SirBloody Idiot
Cricketer Of The Year
London; Warsaw; Halle (3R/2R/2R) - June 8-15, I
AEGON International
First Round - London
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)
Men's Doubles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
23-year old Jefferson Drake has given up a one set lead in his third round clash against David Champion to slump to what was a disappointing three-set loss. With the AEGON Championships heading towards a the quarterfinals, Drake came out flying as he looked to build on the form he showed in his second round clash against Samuel Thorpe. After Champion held serve without incident for his first two games, Drake got the all-important first break in the sixth game of the first set to surge to a 4-2 lead; the world number 17 holding on for dear life against a Champion late assault to secure the first set 6-3. But after failing to convert any of his four break point chances, Champion started in the best possible way in the second as Drake was left scratching his head as, presented with an open court, he put a simply backhand volley right into the path of the Australian. The 2-0 lead proved to be all the breathing room Champion would need as he levelled the match at a set each. From there, the tenth seed again managed an early break of service in the decider to completely cripple the confidence of Drake; running away with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory in 112 minutes.
His opponent in the quarterfinals will be world number two Jason Hall who was also forced to come back from a set down to pull off a third round victory. His Latvian opponent, Ivars Emsis, picked up an unlikely break of service late in the first set to put himself in the unexpected situation of being a set up against the top seed. But Hall fought back against the wildcard whose serve began to falter to below fifty per cent, and despite firing down six second set aces he was only able to hold his service once. In a tight third set, both men captured two breaks of service early to be level at 3-3, but it was the world number two who held his cool late in the piece to escape with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 win.
Rick Henson's gutsy return to competitive tennis ended overnight as fifth seed Henry Charles pulled back from a set down to advance to the quarterfinals in front of his home crowd. The world number eleven stuck with the American star early in the first, but struggled to win points on the Henson serve and paid for it dearly. But ahead a set, Henson was braced for a hard slog against the fifth seed who, with a parochial English crowd behind him, spurred him on to take the second set 6-3. But Henson was not done yet, and despite going down a break in the third, ensured the match would be decided in a tense tiebreaker. Showing no sign of the calf injury which plagued him for the entire clay court season, Henson was level with the Brit at 3-3. But an untimely double fault stopped that in its tracks as the mini-break gave Charles all the confidence he needed to take four points on the trot and a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) win. His opponent in the quarters will be fourth seed Miroslav Brdar who prevailed in straight sets against Russia's Dmitry Orlov. Orlov played well in stages, but could not take a set off the Croat who hit his stride and never looked back.
In the battle of the Americans, third seed Darcy Cowan set up a quarterfinal clash with Chinese Taipei's Lee Inmin after a three-set win against countryman Jason Bradley. The pair traded sets, but it was the Wyoming teenager who got the better of the fifteenth seed after breaking service late in the deciding set to advance 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Lee, who pulled the shock of the tournament off in the second round by defeating a vulnerable Zhijun Sun, continued his supreme run of form by defeating qualifier Mikel Fosdike. The Frenchman put in a more than satisfactory performance, but could not get the better of the veteran who advanced 6-4, 6-3. In the final quarterfinals, world number five Radek Špidla will face off with seventh seed Davis Kennedy in what could be a sleeper hit. Špidla had little trouble dispatching thirteenth seed Morgan Carter in straight sets, but will have more trouble against the unassuming Kennedy. With little hype or fanfare, the Canadian picked up a remarkable straight sets victory over the highly fancied Oneil Stewart to see his odds of pulling off a win drastically shorten.
In what will be the highlight of the quarterfinals, top seeds Hayden and Ross Onwye will square off against fifth seeds Heath Davis and Jojo Mustard after both teams recorded convincing second round wins. The CWLand fifth seeds proved far too good for Wayne Boyd and Morgan Carter as they exacted revenge for their loss to the pair in the final of the World Team Cup a month ago. In two quick sets, Davis and Mustard controlled the court to give the American pair - once ranked as high as fifth in the world - something to worry about ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in a fortnight's time. The Onwye Brothers started slowly in their first game of the tournament, but eventually picked up the pace in their win over world number five in singles Radek Špidla and his playing partner Pavel Polak. After being taken to a tiebreaker in the first, the brothers gained some steel as they cruised through the second in 25 minutes.
