Week 16 (Challengers): Baton Rouge [Bruce] ; Johannesburg [Banks]; Rome [Färkkilä]

[SirBloody Idiot]

Baton Rouge Pro Tennis Classic II – Singles

Randy Bruce won in the final 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 against Rick Langley.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Soweto Open II – Singles

Randy Banks won in the final 7-6(5), 6-1 against Ivan Češljar.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Rai Open II – Singles

Lari Färkkilä won in the final 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 against Guilermo Crespo.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Baton Rouge Pro Tennis Classic II - Singles
$50,000 - 1st Round - Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA - Hard (Indoor)

• Koal Kao has begun his assault on Baton Rouge, LA with a defeat as he fell to wildcard Jason Schmidt in three sets. Having taken the second 6-1 with some explosive tennis, a ball-bashing third set went the way of the local who secured a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win. It wasn't the ideal start for the teenager who is in desperate need of match practice.

• One-time doubles partner Marcuss Deane had a better time of things with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Kiwi journeyman Karl King. Deane relished a return to western soil with some attractive tennis as he continues to show that he's one of the most promising young prospects with his straight sets win. With eight aces, he will need his best tennis to beat former compatriot Oscar Highsmith in the second round after Highsmith ousted talented teenager Jesse Adams four and four.

• Jack Loughman suffered from little court time as he fell in a tight tussle to Tino Boytchuk. The Canadian qualifier got a good work out, but benefited from match practice gained over the weekend with a 7-6(4), 6-3 win.

• Finally, Rick Langley was the second WCL player through to the round of sixteen as he came from a set down to beat American Butch Miller. After a disappointing first set riddled with errors, Langley opened up considerably and blew the American off the court in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 win.

• Seeded players out: Adam Murray.

Indifferent couple of days for the Western bunch, but I think the draw is opening up for Langley. Deane, meanwhile...

[SirBloody Idiot]

Soweto Open II - Singles
$100,000+H - 1st Round - Johannesburg, South Africa - Hard (Indoor)

• Eighth seed Randy Banks made a winning start in the $100K Challenger in Johannesburg with an easy win over local qualifier Matthew Oertel. The South African had match practice under his belt having not lost a set in qualifying, but after Banks ironed out the kinks he coasted to a straight sets win. With aggressive tennis and and easy style that has made him very popular within West CWLand's tennis diehards, Banks was not taken to deuce on serve as he eased to a 6-3, 6-1 win and a second round clash with Korea's Lee Inmin.

• In his first match on the Challenger tour, CricketWeb wildcard Julian Clipton-Marshall was beaten in a brave performance against Tu Haifeng the fifth seed. The Chinese Taipei player looked too good in the first set as he totally dominated the 23-year old left hander who looked overawed by the situation. But after having his run Little Rock stopped only by a resolute Dean Delgado last week, JCM's serve and volley style started to control proceedings as he surged to take the second set 6-3. But his reference to Tu as "old boy" and suggestion that he might like to drive him back to the hotel drove the fifth seed into action as he proved too strong for the West CWLander in a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win.

• Seeded players out: Murphy S'ua; Niko Ulemek.

Strong start from younf Clipton-Marshall, but Banks is producing some good tennis. Lee is a threat, but he should feel confident here.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Rai Open II - Singles
€30,000+H - 1st Round - Rome, Italy - Clay (Red) (Indoor)

• There were no troubles for East CWLand's Phoenix Wleft in Rome as he trounced wildcard entrant Roberto Calabrese in straight sets. Wleft is making waves on clay and continues to have good results as he surges up the rankings, and had no difficulties against Calabrese in his 6-0, 6-2 win. His real test comes against second seeded Fin Lari Färkkilä whose great form continued with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Anders Helgostam - a slightly wiry Swedish qualifier.

• Patrick Rose meanwhile had an easy match too as he blitzed Alessandro Sarnelli in straight sets. The enigmatic Rose always breaks a sweat no matter what the scoreline, but he wasn't quite so drenched as usual as he faced no trouble from 4-4 in the first. Sarnelli is a typical Italian pusher and caused Rose some annoyance by his lack of attacking intent. But Rose was clinical as he claimed eight games from nine to set up a clash with the eighth seed 6-4, 6-1.

• Seeded players out: Michael De Kinsele; Heinz Hainisch; Massimo Prodi.

Good wins to Rose and Wleft, but both will be lucky to post wins from here. Hainisch produced an absolute Barry Crocker to lose that one.

[SirBloody Idiot]

CricketWeb Update (Apr 14-15)

• In Baton Rouge, LA, teenager Marcuss Deane was beaten in straight sets by one-time compatriot Oscar Highsmith. In a temper-fuelled affair, Deane struggled against the British veteran who constantly changed things up and denied the West CWLander any rhythm. Deane played far better in the second set after a disastrous start, but was broken late after an anaemic backhand slice as Highsmith won 6-2, 7-5. Rick Langley, meanwhile, prevailed in a tough contest against unseeded Brit Scott Whitehouse. The enigmatic West CWLander had a tough start as he blew a 3-0 lead to drop six games in a row, and was forced to save a match point in the second set. But from there it was smoothish sailing as he clinched the second in a breaker and the third in a canter to move to the quarters 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3. He plays second seed Fok Zhenyu who struggled past American junior Charles Alderman 7-5, 7-5.

