Week 9: Acapulco [Hurtado], Dubai [Drake], Copenhagen [Buur], Meknes [Jerez]

[SirBloody Idiot]

Denmark Open
2nd Round - Copenhagen (Denmark) - Hard (indoors)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• In a frustrating turn of events, Rob Bowenburg has been unable to back up one of the biggest wins of his career as he fell in straight sets to local hope Kasper Buur. With the two players evenly ranked and in good form, it was little surprise that the first set with a tightly contested affair. In sixty-two minutes, though, it was the Costa do Sauípe finalist who struck the first real blow in the tiebreaker with a dynamic 7-1 performance. Bowenburg, however, was not disheartened by that blow and set about searching for an early break. Despite three opportunities, though, it never came as Buur fought well with his back against the wall. Whilst Bowenburg looked solid on service, he got the jitters with an errant forehand to give Buur just his second break point of the set. That was all he needed to set up a 5-4 lead, and then to serve out the match to advance 7-6(1), 6-4.

• The other CWLander in the draw, Mat Mitchell, also failed to back up a first round win over a top-four seeded opponent as he was edged out by Germany's Gunther Heug. In what was a very winnable contest for the Easterner, Mitchell failed to take advantage of his chances in the first set and dropped it 4-6. Heug, meanwhile, was economical on service and was able to take full toll of some bad errors from Mitchell as he scraped back from a 1-4 deficit in the second to take it to a tiebreaker. Mitchell again jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but dropped seven points in a row to bomb out 4-6, 6-7(4).

• In potentially the upset of the year, though, top seeded local and overwhelming favourite Rasmus Olesen was dealt a straight sets defeat at the raquet of Uzbekistan's Anvar Juraev. The Dane was a $1.04 favourite to Juraev's $10 outside status, but fell short against the World No. 106 in a stunning 3-6, 4-6. One unlucky punter placed a $4,000 bet on Olesen, among others, to win at $1.06.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Rasmus Olesen.

• In a tough start to their doubles campaign, third seeds Rob Bowenburg & Jarkko Maxum were too good for Jürgen & Zbiginiew Boniek in their first round clash. After falling first up in Marseille last week, the East-West pairing were in trouble early as they dropped the first set 6-7(6) despite having two set points. Nevertheless, some good teamwork earned them three second set breaks and set it to a match tiebreaker where they overcame a late charge to convert their fifth match point and a 6-7(6), 6-2, [10-8] win.

• Second seeds Mark Harmel & Yves Parmentier will have time to concentrate on their singles quarter finals as their bad run continued with a 7-5, 6-7(7), [7-10] loss to American duo Julian Day & Eric Henson.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Mark Harmel &
  
  Yves Parmentier.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Dubai Tennis Championships
2nd Round - Dubai (United Arab Emirates) - Hard (outdoors)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• A brave performance from Heath Davis against the World No. 1 wasn't enough to earn him a quarter final in Dubai, but it will give him a great deal of confidence as he took top seed Jason Hall to three sets. Davis' previous encounters with Hall had resulted in heavy defeats, and there were early signs that he was going to bring his A-game to a big encounter in the Middle East. Playing aggressively, the big serving Westerner did not drop a point on serve until his third game, and in turn looked good against a surprisingly stiff service from the American. That allowed him his sole break of serve and a huge set-to-love lead. But while Davis continued to throw his racquet at everything, Hall began to lift and in a clinical second set sent the match to a decider. Despite the 6-2 scoreline, Hall was tested in the third as Davis failed to convert any of his six break points; Hall sealing a 58-minute third set and a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win.

• He'll play sixth seed Jefferson Drake in the quarter finals after the World No. 10 did just enough to beat Aussie qualifier Jeremy Natale. It was not pretty from Drake, but with three breaks of service he proved too much for the talented young Australian for a second consecutive 6-4, 7-5 win. He'll undoubtedly need to lift his game against Hall, but will take some comfort in the fact that he's won both matches relatively easily despite not producing anywhere near his best tennis.

• One player in fantastic form is Randy Smeltz who continued his seamless transition to the hard courts with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over Aksu Emrem. The Turkish player has been in solid form following the Australian Open, but could not get the points he needed against the rock solid Smeltz who continues his fantastic start to the year. In one of the most exciting quarter final clashes, Smeltz plays Danijel Micic who was a semi finalist here last season. Micic continued his dominance over Radivoj Daneu in yet another hot-tempered display against the man he plays Davis Cup tennis with in Argentina next week. Micic through 6-2, 6-3.