In the bottom half, French Open semifinalists Jefferson Drake and Martti Korpinen showed they combine just as well on grass after an easy win over Hau Li-an and Zhijun Sun. Zhijun found himself against the wrong pairing if all he was looking for was match practice as his service was broken in the very first game of the match after a positive return from Korpinen set up the easy smash for Drake. After taking the first set 6-2, the favourites got the jump on their opponents again in the second as they surged to a 2-0 lead. The 6-2, 6-4 win sets up an interesting quarterfinal clash with third seeds Sandro Bachunelli and Hicham Hadir who took a hard fought win against the highest ranked non-seeds; 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Out of the eight seeded teams, seven advanced with Christian Mary and Mikel Fosdike the only casualties. In a tight clash, Belarusian pair Evgeniy Maximov and Denis Isaev showed they have what it takes late in sets to edge victory as they secured an impressive 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-5 win. Despite only being a makeshift pairing, they'll see themselves having a great chance of stealing a win against French Open finalists Tal Cohen and Raz Teper despite the Israeli's majestic win over The Henson Brothers.
Orange Warsaw Open
Second Round - Warsaw
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
CWLanders Randy Smeltz and Jamee Hancianu will square off in an exciting quarterfinal matchup after both produced wins in their second round matches at the Orange Warsaw Open. Fourth seed Hancianu dropped the first set against Portugal's Valter Cordiero in a tiebreaker, before he fought back valiantly to level the match with a good second set. A break in the fourth game of the second set handed him a 3-1 lead; a lead that Cordiero could not pull back as the teenage sensation advanced 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4. Meanwhile, Smeltz had it easier as he produced a second straight sets victory - this time against Austrian Zbiginiew Boniek. Boniek surprised all by breaking the Smeltz service early in the first set to edge ahead 4-2, before the world number 27 got the immediate break back as Boniek double faulted when down 15-40. In a see-sawing tiebreaker, it was Smeltz who took the first set after securing a mini-break to head into the second with all the momentum. From there, the Austrian struggled against the baseline punching of Smeltz who became more and more difficult to get past consistently. In eighty minutes, the fifth seed secured a showdown against his countryman 7-6(5), 6-3.
Third seed Sanchez Emelio became the second Spanish seed to fall before the quarterfinals as he fell in three to world number 92 Aldo Marín. The Paraguayan 24-year old played some sensational tennis to upset the third seed; breaking his serve late in the first and third sets to produce the goods. His 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 upset sets up a quarterfinal matchup with Ecuador's Diego Hurtado who had trouble in defeating Austrian qualifier Martin Reiter in three sets. Also troubled was top seed Illya Altman who came from a set down to edge past veteran Frenchman Jean-Alain Depuis 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Gerry Weber Open
Second Round - Halle
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Second seed Sven Oxenstierna's great start to the grass season has continued after he produced another clinical display to defeat China's Li Ming-Wang. In under an hour, Oxenstierna used the court brilliantly to secure a 6-0, 6-3 victory against a hapless Li; the world number four heartened by again not conceding a break point to the Chinese number three. Oxenstierna breezed through the first set after a mixture of forehand winners and even three aces as his first serve percentage topped seventy per cent for the first time in weeks. Whilst Li put up a better showing in the second set, he was never able to come back from 1-3 down as Oxenstierna ran away with the straight sets thrashing. His biggest test will come in the quarterfinals as Bulgarian Ivan Genov awaits. The world number 51 has finally begun to show some of his undoubted ability with a flamboyant display against Ivan Cesljar to back up his great win against Almen Benaglio in the first round.
Unfortunately for compatriot Rob Bowenburg, the step up in class between wildcard Peter Seel and fourth seed Rasmus Olesen was more than noticeable as he bowed out in straight sets. Whilst Bowenburg started brightly to effect an early break of the Olesen service, Olesen quickly bounced back from a momentary lapse in concentration to walk the first set. The second set saw Olesen grab the early break and not look back as he waltzed into the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-2 win. The win sets up an appetising clash with eighth seed Danijel Micic who edged out a nailbiting second round clash with France's Patrick Pascaul. In a battle of fiery tempers, it was the spectators who won the day as Micic held his nerve against the highly rated Frenchman to escape with a 7-5, 7-6(5) win.
Not so flamboyant was top seed Daniel Páez Blanco who stuttered to a straight sets win over qualifier Anvar Juraev. Saved from a difficult clash against Tom Vollan as a result of Vollan's injury in the first round, Blanco was tested by Juraev who at all opportunities looked for the winner. Whilst the tactic worked well in the first set as a leveller, he still looked a class below the world number one who did just enough to seal a 7-6(7), 6-4 win. The stars seem to be aligning for Blanco to claim the Gerry Weber Open as fifth seed Dwayne Murdoch was beaten in his second round match. The French Open semifinalist was one of the favourites to claim the title, but he followed Juan Moreno out of the tournament as Germany's Gunther Heug produced a fine display. In front of his home crowd, Heug beat the American in what was essentially a baseline shoot out, and will head into his match with the world number one confident he can hand Blanco his first loss in nearly three months in front of the raucous Halle crowd.
Seeded players out: Dwayne Murdoch.
