CricketWeb Tennis - Season I

[SirBloody Idiot]

CWLand Championships
Thursday - Edfield, West CWLand, CWLand (Indoor Hard)

• The biggest name thus far has been bundled out of the CWLand Championships as Matt Bre stunned the fledgeling nation with a three-set boilover against Heath Davis. The fifth seed was overwhelming favourite to beat the World No. 116, but quickly found that he was in for a tougher encounter than expected as Bre claimed the opening set 6-3. Bre's weakness on the Challenger tour this season has been his ability to neutralise big servers, but he looked at home against the Davis barrage despite the big man firing down eighteen aces in the first two sets. He pulled out a couple of them in clutch moments in the tiebreaker, and still looked odds on to take the match in the decider. But the eleventh seed hung strong, and his persistence paid off big time as he shocked the fifth seed to oust him 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-5. Meanwhile Sven Oxenstierna finished his round robin stage with a third straight win. His 6-2, 6-2 victory saw him outclass and overwhelm former World No. 55 Mat Mitchell who looked resigned about his elimination as he failed to put up much of a fight to go 0-3 in the Red Group.
• Rob Bowenburg's chances of quarter final action were done before they even began as Randy Smeltz had no trouble accounting for Marcuss Deane in straight sets. Bowenburg needed a minor miracle to qualify, but he did not get it as Smeltz countered the big-serving Deane whose competitiveness earlier in the week went missing against the top 20 player. Still, the 6-3, 6-3 scoreline wasn't as bad as it could have been against top level talent and he ends the week 0-6 without winning a set. The later match in the Green Group was purely to decide spots, and it was Scotland Rivers who completed a great week as he easily beat Bowenburg 6-3, 6-3. Bowenburg had nothing but prize money to play for, and that wasn't enough to inspire him to greater heights as Rivers surged into the quarter finals as No. 1 from the Green Group with a straight sets win.

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[SirBloody Idiot]

Davis Cup Finals Preview

The Davis Cup will be decided for the first time in the Open Era, and two teams not expected to still be here will contest it. Where the heavyweights like the US and Spain looked odds on to have one representative in the final, it was the giant killers Serbia that managed to defeat both in stunning fashion. Russia, meanwhile, have had a more inconspicuous run to the final with the only team of real note falling to the largest country in the world being the Czech Republic. Serbia for the first time this season then come into a tie as strong favourites to win.

The Daneu and Micic effect

The big reason the Serbians have managed to sensationally beat Spain on their own turf and then the star-studded USA comes down to Radivoj Daneu and Danijel Micic. Daneu, who last week returned to action with a finals appearance in Flushing Meadows, is a former World No. 2 and has provided great leadership for the Serbians in the singles ties. Though the real wildcard has been Micic whose singles record stands at a fantastic 4-1. Even bigger than that is the last two victories that almost single-handedly pulled the Serbians over the line - wins over World No. 1 Jason Hall and World No. 10 Dwayne Murdoch. Even the loss came in sensational circumstances as he produced some of his best tennis to take Daniel Páez Blanco to four sets on his own stomping ground clay. Whilst he has been criticised for inconsistency and his volatility on the World Tour, Micic has every time brought the goods when representing the Central Europeans.

The Russian duo, meanwhile, look decidedly less imposing than the Serbian stars. Dmitry Orlov has been disappointing on tour this year and ended the year ranked at No. 44. Gregor Gorshkov, meanwhile, was confirmed as the second singles representative and is much more unpredictable force - his gung-ho approach has brought him glory at times against quality players, but has seen him fall apart against those of lower reputation. Whilst the duo have managed good results for Russia this year, they need to take at least two ties from the singles matchups and it looks unlikely that they can do it.

Doubles showdown

Unlike many teams this season, Serbia and Russia have put their faith in specialist doubles teams and have prospered as a result. Serbia flirted with Micic in the first round, but quickly learned that he needed to focus his time on the singles. Russia talked about recently retired Vladimir Gryzlov appearing, but instead settled for World No. 19 pair Sergiy Malachenko and Alexey Yarkin. The Serbians meanwhile were quick to stick by World No. 43 team Dusko Milošević and Savo Petkoviä; hardly household names, but effective throughout the year. Milošević and Petkoviä have played much of their tennis on the Challenger circuit which hasn't counted to their race ranking, so that might be deceiving, but Malachenko and Yarkin have at times looked sublime and should rightly go into this tie as favourites.

