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Qualifying Day 1 Recap @IstanbulOpen ATP

Posted by Admin on April 25, 2015
Posted in: ATP, Guest Writer, Istanbul, On Site. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Qualifying Day 1 Recap at the Inaugural Istanbul Open ATP
Ahmet Fevzi Guclu for Tennis Atlantic

The main draw was determined in addition to qualifying action today (photo credit Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)

The main draw was determined in addition to qualifying action today (photo credit Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)

 

Today at the inaugural ATP Istanbul Open, the qualifying tournament was started with 16 matches, on 5 different courts.

The star of the day was 3rd seed and rising teenager Thanasi Kokkinakis, who was against Turk Barkin Yalcinkale (a 23 year old futures player) on court 1. With around 50 people in the stands, the Australian started the match with the break, and routined his opponent in two sets, Yalcinkale had no break point chances during the entirety of the match. Kokkinakis seemed motivated, and adjusted to clay well, his forehand was decent throughout the match, but  he couldn’t find his first serve often.. He will need to improve in his next round clash against Nikola Mektic. [3] Kokkinakis def. Yalcinkale 6-1 6-2

Kokkinakis won easily as expected (photo credit Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)

Kokkinakis won easily as expected (photo credit Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)

The Surprise of the day, and only losing seed was seen in court 2, when  World No: 154 Thiemo De Bakker, lost against Italian Roberto Marcora (a 25 year old at a career high ranking of 178). Marcora was able to come back from a bagel set in the opener, and won the second set with great backhands, breaking the Dutchman three times. In the final set, De Bakker lost his temper after losing the 6th game, allowing a break for 2-4. The 8th seed was having a miserable day in Istanbul and threw his rackets to the ground multiple times, mixed in with swearing. Marcora continued his good serving performance and won the match in 1 hour 37 min. He is playing against his countrymen No: 384 Lorenzo Giustino next round. Marcora def. [8] De Bakker 0-6 6-2 6-3 

Marcora was the calmer customer on the day (photo credit Ahmet Fevzu Guclu)

Marcora was the calmer customer on the day (photo credit Ahmet Fevzu Guclu)

Next match in court 2, was between 6th seeded Australian John Millman and 31 year old Ukrainian Vadim Aleeksenko. While Aleeksenko was doing nothing special, Millman was obviously a bit conservative, and anyone could tell that it was his first clay match in two years. Alekseenko made some easy errors in 3-4 game, and Australian celebrated with a fist pump. He served out the set in following game. It was all Millman in second set, he raised his level while his opponent struggled to get rhythm on his forehand, and as a result Alekseenko failed win a single game. The match was absolute domination but from the occasional skillful shotmaking by the Australian, it was a bad match tennis wise. Evgeny Donskoy from Russia will be his next opponent. [6] Millman def. Alekseenko 6-3 6-0

Millman isn't comfortable on clay but he still won (photo credit: Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)

Millman isn’t comfortable on clay but he still won (photo credit: Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)

#1 seed Blaz Kavcic played the first match in center court, it was a good display from both players, other being Dragos Dima s (22 year old Romanian futures player). Kavcic played with good intensity, and young Romanian went for his shots, his backhand was also a strong weapon on the day.  Kavcic won the first set 6-3, but world no: 540 Dima forced his opponent to make errors, and broke him twice and made it to 3rd set. The final set started even between the two, but Kavcic broke Dima after an amazing passing shot, only to fail to win the following game. Slovenian No: 76 broke again, and was serving for the match at 5-3, but after long rallies 22 year old broke him to 30. After they both won their service games, at the last game of the set, Kavcic played skillful tennis, with great forehands and won the match in his 3rd match point. Regardless that he got the win, Kavcic was far from decent level today on clay,and will be up against Turkish WC Efe Yurtacan tomorrow on court 1. [1] Kavcic def. Dima 6-3 1-6 7-5

Kavcic and Dima played a high quality contest (photo credit Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)

Kavcic and Dima played a high quality contest (photo credit Ahmet Fevzi Guclu)

In other results:
Efe Yurtacan d. Andriej Kapas 3-6 6-1 7-6, Philipp Oswald d. Aleksandre Metreveli 6-1 7-5, Michael Venus d. Dimitar Kuzmanov 6-7 6-4 6-4, Teymuraz Gabashvili d. Aldin Setkic 6-2 6-3, Radu Albot d. Altug Celikbilek 6-3 6-4, Evgeny Donskoy d. Benjamin  Ballaret 7-5 6-1, Michael Linzer d. Petru-Alexandru Luncanu 7-6 6-3, Marton Fuscovics beat Tuna Altuna 6-0 6-3, Nikola Mektic d. Jurgen Zopp 6-4 6-0, Alexandr Nedovyesov d. Mate Pavic 6-1 6-2, and Fedor Chervyakov d. Sarp Agabigun 6-7 7-5 6-0.