• There was a reality check for Jojo Mustard as the Memphis champion was found seriously wanting against second seed Radek Špidlá. Mustard has not had a week off this season, and his hectic start came to an abrupt end against the World No. 3 who dominated proceedings. Špidlá led 6-2, 5-0 at one stage and threatened to really embarrass Mustard, but the unseeded Westerner snatched a rare break and a hold to keep it to 2-6, 2-6. With West CWLand not competing in the Davis Cup next week, he takes a much-needed break before Indian Wells and Miami.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Radivoj Daneu.

• Top seeds Heath Davis & Jojo Mustard had no troubles in their first doubles outing since their Davis Cup play-off loss earlier in the month as they accounted for local wildcard entrants Iyad Munsif Amari & Yusri Jamal al Din Halabi. The scoreline could very well have been greater, but the Westerners obviously were keen to conserve energy as they did not concede one break point in a 6-3, 6-4 thrashing.

• Unfortunately for the men who beat them at the Davis Cup, their iffy form continued with a straight sets loss to Gai Kai & Lu Xun. The Chinese pair looked outclassed for most of the match, but did just enough to take Jefferson Drake & Martti Korpinen to two tiebreakers where they pulled off the ultimate smash and grab job in a 7-6(4), 7-6(4) win. Joining Drake and Korpinen on the trash heap is Hayden & Ross Onwye; the second seeds beaten by Miroslav Brdar & Nilikar Midid 3-6, 6-4, [10-6] in the perfect Davis Cup warm up for the Croatians.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Jefferson Drake &
  
  Martti Korpinen;
  
  Hayden Onwye &
  
  Ross Onwye.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

No surprise there, sadly. A decent performance doesn't earn ranking points. Good to see an easy enough win in the doubles though.

 

[Mister Wright]

Will be looking forward to a well earned rest, hopefully after claiming another doubles title.

 

[Simon]

Good win, impressive run continues for Smeltz.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Meknes Challenger II
Second Round - Meknes, Morocco
Singles

It was a graveyard of the seeds on the 2nd day in Morocco as 3 of the top 4 seeds were bundled out unceremoniously along with some of their lower-seeded brethren.

• Jason Lawley will face top seed Johan Ortiz in the 3rd round after a solid victory over 14th seed Eugenio Galindo. Galindo had looked in top nick in his first round win over Portuguese Pedro Barbosa, taking the 2nd set with a bagel. However, Lawley made some early inroads on the Galindo serve, surging to a 4 - 0 lead before the Spaniard struck back to 4 - 3. Back on the Spaniard's serve, however, Lawley produced some sublime tennis to surge into a 0 - 40 lead, and to take the set by the scruff of the neck. Lawley served the set out, but was immediately under pressure at the start of the 2nd, before saving two break points at 15 - 40 down. Galindo grew increasingly frustrated as he again failed to convert a break point at 2 - 1 up. Lawley took advantage of this frustration by setting Galindo up for a number of smashes that were overhit out of the back-court. Lawley progressed impressively in straight sets 6 - 3, 6 - 4.
• Roy Daniels is appearing in Meknes as 5th seed, but will need to up his game to progress deep in the tournament after a wholly underwhelming performance against Algerian journeyman Khaled Moussaoui. The Algerian played a very defensive game, and the match was characterised by long rallies from the base-line with neither player willing to take any significant risks. A single break in both sets was enough for Daniels to make it through. Fortunately, he will not face 10th Seed Alex Rojas in the next round, after he was bundled out by Hungarian Imre Medgyessy
• The match of the day was undoubtably that between youngster Phoenix Wleft and 4th seed Marek Timko. Timko looked relaxed as he took the court, but he was quickly sweating as the momentum that Wleft earned in the previous round carried into the first set. Wleft stole a break to love off Timko at the first opportunity, and it was only with the set there for the taking that Wleft showed a hole in his armour - double faulting at 30 - 40 to take the set to a tie-break. Timko was still unable to exert his authority and was lucky to take the set thanks to a net cord at 6 - 5. A tenacious Wleft was unwilling to let go of the Slovakian though and fought back from a break down to take the 2nd 6 - 4. With the match pushing into its third hour, both players started to show signs of fatigue. Twice, Wleft was broken and twice he broke Timko back to take the 3rd set to another tie break. There, Wleft was able to dig deep to find some untapped reserves of energy whilst Timko wilted. The end result, a boil over 6 - 7 (5 - 7), 6 - 4, 7 - 6 (7 - 1). Wleft faces the 15th seed Jaime Barral in the 3rd round.
• Another shock win was seen towards the end of the day by Koal Kao over a ****y Michele de Kinsele on centre court. de Kinsele seemed more intent on enjoying the adulation of the fans than playing proper tennis, which quickly came back to bite him as Kao stole an early break of serve which was enough to take the first. A flustered de Kinsele was faced with the difficulty of coming from behind, and Kao was unwilling to relinquish his advantage. Kao took a break of serve early in the 2nd, but with an early exit in sight, de Kinsele broke back to level at 5 - 5, before breaking again to take the 2nd 7 - 5. Rather than going back into his shell, a pumped Kao came out determined in the 3rd. However, de Kinsele showed his class to go a break up. Not learning his lesson from the first set, the Italian again tried to play up to the crowd - and again it was his undoing as he netted successive show-boating shops to lose a break. With Kao sensing blood, he changed his game to attack the net; a move wholly unexpected by de Kinsele - to steal another break to progress 6 - 3, 5 - 7, 7 - 5.

