Week 9: Acapulco [Hurtado], Dubai [Drake], Copenhagen [Buur], Meknes [Jerez]

[Goughy]

Looking forward to this

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Meknes:

Jason LAWLEY vs. Andriy ZHUKOV (winner plays BARBOSA/14-GALINDO)
5-Roy DANIELS bye (plays Q-BERGMANN/MOUSSAOUI)
Phoenix WLEFT vs. Ciro GIGANTE (winner plays 3-TIMKO)
16-Tommy SCHAAP vs. Jack LOUGHMAN (winner plays WC-KESSAB/TSATSOS)
SE-Koal KAO vs. Blain GIRARD (winner plays 2-DE KINSELE)

Ordinary draws for Kao and Wleft there, but Timko is in bad form so a chance for Phoenix to go deep. Loughman missed out on seeding by one, but would have played Schaap any way so a good chance for him to make at least the third. Confident in Daniels' chances here with some pretty ordinary players in my section.

 

[ripper868]

Mate are you still happy to play doubles this week in a week where you could make a singles sem-eye final?

If not I totally understand bro and we will partner up next tourny. It's totally your call Max.

Happy to play both, never ever leave your wingman.

 

[NUFAN]

Happy to play both, never ever leave your wingman.

It was a test and you passed with flying colours.

 

[Paid The Umpire]

What a shocking effort. 0-6 in the 3rd set!!!

Anyways, I'm going on holidays for the next two or so weeks. So if you could enter me into the challengers I'll be most thankful.


Either way, love the tennis :P

 

[Magrat Garlick]

easter break?

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Hopefully will have first round up tonight my time, but this tournament might be a little bit slow.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Abierto Mexicano Telcel
1st Round - Acapulco (Mexico)

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

• Top seed Sven Oxenstierna has made a confident start in his second appearance in Acapulco as he was barely troubled by Polish qualifier Radaslaw Marzec. The World No. 4, in his first appearance since the Davis Cup World Group play-off more than a fortnight ago, made the semi final here last year and looked totally in control as he romped to a 6-0, 6-3 win. Marzec, who had the match practice after qualifying, lifted his game slightly in the second set, but always found the West CWLander too difficult to jump over as he collapsed in straight sets. The Ox now plays Portugal's Valter Cordiero who came from a set down to beat Hugh James 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-4. Cordiero is defending semi final points from the now defunct Delray Beach tournament, and runs into real difficulty against the best player in the draw.

• Elsewhere, second seed Illya Altman overcame a real scare in a marathon display against Brazil's Roberto Santos. Santos took the first in a tiebreaker and led 3-1 in the second, before he was reigned in by the Costa do Sauípe champion who escaped with a 6-7(5), 7-6(1), 7-5 win. Meanwhile, Buenos Aires runner up Juan Moreno dropped a set, but beat Oleg Puder 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-0.

• Seeded players out: None.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Denmark Open
1st Round - Copenhagen (Denmark) - Hard (indoor)

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

• East CWLand qualifier Mat Mitchell has produced a big victory in the first round in Denmark as he ousted fourth seeded compatriot Jarkko Maxum in three sets. Maxum, with his highest seed so far in his PTA career, ended his warm up for the Davis Cup next week in the worst possible way as he was accounted for by the convincing Mitchell despite controlling the second set. Ranked No. 156 in the world, Mitchell came out aggressively and looked to be channelling the form he produced in Johannesburg less than a month ago in a confident beginning to the match. Maxum, meanwhile, looked tentative and was ordinary on serve as Mitchell took two of his seven first set break point opportunities. But on the brink of a gutting exit, Maxum stepped it up in the second as he earned his first break of serve with a rare net approach and easy volley for the 2-0 lead. He did it once more, and in just thirty-three minutes levelled the match at a set each with all the momentum behind him. But serving first in the third, Mitchell finally found his way back into the match as he mixed it up. Proving the difference was the five third set aces under serious pressure to held him serve out the match 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to move into a second round clash with Germany's Gunther Heug who starred in a 6-3, 6-1 win over the higher ranked Martin Reiter.

• The big victory of the day, however, came from Rob Bowenburg as he gave himself a huge chance of a big run in Denmark with a straight sets win over second seed Almen Benaglio. Back from injury, Benaglio looked seriously deficient as he only managed to stay in the match through some big serves. Bowenburg, meanwhile, only gave two break point opportunities to the Swiss No. 1 throughout the match and saved them both in a much-needed clinical performance on service. Benaglio is just a fortnight away having to defend 700 points at Indian Wells, and in current form will go nowhere near doing it. Bowenburg's impressive 6-4, 7-6(2) win gives him a tough second round matchup against local Kasper Buur, but if he can get through that the draw is wide open for a possible semi final berth.

• The door seems to be wide open for top seed Rasmus Olesen to claim his first title on home soil as he slaughtered Oscar Highsmith 6-0, 6-1. By far the highest ranked player in the draw (#8), Olesen was boosted by the fall of seeded rivals Benaglio, Maxum and Tom Vollan who fell to American Julian Day 3-6, 6-4, 2-6. Also ousted was sixth seed Denis Isaev who was beaten by Romania's Bogdan Maurer 6-4, 6-4.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Almen Benaglio;
  
  Denis Isaev;
  
  Jarkko Maxum;
  
  Tom Vollan.

