Week 19: Belgrade, Estoril, Munich, Ramat HaSharon

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Another solid win there. Where has this form come from? A proper test up in the next round, though.

Good to see El Mustardo through as well.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Estoril Open II
PTA Tour 250 - 2nd Round - Estoril, Portugal - Clay (Red)

• Brett Read has picked up the biggest win of his return with an impressive three-set win over World No. 44 Ion Andueza. The Spaniard was a favourite to knock off the West CWLander, but Read showed some of his old class to take the first set 6-3 with a casual forehand winner down the line. He lost a bit of his mojo in the second set as Andueza grafted and fought his way to a 6-2 scoreline, but the decider was a more tense affair as both players surrendered breaks of serve as the set went to a tiebreaker. There Read played some of his best tennis of the match in a sublime display of consistent ball-striking as he out-worked and out-performed Andueza to win 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(3).

• He now meets fourth seed Kim Vollan after the big Norwegian picked up a straight sets win over East CWLand qualifier Ishan Narang. In his first win back on the PTA tour in months, Vollan's huge serve and powerful ground strokes were too young for the inexperienced Narang who struggled to cope with the step up in tempo from his first round win. The World No. 34 has struggled to stay on the park this season, but showed why he is always a second week threat at Grand Slams with a 6-3, 6-4 win.

• Finally, second seed Sven Oxenstierna survived an awkward opening encounter as he dropped a set to World No. 245 Luis Amaral before winning comfortably. Oxenstierna has been near unstoppable on clay this season, but was stunned in the first set by the Portuguese player who snatched a break of serve against all the play and held on to secure the set 6-3. That was all the fun he'd have, though, as Oxenstierna eased into the match and outgunned him in a safe 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. He'll no doubt lift the pace against Aldo Marín in the quarters, but will be boosted by losses to Rasmus Olesen and Jean-Alain Depuis.

• Seeded players out: Ion Andueza; Jean-Alain Depuis; Rasmus Olesen.

[morgieb]

Haha **** yes.

Now to make amends against Vollan....

[Mister Wright]

for Mustard

[SirBloody Idiot]

BMW Open II
PTA Tour 250 - 2nd Round - Munich, Germany - Clay (Red)

• Rob Bowenburg will meet regular doubles partner Jarkko Maxum in the quarterfinals in Munich after a straight sets win over Brazilian qualifier Felipe Menon. The World No. 59 struggled early as he was forced to come from a break down twice to send the first set to a tiebreaker, and after saving two set points took the opener 8-6 in the breaker. After a frustrating first set, Bowenburg began to find a home for his backhand as he punched winners down the line to leave the Brazilian reeling. Furthermore, the serve that proved so dangerous in Rome returned to action as he eased into the quarters 7-6(6), 6-1.

• He plays Maxum after the ninth seed edged a tight match against Austria's Heinz Hainisch. Hainisch made the final in Tunis last week, and both players were in fine form in an entertaining opening set littered with great shots and awesome defence. With the scores at 5-5, Maxum got the first break of the match and it took a brilliant whipping cross-court backhand which caught the line and earned him a 6-5 lead. He converted to clinch the first set, and set about taking an early lead in the second. But at 2-0, he was broken back by Hainisch as the set meandered towards a tiebreaker. Having made frustrating errors on both wings, Maxum found his feet at the right time and avoided a deciding set as he advanced 7-5, 7-6(2) and in good stead for a tilt at the title.

• Finally, Spas Delev has lost out in a tight match to World No. 27 Antonio Bachunelli. The fourth seed has been inconsistent this clay season, and was evenly matched with the World No. 48 right throughout the contest. But after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker after leading 5-2 earlier in the match, Delev struggled to stay afloat as the Italian broke early in the second and kept his nose in front. In a frustrating end, Delev had two break points to go to 5-5, but couldn't convert either as Bachunelli edged to a 7-6(2), 6-4 win.

• Elsewhere, second seed Rick Henson was the latest big name casualty as he was beaten four and three by Colombia's Johan Ortiz.

• Seeded players out: Rick Henson.

[Johnners]

[NUFAN]

Awesome, can't wait for the match against Maxum! He leads the career record 1 - 0 but that was in qualifiers.

Loser's shout at the Hofbrauhaus -what do you say?

[SirBloody Idiot]

Israel Open II
PTA Challenger Tour - Quarterfinal - Ramat HaSharon, Israel - Hard

• Teenage sensation Marcuss Deane has evened the score with Latvian top seed Ivars Emsis in a convincing straight sets win in the marquee quarterfinal in Ramat HaSharon, Israel. Deane was a big underdog after a disappointing start to his second round match, but was up for it from the start as he and Emsis engaged in a serving war in the first set which advanced to a tiebreaker in just forty-nine minutes. With no breaks of serve, it was hardly the most exciting first set as the two edged towards 6-6 in the tiebreaker before Deane earned a minibreak and nailed his ninth first-set ace to take it 7-6. The second set, however, was all Deane as Emsis - seemingly struggling with his eighth match in twelve days - fell apart and was broken three times in the decider as Deane took it to one. The 7-6(6), 6-1 win from Deane is one of his most impressive yet, and continues his push to the top 100 as he faces Samuel Thorpe who was one of three Americans to win his quarterfinal match.

• Seeded players out: Ivars Emsis; Li Ming-Wang.

