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Week 21: Nice; Düsseldorf; Cremona

HeathDavisSpeed

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
In average ranking terms, which of these teams are the best? West CWLand must have a pretty decent team with the Ox (4), Jojo (14?) and myself (29?)
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Nice Preview

Full draw

A field that has been hit by a torrent of injuries now looks pretty weak in the last traditional tournament before Roland Garros. Jefferson Drake leads the back, but he joins two other Madrid quarter finalists in the top four seeds in a pretty strong top handful of players. Despite a disappointing exit late last week in Madrid, Drake was starting to show some real touch and could cap off a solid Open preparation with a tournament win here. He's on the first line of betting, and realistically should run himself into some form by the semis. Drake vs. Carlo Amato is the match I suspect most people want to see by semi final time, and I'm not sure there's many players standing in their way.

In the other half, Brett Read has a good chance of seeing second round and maybe even quarter final action. Mark Harmel has watched his ranking plumet with a string of bad results, while Toby Brookes makes a winnable second opponent. Although this is the first time this tournament has been held, Brookes is effectively the defending champion having won Pörtschach which was replaced this year by Nice.

Prediction: Jefferson Drake def. Patrick Pascaul
Smokey: Pierre L'Estrange

 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Düsseldorf OOP - Sunday & Monday

SUNDAY
CENTRE COURT 1

1:00 PM
Red: (1) Haas vs. (1) A. Bachunelli
Red: (2) Heug vs. (2) De Kinsele
not before 4:00 p.m.
Blue: (1) Oxenstierna vs. (1) Z. Varga

CENTRE COURT 2
1:00 PM
Blue: Ivic (1) vs. Andueza (1)
Blue: Micic (1) vs. Emelio (1)
not before 4:00 p.m.
Red: Bre (2) vs. Bradley (2)

MONDAY
CENTRE COURT 1

1:00 PM
Red: GER vs ITA Doubles
not before 2:30 p.m.
Red: (1) Delev vs. (1) Cowan
not before 5:00 p.m.
Blue: FRC vs. HUN Doubles

CENTRE COURT 2
1:00 PM
Blue: (2) Mustard vs. (2) J. Varga
followed by
Red: SRB vs. ESP Doubles
not before 5:00 p.m.
Red: CDR vs. USA Doubles
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Cremona Preview

Oh man, a dog of a draw with most of the 100+ ranked players looking to qualify later this week. Scotland Rivers leads the high ranked guys who are allergic to clay, guys with rankings above 200 and Rob Bowenburg. Rivers should sleepwalk into the semis at least, and in reality should coast into the final. He can tune up against ordinary players before facing bigger tests like Jeremy Natale and Tu Haifeng later on.

Bowenburg has it a bit tougher with no qualifiers or wildcards to pad out his section, but he'd be disappointed with anything less than a semi final. He's in the best form of any one in the draw, but a week out from the French Open this is a puzzling choice to play here. Ivars Emsis has played a lot of tennis on hard courts and could spring the surprise.

Prediction: Rivers def. Emsis.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
I'll put up the qualifying draw for Roland Garros (kill me now :( ) after the first round of action in Nice and Cremona, and Tuesday in Düsseldorf. I just whacked pretty much every CWLander old and new in there.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
ARAG World Team Cup II
PTA 250 - Sunday (Day One) - Düsseldorf, Germany - Clay (Red)

  • Sven Oxenstierna vs. Zoltán Varga promised a lot but delivered little as the World No. 4 gave West CWLand a 1-0 lead after Sunday in Düsseldorf. Arguably the two best clay players in the draw and certainly the pair in the best form, Oxenstierna would have expected a tough hitout to perfect his Roland Garros preparation. But it wasn't Zoltán Varga at his best as the Hungarian struggled for rhythm throughout the match as Oxenstierna coasted to a 6-3, 6-3 win. The scoreline flattered the Hungarian as Oxenstierna never looked troubled in his dominant straight sets win.

  • There was less to be happy about for East CWLand as Matt Bre was thrashed by the USA's Jason Bradley. Sending the East down 0-1, Bre's lack of form was shown up by the American journeyman who eased to a 6-3, 6-1 win. It doesn't get any easier tomorrow with Spas Delev facing top ten player Darcy Cowan who appears for the first time since Miami.

  • Elsewhere, Germany and Italy are tied at one rubber each with Serbia and Spain locked at the same score.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Open de Nice Côte d'Azur II
PTA 250 - 1st Round - Nice, France - Clay (Red)

  • Brett Read has made an unblemished start to his week in Nice as the West CWLandish qualifier made light work of Belgium's Mark Harmel. Harmel's form has been rat**** as of late, but he and Read employ similar styles as the two engaged in a largely uneventful baseline affair. But the World No. 141 was clearly too good as a baseline war against a player without dangerous ground strokes is well in his comfort zone as he cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 win to move to the round of 16. He now plays Alex Peters after the German tamed Toby Brookes 6-2, 6-3. Interestingly, Brookes won the now defunct Pörtschach tournament this week last year and in the semi finals ousted Read 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 on the way to his title.

