Week 13-14: Miami [Zhijun]

[Johnners]

Crap

[SirBloody Idiot]

Sony Ericsson II
PTA Masters Series 1000 - 2nd Round (Friday) - Miami, FL - Hard (Outdoors)

Men's Singles
Seeds
Finals
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8

Men's Doubles
Seeds
Finals
Top Half
Bottom Half

• In the biggest upset of Friday's action in Miami, World No. 54 Scotland Rivers has all but assured his place in the world's top fifty in just over a week following his three-set upset of World No. 12 Dwayne Murdoch. Murdoch was stunned in his first match in Indian Wells, but after claiming the Sunrise Challenger title last Sunday felt confident of turning the tide in Miami. But the draw was not kind to him, and for the second time in as many years Murdoch was bounced out of the second round in Miami. Rivers' form has been high quality so far, and despite winning less games he produced some fantastic determination to secure two tiebreak sets. Murdoch, who blew two match points in the third set, will be kicking himself for an errant volley that allowed Rivers a way back into the match. His 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(5) boilover earns him a third round showdown with nineteenth seed Diego Hurtado whose form this year has been less than stellar.

• 28th seed Heath Davis atoned for a pair of failures in Indian Wells and Sunrise by making a winning start to his singles campaign in Miami with a tough three-set win over French veteran Jean-Alain Depuis. Despite opening up a 4-0 lead, Davis was reeled in by the tenacious Frenchman who managed to scrape into a tiebreaker in the first set. Davis did enough to hold on to a set he should have won much more easily, and set about ending the match as he again was out of the blocks in the second. A break ahead, Davis again faltered on serve as Depuis continued to fight and this time avoided the tiebreaker by snatching a late break point on the Davis serve which he duly converted. It was a big change from his first round cakewalk, and Depuis needed a good start to the third. He didn't get it - Davis this time holding onto his early lead to advance to the third round 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-2.

• His opponent will be Indian Wells champ Sven Oxenstierna who recovered from a sluggish start to ease past Eastern Matt Bre in a rare victory for the West. Bre was in rare form in the first round, and looked just as good early as he snatched a surprising break against Oxenstierna. But after that early blip, Oxenstierna found his stride and was able to control play from there on as Bre struggled to find points. After dropping the first set 4-6, he could not find a way into the match and it was all Oxenstierna as he booked an all-WCL third round showdown by continuing his good form 6-4, 6-0.

• Qualifier Martti Korpinen produced a confident start against 25th seed Tiago Matías, but was unable to keep the pressure up as the Portuguese No. 1 cruised to a straight sets win. The East CWLander was hoping to build on a good first round victory, and his serve/volley style was difficult for the baseliner to adjust to. But with the scores tied at 5-5, Korpinen was broken perhaps against the run of play as a pair of unforced errors ultimately cost him the set. From there, the pushing style of Matías made way for some more aggression as he looked to play his shots. Korpinen was broken early and never looked like truly recovering as the World No. 28 moved into a third round clash with defending champion Radivoj Daneu 7-5, 6-1.

• After making it to the fourth round at Indian Wells, Jojo Mustard's good form this year came to a screeching halt in a demoralising thrashing at the hands of János Varga. Varga, better known for his clay court exploits, scraped through his first round clash against Akihiko Veno and was a $4 underdog against the World No. 23. But in a stunning first set, the West CWLander was blown out of the water as Varga landed some superb blows with his forehand to break service twice. Mustard needed to shake off the cobwebs, and began to settle into a more comfortable rhythm after the first set disaster. But he was matched by the assertive serving of the taller Varga brother who then brought up three break points at 4-4. Mustard saved two of the three with clutch serves and the third with a fine forehand winner, but gave Varga another opportunity as he sent a forehand into the net. It was fourth time lucky as the World No. 52 came to the net to put away a backhand volley before comfortably serving out a 6-1, 6-4 win. He will now play wildcard entrant Rod Bosnar after the veteran Australian continued his fine form this season with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win over fourteenth seed Oneil Stewart. In their third meeting of the year, Bosnar improved his record to 2-1 against the Jamaican after winning in the quarter finals in Brisbane and losing in the second round at Melbourne Park.

• Seeded players out: Miroslav Brdar; Dwayne Murdoch; Jojo Mustard; Patrick Pascaul; Oneil Stewart.

