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You Think You’re a @ThiemDomi Fan? You’re Nothing Compared to this Kid #Thiem

Posted by Admin on July 31, 2017
Posted in: ATP, Washington. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

You Think You’re a @ThiemDomi Fan? You’re Nothing Compared to this Kid.
Steve Fogleman in Washington

Since Dominic Thiem is the Citi Open top seed and the #7 player in the world, I thought it would be nice to show him with some fan interaction on his way to practice yesterday in Washington. This wasn’t a pre-match warmup, since he doesn’t even play until tomorrow night, but rather a routine hit. Then I noticed this kid.

They say Washington is a tough town. You can’t take no for an answer. And there was a kid with a red ball cap who put this town’s paparazzo to shame, as well as you grown-up Thiem fans.

 

Dominic Thiem, Citi Open 2017

Dominic and the Determined Kid


 

At twenty seconds into the video, the kid was shoved (or Thiem was shoved) out of the way as he tried to get an autograph from the 23-year-old Austrian.

But a little incidental contact meant nothing to this autograph hound.

The kid kept pace with Thiem and bypassed security guards, trying to get the player’s attention at least four times before personnel got him onto the locked court.

Snapshot_4

I wish I had a piece of Thiem autographed memorabilia because this kid deserves it. He was so tenacious it probably even scared Thiem a little bit. Remember, even if you’re young and hungry, there will always be someone younger and hungrier than you. And if you’re looking for truth in Washington, you’ve got to pursue it like a wolf.

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2014 ATP Kitzbuhel Preview, Predictions

Posted by Admin on July 29, 2014
Posted in: ATP. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

2014 ATP Kitzbuhel Preview, Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast

Official Site

Official Site

ATP Kitzbuhel
bet-at-home Cup Kitzbuhel
ATP World Tour 250
Kitzbuhel, Austria
July 27-August 2,2014
Prize Money: € 426,605

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)
1: Philipp Kohlschreiber (24)
2: Marcel Granollers (28)
3: Lukas Rosol (43)
4: Andreas Seppi (48)

No player ranked in the top 20, but the overshadowed event in Kitzbuhel this week does manage to get the top 4 seeds who are top 50 players.

First round matchups to watch:

Jurgen Melzer vs. Pablo Andujar

Melzer is making his post-Wimbledon debut, while Andujar comes off the title in Gstaad. Playing on home soil, Melzer should have a crowd-infused boost as he seeks to return to his former form as one of the top clay-courters on tour. However, Andujar is striking the ball well right now, and assuming he’s not incredibly fatigued, he is likely a slight favorite here. Their only head-to-head meeting went 3 sets on a hard court and Melzer won it.

Top Half:

Former finalist Philipp Kohlschreiber is seeking to continue his good form from making the semifinals in Hamburg. He will open with David Goffin, who has been playing well on the challenger circuit, or Kenny De Schepper, and then should face Melzer/Andujar in the quarters, though Robin Haase, who always seems to excel in Kitzbuhel, could spoil the party. Haase faces Paolo Lorenzi first before the Melzer/Andujar winner.

Lukas Rosol, who has been having a good clay court season, will open with an Austrian, Gerald Melzer or Andreas Haider-Maurer. Melzer is still looking for elusive ATP main draw success. Rosol should face Pablo Carreno Busta in a competitive quarterfinal. The Argentine gets Maximo Gonzalez first and then Albert Ramos/Viktor Galovic.

Bottom Half:

Marcel Granollers will face Alex Zverev or Diego Sebastian Schwartzman. Zverev could not repeat his Hamburg success last week in Gstaad, but he’ll get another shot as a wild card, and Granollers is a beatable opponent. Granollers/Zverev will likely face Jiri Vesely or Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals. Thiem was awful last week in Gstaad and he must beat Joao Souza and Vesely or JL Struff to reach the quarterfinals on home soil. He has a win over Vesely on clay recently. There are talented but inconsistent players in this section.

Andreas Seppi, who has not been impressive at all, will face Dustin Brown or Pere Riba and likely Gstaad finalist Juan Monaco in the quarters. Pico faces Andrey Golubev and Jarkko Nieminen/Teymuraz Gabashvili for his first two matches, and none of those opponents are imposing.