[morgieb]

Double partners up in Munich. ITSTL....

[SirBloody Idiot]

Originally Posted by morgieb

Double partners up in Munich. ITSTL....

Very itstl. Would ordinarily go Maxum on this surface, but with Bowenburg in the form he's in...

Good win from Markarse, too. He's got a 1-2 record in semi finals, but he's never going to get a better chance to make the final than here. Not sure exactly, but a title here will put him somewhere around 108-110 in the world.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Serbia Open II
PTA Tour 250 - Quarterfinals - Belgrade, Serbia - Clay (Red)

• World No. 28 Heath Davis has missed a golden opportunity to go deep in another PTA tournament after he let an early lead slip against fourth seed Morgan Carter. Davis is ranked above the American as of May 3, and in a tight first set he showed just that extra bit of class to claim it 7-5. But Carter, who last week proved too good for Illya Altman, fought back strongly and matched fire with fire and he threw the racquet at any loose shot from the fifth seeded West CWLander. Davis struggled to cope with resistance he hadn't met so far this week as Carter raced to a third set where he led 4-0. Staring down the barrel of a bad defeat, Davis managed to claw one break back and keep the match competitve, but couldn't push Carter any further as the American set up a semi final with unconvincing top seed Radek Špidlá 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

• In the third quarter final, third seed Jojo Mustard made light work of Croatia's Ivan Češljar to advance to a semi final matchup with defending champion Radivoj Daneu. Despite Češljar looking the better player in their respective second round clashes, Mustard was undoubtedly the better player in the quarter finals as he calmy dispatched the Croat 6-2, 6-2. The World No. 18 is looking in distinctly dangerous form and will no doubt be coveting a top sixteen seeding at the French Open - he'll get it if he can finish at least at No. 17 with Randy Smeltz's likely withdrawal. It may not happen yet, though, with second seed Radivoj Daneu perhaps finding his feet at just the right time as the former World No. 2 beat Nilikar Midid two and love.

• Seeded players out: Heath Davis.

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Dammit. Still, it wasn't an easy win for the Yank. Would have capitulated in Straight Sets on clay last season.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Estoril Open II
PTA Tour 250 - Quarterfinals - Estoril, Portugal - Clay (Red)

• Before his return last month, it looked very likely that Brett Read's last match on the PTA circuit would be a 4-6, 2-6, 6-7(8) loss to Kim Vollan at Roland Garros. In a full circle, today he got a chance to level the tally against the big Norwegian in the quarterfinals of the Estoril Open in Portugal. Unfortunately for Read, he was edged out by the fourth seed who started like a shot before closing out a tense finish to move to his first semi final of the season. Read had looked good this week, but the World No. 34 threw his weight around in the first set in a dominant display as he put a bagel on the World No. 135. But down a break in the second, Read somehow tapped into his reserves and with a late break of serve clinched the second set 7-5 thanks to a backhand from Vollan which went about a foot long. The deciding set was a more tense affair; Vollan was looking unstoppable on his serve while Read was desperate and was running down some insane forehands from the Norwegian. Ultimately, though, Vollan was on and his power proved too much in the end as he advanced to a semi final clash with fifth seeded local Tiago Matías (fresh off a straight tiebreaker win over World No. 1 and defending champion Jason Hall) 6-0, 5-7, 7-5. A good week for Read as he eases his way back in against good opposition, and but for a poor first set he might still have been in action.

• Meanwhile, World No. 4 Sven Oxenstierna will look for his third title of the season when he meets Lari Färkkilä in tomorrow's second semi final. Oxenstierna was way too good for Paraguay's Aldo Marín, and it times it looked as if he was playing with the World No. 82 as he looks to refine his game ahead of the Madrid Masters and then the French Open. With just two losses under his belt this clay season, Oxenstierna surged ahead in both sets and cruised to victory 6-2, 6-2. His Finnish opponent has dropped just one set in his three matches as he advanced to a maiden semi final with a 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Germany's Alex Peters.

• Seeded players out: Jason Hall.

[morgieb]

Oh well, a quarter and taking the world no. 30-something to the edge is an alright way to play.

[SirBloody Idiot]

BMW Open II
PTA Tour 250 - Quarterfinals - Munich, Germany - Clay (Red)

• Ninth seed Jarkko Maxum has beaten good friend and rival Rob Bowenburg in straight sets to put him two wins away from a maiden PTA World Tour crown. The World No. 46 put an end to Bowenburg's great run of form and has broken the mould of the fragmented careers of many of his East CWLand compatriots by going from strength-to-strength this season. In a tight first set, Maxum's class on the red clay was undoubted as he constantly peppered Bowenburg with deep forehands which pushed him well behind the baseline and it was that tactic that earned him two breaks of serve. After taking the first set 6-4, Maxum continued to dictate the play as Bowenburg was too often caught on the back foot and was unable to create his own pace against the tactical Maxum. Maxum's 6-4, 6-2 win sets up a semi final meeting with World No. 90 Martin Reiter. The Austrian beat Dutchman Maarten Berg 6-3, 7-6(6) to make his first PTA World Tour semi final.

• In the other half, fifth seed Becker Haas looks to make his home final after a win over fourth seed Antonio Bachunelli. He plays Colombian Johan Ortiz.

• Seeded players out: Antonio Bachunelli.