2015 Glasgow Challenger

All posts tagged 2015 Glasgow Challenger

2015 Dallas, Burnie and Glasgow Challenger Recaps
Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic

Dallas

After the match fixing scandal featuring Denys Molchanov, which I already elaborated on in my preview, karma unfortunately didn’t strike down upon him. At the side of Andrey Rublev he managed to take down the doubles title. In the singles draw top seed Mikhail Kukushkin was out after the first round, getting ousted by Alex Kuznetsov, 6-2 4-6 6-3. Kuznetsov won another long match against Chase Buchanan in the second round, 6-4 3-6 7-6(0), before falling in his next match to the surprising semi-finalist Marco Trungelliti in yet another three set match, 1-6 6-3 6-4. Tim Smyczek gave the crowd plenty of entertainment as well, beating James McGee 3-6 6-4 7-5 in the first round after saving three match points, after which he went on to beat Ryan Harrison 6-2 3-6 6-1 in the second.

#5 seed Denis Kudla got easily beaten by John-Patrick Smith in the second round, falling 6-1 6-4. Smyczek in his turn beat both Smith and Trungelliti in straight sets to secure himself a place in the final. In the bottom half it became painfully clear that Ryan Sweeting isn’t ready for this level yet, falling 6-0 6-2 to Guido Andreozzi in the first round. The world number one in juniors, Andrey Rublev, made a great impression as he beat #3 seed Blaz Rola in the first round and played arguably the highest quality match of the tournament against Rajeev Ram, falling 3-6 6-2 7-5 in the quarterfinal. Ram beat #2 seed Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-7 6-4 6-3 to set up a place in the final against Smyczek, but that turned out to be a very anticlimactic one. Ram was forced to retire at 6-2 4-1 down due to illness, handing the title to Smyczek. It was nevertheless a big occasion for Smyczek, as he re-entered the top 100 at #80, nearing his career high ranking of #73. Ram jumped fourteen spots to #125.

Burnie

This tournament turned out to be an absolutely brutal one for the seeded players, with only two of them making it out of the first round, of which one advanced further than that. The lucky one was #8 seed Hyeon Chung, who didn’t drop a set on his way to the semi-final. Benjamin Mitchell, who took out top seed James Duckworth 6-4 3-6 7-5 in the second round, reached the semi-final, where Alex Bolt took him out in a marathon match, 3-6 6-1 7-6(3). Chung faced all kinds of difficulties as well in his semi-final, as lucky loser Matthew Barton pushed him to the brink. Eventually Chung managed to prevail 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3 to set up a place in the final against Bolt. Here Chung’s convincing scorelines continued, as he beat Bolt 6-2 7-5 to take down his second Challenger title. Quite the feat for an eighteen year old! Naturally this result gave Chung a career high ranking, rising twenty-two spots to #129. Bolt also scooped up a career high ranking, jumping twenty-three spots to #168.

Glasgow

This was another tournament where the seeds struggled. Only top seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov and #3 seed Ruben Bemelmans managed to get through to the semi-finals. Especially the exit of #8 seed Matteo Viola was most brutal, losing 6-2 6-2 to qualifier Marcus Willis in the first round. In the same section #2 seed Michal Przysiezny fell in the first round as well, losing 5-7 6-4 6-2 to David Guez. Guez managed to reach the semi-final, where he lost 6-3 7-5 to Bemelmans. Niels Desein turned out to be the surprise of the tournament. Having already ousted #7 seed Tim Puetz 6-3 6-2 in the first round, he absolutely humiliated Nedovyesov in the semi-final, leaving him no chance in a 6-1 6-1 obliteration.

This set us up for an all Belgian encounter between Desein and Bemelmans, which seemed to go in Bemelmans’ direction when he was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set. However, he failed to find a first serve, and Desein played some absolutely brilliant points to punish that. Bemelmans dropped serve and eventually capitulated in the tiebreak, with the match ending in a 7-6(4) 2-6 7-6(4) victory for Desein. It meant his first Challenger title, coming at the ripe age of 27. It also resulted in a new career high ranking of #155, improving forty spots. Bemelmans landed at #141, an improvement of twenty-three.