Dark Horse: Juan Monaco

He found some of his previous talent in Gstaad, where he reached the final, and with an easy draw he could find himself in yet another final this week. Given the eclectic field, he has as good a chance as any right now.

Predictions

Semis:

Kohlschreiber d. Rosol
Granollers d. Monaco

Monaco has a win over Granollers this year and a 2-1 overall h2h against the Spaniard on clay.

Kohli just beat Rosol in Hamburg, and also has a win against him in Kitzbuhel in 2012 (Rosol won in Stuttgart this year).

Final:

Kohlschreiber d. Granollers

Form and focus should favor the German to win the title this week.

Granollers Topples Monaco for Kitzbuhel title

Posted by Admin on August 4, 2013
Posted in: ATP. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Granollers Topples Monaco for Kitzbuhel title

Kitzbuhel Bet at Home Cup Site

A pair of clay courters contested the final clay court ATP final of the year, and it would be the Spaniard, Marcel Granollers who would take it 0-6, 7-6, 6-3. Monaco got off to a totally dominant start, as the scoreline would indicate, and he looked comfortable in the first two sets just before the tiebreak. Things began to unravel though, and Granollers would take the tiebreak, then break in Set 3 and finish things off for his 4th career ATP title and first since 2011.

Monaco will improve his ranking but drops to 8-10 overall in career ATP finals, along with moving to 1-1 in finals this year. Monaco beat Andreas Haider-Maurer, Daniel Gimeno-Traver and Albert Montanes to reach the final, while Granollers took out Mate Pavic, Horacio Zeballos, Leo Mayer and Robin Haase. Haase gave it a good go, but couldn’t three-peat in Kitz, suffering a three set semifinal loss. He did beat Fernando Verdasco along the way.

Martin Emmrich and Christopher Kas took the doubles title over Frantisek Cermak and Lukas Dlouhy.

A shout out to the Austrian youngster Dominic Thiem, who beat Andrey Kuznetsov and Jurgen Melzer to reach the quarterfinals. The 19 year old is closing in on the top 200 and and has spent most of his time this year at the futures level.

—Steen Kirby

Last Call for Dirtball: 2013 ATP Kitzbuhel Preview, Predictions

Posted by Admin on July 27, 2013
Posted in: ATP. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Kitzbuhel Bet at Home Cup Site

Dirtballers unite! The last clay court event of 2013 has arrived!

I’m talking about the ATP 250 event in Kiztbuhel, Austria.


bet-at-home Cup Kitzbuhel
ATP World Tour 250
Kitzbuhel, Austria
July 28-August 3, 2013
Prize Money: €467,800

Top 4 seeds (who all receive first round byes)

1: Phillip Kohlschreiber
2: Juan Monaco
3: Fernando Verdasco
4: Jurgen Melzer

First Round matchups to watch:

Carlos Berlocq vs. Daniel Brands

Berlocq comes off a bad 2nd round loss in Umag to the poor form Horacio Zeballos, but has performed very well on clay post-Wimbledon. He will get a tough opening round meeting with Daniel Brands, who he has never played before. Brands topped Roger Federer en route to the Gstaad quarters, and I give a slight edge to Argentine Berlocq in this match.

kitzbuhel

Top Half:

Kohlschreiber hasn’t played since Stuttgart, where he reached the final, and he will play the winner of Leo Mayer/Kenny De Schepper in his opening match. In the quarters, Kohli will most likely face Gstaad quarterfinalist Marcel Granollers, if Granollers can beat Mate Pavic and Horacio Zeballos/Qualifier. Zeballos retired in his last match in Umag with a back problem.

Fernando Verdasco comes off quarters in Hamburg and will take on Thomaz Bellucci or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Bellucci lost his opening match in Gstaad, and GGL lost in the 2nd round of the same event. Verdasco should face Berlocq/Brands or current Gstaad finalist and twice defending champ Robin Haase. Haase opens with Guillaume Rufin in Round 1.

Bottom Half:

Gstaad quarterfinalist Pico Monaco will face Andreas Haider-Maurer or a qualifier. Haider-Maurer retired from his last match in Umag. In the quarters, Monaco should face Roberto Bautista Agut, if RBA can beat a qualifier and Dani Gimeno Traver/Qualifier.