• The only CWLand team in action were fourth seeds Jefferson Drake & Martti Korpinen who survived a tough test against Becker Haas & Manfried Manz. After falling in the first round to Morton Blundell & Wayne Boyd in Indian Wells, the fourth seeds were determined not to suffer the same fate against the German pairing. Despite a horror second set, Korpinen's second match of the day this time ended in victory as they shot ahead in the match tiebreaker and secured a confident 6-3, 2-6, [10-7] upset. They will face a tough second round clash against the winners of János Varga/Zoltán Varga and Sunrise champions Gai Kai/Lu Xun.

• Seeded players out: None.

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Phew. Good to get a win under the belt at last. I heard nasty rumours going around that I was deliberately throwing matches and receiving meths in payment. I categorically refrute these allegations. Just 'cos I was found unconscious under a tarpaulin in Mitre10 Mega whacked out on paint fumes is meaningless.

[Mister Wright]

Disappointing exit for Mustard. Obviously will be looking to make up for it in the doubles.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Sony Ericsson II
PTA Masters Series 1000 - 2nd Round (Saturday) - Miami, FL - Hard (Outdoors)

Men's Singles
Seeds
Finals
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8

Men's Doubles
Seeds
Finals
Top Half
Bottom Half

• Rob Bowenburg's week has come to a disappointing end in the second round as Wimbledon semi finalist Zoltán Varga produced some convincing tennis in his 6-2, 6-3 victory. Varga, the World No. 17, was coming off a fourth round appearance in Indian Wells and continued his good form as he dominated the West CWLander. Bowenburg, whose serve was so good in the first round, struggled to keep his head above water as the Hungarian attacked a meek second serve. Bowenburg could not make enough chances for himself and was never in the hunt as Varga advanced in straight sets. He now plays Austria's Heinz Hainisch who continued his good form from Sunrise (where he made the semi finals) to defeat seventeenth seed Carlo Amato 7-6(5), 6-4.

• Indian Wells semi finalist Jefferson Drake was yet another big name to tumble in Miami as he was beaten in three by Sweden's Björn Donaldson. The rapidly improving Swede, who last fortnight defeated second seed Daniel Páez Blanco in California, started very sluggishly as Drake looked in cruise control as he raced through the first set 6-2. But down 2-4 in the second, Donaldson found his stride and began to fight back into the match - earning a very important break to draw level with the World No. 9. After dropping the second set, Drake clearly needed to lift his game a level but could not do it as Donaldson continued his promising rise up the rankings; taking the third quickly to advance to the third round 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. He plays Dutchman Maarten Berg following his 6-2, 7-6(3) win over 22nd seed Sanchez Emelio.

• Elsewhere, the seeds continued to tumble but none was more surprising than the shock exit of World No. 1 Jason Hall. In Saturday's marquee match, Hall was a nearly unbackable favourite to beat giant Latvian Ivars Emsis to set up a third round showdown with Australian David Champion. But in an amazing turn of events, it was the 209 cm Latvian who stunned the local crowd to beat the former finalist in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Hall, whose service has always been the most questionable part of his game, didn't bring his weapons to the party in a surprisingly tentative performance. In contrast, Emsis was more aggressive and struck just as many winners as the American which was surprising considering his history of pushing tennis. Ultimately, though, it was the big serve that did the trick in his ten service games which saw him rack up eighteen aces.

• In the other stunning result, Copenhagen semi finalist José Navarro did what no one thought possible in continuing the horror stretch for Rick Henson 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

• Seeded players out: Carlo Amato; Almen Benaglio; Jefferson Drake; Sanchez Emelio; Jason Hall; Rick Henson.

• Second seeds Heath Davis & Jojo Mustard had no problem advancing past the first round in Miami as they trounced Lee Inmin & Qingdong Tsai. After the pair withdrew from their second round fixture in Indian Wells, they were keen to get back on the board against the Asian pairing. There was no doubt who was the better team as the World No. 2 team wiped the floor with the Lee/Qingdong pairing to advance 6-2, 6-0. They will play the winners of tomorrow's Blundell/Stewart and Fosdike/Mary clash.

• Seeded players out: Andrej Konc & Evgeniy Maximov.