AEGON International
First Round - London
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)
Men's Doubles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
23-year old Jefferson Drake has given up a one set lead in his third round clash against David Champion to slump to what was a disappointing three-set loss. With the AEGON Championships heading towards a the quarterfinals, Drake came out flying as he looked to build on the form he showed in his second round clash against Samuel Thorpe. After Champion held serve without incident for his first two games, Drake got the all-important first break in the sixth game of the first set to surge to a 4-2 lead; the world number 17 holding on for dear life against a Champion late assault to secure the first set 6-3. But after failing to convert any of his four break point chances, Champion started in the best possible way in the second as Drake was left scratching his head as, presented with an open court, he put a simply backhand volley right into the path of the Australian. The 2-0 lead proved to be all the breathing room Champion would need as he levelled the match at a set each. From there, the tenth seed again managed an early break of service in the decider to completely cripple the confidence of Drake; running away with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory in 112 minutes.
His opponent in the quarterfinals will be world number two Jason Hall who was also forced to come back from a set down to pull off a third round victory. His Latvian opponent, Ivars Emsis, picked up an unlikely break of service late in the first set to put himself in the unexpected situation of being a set up against the top seed. But Hall fought back against the wildcard whose serve began to falter to below fifty per cent, and despite firing down six second set aces he was only able to hold his service once. In a tight third set, both men captured two breaks of service early to be level at 3-3, but it was the world number two who held his cool late in the piece to escape with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 win.
Rick Henson's gutsy return to competitive tennis ended overnight as fifth seed Henry Charles pulled back from a set down to advance to the quarterfinals in front of his home crowd. The world number eleven stuck with the American star early in the first, but struggled to win points on the Henson serve and paid for it dearly. But ahead a set, Henson was braced for a hard slog against the fifth seed who, with a parochial English crowd behind him, spurred him on to take the second set 6-3. But Henson was not done yet, and despite going down a break in the third, ensured the match would be decided in a tense tiebreaker. Showing no sign of the calf injury which plagued him for the entire clay court season, Henson was level with the Brit at 3-3. But an untimely double fault stopped that in its tracks as the mini-break gave Charles all the confidence he needed to take four points on the trot and a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) win. His opponent in the quarters will be fourth seed Miroslav Brdar who prevailed in straight sets against Russia's Dmitry Orlov. Orlov played well in stages, but could not take a set off the Croat who hit his stride and never looked back.
In the battle of the Americans, third seed Darcy Cowan set up a quarterfinal clash with Chinese Taipei's Lee Inmin after a three-set win against countryman Jason Bradley. The pair traded sets, but it was the Wyoming teenager who got the better of the fifteenth seed after breaking service late in the deciding set to advance 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Lee, who pulled the shock of the tournament off in the second round by defeating a vulnerable Zhijun Sun, continued his supreme run of form by defeating qualifier Mikel Fosdike. The Frenchman put in a more than satisfactory performance, but could not get the better of the veteran who advanced 6-4, 6-3. In the final quarterfinals, world number five Radek Špidla will face off with seventh seed Davis Kennedy in what could be a sleeper hit. Špidla had little trouble dispatching thirteenth seed Morgan Carter in straight sets, but will have more trouble against the unassuming Kennedy. With little hype or fanfare, the Canadian picked up a remarkable straight sets victory over the highly fancied Oneil Stewart to see his odds of pulling off a win drastically shorten.
- Seeded players out: Jay Bradley; Morgan Carter; Jefferson Drake; Rick Henson; Oneil Stewart.
In what will be the highlight of the quarterfinals, top seeds Hayden and Ross Onwye will square off against fifth seeds Heath Davis and Jojo Mustard after both teams recorded convincing second round wins. The CWLand fifth seeds proved far too good for Wayne Boyd and Morgan Carter as they exacted revenge for their loss to the pair in the final of the World Team Cup a month ago. In two quick sets, Davis and Mustard controlled the court to give the American pair - once ranked as high as fifth in the world - something to worry about ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in a fortnight's time. The Onwye Brothers started slowly in their first game of the tournament, but eventually picked up the pace in their win over world number five in singles Radek Špidla and his playing partner Pavel Polak. After being taken to a tiebreaker in the first, the brothers gained some steel as they cruised through the second in 25 minutes.
In the bottom half, French Open semifinalists Jefferson Drake and Martti Korpinen showed they combine just as well on grass after an easy win over Hau Li-an and Zhijun Sun. Zhijun found himself against the wrong pairing if all he was looking for was match practice as his service was broken in the very first game of the match after a positive return from Korpinen set up the easy smash for Drake. After taking the first set 6-2, the favourites got the jump on their opponents again in the second as they surged to a 2-0 lead. The 6-2, 6-4 win sets up an interesting quarterfinal clash with third seeds Sandro Bachunelli and Hicham Hadir who took a hard fought win against the highest ranked non-seeds; 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Out of the eight seeded teams, seven advanced with Christian Mary and Mikel Fosdike the only casualties. In a tight clash, Belarusian pair Evgeniy Maximov and Denis Isaev showed they have what it takes late in sets to edge victory as they secured an impressive 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-5 win. Despite only being a makeshift pairing, they'll see themselves having a great chance of stealing a win against French Open finalists Tal Cohen and Raz Teper despite the Israeli's majestic win over The Henson Brothers.