For more in depth reports of this tournament, check out the recaps of our onsite reporter Niall Clarke, which were posted throughout last week. He also did an excellent interview with runner-up Bemelmans, which is definitely worth reading!

Chris De Waard (Challenger Tour Finals)

An Interview With Ruben Bemelmans (@rubenbemelmans) From the Glasgow Challenger
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

Ruben Chatting with Niall

During my time in Glasgow I caught up with world number 163 Ruben Bemelmans. We discussed the Glasgow tournament, Davis Cup, and much more.

Of course you are playing Glasgow this week. How are you finding it thus far?
“As a city I haven’t been able to go around, but I have been here for Davis Cup and it was very nice. As for the tournament, I believe that organisation with the shuttles could be a bit better for transportation. But it’s been a great tournament with a lot of players and a good level, and it’s always good to play in the UK.”

In your first round match against Adam Pavalsek you were a set and a break down. Tell us your thoughts on the match and how you adjusted to come from behind and win?
“I just kept fighting. I didn’t feel my best because I played a tournament last week and came in on Monday, so I had to adjust to the balls and the courts. But I just kept fighting and I think I played more solid on the important points than him (Adam).”

How confident are you in taking home the title this week?
“Title? I have to play second round first, so I am looking at it round by round. Obviously I have to play better to go further, but I am feeling good and confident. If I can keep raising my game and fighting round by round, who knows what will happen.”

You made the main draw at the Australian Open, but lost to Ivo Karlovic in the first round. How was your experience in Melbourne?”
“To play Ivo isn’t as much fun as playing the other guys. He’s got a big serve, and he was on fire that day because he played amazing from the back. I played him a few times and I was a bit better from the back on them occasions, but in that match he smacked forehands everywhere so I had little chance. But I qualified with a lot of confidence, and now I am playing good so it was a good start to the year for me.”

You will be competing with Belgium in the Davis Cup next month and you will be facing Switzerland. What are your thoughts on that upcoming tie?
:A lot depends on if the two big names will come (Wawrinka and Federer). It’s always a big question mark if they will come, but the latest news I heard was that Federer isn’t playing, but you never know he might decide to play the week before. If they both come it will be really tough for us. Of course we have David Goffin, Steve Darcis and myself as the number three, so it will be interesting if only one or neither of them come.”

Goffin of course has had a lot of recent success. How is that inspiring you as a fellow Belgian player?
“I think what he achieved last year was unbelievable. I won’t say I will be able to do that, but it certainly pushes you for me, and makes it possible. We have practiced together and a lot of the time it was even, so I think you need to strike at the right time and be lucky, but you also need a lot of skill. But of course, David’s success is pushing everybody in Belgium to get better.”

What do you feel you have to do to become a consistent ATP main draw player?
“I think I proved yesterday that if you keep fighting you are never done. The key for me is to keep going for every shot and not be afraid to make mistakes. It’s no secret in tennis that you have to keep going and work hard, so that’s what I need to do.”

What are your main goals for the 2015 season?
“My first goal is to make the main draw at Roland Garros. I have no points to defend until the summer so everything I take now is a bonus. I picked up some points last week which will take me to around 150 in the world, so I think it’s a fair goal. My overall of course is to make the main draw in all the grand slams though.”

Thanks to Ruben for taking time out of his day to chat with Niall in Glasgow!

Niall Clarke (Sofia)

2015 Glasgow Challenger Day 4 Report: Pliskova a winner, Cox and Corrie Reach Quarters
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

My few days in Glasgow have been eventful. I have witnessed a lot of talent from both the ATP Challenger and ITF women’s tour, and It’s been very exciting and interesting. To start my final day, I watched women’s number two seed, Kristyna Pliskova face Great Britain’s Freya Christie. It was a tight affair in the first set, but the Czech managed to break at 5-5 and serve out the set comfortably. It looked like Pliskova was going to ru away with the match, as she broke early in the second and had opportunities to extend her lead. However Christie kept fighting, and the 17 year old soon found herself having opportunities of her own to take the lead in the second. The number two seed’s big serve and groundstrokes eventually took their toll as just like the first set, Pliskova broke at 5-5. The Czech soon raced to a 40-0 lead and three match points, but they went as quick as they came as came. Christie hadn’t given up the match just yet and fought to try get herself back on level terms. Pliskova was having none of it as she soon wrapped up the match to win 7-5,7-5.