• Seeded players out: Michele de Kinsele (2, ITA), Christophe Durand (3, FRA), Marek Timko (4, SLV), Dieter Bonhof (9, GER), Alex Rojas (10, CHL), Sebastian Lachance (11, FRA), Sergio Canadillas (13, ESP), Eugenio Galindo (14, ESP)

Doubles

With Kao in action late in the day, his match with Phoenix Wleft against the 4th seeded Swedes, Moburg & Petrus was deferred to the next day.

 

[Agent TBY]

**** yeah.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

hahaha. Should just retire and get it over with.

 

[David]

Madness....

 

[Number 11]

Good win but the First seed next round.

 

[ripper868]

FFS Maxum...might have to turn to wearingasillitoupe

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Abierto Mexicano Telcel
Quarter Finals - Acapulco (Mexico) - Clay (outdoors)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• The poor start to season II for France's Patrick Pascaul has continued in Acapulco as he capitulated in the third set in a disappointing quarter final defeat to Bulgaria's Ivan Genov. Despite showing promising signs last season, the veteran Frenchman will be frustrated with how he's begun the season with a first round exit in Melbourne and now a blown chance at some serious ranking points. Genov, meanwhile, improved his indifferent form with a determined display as he advanced to the semi finals with a 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-1 upset. He'll now face fifth seed Diego Hurtado who came from a set down to thrash Valter Cordiero 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

• In the second semi final second and third seed will do battle after Illya Altman and Juan Moreno both secured impressive victories. The World No. 9 and Costa do Sauípe champion Altman picked up a confident 6-4, 6-4 win over Italy's Antonio Bachunelli, whilst Moreno had no trouble against qualifier Domingo Gutiérrez Gómez 6-4, 6-3.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Patrick Pascaul.

• Meanwhile in the doubles, top seeds Carlos Machado & Dênis Rodrígues were denied a third straight title as they were stunned by out-of-form Uzbek pair Denis Inomov & Rustam Toshpulatov. The duo won titles in Costa do Sauípe and Buenos Aires and were gunning for the hat trick in Mexico, but were stopped by the Uzbeks who finally put an end to a horror run in South America.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Carlos Machado &
  
  Dênis Rodrígues.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Denmark Open
Quarter Final - Copenhagen (Denmark) - Hard (indoors)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• Peru's José Navarro has made a rare hard court semi final in Copenhagen as he took advantage of a lacklustre Haiku Morkel in a 6-2, 6-4 win. Navarro, who has yet to drop, held an PTA record of 8-8 on hard courts, but prospered from the flow of unforced errors from the Norwegian's racquet in his convincing victory. He plays fifth seeded Belgian prodigy Yves Parmentier who also makes his first PTA semi final appearance following a 7-5, 6-4 win over Rasmus Olesen's conqueror Anvar Juraev.

• In the second semi final, the last local hope Kasper Buur will look for a second PTA final of the season after he came from a set down to oust seventh seed Mark Harmel in three sets. Buur dropped the first set, but rallied in front of a home crowd to secure the 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 win and a semi final showdown with the Czech Republic's Petr Brožik. Brožik's niggling knee injury held up under the pressure of a three-set affair against Gunther Heug 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Mark Harmel.

• Third seeds Rob Bowenburg & Jarkko Maxum again were forced to overcome a slow start as they advanced to the semi finals of the doubles draw at the expense of Petr Brožik & Ivars Emsis. The big serve of Emsis reaped rewards for his team as they took the first set 6-3 inside of forty minutes, but were in trouble early in the second as Maxum smacked two clean backhand winners off the obviously tired Brožik service. That allowed them the second set after just the one break of serve, and sent a tense match to a deciding match tiebreaker. There, Emsis and Brožik had two match point opportunities but were thwarted by some clutch serves from Bowenburg to level the breaker at 9-9. Taking four of the last six points, the CWLanders secured the win 3-6, 6-3, [13-11]. They'll need to really lift in the semi finals against top seeds Andrej Konc & Evgeniy Maximov who secured their second victory in straight sets.

