day for Olesen as he took the first set 7-5, but quickly wilted under the tremendous pressure of the second seed who moved into the final 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Radivoj Daneu;
  
  Rasmus Olesen.

• Danijel Micic will be pulling double duty tomorrow after he and Jojo Mustard continued their remarkable run in the doubles draw to move to the final with a win over World No. 3 team Hayden & Ross Onwye. Yet to drop a set this week, Mustard was well supported by Micic who, despite already competing that day, looked intent on making his doubles campaign a profitable one, too. The Onwye Brothers expected victory, but gave up a 5-3 and two set point lead in the first set to fall away spectacularly as the Serbian-West CWLand continued into the final with a 7-6(4), 6-3 upset. Micic, who has withdrawn from next week's Open 13 in Marseille, will play the singles final in the morning before the doubles final in the afternoon.

• In the way for Micic and Mustard are second seeds Sandro Bachunelli & Hicham Hadir who advanced with a three-set win over Roman Dorogan & Tom Vollan. The impressive unseeded pair threatened at times and even held a 3-0 lead in the super tiebreaker, but collasped as the Wimbledon champs moved into the final 6-2, 3-6, (10-6).

• Seeded players out:
  
  Hayden Onwye &
  
  Ross Onwye.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

COSTA DO SAUÍPE SUNDAY PREVIEW
Costa do Sauípe, Brazil
by PTA Staff | 14.02.II

After crushing most of the competition in his way, top seed Illya Altman faces his biggest test yet against World No. 16 Randy Smeltz. Smeltz had struggled through his earlier rounds, but turned it on in the semi finals with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 thrashing of Diego Hurtado. He's looking for his second title of the season (after winning in Brisbane), whilst Altman also looks to back up his Australian Open form with his second title of the year (winning in Auckland). Both men interestingly enough beat Italy's Antonio Bachunelli in the final.

Smeltz has created an imposing record on the clay with a record of 37-14 (0.725), but Altman has arguably been the more impressive on the surface with a record of 33-9 (0.786). The two players have met just twice previously - both within a couple of weeks - as Altman beat Smeltz in five sets at the French Open before being crushed two weeks later in the semi finals of the now defunct Warsaw tournament Smeltz would go on to win.

WHAT'S AT STAKE
Winner $75,700 and 250 South African Airways II PTA Ranking Points
Runner-up $39,780 and 150 South African Airways II PTA Ranking Points

FINALS HISTORY
Altman Appearing in his 6th PTA World Tour final (3-2 in his first five)
Smeltz Appearing in his 3rd PTA World Tour final (2-0 in his first two)

SUNDAY FINAL HEAD-TO-HEAD

(1) Illya Altman (UKR) vs (2) Randy Smeltz (CDR) Tied at 1-1
I French Open (France) Clay R32 Illya Altman 6-2 3-6 1-6 6-4 7-5
I Warsaw (Poland) Clay SF Randy Smeltz 6-2 6-2

Altman FastFacts:
Season II Highlights:
W: Auckland (d A. Bachunelli); SF: Australian Open (l Hall)
YTD W-L: 13-1
YTD Titles: 1
Career W-L: 71-21
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: September 7, 1983
South African Airways II PTA Ranking: 9 (High of 6 - 3/5/I)

Smeltz FastFacts:
Season II Highlights:
W: Brisbane (d A. Bachunelli)
YTD W-L: 11-1
YTD Titles: 1
Career W-L: 62-23
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: March 1, 1981
South African Airways II PTA Ranking: 16 (High of 16 - 8/2/II)

 

[Simon]

Hopefully I can cap an excellent start to the year with my third career title, c'mon Smeltz!!!

 

[Mister Wright]

Very disappointed to be out of the singles so meekly. Although, obviously very impressed with my doubles effort this week. Another title will be a great start to the season. It's becoming obvious where Mustard's future lies on the tour.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

SAN JOSE SUNDAY PREVIEW
San Jose, California, United States
by PTA Staff | 14.02.II

Former PTA World No. 9 Dwayne Murdoch this Sunday looks for his maiden tour crown to cap off an impressive week in his home country. With previous losses in Hamburg (l Hall) and Paris (l Blanco), Murdoch will hope that he has it easier against the quickly improving Scotland Rivers. Since the start of the year, Rivers has improved his ranking by seventeen to a career high 62 and will look to push into the top fifty if he can win here. He's beaten some big names this week, but plays a man who has dropped just one set in San Jose this year (against Darcy Cowan).

Rivers has started to string together some wins on the PTA circuit, but has mainly been prodigious on the Challenger tour with a record of 15-6 (0.714). His best results have come in Tarragona (b Quezada in the final) and Vancouver (l Reiter in the final). Murdoch, meanwhile, has been indifferent on hard courts with a record of 28-16 (0.636); a number that falls significantly when one factors out the Grand Slam tournaments where he's been good at 7-3 (0.700).