Jurgen Melzer will be in his first tournament back since Wimbledon, hopefully fresh and healthy, as he takes on Andrey Kuznetsov or up-and-coming Austrian wildcard Dominic Thiem. The winner will get one of Gstaad semifinalist Victor Hanescu/Umag quarterfinalist Aljaz Bedene/Umag quarterfinalist Albert Montanes/Adrian Ungur, in a stacked section.

Dark Horse: Albert Montanes

Montanes can play very well periodically and does his best on clay. I mostly picked him as a darkhorse becuase of his draw. After Ungur, he will get Hanescu or Bedene. Hanescu may be tired and Bedene was honestly lucky to make the Umag quarters. With Melzer the seed in the quarterfinals section, the semifinals or even a final is possible, depending on Melzer’s form (and Monaco’s).


Predictions:

Semis:

Verdasco d. Kohlschreiber

Monaco d. Montanes

Verdasco, assuming he can get past Kitzbuhel GOAT Haase.

If Robin makes it that far, he is 4-5 career against Peppo but they haven’t played since 2010.

I still give the Spaniard an ever-so-slight edge to advance.

Monaco isn’t in the greatest form, but beyond Bautista-Agut, I see nobody to stop him until the final.

Montanes, Melzer or perhaps Hanescu probably won’t. Montanes is 2-1 against Monaco, but his 2 wins were back in 2006 and 2009. Monaco won the 2012 meeting in 3 sets on clay.


Final:

Verdasco d. Monaco

Monaco is 4-2 against Verdasco on clay, and 5-4 overall.

But given their current form, I still like Verdasco if this is the final.

—Steen Kirby

Interview from @TallyChallenger: Gerald Melzer #ATP

Posted by Admin on May 2, 2013
Posted in: ATP, ATP Challenger, Tallahasee Challenger, USTA. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Interview from @TallyChallenger: Gerald Melzer

Gerald Melzer was a good sport in agreeing to an  interview with Steen Kirby following a loss in Tallahassee at the hands of Tim Smyczek. There is breaking news in this interview: 22-year-old Melzer may be the first ATP player to admit that he counts ranking points. He also said having a more famous older brother on tour is helpful, but as you might imagine, they don’t get to see each other very often.

You’ve won ten futures titles. Tell me about the difference between Futures and Challenger events.

It’s totally different. In Futures, today would have been enough. There’s a reason why (Smyczek) is #120 in the world. It’s tough. On Challengers, they don’t give you that much anymore. Not a lot of unforced errors and they fight in the end. It’s a different level.

Do you enjoy playing in the U.S.?

Yeah, definitely. I like the green clay, and especially to play the Americans on clay! Even though I lost today, I had a good week in Houston and the week after I played the semifinals in Panama. I hope I can keep it up.

Gerald Melzer

Gerald Melzer

Your goals for 2013?

With those points, I’m like 235 now. It’s by far my career high. It would be nice to play all the Grand Slams and to finish the year under 200.

Are you friends with Austrian compatriot Dominic Thiem?

He’s a good friend of mine, he’s a good buddy. He’s playing really well and I’m sure he’s going to make his way on the tour.

You have a good record in doubles. Do you enjoy playing doubles and does it help the singles game?

Definitely it helps. I play just for fun. Too bad I couldn’t play the last weeks like in Panama because of qualies the next week. I think it definitely helps on the volleys and it’s fun.

Is it a boon or a bane to have a well-known ATP Pro like Jurgen Melzer as your brother?

There are two sides, but it definitely helps more than it affects my game. You know how it is up there. I can only take good stuff out of it.

Do you work at all with his coach and team?

I have my own coach. I actually never see my brother. I see him five to ten times per year. It happens sometimes that I don’t see him for five or six months.

2012 ATP Los Angeles, Kitzbuhel Previews

Posted by Admin on July 22, 2012
Posted in: ATP, Los Angeles. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2012 Farmers Classic and ATP Kitzbuhel Previews

Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com

 

The week before the Olympics the ATP World Tour will head to LA and Austria, for a hard court and a clay court event.

