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Week 17 (Challengers): Athens [Konc]; Rome 2 [De Kinsele]; Tallahassee [Bruce]

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
CW Herald - Athens
Banks and Bre set for semi final cracker

Randy Banks' magnificent form has continued as the Johannesburg champion easily beat Oleg Puder in his Athens quarter final match up. Banks has dropped just one set in his last eight matches as the Russian struggled to find ways to hold serve against the World No. 112.

Banks smashed fourteen second set winners in a clinical display as Puder, coming off two straight set wins himself, had few weapons against the unseeded Westerner. With his first match point, a composed Banks put away an easy volley from his own serve to secure the 6-2, 6-3 win.

He will play East CWLander Matt Bre after the seventh seed edged a three-set win against Estonia's Taavi Aleksejev. Aleksejev was fresh off a victory over a top forty player in the second round, but showed no signs of post-celebratory fatigue as he pushed Bre to three.

But it was the World No. 78 who was too polished for his opponent ranked 88 places lower as he broke twice in the third to win 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3 despite having served for the match in the second.

Status Athens Open
Athens, Greece

MEN: Quarterfinals: Andrej Konc (SVK) bt 6-Aksu Emrem (TUR) 7-5 6-3. 3-Atthaphol Sae-ul (THA) bt Dimitris Chasiotis (GRE) 7-5 2-6 6-0.[...]
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
CW Herald - Tallahassee
Narang stays alive while Read hits hurdle

Ishan Narang is through to his second Challenger semi final after a straight sets win over Croatia's Adem Tadić. While he continues to be plagued by off-court incidents, his on-court play remains very solid as the Indian-born youngster overcame a tricky second set to win in two.

Narang's serving has been a feature of his game this week, but after a very solid first set he was in trouble in the second at 0-3 with Tadić taking the double break through some fine returning. There was a moment of real worry when he was broken as he called for the trainer to check on his ankle.

Despite some strapping, his movement didn't look particularly restricted as he broke back to love and did his best to chase the Croat down. He did so successfully as he wasn't broken again while picking up two of his own to advance 6-2, 7-5.

He will meet Randy Bruce in the semis after the Baton Rouge champ continued his magnificent run by coming from a set down to oust Brett Read. In his first loss since returning to the PTA tour, Read was pushed to three sets for the third consecutive time as the World No. 105 recovered from a disappointing start.

The American moved better than Read and was more positive while Read engaged in tactics of getting as many balls back as he could. This came to a head in the third set where he hit just one winner and was made to pay as the 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat let him know he has some work to do.

Tallahassee Tennis Challenger
Tallahassee, FL, USA

MEN: Quarterfinals: 7-Sam Lazzeri (USA) bt WC-Dean Delgado (USA) 6-0 6-0. 5-Hugh James (USA) bt. Ryan Robinson (USA) 6-3 6-2.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Rome Open
Rome, Italy

MEN: Quarterfinals:
6-Thomas Velten (NED) bt 1-Gregor Gorshkov (RUS) 7-6(2) 6-1. 4-Michael De Kinsele (ITA) bt Christian Mary (FRA) 6-2 6-3. Leonel Romero (CHL) bt 3-Denis Rodrigues (BRA) 6-1 7-5. Marco Pellegrini (ITA) bt Max Eisenhauer (GER) 6-3 4-6 7-5.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
In about a month of game time:

Next Week:
Rome Masters

Then:
Estoril
Belgrade
Munich

Then:
Madrid

Then:
Dusseldorf
Nice

Then:
Roland Garros
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
CW Herald - Athens
Banks edges Bre; Konc comes from behind

Randy Banks has overcome a stern test against Matt Bre to set up a finals showdown with Slovakian Andrej Konc in the final of the Status Athens Open. Banks extended his winning streak to an impressive nine matches and in sight of a top hundred berth as he accounted for Bre 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

It was an entertaining match between the two CWLanders, but after dropping the second set 2-6 Banks seemed to be out of the hunt as the East CWLander ramped up the pressure. But some great defensive tennis allowed him to survive an early onslaught, and set up three break points in the fifth game.

He needed all three before slamming home a forehand winner, but was immediately in trouble on his own serve at 15-40. He stared down the barrel of a break back and survived to take a 4-2 lead and never let it go as he made his second consecutive final in three sets.

He now plays unseeded Slovak Andrej Konc who stunned third seed Atthaphol Sae-ul 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the first semi final.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
CW Herald - Tallahassee
Narang handed lesson in disappointing semi

Randy Bruce will look to double up in tomorrow's final after easily beating Ishan Narang in straight sets in their first meeting. Narang has been dynamic this week, but started poorly as he fell behind a double break to the American who was riding high after a title in Baton Rouge.

Dropping the first 2-6, Narang improved substantially in the second set in the face of some good opposition but Bruce showed incredible poise as he survived five second set break points with some clutch serving and accurate forehands. In a battle of two big servers, it was the 6 ft 5 in Bruce who did enough to secure victory 6-2, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Hugh James on Sunday.

Rome Open
Rome, Italy
MEN: Semifinals: 4-Michael De Kinsele (ITA) bt 6-Thomas Velten 6-4 6-3. Marco Pellegrini (ITA) bt Leonel Romero (CHL) 6-0 6-1.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
CW Herald - Athens
Banks fails in quest for second title in as many weeks

Randy Banks' quest to win back-to-back titles has failed as he was beaten in straight sets by Slovakia's Andrej Konc in the final of the Status Athens Open.

The unseeded West CWLander was favourite to win the final after stringing nine wins together in the past fortnight, but never recovered from letting an early lead slip as Konc secured the title 7-5, 6-2.

Banks was a break ahead after moving to 3-2, but was broken back immediately from the Slovakian who went on to secure eleven of the next fifteen games en route to his first title of the year.

Elsewhere, fourth seed Michael De Kinsele claimed the title in Rome beating compatriot Marco Pellegrini two and two, while Randy Bruce made it two North American titles in as many weeks as he beat Hugh James 6-4, 6-3.
 

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