WHAT'S AT STAKE
Winner $90,925 and 250 South African Airways II PTA Ranking Points
Runner-up $47,900 and 150 South African Airways II PTA Ranking Points

FINALS HISTORY
Murdoch Appearing in his 3rd PTA World Tour final (0-2 in his first two)
Rivers Appearing in his 1st PTA World Tour final

SUNDAY FINAL HEAD-TO-HEAD

(3) Dwayne Murdoch (USA) vs Scotland Rivers (FRC) Never Met

Murdoch FastFacts:
Season II Highlights:
QF: Brisbane (l A. Bachunelli)
YTD W-L: 7-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career W-L: 48-25
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: December 10, 1984
South African Airways II PTA Ranking: 15 (High of 9 - 26/1/I)

Rivers FastFacts:
Season II Highlights:
SF: Chennai (l Kennedy)
YTD W-L: 8-2
YTD Titles: 0
Career W-L: 13-9
Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: May 19, 1987
South African Airways II PTA Ranking: 62 (High of 62 - 8/2/II)

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Internazionali di Tennis di Bergamo
Day 5 - Quarter-finals singles - Bergamo

Men's singles: Seeds - Finals - Quarter 1 - Quarter 2 - Quarter 3 - Quarter 4

Matt Bre was taken to considerable task by Chilean outsider Renato Varas who pounded down the serve and won a vital break with the score at 6-5. Bre, who served impeccably but struggled once the points got underway, was unable to hold on at 30-40 in the eleventh game, and Varas held on to the second of his set points.

In the second set, Bre got an early break only to surrender the lead back at 4-2, and Varas came up with an ace down the middle with the score at 30-all in the twelfth game. Bre was then the one to come back in the tie break, with Varas at one point leading 5-2, and saved two match points on the way to a 10-8 triumph in the breaker.

One could be forgiven for thinking this was over; Varas looked tired and had already given away a mini-break, and the resurgent Bre won the third game against serve to bring up a 3-1-lead. However, Bre also showed signs of fatigue, and his until-then reliable serve now faltered. The third set first serve percentage was a meagre 46; it allowed Varas to attack the second serve and pepper the lines, which he did more than well enough. He broke back to 3-4, and then was given a break point by a double fault, which he managd to convert with a backhand which beat an outstretched Bre. The number one seed ousted without winning a clear set; 5-7 7-6 (8) 4-6.

Jack Loughman had a winnable tie against another South American, Lionel Romero, who had also completed an upset on the way to the quarter-final. A nervy start saw both players break early on, but with the score locked at 5-5, Loughman boomed down a couple of forehand returns and won the game through aggressive play. Holding serve easily, he gained the one set advantage. The second set proceeded similarly, with one break each, though this time it was more due to more aggressive returnning than any particular failure on serve. However, once again, Loughman got the chance to break on 5-5 as Romero's serve faltered, and again he converted on the first break point chance. After holding to 15, the impressive outsider booked a place in the semi-final of the tournament with a 7-5 7-5 victory, as the only CWLander left in the draw.

There was slightly less action in the other quarter-finals. 11th seed Sébastien Lachance was unable to keep up his previous form and fell 3-6 2-6 to Emelio Cobos, while journeyman Michael De Kinsele booked his place in the semifinal by taking two breaks in the tiebreak and winning the match against countryman Massimo Prodi 6-3 7-6(2). De Kinsele, the only Italian left in the draw now faces the No. 277 Jack Loughman.

Day 5 - Quarter-finals doubles - Bergamo

Men's doubles - finals

Henri Ducard and David Lebègue were the big winners on a day with little doubles action, triumphing 7-5 in the second set tie break to win in straight sets. The Croatian fourth seeds came back from a set down only to give up three points on serve in the super-breaker, and were knocked out with a 10-4 margin.

 

[luffy]

****.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Internazionali di Tennis di Bergamo
Day 6 - Semi-finals singles - Bergamo

Men's singles: Seeds - Finals - Quarter 1 - Quarter 2 - Quarter 3 - Quarter 4

Jack Loughman aimed to cut another 20 places off his singles ranking in a well-attended semi-final clash with Italy's only hope in the singles draw, Michael De Kinsele. Nearly 500 people created a bit of a din in the Bergamo arena to cheer for their home player, who had shown some fine form only in last week's 250 tournament in Santiago.

The match started well for Loughman, who got an early break to fly into a 2-0-lead, but he was pegged back after De Kinsele converted his first break point of the match in the fifth game. Loughman began to show more signs of fatigue, though, being beaten in running duels on numerous occasions, and it seemed as though the seven matches in eight days in the picturesque town at the foot of the Alps had begun to show. Loughman saved one break point in the ninth game, but couldn't come up with another good serve, and De Kinsele served home to take the set 6-4.

A dejected Loughman fluffed two double faults into the net to start the second set, and was unable to come back despite waking up somewhat. De Kinsele roared to a 4-0-lead and could cruise home to a standing ovation, and the fourth seed will be happy to have gone through the semi-final without too much sweat; 6-4 6-2 the final score. Though Loughman was robbed of the big prize, he should now find it possible to reach the main draw of Challengers without too much trouble.

De Kinsele will face Argentine Emelio Cobos, who played out a fascinating clash against his trans-Andean neighbour Renato Varas. With neither player possessing a particularly strong first serve, breaks were traded at will through the first two sets, with Cobos taking the first 6-3 and Varas the second 6-4. Cobos then saved three break points during the start of the third set, and suddenly found himself 4-0 up, to which the eighth seed had no comeback, and Cobos proceeds to a final where he'll fight to break into the Top 100.

Day 6 - Semi-finals doubles - Bergamo

Men's doubles - finals

A frustrating week for ninth singles seed David Lebègue ended with a double bagel defeat to improving Italians Massimo Prodi and Pablo Scalforo who head into the doubles final with considerable confidence as they take on one of the world's top-50 pairings, Roël Hervelle and Jerzy Kosecki, who won their match 6-4 6-4.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Good progress from Loughman. Good to see our drug-free Wessies making decent (decadent?) progress.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Haha, first crack at a final. Getting blood here.