ATP LA

Farmers Classic

ATP World Tour 250 (and Emirates US Open Series)

Los Angeles ,California

July 23-July 29 2012

Prize Money $557,550

Top 4 seeds (who all receive 1st round byes)

1: Benoit Paire

2: Sam Querrey

3: Leonardo Mayer

4: Nicolas Mahut

One of the weakest fields on the ATP world tour this year makes this a wide open an event that anyone could win and provide a big boost to their ranking points and earnings.

1st round matchups to watch:

James Blake is obviously excited to be here

Tobias Kamke vs. James Blake

Blake was playing well in Atlanta and won his 1st match of the year coming off of injury. Can he keep the momentum going against the German veteran Kamke?

Rajeev Ram vs. Brian Baker

A couple of guys who have played well in recent weeks, but struggled last week in Atlanta will battle it out. Ram made the Newport semis while Baker has been fantastic this year.

Top Half:

Paire will face either Michael Russell or Jessie Levine, both American vets and then could get Marinko Matosevic in the quarters. Blake, Kamke or a qualifier are also a possibility.

Nicolas Mahut  will face either Paolo Lorenzi or a qualifier  and then could face either Igor Andreev, Dudi Sela or 7 seed Bjorn Phau in the quarters (3 veterans). If both Mahut and Paire reach the semis, it could be un Rendez-Vous Francais.

Bottom Half:

2 time LA champ Sam Querrey looks to build upon recent success and will take on either fellow American Steve Johnson or sizzling Igor Sijsling. He could then get 5 seed Xaiver Malisse, a qualifier, Michael Berrer or Matt Ebden.

Leonardo Mayer will face either Flavio Cipolla or Jack Sock, who has been playing well. He then faces a possible quarterfinals match up with Baker or Ram. Paul Capdeville and Igor Kunitsyn are also in this part of the draw.

Dark Horse: Michael Russell

In a wide open field, Russell,who was sharp in Atlanta and seems to have found his game again, has a great chance at making a deep run here.  If he can beat Levine and then get past Paire, who prefers clay, no one else in the draw is unbeatable (i.e. Blake, Matosevic, Mahut).

Predictions:

Semis:

Mahut d. Russell

Baker d. Malisse

Final:

Baker d. Mahut

It would be Baker’s 1st ATP title, his 1st of his comeback and he has a great chance to do it here if he can play at the same level he has in recent weeks.

ATP Kitzbuhel

bet-at-home Cup Kitzbuhel

Kitzbuhel, Austria

July 22-July 28, 2012

Prize Money €358, 425

Top 4 seeds (who all receive 1st round byes)

1: Philipp Kohlschreiber

2:  Florian Mayer

3: Robin Haase

4: Albert Ramos

2 Germans and defending champ Haase highlight the field.

Top half:

Kohlschreiber, a quarterfinalist in Hamburg, will face either wild card Martin Fischer or a qualifier and then could face Blaz Kavic or Lukas Rosol in the quarters.

4 seed Albert Ramos will face an Italian, either Filippo Volandri or Alessandro Giannessi, and then could face a somewhat rejuvenated Ernest Gulbis in the quarters.

Bottom Half:

Mayer will face either Simone Bolleli or Horacio Zeballos, then could get 5  seed Martin Klizan in the quarters in what is a bit of a dangerous match up.

Defending champ Robin Haase opens  up against either Daniel Brands or a qualifier, then could face 8 seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Jurgen Zopp.

Dark Horse:  Martin Klizan

Klizan suffered a 1st round loss to Tommy Haas in Hamburg but has been doing well at the challenger level and should he upset Mayer, he could make a run here.

Predictions:

Semis:

Kohlschreiber d. Gulbis

Mayer d.  Haase

Final:

Kohlschreiber d. Mayer

Davis Cup Weekend Preview

Posted by Admin on April 5, 2012
Posted in: Davis Cup. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Simon and Isner will battle it out

Davis Cup World Group QFs Preview

By Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com

The 2nd round of Davis Cup rubbers begins April 6th and here is a preview of the World Group quarterfinal matches to whet everyone’s appetite.

Austria vs. Spain

The top ranked Spanish host the Austrians on the red clay of Castellon, Spain. With a not quite top tier but still highly ranked squad of David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, they should be heavily favored against the Austrian squad that features only one top 100 player, Jurgen Melzer, who is joined by Austrian veterans Andreas Haider-Maurer, Alexander Peya and Oliver Marach, who will form part of the doubles team Austrian coach Clemens Trimmel will put up.