• In Johannesburg, Randy Banks the eighth seed had another big win as he smashed the ninth highest ranked player in the draw Lee Inmin 6-0, 6-3. Banks was tremendous as he denied the Korean player any chances on his serve (but for a brief period in the second set), and returned very well against the seasoned Lee en route to a big win. His chances of going further were boosted as Aussie teen Harry Thompson recovered from a horror start to upset third seed Ninteh Doh 0-6, 6-3, 6-4.

• Finally, in Rome both Pierre Rose and Phoenix Wleft were defeated. Rose took a set from eighth seed Jiri Gross before falling 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in a valiant display on the clay, while Wleft was impressive in bursts but ultimately unsuccessful as he met his demise against Lari Färkkilä the second seed 4-6, 3-6.

[SirBloody Idiot]

CricketWeb Update (Apr 16)

• In Baton Rouge, unseeded Westerner Rick Langley advanced to Saturday's semi finals with a come-from-behind victory over second seed Zhenyu Fok. Langley had been forced to come from a set down in his opening two matches, so it was little surprise that something similar happened here after dropping the first set 3-6. It is a testament to his great conditioning that he's gone 18-4 in third sets this week and he had absolutely no troubles as he trounced Fok 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. He now plays eighth seed Eric Henson who continued his climb back up the rankings with a 7-6(9), 6-4 win over veteran Rod Bosnar of Australia.

• Meanwhile Randy Banks will play South Africa's Oliver Thursfield in tomorrow's semi final after a straight sets quarter final win over Harry Thompson. Conceding more than three games in a set for the first time this week, Banks was ice cool in the tiebreaker as he claimed it seven points to three. That opened the floodgates as the promising young Aussie posed no threat to Banks who eased to a 7-6(3), 6-1 win.

[SirBloody Idiot]

CricketWeb Update (Apr 17)

• Rick Langley has won through to the Baton Rouge final with a dominant display against embattled American veteran Eric Henson. The World No. 140 needed just sixty-three minutes to dismantle the eighth seed in comprehensive fashion as Henson struggled with his aggression and approaches to the net. For the first time this week Langley took the first set of a match - a stylish 6-0 scoreline setting him up for a big 6-0, 6-4 win. He'll play seventh seeded American Randy Bruce who ousted sixth seed Sam Lazzeri 6-0, 7-5. With 80 points up for grabs, a win for Langley will see him rise as high as around World No. 116.

• Randy Banks also has a golden opportunity to give his ranking a boost after a comprehensive 6-2, 6-3 win over local Oliver Thursfield in Johannesburg. Banks hasn't dropped a set this week, but standing in his way is top seed Ivan Češljar who edged out fifth seed Tu Haifeng. The $100K+H Challenger gives the winner a 110 point rankings boost, which would see the World No. 138 rise to No. 111 with an upset in Sunday's final.

[Marcuss]

That sucks balls

[SirBloody Idiot]

Baton Rouge Pro Tennis Classic II - Singles
$50,000 - Final - Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA - Hard (Indoor)

• Rick Langley's hopes of a second Challenger title this year were dashed as he was outclassed over three sets by seventh seeded local Randy Bruce. In his third final of the season, the rapidly rising West CWLander would be in sight of a top hundred appearance with a victory, but started sluggishly as the 31-year old American looked to work hard for his points. Bruce doesn't possess the dangerous weapons that Langley does (particularly on the forehand side), but countered the 27-year old journeyman well with a killer backhand slice. While it gave him the first set, it did little to stop Langley in the second who began to adjust to the pace and hammer winners home with ease. The veteran American needed a change of plan, and that's what he got in the third set as he looked to attack the net more often to force Langley to shoot for the lines. The Westerner's forehand has never had laser-like accuracy despite tightening considerably over the last six months, and he made too many errors and was impatient as Bruce played positive and economical tennis to secure the title 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. Langley's ranking rises to World No. 126 which is a huge rise since starting the year outside the top 250, and he finds himself just 150 points outside of a top hundred berth.

• Seeded players out: None.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Soweto Open II - Singles
$100,000+H - Final - Johannesburg, South Africa - Hard (Indoor)

• West CWLand's Randy Banks has belatedly celebrated his 20th birthday with a straight sets victory over top seed Ivan Češljar to complete an almost flawless week in Johannesburg. The eighth seed hadn't dropped a set all week, and seems to improve every time he's on court as he claimed the scalp of the World No. 74 from Croatia. The 27-year old was a step up in competition for Banks, but the youngster did not let it show as he outgunned the left-handed in many of the long rallies which littered the first set. With neither player serving consistently, six breaks of serve occurred as the set was taken to a tiebreaker. There Banks rallied from 2-4 down to secure five of the last six points to claim the breaker 7-5 and take a decisive lead early in the final. Češljar, too often defensive in the first set, did not improve as the match went on, while Banks flourished with confidence allowing him to pass the Croatian at both the net and baseline. Češljar regularly came to the net but did it hesitantly and not at the right time as his usually solid volleying game was rendered obsolete by Banks' power off both flanks. There was little he could do in the second set as Banks converted his second championship point to claim the Soweto Open 7-6(5), 6-1. Having previously appeared in a final in Burnie, Australia, this was Banks' first Challenger title.

• Seeded players out: Ivan Češljar.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Originally Posted by Marcuss

That sucks balls

Played a lot of tennis lately, but probably only a good tournament or two from pushing the top hundred. Highsmith is the type of guy Deane will want to be pushing to three at least, tbf.

[Marcuss]

Yeah, flunking the first set so badly was a bit disappointing.
Got a week of coming up haven't I?

[SirBloody Idiot]

You can if you want. I'm choosing schedules at the moment until this thing gets back up and running, otherwise we get bogged down with waiting for responses.