[Samuel_Vimes]

Ivars Emsis, here featured in a rare rally

[HeathDavisSpeed]

I think we've lost to Inmin and Tsai before if I recall correctly, so great to give them a pasting. A few big shocks there. Good to see Hall and Henson falling.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Sony Ericsson Open II
PTA Masters Series 1000 - 3rd Round (Sunday) - Miami, FL - Hard (Outdoors)

Men's Singles
Seeds
Finals
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8

Men's Doubles
Seeds
Finals
Top Half
Bottom Half

• The seeds keep on tumbling in Florida as 28th seed Heath Davis came from a set down to oust Indian Wells champion Sven Oxenstierna in an all-FRC third round contest. Davis knew that he needed a quarter final appearance at least to defend his fourth round points from last season, but wasn't anywhere near it early as the World No. 4 dominated the first set. Dropping the first set 2-6 seemed to kick Davis into gear, though, and the Westerner started playing his shots and got his first serve percentage up at least ten points. Oxenstierna, meanwhile, wilted under the shot-making pressure from Davis and handed him a service break on a platter with two unthreatening second serves which were struck for clean winners. That earned Davis the second set, but Oxenstierna would not be shaken off as the match entered a third. Davis secured a 2-1 lead thanks to a break in the third game, but blew a 40-15 lead to give Oxenstierna a path right back to 2-2. The two traded holds of serve as the match looked destined to be decided in a tiebreaker before Oxenstierna gave Davis a sniff at 5-6 0-30. While Oxenstierna drew level on serve, he horribly misjudged a reaching volley from the lower ranked player - leaving a ball that just clipped the back corner of the court. That gave Davis a match point, but he needed a second one to secure a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 upset as Oxenstierna sent a forehand into the netting. Davis equals his performance from last year by moving to the fourth round (where he lost to Almen Benaglio), but must win through to the quarters to avoid dropping points. On a brighter note, his opponent won in a huge boilover as Danijel Micic, the 18th seed, again lost his temper in a frustrating 4-6, 4-6 loss to Tal Cohen. The Israeli has come a long way from his form late last season which saw him be rarely competitive on the PTA Tour.

• After a dynamite second round win against Dwayne Murdoch, unseeded West CWLander Scotland Rivers was blown away by 19th seed Diego Hurtado. Rivers came in rating himself a big chance to knock off the aggressive Colombian, but met him on a bad day as the South American struck winners at ease. He was in one of those moods, but Rivers perhaps helped him by foolishly giving him too many chances on the forehand side. Hurtado needed three match points, but the result was never in doubt as he took a 6-2, 6-4 win. His form looks very dangerous, and he'll put it to the test against seventh seed József Boros. Boros came back from a disastrous first set to defeat Sergio Joaquín 0-6, 6-3, 7-5.

• Elsewhere, the top two seeds are out before the fourth round as Daniel Páez Blanco was beaten 2-6, 6-7(8) by 30th seeded teenager Zhijun Sun. Blanco's loss leaves many believing he might well have come back too early as two third round exits in two tournaments have been characterised by limited movement and surprisingly inconsistent groundstrokes. With huge points to depend in the clay season, Blanco has a big job ahead of him to get himself right.

• Seeded players out: Daniel Páez Blanco; Sergio Joaquín; Tiago Matías; Danijel Micic; Sven Oxenstierna; Randy Smeltz.

• Rob Bowenburg & Jarkko Maxum have made a winning start to their doubles campaign with a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win over Artem Krohmal & Merab Shvelidze. The East Europeans were smashed by Gai/Lu in Sunrise last week at the semi final stage, and looked no better here as the CWLanders were clinical in victory. They move onto a bigger test in the second round against sixth seeds Tal Cohen & Raz Teper who eased past Gryzlov/Malachenko in their first round contest.

• Seeded players out: None.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Originally Posted by Samuel_Vimes

Ivars Emsis, here featured in a rare rally

[Samuel_Vimes]

Played Heath Now don't do like Rivers and choke in an opened section

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Originally Posted by Samuel_Vimes

Played Heath Now don't do like Rivers and choke in an opened section

Well, this is the concern isn't it. Heath seems to be more mercurial than Jean Alesi.

Also, no write up for Smeltz's exit?

[SirBloody Idiot]

Originally Posted by HeathDavisSpeed

Well, this is the concern isn't it. Heath seems to be more mercurial than Jean Alesi.

Also, no write up for Smeltz's exit?

Simon's not been on CW since April, so there's no real point.

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Originally Posted by SirBloody Idiot

Simon's not been on CW since April, so there's no real point.

He's clearly just been waiting for this to start up again

[Mister Wright]

Great win to Davis.

Let's hope he doesn't pull out of the doubles now to concentrate on the singles .

[vic_orthdox]

Ah, disappointing to miss out after getting a big win. Need to establish a bit more consistency.