The Spanish singles duo of Ferrer and Almagro are both coming off deep runs on the hard courts of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and should be in top form on what is their preferred surface while Marc Lopez, the brother of the more well known Feliciano Lopez, is a formidable doubles partner for whoever coach Alex Corretja pairs with him.

The Austrians upset the Russians in the last round and surprised many by reaching the Davis Cup QFs, but the odds of them advancing beyond this point on clay no less is are very steep with a squad of players who mostly ply their trade on the Challenger tour. The Spanish, who crushed Kazakhstan in the 1st round, should be favored to advance even if Melzer is able to win a couple rubbers for the boys in red.

The Pick: Spain

Will Melzers effort be enough?

France vs. United States

The most anticipated Davis Cup tie of the quarterfinal round (at least here in the States) is this matchup between the traditionally strong French, who advanced over Canada in the 1st round and the newly resurgent US, who beat Roger Federer and the Swiss in the 1st round to the surprise of many. The tie will be played at the Monte Carlo Country Club, which also hosts the ATP Monte Carlo Masters tournament and once again will be on red clay, not exactly the Americans favorite surface even though they beat the Swiss on it.

The Americans, led by captain Jim Courier will send the team of John Isner, Ryan Harrison (who replaced Mardy Fish who withdrew from the tie) and the Bryan brothers, while for their part the French led by captain Guy Forget will send the squad of Gilles Simon (who replaced Gael Monfils who withdrew from the tie), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra.

The French squad features two current top 15 singles players (Tsonga and Simon) while the Americans will have the advantage of both Bryan brothers being available for the doubles. Isner is pretty hot going into this tie, all be it on hard courts, and considering the parity of the talent it may just come down to which American and which French squad shows up. It should be a thrilling tie either way and how the less heralded play of Benneteau, Llodra and Harrison could determine who wins it. Simon is historically a better player on clay than Harrison is so that could swing the tie in favor of the French.

The Pick: France

Czech Republic vs. Serbia

In one of the closest ties in terms of both geographic location and parity of squads, the Czech Republic will face off with Serbia on clay in Prague. While the Serbs will once again be without the services of world no. 1 Novak Djokovic, they can still rely on ATP stalwarts Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki along with Dusan Lajovic and doubles specialist Nenad Zimonijic. The Czechs will counter with Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Lukas Rosol and doubles specialist Frantisek Cermak.

Both sides feature players who are playing very well at the moment and normally do well on clay so parsing these teams apart is very hard after both advanced with ease over Italy and Sweden respectively in the 1st round. It very well could come down to doubles rubber and how well the semi-consistent Lukas Rosol and Radek Stepanek can perform for the Czechs. Tipsarevic and Berdych also figure to be key performers for their perspective squads.

The Pick: Serbia

Croatia vs. Argentina

Del Potro leads Argentina

Argentina led by Juan Martin Del Potro, David Nalbanian, Juan “Pico” Monaco and Eduardo Schwank will try and defend home turf on the clay of Buenos Aires against the Croats who will counter with Ivo Karlovic, Marin Cilic, Antonio Veic and Lovro Zovko in what promises to be an interesting tie.

Argentina pulled off a mild upset of Phillip Kohlschreiber less Germany in the 1st round and Croatia triumphed over Kei Nishikori and Japan in a thrilling 5 rubber tie that went all the way.

With both Del Po and Pico coming off good performances in Miami including Del Potro’s victory over Cilic the Argentines should be favored over the Croats. Except a lot of aces in these rubbers even on clay with hard servers Karlovic, Cilic and Del Potro all taking part.

The Pick: Argentina

Istomin leads Uzbekistan

In other notable ties, Chile takes on Uruguay and Brazil takes on Colombia in Americas Group 1 2nd round action, India takes on Uzbekistan and Australia takes on South Korea in Asia/Oceania 2nd round action and Europe/Africa 2nd round ties are Israel vs. Portugal, Belgium vs. Great Britain, Netherlands vs. Romania and Slovenia vs. South Africa.