Road to the Finals

1st Round
RUSSIA 3-2 Czech Republic
Puder def. Zeman, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3
Spidla def. Gorshkov, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(8), 7-5
Orlov/Puder def. Brozik/Gross, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Spidla def. Orlov, 6-0, 6-4, 7-6(1)
Denisov def. Zeman, 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-2

France 1-4 SERBIA
Daneu def. Lachance, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-5
Micic def. Pascaul, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(8), 6-0
Genghini/Pascaul def. Knezevic/Micic, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-1
Daneu def. Pascaul, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1
Petkoviä def. Depuis, 6-4, 6-2

Quarter Finals
RUSSIA 4-1 Sweden
Orlov def. Donaldson, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5
Henrikkson def. Gryzlov, 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
Malachenko/Yarkin def. Moberg/Petrus, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3
Orlov def. Henrikkson, 4-6, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
Denisov def. Donaldson, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5

Spain 2-3 SERBIA
Daneu def. Emelio, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
Blanco def. Micic, 7-6(0), 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4
Daneu/Petkovia def. Andueza/Emelio, 6-0, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3
Blanco def. Daneu, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4
Micic def. Joaquin, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4

Semi Finals
RUSSIA 4-1 Austria
Gorshkov def. Hainisch, 7-5, 6-2, 6-0
Z Boniek def. Orlov, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
Malachenko/Yarkin def. J Boniek/Z Boniek, 6-1, 6-1, 6-4
Gorshkov def. Reiter, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

SERBIA 3-2 United States
Micic def. Hall, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4
Daneu def. Murdoch, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4
James/Robinson def. Milosevic/Petkovia, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-4
Hall def. Daneu, 6-3, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5
Micic def. Murdoch, 6-4, 7-6(8), 6-1

PREDICTION: Serbia 4-1.

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[SirBloody Idiot]

CWLand Championships
Round Robin (Thursday) - Edfield, West CWLand, CWLand (Indoor Hard)

• There were no surprises in the Blue Group as both Jefferson Drake and Spas Delev won through to the quarter finals beginning on Saturday. World No. 11 Drake seemed to leave the door open for Jarkko Maxum as he gave up a 5-3 lead in the first set to hand Maxum four games in a row to take the first 7-5. But Maxum, who was dealt a severe blow back on Monday as he gave up a set to love lead against Delev, again failed to capitalise and was beaten by a strong-finishing Drake 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. That meant Spas Delev was through to the quarter finals, but he was always going to make sure he went in with a wet sail as he spanked Rick Langley 6-1, 6-3. The big win gives him the perfect warm up for a showdown with top seed Sven Oxenstierna.
• Jojo Mustard only needed victory to win through to the quarter finals from the Purple Group, but it would be a poisoned chalice as a win would set up a showdown with third seed Randy Smeltz who only finished second due to a stunning result on Tuesday. Nevertheless, he ended a disappointing week for Randy Banks in a confident display, and the 6-4, 6-2 scoreline will leave him with no reason to lack confidence against the Paris semi finalist. Meanwhile, Jamee Hancianu also ensured he'd qualify from Purple second with a dominant 6-4, 6-0 thumping of Martti Korpinen.

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[ripper868]

Bah Humbug, best wishes to remaining players, I'm off to the pub, Bowenburg, coming?

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

****ing **** ****iddy ****. Losing to a **** player that god knows when he last checked into the thread. Should have beaten the Ox and taken any doubt away. What a crock.

