Arrivederci Umag! Tuesday Report from @CroatiaOpenUmag
Stefano Berlincioni, Tennis Atlantic
My fourth day at Croatia Open in Umag started with a short press conference with Gael Monfils.
He told press he didn’t feel very well in the last weeks but after he arrived here everything feels OK. He was asked about his absence in the Davis Cup tie and he replied that he talked with the team captain, and as Gael doesn’t feel comfortable on grass, they agreed to let others play: “It’s just not my surface”.
He said his favourite sport out of tennis is basketball and his favourite non-tennis athlete is Carmelo Anthony.
He had very kind words for the local young idol Borna Coric and said he will be surely one of the top players in the next years.
He was asked about his second round opponent, Mikhail Youzhny (as Misha did not have to play the first round against Trinker!) and he replied the usual stuff like, “great opponent, great matches with him in past, will be tough”, etc. By the way, a couple of hours later, Trinker beat Youzhny.
Last question was about his attitude about tennis. The Croatian press compared him to Ivanisevic as a sort of underachiever because of the mental issues. He said he will try to be more focused about tennis and he aims to attain top 5 status within two years.
Lorenzi def. Trevisan 1-6 6-2 7-5
Trevisan showed good tennis during qualies but in the first set he was really stunning. He completely outplayed Lorenzi who could only stay 3 meters behind the baseline and hope for Matteo’s errors. It is really incredible that a player with Trevisan’s talent is stuck playing ITF tournaments. After the first set, Lorenzi became more solid and Trevisan looked more and more tired exactly as he did against Bagnis on Monday.
But again, after a half tanked set he managed to regroup and take the lead in third set. The last set level was not so good as Trevisan was less effective and Lorenzi kept making stupid errors. Trevisan had two chances to break Lorenzi to go *5-2 up but Lorenzi played well on both points. That would have been a great achievement for Trevisan, but in the end, he had no more energy. Before match point told his box that at dinner he would eat his racquet and his own wrist. That’s how unhappy for how he played last games. I hope this tournament will give him enough self-confidence because he clearly has at least 200 potential.
Coric def. Granollers 63 63
I watched only a few games and Coric played really well, being in control of the rallies and looking for winners. He obviously has great support here and it looks like he really likes to be on the stage.
Haider Maurer def. Fabbiano 63 64
Quick notes also from this match as Haider Maurer outpowered Fabbiano and he never looked really in danger. Fabbiano is a very solid player from the baseline but when he has to face players with big power, it’s very tough for him.
Dzumhur def. Rosol 63 60
The Bosnian has great support here and was very pumped, while Rosol didn’t care that much for the whole match. Rosol didn’t tank in the second set but he didn’t look so interested. It was a good match for Dzumhur who now has to face Fognini, so I guess his tournament should be over if Fabio shows up with the 1st round attitude.
Rosol/Junaid def. Mamata/Monfils 62 62
I arrived just to watch the second set and it has to be said that the Frenchman played a sort of exhibition match. Gael never cares too much about doubles and Mamata can play tennis, but this level is too much for him.
Klizan def. Carreno Busta 76 67 61
This match was quite even with Klizan looking for winners and Carreno trying to outback as many balls as possible. Klizan also looked very motivated when I watched him training at 4 pm under the sun, so it was not a surprise to see him fighting in the third set after wasting chances to close the match in straights. He also had great support from his team.
My adventure here is over, my 4th year at Umag ATP is finished and I had a great time as always because the tournament is perfectly organized and all players love to be here.
Tennis Atlantic 