• Seeded players out: None.

 

[ripper868]

May quit singles and focus on jsut doubles after this showing.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Still ranked top 60 with a whole clay season to come. I wouldn't be too worried

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Dubai Tennis Championships
Quarter Finals - Dubai (United Arab Emirates) - Hard (outdoors)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• World No. 10 Jefferson Drake has picked up what is undoubtedly the biggest win of his career; ousting World No. 1 and defending champion Jason Hall in three sets. In his first tournament since clinching the Australian Open, Hall had looked scratchy in his first two rounds but came out in scintilating form early as he blazed to a 4-0 lead. Whilst Drake finally managed to get on the board with some comfortable holds of serve, there was nothing to suggest he'd trouble the world's best player who took the first 6-2. But Drake started to fire, and aggressively dealt with some ordinary second serves from the World No. 1. That earned him a double break and sent the match to a deciding third and final set. There, Drake was in trouble early at 15-40 in his opening service game, but gave himself ever chance by levelling it at 2-2. The set look destined for a tiebreaker, but at 4-4 Hall was rocked by a rare misfire on his forehand side to hand Drake the break. The East CWLander made no mistake on serve; clinching a remarkable 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 upset.

• It will be an all-East CWLand showdown in the semi finals after Randy Smeltz continued his rampant run through the draw with a third straight straight sets victory, this time over season I semi finalist Danijel Micic. The World No 15, who last week captured the title in Buenos Aires, has looked utterly unstoppable this week and trounced the in form Micic 6-4, 6-2. Admittedly, Micic threw away a lot of point through poor decision making, but that was in part by the determination of Smeltz to keep the points alive en route to a straight sets victory and a dynamite semi final.

• In the second semi final, Wimbledon champion Darcy Cowan will do battle with seventh seed Miroslav Brdar in a battle of the young stars. Cowan overcame a strong start from Javier Villaneuva to win 7-5, 6-2, whilst Brdar got his revenge over his Marseille final capitulation by stunning second seed Radek Špidlá 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 in a fantastic come-from-behind performance.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Jason Hall;
  
  Radek Špidlá.

• In the doubles, reigning CW and Australian Open champions Heath Davis & Jojo Mustard have been ousted in the semi finals by Sandro Bachunelli & Hicham Hadir. The fourth seeds started strongly with a pair of breaks in the fourth and sixth games, and despite dropping a late service game held on to take the first set 6-3. The World No. 2 team, however, struck back strongly in the second and ensured the match would go to a third; Davis putting away a backhand smash from over his head to secure the set following a long rally at the net. But as has so often been the case, the CWLanders didn't bring their A-game in the match tiebreaker and were blown away by the Italian-Moroccan pair who booked a finals showdown with Gai Kai & Lu Xun 6-3, 4-6, [10-5].

• Seeded players out:
  
  Heath Davis &
  
  Jojo Mustard.

 

[Mister Wright]

Bummer. Poor showing again in the tiebreaker. Seem a bit rusty after not playing together for a while, probably need to play together more often.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Bummer. Poor showing again in the tiebreaker. Seem a bit rusty after not playing together for a while, probably need to play together more often.

This is true. We will occasionally lose to decent teams though - you can't win every match, but we'll come back stronger for the loss I reckon and we seem to have our best for Grand Slams.

 

[Simon]

Looking forward to the semi final against Drake, the decision to leave South America for the week has paid off. Don't know how many points in defending etc... but if I can find my way into the worlds top 8 before the French Open I'd be delighted.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Abierto Mexicano Telcel
Semi Finals - Acapulco (Mexico) - Clay (outdoors)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Draw)

• Juan Moreno has delivered a shock of sorts after thumping one of the best players on clay in the world with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Illya Altman. The second seed had made it through a brutal draw, but was no match for Moreno who was in rare touch as he completely cut down on his usual swag of unforced errors. Moreno's big win earns him a finals showdown in Acapulco with Colombia's Diego Hurtado. Hurtado overcame a sluggish start against eighth seed Ivan Genov; playing a strong second set to win it 3-6, 6-0, 7-5.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Illya Altman;
  
  Ivan Genov.

• In the doubles final, Morton Blundell will shoot for a third straight title as he and Roberto Santos beat Ivan Genov & Yordan Zakov 3-6, 6-3, [10-6]. They'll play Uzbek duo Denis Inomov & Rustam Toshpulatov after they eased past Moreno & Paolo Mandonna 6-2, 6-2.

• Seeded players out: None.