 

[NUFAN]

Very sad for Maxum, pretty happy for Bowenburg, doubt I've ever beaten someone seeded so high before.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Dubai Tennis Championships
1st Round - Dubai (United Arab Emirates) - Hard (outdoor)

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

• There is a large CWLand contingent in Dubai for the lucrative US$1,619,500 tournament, and leading that charge was World No. 10 Jefferson Drake who made a winning start with a straight sets win over Ross Onwye. Onwye, who dropped out of the top 100 for the first time last week, saw this as his opportunity to find some good singles form again, and pushed Drake deep inside two sets. Drake, meanwhile, is defending title points from the defunct Delray Beach tournament this week, but struggled with the open conditions that played havoc with his ball toss. Nevertheless, he was dynamic when returning and took full advantage of his ten break point opportunities to cripple any chance of the Moroccan winning as he broke twice in the first set and three times in the second. Onwye too was a beneficiary of six double faults from the sixth seed and broke four times, but was caught short as Drake moved into the round of 16 6-4, 7-5. He looks almost certain for a quarter final as he faces Aussie Jeremy Natale who was a 6-3, 6-2 victor over fellow qualifier Samuel Thorpe.

• In an all-CWLand clash, Heath Davis was able to prevail in straight sets against a determined Spas Delev. Delev has really be unable to make the most of his great Melbourne Park run, and did not pick the greatest tournament to try to continue it considering the field. After being overlooked for East CWLand's Davis Cup squad next week, Delev's woes were compounded as he was broken early by the world No. 31. To his credit, though, he managed to level the set at 4-4 as he converted his first - and only - break point opportunity of the set, but could not hold on to his own serve as Davis took the early spoils. The second set proceeded in a similar fashion as Delev became increasingly frustrated by some clutch serving from the Westerner. He fired down six second set aces in difficult conditions to close the match out 7-5, 6-4. Davis now faces World No. 1 and defending champion Jason Hall who beat Belgrade champion Maarten Berg in a tight 6-4, 7-6(1) contest.

• The man who lost to Hall in the final last year, David Champion, sought a wildcard to prevent the recent bleeding his ranking had been taking, but was calmly dealt with by in-form eighth seed Randy Smeltz. Smeltz's decision to move to the hard courts for just one week after the South American circuit and ahead of the Davis Cup tie against Spain confused some pundits, but he was in fine touch back on the hard stuff as he produced the perfect warm up for Indian Wells and Miami with a 6-3, 7-5 touch up of Champion. He now faces Aksu Emrem in the second round, whilst Champion drops drops more than 400 points and will likely slide well outside of the world's top 30.

• Jojo Mustard had little time to prepare following Sunday's final in Memphis as he was back in action on Tuesday against Rod Bosnar the Australian qualifier. His lack of preparation in Dubai showed as the Australian stunned him to take the first set 7-5. Nevertheless, Mustard recovered against the 33-year old Aussie to compose himself and come from a set down to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 in a convincing finish. He's going to need a lot more, though, to topple World No. 3 Radek Špidlá who ensured Ninteh Doh will freefall down the rankings after he decided not to defend semi final points in Acapulco and was thrashed 1-6, 2-6.

• Finally, qualifier Matt Bre was edged out in devastating circumstances, but still produced his best performance yet against World No. 30 Morgan Carter. The American was hot favourite to beat the World No. 88 and found himself ahead 4-1 in the first set. But Bre showed great fight to hit back with some aggressive tennis against the unseeded American, and was unlucky not to take the set in a tiebreaker as he narrowly missed the mark with his backhand. The second set, though, was where he really shined as he stunned the crowd with a 28-minute bagelling with some of the most impressive tennis of his career. But with all the momentum behind him, Bre sent a rally forehand long to hand Carter the break in the third and all the impetus as he escaped with a 7-6(5), 0-6, 6-2 win.

• In the big upset of the day, Rotterdam champion and World No. 7 József Boros was ousted in three sets by Spain's Javier Villaneuva. Putting forward his credentials to make his Davis Cup debut, Villaneuva stunned Boros in a heroic come-from-behind display with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 boilover.

• Seeded players out:
  
  József Boros.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Sweet. Now I get to be thrashed by Hall. Well, I'm a bit more confident after seeing Berg put up a decent fight against him. I can take him - he won't like the heat of Dubai one bit. C'mon the Heef.