Speaking after the match Pliskova said: “She was playing really well, and I didn’t expect it to be so tough. I also didn’t play as great as yesterday so that’s why it was so close, but I am happy I got through” “My key shot is the serve” she added. “It is my biggest weapon, and I am happy when I hit aces, so it’s most important to my game” When asked about her 2015 goals Pliskova answered: “This year I want to be in the top 100, which isn’t that far, so maybe I can reach top 50 but we’ll see”

Whilst Pliskova was defeating Christie, another Brit took to court six, albeit with reverse fortunes. Naomi Broady faced Russia’s Marta Sirotkina in the women’s singles, with hope of booking a quarter final spot. The match started fairly close, but the Brit found herself a set up after breaking her Russian opponent at 5-4. Broady continued that momentum into the second set, breaking early to establish a 2-0 lead. Sirotkina broke straight back however, showing her opponent she hadn’t given up the fight just yet. Despite the Russian’s best attempts to get back into the match, Broady proved to be too strong. Using her aggressive play, The Brit ran away with the second set 6-1 to secure another straight sets victory.

Next up on court six, it was an all British affair as wildcards Daniel Cox and Daniel Smethurst competed for a quarter final place. The first set lacked any real quality, as breaks were plenty. Cox improved tenfold however, whilst Smethurst struggled to play himself into the match. Cox took the first set 6-4 and didn’t look in any sort of trouble afterwards. An early break was followed quickly by another, and then another as Smethurst got more and more frustrated. The second set passed by quickly as Cox bageled his opponent with relative ease. 6-4, 6-0 was the final result as Cox booked his quarter final place.

Cox advances to the quarters-photo credit Glasgow challenger/Tennis Scotland

The next British hopeful to play on court six was Marcus Willis. The world number 357 was impressive in his round one victory over Matteo Viola, so I was looking forward to seeing if he could back it up against Maxime Authom. It didn’t bode well for the Brit in the early stages as he found himself a break down after the first game. After a comfortable hold by the Belgian, Willis found himself under more pressure on serve, but this time he managed to hold. Authom wouldn’t budge on his serve despite his opponent getting better and better, and as a result he took the first set 6-4. With Willis’ ground game ever improving he started to look more like the player who beat Dan Evans and Viola. The Brit soon found himself a break up in the second, with the match seemingly turning in his favour. Willis served out the set to level the score at 1-1 and have momentum in his favour. The qualifier seemingly had the match in his grasp with an early break, but Authom began getting himself into more of Willis’ service points and quickly broke back. From then on, Authom was in control, and despite Willis’ best attempts to get back in the match, Authom broke and served out the match to win 6-4,3-6,6-3 in a great contest.

I then went to catch the second set of Ruben Bemelmans vs Jonathan Eysseric, which was an interesting encounter. Both men showed their talents, but Bemelmans was just the little bit better at everything, and comfortably won 6-2,6-3.

During the conclusion of that match, number four seed Andrej Martin and Edward Corrie started their clash on court six. From what I gathered from my brief glimpses of the first set, it was a break-fest. Corrie got off to a flyer, getting an early 2-0 lead. However it was soon surrendered as Martin quickly broke back and broke again to go 3-2 up. Corrie broke back during the set, and then broke to win the set 6-4 in what seemed like a strange match. When the Bemelmans/Eysseric match had finished, I rushed over to catch the second set of this interesting encounter. At this point, Corrie had broken early in the second set and looked in control. The Brit led 5-3, but failed to serve the match out, as the game Slovak fought hard to keep himself in the match. It went to a tiebreak in which Martin drew the first mini break. His lead was short-lived as Corrie broke back and took the lead which gave him 2 match points at 6-4 In the breaker. The first was saved by Martin, who held on his own serve to put pressure on the Brit to see it out on his own serve. This time, Corrie didn’t make a mistake. The Brit upset the number four seed 6-4,7-6 to add yet another British name to the Quarter Final line up.