 

[Simon]

LOL losing to Rivers, at least I still made the last 8.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Davis Cup Final - Beogradska Arena, Belgrade, Serbia
All square after day one

An inspired display from Russian enigma Gregor Gorshkov has allowed his team to be level at 1-1 at the end of the first day of the Davis Cup final in Belgrade. Pitted against the World No. 4 player Radivoj Daneu, the Russian looked up against it right from the start and took a while to find his rhythm as Daneu took the first set 6-4. But when Gorshkov found his rhythm, it was something special as he more than matched his highly rated opponent and claimed the next two sets. Daneu looked to lift the crowd with a break early in the fourth, but Gorshkov, whose consistency has been his problem this season, managed to roar back into control to seal an unlikely 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-6(5) win over the inform Daneu.

Down 0-1, it was up to Danijel Micic to continue his great Davis Cup form by beating Dmitry Orlov. The Serbian No. 2 succeeded in his task; controlling the three-set affair in a clinical performance. Orlov came into the match knowing he needed a good start, but that did not come as Micic broke early and consolidated to take the set. In every set Micic continued this pattern of smash-and-grab to consistently have Orlov on the back foot, and had little trouble in levelling the scores with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win.

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[Paid The Umpire]

Hmmm 0-3 in the round robin.

But took two sets so not all bad.

 

[NUFAN]

Bah Humbug, best wishes to remaining players, I'm off to the pub, Bowenburg, coming?

 

[Mister Wright]

Huge consolation there for Mustard to go undefeated in the Round Robin Matches. Very disappointing to go out the way we did in New York. Shouldn't have really let any of those matches get to the 3rd set tiebreak. Shame Heath didn't make it through the Round Robin, still looking for revenge after he knocked me out during the CW Open warm up tournament.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

CWLand Championships
Quarter Finals (Saturday) - Edfield, West CWLand, CWLand (Indoor Hard)

• After falling to Scotland Rivers in his second match of the week, Randy Smeltz has shown why he is a force to be feared in this competition after he smashed Jojo Mustard in straight sets in their quarter final matchup. In perhaps his most convincing effort of the week, Smeltz dominated proceedings against Mustard who looked frustratingly ordinary against the consistent CWLand star. Smeltz has proved a surprisingly good player on hard courts this season, and his comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 win puts him into the semi finals. There he faces a stiff task in top seed Sven Oxenstierna who put the finishing touches on Spas Delev to the tune of 6-4, 6-4. Delev provided a good contest to Oxenstierna, but lacked the polish on big points to take either set from the world No. 6.
• In the bottom semi final, tenth seed Scotland Rivers continued his glorious run of form to book a showdown with Jefferson Drake. Drawn against grafter Jamee Hancianu, Rivers was given his sternest test of the week and came out with a well-deserved 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 upset. Drake, meanwhile, was slow to come out of the blocks but still had little trouble in ending the week for surprise quarter finalist Matt Bre 7-5, 6-2.

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[SirBloody Idiot]

Davis Cup Final - Beogradska Arena, Belgrade, Serbia
Serbia left with tough task

One win is all Russia need to secure a memorable Davis Cup triumph after doubles duo Sergiy Malachenko & Alexey Yarkin earned a hard-fought four-set win over home pair Dusko Milošević & Savo Petkoviä. A distinctly pro-Serbian crowd turned out in Belgrade for the doubles action, but quickly found themselves in shock as a twenty-three minute exhibition gave the Russian pair the first set to the tune of 6-0. But Milošević and Petkoviä finally hit their strides in the second and not too soon as they levelled the score at a set each thanks to a massive breach of the Yarkin service. In contrast to the one-sided start, the third and fourth sets both went down to the wire in tiebreakers. After having their way in the third set breaker, the Russians were pushed deep into the next one before finally converting a fourth match point to secure a massive 6-0, 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(8) win.

Russia take a 2-1 lead heading into the final day of action tomorrow, but Serbia remain slight favourites with the bookies with Radivoj Daneu and Danijel Micic looking likely to take out their respective ties.

