SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
Johannesburg; Vina del Mar; Zagreb (SFs) - Feb 2-9 Season I
Johannesburg Open
Semifinals - Johannesburg
Competition Details
Finals
Italian fifth seed Carlo Amato produced an impressive upset to knock out top seed Zhijun Sun in the first semifinal at the Johannesburg Open in South Africa. It was impressive from the fiery Italian sprinter-***-tennis sensation as he raced past the 18-year old Chinese prodigy in straight sets to book a spot in the final. It was a hotly anticipated contest and got underway with a bang as Zhijun managed two aces in the opening game to take an early lead. But Amato was similarly impressive in his first service game to level the opening set with an ace of his own. In a see-sawing opener, the Italian prevailed to claim the first set 7-5 after breaking service in the penultimate game. Neither man looked particularly impressive in the second set as they conceded service at least twice each, but Amato advanced in a confident display with a 7-5 6-4 win.
His opponent in the final will be Morocco's Ross Onwye who took a three set win over Jamaica's Oneil Stewart. Whilst the match boasted less impressive names, it perhaps saw a more evenly matched game of tennis as the pair exchanged sets to send the match to a decider. After the match was on tenterhooks in the first two sets, Onwye tipped it in his favour with a brilliant third set display to seal a 6-3 4-6 6-1 victory.
Seeds Out: 1-Zhijun Sun (CHN); 7-Oneil Stewart (JAM).
Movistar Open
Semifinals - Vina del Mar
Competition Details
Finals
It was disappointment for CWLand's Sven Oxenstierna as he fell just short of his first tour final with a heartbreaking loss to qualifier József Boros of Hungary. Oxenstierna gave up a one-set to love lead against the Hungarian - "The Ox" looking more comfortable on his service as he managed to break the service of the scratchy Boros twice in the first set. But Boros was said to be one of the best players in the world at the start of the season, and showed exactly why as he rallied to take the second set with a patented forehand down the line. The normally shy Boros looked fired up as he clenched his fists in satisfaction - the Hungarian continuing his impressive form into the third set to break late and seal a 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory. Even if Boros loses, he will be ranked at number 31 in the world.
His opponent in the final will unsurprisingly be the best clay courter in the world - Daniel Páez Blanco. Blanco has yet to drop a set this tournament and looms as an ominous opponent for Boros as he dispatched Tiago Matias in straight sets in the first semifinal. The fifth seed from Portugal didn't even look like challenging the top seed in the first set as Blanco eased to a lead, but managed to put up a bigger fight in the second set to level it at 5-5. But the stocky and well-chisled body of the 30-year old Blanco served him well as he broke with a brilliant diving volley to seal a commanding 6-3 7-5 victory.
Seeds Out: 2-Sven Oxenstierna (CWL); 5-Tiago Matias (POR).
PBZ Zagreb Indoors
Semifinals - Zagreb
Competition Details
Finals
Jefferson Drake also missed out on a spot in the PBZ Zagreb final as he fell to unseeded local lad Miroslav Brdar. The 26-year old Croat raced through the opening set against the CWLander to claim it 6-1, and it looked like the impressive run of Drake was coming to an end. But 23-year old who was born in Belarus managed to fight back impressively in the second set to level the match at a set each. From there, Drake and the hometown favourite engaged in a third set struggle which took over fifty minutes to decide. Eventually it was the Zagreb crowd that went home happy - Brdar booking a spot in the final with a 6-1 4-6 7-5 win.
But he will go into the final as severe underdog with Serbia's Danijel Micic his opponent. Micic is labelled by many as the best player in Europe - a title which isn't reflected in his world ranking of 92. But Micic's class shone through in an emphatic win over sixth seed Maarten Berg of the Netherlands - claiming a 6-2 6-2 win. Micic, who is well known for his volatile nature, did little to endear himself to the local crowd as he launched a tirade of abuse at the linesman - a call which turned out to be correct. Despite this, Micic, like the Hungarian Boros, will return to a position near that which his talent demands - even if he loses to Brdar in the final he will be ranked 28th.