(Meknes 1st round will be up tonight or tomorrow)

 

[Mister Wright]

Quite a winning streak at the moment for Mustard, hopefully that can continue. Although with a doubles campaign also, it could be a tough tournament in the singles.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Meknes Challenger II
First Round - Meknes, Morocco
Singles

• Jason Lawley had a tough first round victory over Ukrainian Andriy Zhukov. Zhukov started poorly and Lawley surged into a 5 - 0 lead, however, with the set there for the taking, Zhukov begun to find his range and fought back from set point down on the Lawley serve to 5 - 4. However, Lawley finally took the set on the third attempt despite Zhukov earning another break point. Zhukov took the momentum into the second set and broke Lawley at the first opportunity. Lawley tried manfully to break back, but the rest of the 2nd was largely a stalemate and Zhukov levelled the match. Seemingly out of nowhere, Lawley managed to find some reserves of energy and a shellshocked Zhukov was blown off-court in the 3rd set. Lawley progressing 6 - 4, 3 - 6, 6 - 1. Lawley sets up a tough 2nd rounder against 14th seeded Spaniard Eugenio Galindo.
• Phoenix Wleft enjoyed a come-from-behind victory over Ciro Gigante. After conceding his serve early in the 1st, and being unable to find a way back in, Wleft took Gigante apart in the 2nd and 3rd sets; cutting an impressive figure with some powerful and well placed forehands and some exquisite passing shots. Gigante didn't know what to do as Wleft progressed 3 - 6, 6 - 1, 6 - 2.
• Jake Loughman fought hard, but ultimately for naught against 16th seed Tommy Schaap of the Netherlands. A cagey first set led to a tie break that Loughman managed to secure thanks in part to an incredible 'no-look' shot at 5 - 5. With Schaap on top in the rally, Schaap hit a sublime lob into the back court and with Loughman seemingly with no chance of a return, facing the crowd Loughman hit the ball back over his shoulder only to have it slide straight past the Schaap forehand into the far corner to secure the point. However, this just seemed to fire a disappointed Schaap up. The Dutchman attacked the Loughman serve relentlessly and whilst he missed a number of his shots, he managed to string enough together to take the Loughman serve twice. Now on the backfoot, Loughman drew into his shell and Schaap took advantage. Loughman will learn a lot from the match but will be disappointed to exit 6 - 7 (5 - 7), 6 - 2, 6 - 4
• In form youngster Koal Kao took another scalp on the way to a 2nd round meeting with 2nd seed Michele de Kinsele. Canadian Blain Girard proved a tough opponent who dictated the early pace. The tenacious Kao managed to hold his serve in the 1st despite facing no less than 5 break points. A break late in the set secured it for Kao. The 2nd went to a tie break which Kao dominated to progress 6 - 4, 7 - 6 (7 - 1)

• Seeded players out: None

Doubles

• Jake Loughman will be on the plane back home to CWLand after his partnership with Jason Lawley failed to progress in Meknes. They were dumped out in straight sets by Baier & Grote of Germany. Lawley & Loughman were not outclassed, but could not do enough to progress as they exited 6 - 4, 7 - 5.
• Koal Kao & Phoenix Wleft continue to fly the flag for CWLand reunification with a straight sets win over local pairing Karkouri & Menkari. The fledgling mixed CWLand pairing seemed to be working well together as 2 breaks in the 1st set and 1 break in the 2nd saw them progress with ease. Just the one poor service game from Wleft was the only blemish on their record. 6 - 3, 6 - 3.

• Seeded players out: Brunet & Chateau (1, FRA), Cain & Golec (3, AUS)

 

[Simon]

Good win that, my decision makes sense imo. Played the tournaments I thought I could compete better in early in the season now after some matches against better opponents in better tournaments ahead of some big tournaments coming up.

 

[NUFAN]

who ensured Ninteh Doh will freefall down the rankings after he decided not to defend semi final points in Acapulco and was thrashed 1-6, 2-6.

Very pleased with this.

 

[Number 11]

It's nice to start getting past the first round.

 

[Matteh]

Huge result

 

[Agent TBY]

Nice results there, I don't remember signing up for the doubles, but heck, I'll take it.

Carn Kao.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Abierto Mexicano Telcel
2nd Round - Acapulco (Mexico) - Clay (outdoors)

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

• Season I semi finalist Sven Oxenstiena has been dealt a blow in Mexico as his start to the clay court season was ended abruptly with a shock three-set loss to Valter Cordiero of Portugal. Oxenstierna, who breezed through his first round clash, had some trouble early against the Portuguese No. 2 before snatching a late break of service to seal the first set 7-5. But he failed to keep that momentum, and a double fault gave Cordiero two break points. He slammed home a cool forehand winner for a 3-1 lead, and went on to take the first set 6-3. Crowd and commentators alike fully expected Oxenstierna to recover from that hiccup, but he never really looked like playing more aggressively and allowed his opponent, known for his pushing ability, to double his winner count in the third en route to a stunning 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 upset. Cordiero now plays fifth seed Diego Hurtado in the quarter finals, whilst Oxenstierna is out of action until Indian Wells in nearly two weeks time.

• In the other upset, the return from injury for Tiago Matías suffered another blow as he failed to beat Puerto Rican qualifier Domingo Gutiérrez Gómez. Matías, who made the final last year before losing to Davis Kennedy, will suffer a drop in points following the surprising 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 defeat.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Tiago Matías;
  
  Sven Oxenstierna.