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[SirBloody Idiot]

CWLand Championships
Semi Finals (Sunday Morning) - Edfield, West CWLand, CWLand (Indoor Hard)

• Third seed Randy Smeltz has emerged from his semi final with top seed Sven Oxenstierna unscathed as he picked up a surprise straight sets win to advance to the CWLand Championships Final. With more than US$100,000 at stake this afternoon, Smeltz played brilliantly to dominate a visibily tired Oxenstierna who had competed into two round robin tournaments in as many weeks. Smeltz meanwhile showed that his semi final appearance in Paris was no fluke, and picked up a win against his fellow baseline slugger inside two hours 6-4, 6-3.
• Smeltz will tonight play second seed Jefferson Drake who continued to scythe through the draw by ending the brave Scotland Rivers run 6-4, 6-3. Rivers was 4-0 for the week and already had a win over Smeltz a few days ago, but here he was outdone by Drake who played some stunning shots in a high tempo contest. Drake is looking to finish Season I off on a high by taking the Edfield title, and now has as big a chance as he'll get.

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[dontcloseyoureyes]

Massive. Ship it!

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Davis Cup Final - Beogradska Arena, Belgrade, Serbia
Unsteady Daneu gives Serbia fighting chance

Serbian No. 1 Radivoj Daneu has overcome a third set scare to level the Davis Cup final at 2-2 heading into the final leg with a four-set win over Dmitry Orlov. The Serb was up two-sets to love and serving for the match before he conceeded four games in a row to allow Orlov an avenue back into the tie. After taking the first set in a dominant tiebreaker performance, the World Tour Finals runner up looked completely at home as he breezed through the second set 6-1. After securing a break to move to 5-3 in the third, Daneu looked to be sending the final to a fifth and deciding rubber before his service was broken twice by Orlov who began throwing everything at him. After taking the third, Orlov lifted his game in the fourth and drew level at 4-4 after a lengthy service game. But Daneu also lifted his intensity; holding to love and forcing Orlov to serve to stay in the match. This time he couldn't do it as Daneu banged a forehand down the line to convert his first match point and to ensure the Davis Cup will be decided by a match between the two big hitters Danijel Micic and Gregor Gorshkov in today's second match.

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[David]

Solid! Drake to win it comfortably.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

CWLand Championships
Final (Sunday Afternoon) - Edfield, West CWLand, CWLand (Indoor Hard)

• Randy Smeltz has earned a six-figure payday and has finished his year off on a high with a come-from-behind win over Jefferson Drake in the final of the CWLand Championships in Edfield. Smeltz came into the match as an underdog against the undefeated Drake, and faltered early as the World No. 11 broke service in the fourth game of the opening set. That break proved decisive, and Drake went on to take the first set 6-3 as he converted his second set point with an ace that just clipped the T. Smeltz needed to start better in the second, but was again broken and it looked like easy going for the second seed. But down 0-1, he broke back immediately and again in the fourth game to set up a 3-1 lead. Neither man looked comfortable on service, and Drake again had a chance to consolidate another break of service at 4-5. He failed to do so, though, and Smeltz sent the match to a decider. There the two players regained their steel and exchanged confident service games as neither man was able to gain the momentum. That was until Smeltz earned a big break of service late in the set as Drake sent a backhand into the net; the third seed doing enough to secure a brave 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset.

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[vic_orthdox]

Gah, super stoked to have made the semis, and knocked off the eventual victor on the way through. Would've been nice to carry off the fairytale.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Davis Cup Final - Beogradska Arena, Belgrade, Serbia
Marvellous Micic brings Serbia glory

World No. 23 Danijel Micic may not have lived up to his hype on the ATP tour, but in Davis Cup tennis he has shown his undoubted class as he extended his record to 6-1 with a straight sets win over Gregor Gorshkov. The Russian loomed as a real threat to Micic after taking a four-set win over Radivoj Daneu on Friday, but the Serbian No. 2 came out more determined than ever to outplay the enigmatic Russian in all three sets. Gorshkov took a while to warm up, but even when he did he was unable to show his aggressive brilliance as Micic motored around the clay and kept him guessing with a proverbial smörgåsbord of forehands and backhands across court and searing down the line. Whilst Gorshkov played his best tennis in the third set, he could not penetrate the economical service of Micic who, at 77 per cent, never looked like being broken. With three match points on service, Micic needed just one to have Gorshkov behind the line; putting away a volley easily to send the Central European nation into raptures after a devil of a draw.

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[SirBloody Idiot]

CWLand Championships - Prize Money

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