Corrie is another winning Brit-photo credit Glasgow challenger/tennis Scotland

Elsewhere, there were wins in the men’s singles for: Alexandr Nedovyesov, Roberto Marcora, and Niels Detsein. David Guez received a walkover. In the women’s there were wins for Nina Zander, Lesley Kerkhove, Katy Dunne, Ana Bogdan, Ysaline Bonaventure, and Stephanie Foretz.

That concludes my daily reports of Glasgow. It’s been a great few days and I will definitely come back next year if I can.

You can check out the final results in Chris De Waard’s recap this weekend.

Niall Clarke (Sofia)

2015 Glasgow Challenger Day 3 Report: Bemelmans fends off Pavlasek, Naomi Broady advances

Posted by Admin on February 4, 2015

Posted in: Aegon GB Pro Series, ATP Challenger, Glasgow, ITF, Niall Clarke, On Site. Tagged: 2015 ATP Challenger, 2015 Glasgow Challenger, 2015 Glasgow ITF, 2015 ITF, 2015 ITF women's, Adam Pavlasek, Aegon GB Pro Series, Aegon LTA, Aegon Pro Series, Alexander Nedovyesov, Andrej Martin, atp challenger, atp challenger tour, Brit LTA, British LTA, Chloe Paquet, Conny Perrin, Dan Cox, Daniel Cox, David Guez, Edward Corrie, GB Pro Series, GB Tennis, Glasgow, Glasgow Challenger, Glasgow ITF, Glasgow Tennis, Isabelle Wallace, itf, ITF Women's, Kristyna Pliskova, LTA, LTA Tennis, Maryna Zanevska, Matteo Viola, Matwe Middlekoop, Michal Przysiezny, Naomi Broady, Peter Torebko, Ruben Bemelmans, Scotland, Scotland Tennis, Scottish Tennis, Scottish Tennis Championships, Tara Moore, Tennis Scotland, Ysaline Bonaventure.

2015 Glasgow Challenger Day 3 Report: Bemelmans fends off Pavlasek, Naomi Broady advances
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

Another cold day in Glasgow meant another day of tennis for me to enjoy. Despite the freezing temperature outside, there was a lot of hot action in the Scotstoun leisure centre today.

Firstly I went to court 4 to see our own Conny Perrin take on the number five seed Ysaline Bonaventure. It was a fairly hot tempered affair, which contrasted nicely to the weather. Bonaventure’s lefty serve and flat groundstrokes were enough to see her take the lead in the opening set, but at 5-3 the Belgian failed to serve it out. Perrin tried to use her variety to wrestle control from her opponent, but soon enough the Swiss found herself a set down. Bonaventure continued that momentum in the second set securing an early break whilst her coach cheered her on next to me. Both players were very much amped up during the match. Both players threw their rackets to the floor in frustration, and had words with the umpire about questionable line calls. Bonaventure however managed to keep her cool enough to serve out the match. 6-3,6-4 being the final result to the Belgian who was a bit too powerful for Perrin.

Speaking after the match Perrin told me that it was a ‘difficult’ match and that Bonaventure adapted well to everything she tried. Conny also told me that the courts are playing very slow, so it was difficult to hit through her opponent.

Next up was the number one seed in the mens singles Alexsandr Nedovyesov vs Peter Torebko of Germany. The Kazakh’s possessed the bigger weapons, but he was also wildly inconsistent. The German had his own struggles on serve, with his percentage being 35 for the whole match. There were plenty of breaks in this one, as both players struggled to really get a grip on serve, the most significant example coming at the end of the first set. Nedovyesov served for the set but couldn’t convert, and then in a reverse of fortunes Torebko had his chance to serve for it at 6-5, but the German also failed to close out the set. Therefore we were treated to a tiebreaker, which was largely dominated by the Kazakh, who’s forehand and ability at the net proved too much for his opponent. Tempers flared during the match with both men getting visually frustrated because they couldn’t hold on to serve and build an advantage. In the end Nedovyesov gained the upper-hand and earned the chance to serve for the match. In what became the familiar theme in this match, the top seed struggled closing it out, but In the end he got the job done to take the match 7-6,6-4.

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