- Seeded players out: Mikel Fosdike / Christian Mary.
Orange Warsaw Open
Second Round - Warsaw
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
CWLanders Randy Smeltz and Jamee Hancianu will square off in an exciting quarterfinal matchup after both produced wins in their second round matches at the Orange Warsaw Open. Fourth seed Hancianu dropped the first set against Portugal's Valter Cordiero in a tiebreaker, before he fought back valiantly to level the match with a good second set. A break in the fourth game of the second set handed him a 3-1 lead; a lead that Cordiero could not pull back as the teenage sensation advanced 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4. Meanwhile, Smeltz had it easier as he produced a second straight sets victory - this time against Austrian Zbiginiew Boniek. Boniek surprised all by breaking the Smeltz service early in the first set to edge ahead 4-2, before the world number 27 got the immediate break back as Boniek double faulted when down 15-40. In a see-sawing tiebreaker, it was Smeltz who took the first set after securing a mini-break to head into the second with all the momentum. From there, the Austrian struggled against the baseline punching of Smeltz who became more and more difficult to get past consistently. In eighty minutes, the fifth seed secured a showdown against his countryman 7-6(5), 6-3.
Third seed Sanchez Emelio became the second Spanish seed to fall before the quarterfinals as he fell in three to world number 92 Aldo Marín. The Paraguayan 24-year old played some sensational tennis to upset the third seed; breaking his serve late in the first and third sets to produce the goods. His 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 upset sets up a quarterfinal matchup with Ecuador's Diego Hurtado who had trouble in defeating Austrian qualifier Martin Reiter in three sets. Also troubled was top seed Illya Altman who came from a set down to edge past veteran Frenchman Jean-Alain Depuis 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
- Seeded players out: Sanchez Emelio.
Gerry Weber Open
Second Round - Halle
Qualifying (Draw)
Men's Singles (Seeds - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Second seed Sven Oxenstierna's great start to the grass season has continued after he produced another clinical display to defeat China's Li Ming-Wang. In under an hour, Oxenstierna used the court brilliantly to secure a 6-0, 6-3 victory against a hapless Li; the world number four heartened by again not conceding a break point to the Chinese number three. Oxenstierna breezed through the first set after a mixture of forehand winners and even three aces as his first serve percentage topped seventy per cent for the first time in weeks. Whilst Li put up a better showing in the second set, he was never able to come back from 1-3 down as Oxenstierna ran away with the straight sets thrashing. His biggest test will come in the quarterfinals as Bulgarian Ivan Genov awaits. The world number 51 has finally begun to show some of his undoubted ability with a flamboyant display against Ivan Cesljar to back up his great win against Almen Benaglio in the first round.
Unfortunately for compatriot Rob Bowenburg, the step up in class between wildcard Peter Seel and fourth seed Rasmus Olesen was more than noticeable as he bowed out in straight sets. Whilst Bowenburg started brightly to effect an early break of the Olesen service, Olesen quickly bounced back from a momentary lapse in concentration to walk the first set. The second set saw Olesen grab the early break and not look back as he waltzed into the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-2 win. The win sets up an appetising clash with eighth seed Danijel Micic who edged out a nailbiting second round clash with France's Patrick Pascaul. In a battle of fiery tempers, it was the spectators who won the day as Micic held his nerve against the highly rated Frenchman to escape with a 7-5, 7-6(5) win.
Not so flamboyant was top seed Daniel Páez Blanco who stuttered to a straight sets win over qualifier Anvar Juraev. Saved from a difficult clash against Tom Vollan as a result of Vollan's injury in the first round, Blanco was tested by Juraev who at all opportunities looked for the winner. Whilst the tactic worked well in the first set as a leveller, he still looked a class below the world number one who did just enough to seal a 7-6(7), 6-4 win. The stars seem to be aligning for Blanco to claim the Gerry Weber Open as fifth seed Dwayne Murdoch was beaten in his second round match. The French Open semifinalist was one of the favourites to claim the title, but he followed Juan Moreno out of the tournament as Germany's Gunther Heug produced a fine display. In front of his home crowd, Heug beat the American in what was essentially a baseline shoot out, and will head into his match with the world number one confident he can hand Blanco his first loss in nearly three months in front of the raucous Halle crowd.
Seeded players out: Dwayne Murdoch.
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