  • Seeded players out:
    Toby Brookes
    ;
    Sergio Joaquín.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Trofeo Paolo Corazzi II
PTA Challenger Tour - 1st Round - Cremona, Italy - Hard

  • Top seed Scotland Rivers has made the ideal start to his week in Italy with a 6-2, 6-4 win over James O'Raherty. The West CWLander was handed a surprisingly tough match at times against the energetic Irish red head, but proved far too good in the end in a comfortable straight sets victory. Rivers now plays qualifier Alejandro Martínez of Uruguay who edged a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(0) first round win.

  • Rob Bowenburg was forced to come from a double break down to avoid being taken to three sets in an awkward first round performance against Stefan Vicini. The second seed made the bizzare choice to play Cremona, but blitzed his local opponent six love in a dominant first set. But in a disastrous start to the second, Vicini shot ahead 5-1 with some smash and grab tennis and forced Bowenburg to the brink. However the West CWLander fought back strongly and saved five set points to secure a 6-0, 7-5 win. He meets Nick De Koning of the Netherlands next.

  • Seeded players out:
    Sebastian Moss.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Oh boy.

ARAG World Team Cup II
PTA 250 - Monday (Day 2) - Düsseldorf, Germany - Clay (Red)

  • Darcy Cowan gave the USA an unassailable 2-0 lead in Düsseldorf as he made his first clay appearance of the season a successful one with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Spas Delev. It was a scratchy start for the Wimbledon champion, but he did just enough to get over Delev in the first set with his serve looking as solid as ever despite a bit of a ring rust over the rest of his game. After dropping the first set, Delev disappointingly wilted and robbed the crowd of a fine contest in a straight sets defeat.

  • Jojo Mustard rose to a career high No. 15 in the world last week, but was beaten in three sets by Hungary's János Varga. Levelling the tie at 1-1, the World No. 42 played consistent tennis and showed why rate him as a player with more potential than his older brother Zoltán. In a tough contest, both players looked solid without being spectacular but it was the Hungarian who pushed through in clutch situations to secure a narrow 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 victory.

  • No joy for Spas Delev and Roy Daniels in the doubles as they were pasted 0-6, 1-6 by Hugh James and Ralph Robinson to compete the American clean sweep...

  • In the biggest shock of the day, the winning streak of Heath Davis and Jojo Mustard was snapped in straight sets by János & Zoltán Varga. With their opponents having gone eight matches without dropping a set, the Hungarians put their best doubles team together in the hope of snatching a win against the West. They got it. It was a half-hearted performance from the Rome champions who struggled right throughout the match en route to a 3-6, 4-6 loss.
Blue Group
Germany def. Italy 2-1
Hungary def. West CWLand 2-1

Red Group
Spain def. Serbia 2-1
United States def. East CWLand 3-0
 

Mister Wright

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I guess the constant playing and not having a rest is having an effect on Mustard. Should have won the singles, and disappointing after reaching world #1 in doubles that Mustard would lose his first match.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
ARAG World Team Cup II
PTA World Tour 250 - Tuesday (Day Three) - Düsseldorf, Germany - Clay (Red)

  • DR CWLand's slim chances of making this weekend's final were snuffed out in dramatic style as Italy took an unassailable 2-0 lead in Düsseldorf. In the first rubber, Spas Delev's sorry form continued against top thirty player Antonio Bachunelli as the Italian stormed to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over the World No. 47. Delev's form has plummeted over the past few weeks and this was his worst loss of the lot as his Roland Garros preparation took a massive hit. Meanwhile, compatriot Roy Daniels claimed East CWLand's first set of the week but was beaten in three sets by an impressive Michael De Kinsele. De Kinsele dropped his first match on Monday to Gunther Heug, but hit back well against the enigmatic Daniels to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

  • Heath Davis has handed West CWLand a 1-0 lead as he took a hard fought straight sets win over Serbia's Srđan Ivić. Ivic has now taken both his opponents to the brink so far this week as Davis struggled to shake the impressive Serbian revelation. Both sets went to a tiebreaker and Davis was forced to save two first set points at 4-6. He did well to claim the breaker 9-7, and made far lighter work of it in the second as he won 7-6(7), 7-6(2). West CWLand need to win at least one point tomorrow and then their tie against Spain to have any chance of making the final.