Seeds Out: 6-Maarten Berg (NED).
Johannesburg Open
Semifinals - Johannesburg
Competition Details
Finals
Italian fifth seed Carlo Amato produced an impressive upset to knock out top seed Zhijun Sun in the first semifinal at the Johannesburg Open in South Africa. It was impressive from the fiery Italian sprinter-***-tennis sensation as he raced past the 18-year old Chinese prodigy in straight sets to book a spot in the final. It was a hotly anticipated contest and got underway with a bang as Zhijun managed two aces in the opening game to take an early lead. But Amato was similarly impressive in his first service game to level the opening set with an ace of his own. In a see-sawing opener, the Italian prevailed to claim the first set 7-5 after breaking service in the penultimate game. Neither man looked particularly impressive in the second set as they conceded service at least twice each, but Amato advanced in a confident display with a 7-5 6-4 win.
His opponent in the final will be Morocco's Ross Onwye who took a three set win over Jamaica's Oneil Stewart. Whilst the match boasted less impressive names, it perhaps saw a more evenly matched game of tennis as the pair exchanged sets to send the match to a decider. After the match was on tenterhooks in the first two sets, Onwye tipped it in his favour with a brilliant third set display to seal a 6-3 4-6 6-1 victory.
Seeds Out: 1-Zhijun Sun (CHN); 7-Oneil Stewart (JAM).
Movistar Open
Semifinals - Vina del Mar
Competition Details
Finals
It was disappointment for CWLand's Sven Oxenstierna as he fell just short of his first tour final with a heartbreaking loss to qualifier József Boros of Hungary. Oxenstierna gave up a one-set to love lead against the Hungarian - "The Ox" looking more comfortable on his service as he managed to break the service of the scratchy Boros twice in the first set. But Boros was said to be one of the best players in the world at the start of the season, and showed exactly why as he rallied to take the second set with a patented forehand down the line. The normally shy Boros looked fired up as he clenched his fists in satisfaction - the Hungarian continuing his impressive form into the third set to break late and seal a 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory. Even if Boros loses, he will be ranked at number 31 in the world.
His opponent in the final will unsurprisingly be the best clay courter in the world - Daniel Páez Blanco. Blanco has yet to drop a set this tournament and looms as an ominous opponent for Boros as he dispatched Tiago Matias in straight sets in the first semifinal. The fifth seed from Portugal didn't even look like challenging the top seed in the first set as Blanco eased to a lead, but managed to put up a bigger fight in the second set to level it at 5-5. But the stocky and well-chisled body of the 30-year old Blanco served him well as he broke with a brilliant diving volley to seal a commanding 6-3 7-5 victory.
Seeds Out: 2-Sven Oxenstierna (CWL); 5-Tiago Matias (POR).
PBZ Zagreb Indoors
Semifinals - Zagreb
Competition Details
Finals
Jefferson Drake also missed out on a spot in the PBZ Zagreb final as he fell to unseeded local lad Miroslav Brdar. The 26-year old Croat raced through the opening set against the CWLander to claim it 6-1, and it looked like the impressive run of Drake was coming to an end. But 23-year old who was born in Belarus managed to fight back impressively in the second set to level the match at a set each. From there, Drake and the hometown favourite engaged in a third set struggle which took over fifty minutes to decide. Eventually it was the Zagreb crowd that went home happy - Brdar booking a spot in the final with a 6-1 4-6 7-5 win.
But he will go into the final as severe underdog with Serbia's Danijel Micic his opponent. Micic is labelled by many as the best player in Europe - a title which isn't reflected in his world ranking of 92. But Micic's class shone through in an emphatic win over sixth seed Maarten Berg of the Netherlands - claiming a 6-2 6-2 win. Micic, who is well known for his volatile nature, did little to endear himself to the local crowd as he launched a tirade of abuse at the linesman - a call which turned out to be correct. Despite this, Micic, like the Hungarian Boros, will return to a position near that which his talent demands - even if he loses to Brdar in the final he will be ranked 28th.
Seeds Out: 6-Maarten Berg (NED).