  • Elsewhere, a Darcy Cowan-less United States drew level with Germany thanks to Hugh James's three set win while János Varga made up for his brother's second straight sets loss to level Hungary's tie with Spain at 1-1. This is good news for West CWLand.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Open de Nice Côte d'Azur II
PTA 250 - 2nd Round - Nice, France - Clay (Red)

  • Top seed Jefferson Drake was untroubled by local wildcard David Lebègue as he won through to the quarter finals in Nice 6-3, 6-1. The World No. 144 had already taken a very convincing first round victory and would have given himself a chance to stay close to the sometimes erratic Drake. But the World No. 8 showed all of his parts are in good working order as he steamrolled Lebègue after an even start; dropping just four games. Drake, who will be seeded at No. 8 at next week's French Open, will no doubt have his eye on this Friday's draw, but he must stay focussed ahead of tomorrow's quarterfinal with eighth seed Javier Villaneuva. Villaneuva beat rival Marc Carretero 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-3.

  • Meanwhile, qualifier Brett Read came from a set down to beat Germany's Alex Peters to move to the quarter finals. Read made a shaky start against the World No. 66 as he dropped the first set 3-6, but managed to steal the second set in a tiebreaker with some fantastic defensive tennis as Peters upped the pace. The deciding set was all Read as he broke twice to secure a 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-3 win and a quarter final showdown with second seed Miroslav Brdar. Though Read claims hard courts are his preference, his style is actually quite suited to the clay and his results show that.

  • Madrid quarter finalist Patrick Pascaul suffered a humiliating set back to his French Open campaign as 96th ranked compatriot Christopher Durand beat him 3-6, 7-5, 6-7(3).

  • Seeded players out:
    Patrick Pascaul.
 
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SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Trofeo Paolo Corazzi II
PTA Challenger Tour - 2nd Round - Cremona, Italy - Hard

  • Second seed Rob Bowenburg made the unusual move to play on the hard courts of Cremona a week out from a clay Grand Slam tournament, but he looked good again as he won his round of 16 match against Nick De Koning 6-0, 6-3. The 283rd ranked Dutchman had taken a close first round win on Monday, but was no match for the red hot Bowenburg who benefitted from the faster courts by putting a hurtin' on his Dutch opponent. De Koning looked good at times, but was mostly out of his depth as Bowenburg set up a quarter final clash with Andy Russell of Great Britain after he destroyed Samoan favourite Murphy S'ua two and one.

  • Top seed Scotland Rivers picked up another Challenger win with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Uruguayan qualifier Alejandro Martínez. It was a tight first set as Rivers again failed to kickstart his aggressive game immediately, but he managed to come back from a break down to take it 7-5. From there it was academic as the brave start from Martínez failed to catch on in the second set with Rivers coasting to an inevitable win in straight sets. He meets fifth seed Jeremy Natale after the Aussie beat qualifier Pedro Barbosa 7-6(0), 7-6(3).

  • Seeded players out:
    Murphy S'ua.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
ARAG World Team Cup II
PTA 250 - Wednesday (Day 4) - Düsseldorf, Germany - Clay (Red)

  • DR CWLand are yet to win a match this week as Matt Bre and Spas Delev fell in a three-set defeat to Antonio Bachunelli and Sandro Bachunelli. The Bachunelli brothers only team in team events like this and the Davis Cup and it showed as they dropped the first set to a determined East CWLand side. In a tight second set, Bre and Delev looked like giving the East their first win at 5-3 before dropping four games on the trot to go into the decider minus any momentum. There the Italian duo coasted to a 6-7(0), 7-5, [10-3] win to give Italy the tie 3-0.

  • West CWLand meanwhile have secured their first point in Düsseldorf with a 3-0 win over Serbia. In the most eagerly anticipated match of the day, the enigmatic Danijel Micic could not overcome Sven Oxenstierna in an entertaining straight sets loss. Despite Micic saying he's in the best form of his PTA career, he's not had results he needs to crack to the top ten - mainly because he keeps on running into Daniel Páez Blanco at Masters events (though he took a set off him last week). Here he was against another world class clay courter, but provided plenty of highlights in a valiant 5-7, 3-6 loss. It was another impressive performance against top quality opposition for Oxenstierna who is still looking in terrific shape despite his shock exit early in Madrid last week.
In the doubles, Heath Davis and Jojo Mustard redeemed themselves fully as they spanked Victor Bosich and Dusko Milošević. Davis and Mustard suffered their first defeat in months on Monday, but hit shape in impressive style with a 6-3, 6-1 win. The straight sets flogging could be their last match in preparation for the French Open; Oxenstierna will play doubles in the must-win tie against Spain while Mustard and Davis play singles.
  • Elsewhere, the United States escaped with a 2-1 win over Germany while Spain moved to top of the Blue Group with a 2-1 win over Hungary.







Blue Group



Red Group

 

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