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2015 Raanana, Le Gosier and San Luis Potosi Challenger Recaps

Posted by Admin on April 8, 2015
Posted in: ATP, ATP Challenger, Chris De Waard. Tagged: , , , , , , .

2015 Raanana, Le Gosier and San Luis Potosi Challenger Recaps

ATP Challenger Tour Official Page

Raanana

 

As I expected, top seed Blaz Kavcic had a very tough opener against Igor Sijsling, but eventually he managed to survive in a tough three set match, 6-7(2) 6-3 7-5. However, his second round match against Nikoloz Basilashvili showed to be an even tougher one, as Kavcic got cleaned up 6-3 6-2 by the man who did the same (6-3 6-1) against John Millman in the round before. In another very exciting first round match-up, Evgeny Donskoy managed to outlast #8 seed Alexander Kudryavtsev 3-6 6-4 6-2. The biggest first round upset was probably #6 seed Lucas Pouille losing to his veteran countryman David Guez, 6-7(2) 6-4 6-2. Amir Weintraub made his comeback at Challenger level after being out with injury since Wimbledon and was on the receiving end of a remarkable gift. He faced countryman Dudi Sela in the first round, who had to retire after winning the first set, due to dizziness. Weintraub was unable to capitalize further, losing 6-4 7-5 to Michael Berrer in the next round.

 

Berrer ousted #4 seed Marsel Ilhan 4-6 6-4 6-4 in the quarterfinal, before falling to #2 seed Lukas Lacko in another highly contested encounter, 6-1 6-7(4) 6-4. Lacko’s opponent in the final was Basilashvili, who continued to impress and beat Radu Albot 7-6(3) 6-4 in the semi-final. His run didn’t stop there, as he also beat Lacko, 4-6 6-4 6-3. An impressive run for the 23-year-old player from Georgia, claiming his second career Challenger title and rising to a career high ranking of #137, improving forty-three spots. Lacko rose nine spots, to #90.

 

 

Le Gosier

 

Things can change quickly in tennis, as Hyeon Chung demonstrated. After impressing at the Miami Masters last week, taking out a top 50 player in Marcel Granollers and losing 6-3 6-4 to Tomas Berdych in the second round, he lost to a player ranked outside of the top 400 this time around, falling 6-3 2-6 6-4 to qualifier Omar Jasika in the first round. Top seed Marcos Baghdatis got absolutely hammered by Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round, 6-2 6-2. Roger-Vasselin continued his good showing in the following rounds, beating Jasika and Kyle Edmund, who upset Benoit Paire a round before, comfortably to reach the final.

 

The tournament lost #2 seed Pablo Andujar after only one set, retiring against Ivo Klec citing a back injury. This enabled Brazilian qualifier Henrique Cunha to become the undisputed surprise of the tournament, taking out John-Patrick Smith in the quarterfinal to set up a semi-final encounter with Ruben Bemelmans, who did well to take advantage of his comfortable draw. Bemelmans showed that he is on a different level than the qualifier, easily disposing of him with a bagel in the process, 6-0 6-2. Bemelmans came into the final as an underdog against Roger-Vasselin, but came out on top and took down the title without dropping a set, winning the match 7-6(6) 6-3. He is now really close to cracking the top 100 for the first time, rising thirty-two spots to #102. Roger-Vasselin rose eight spots to #132.

 

 

San Luis Potosi

 

There were several great stories in San Luis Potosi, beginning with the revival of Guido Pella. The former world #75 has struggled ever since and now found himself on the verge of dropping out of the 200 when this tournament started, but he played well above his ranking here. He took out #7 seed Austin Krajicek 7-6(3) 7-5 in the second round, #1 seed Teymuraz Gabashvili 2-6 6-4 6-3 in the quarterfinal and #4 seed James Duckworth 6-3 6-3 to book himself a place in the final, already having an amazing tournament after this extraordinary run. In the bottom half there was a huge opportunity in the first section for someone to make a surprise run, as #4 seed Luca Vanni withdrew with a back injury and was replaced by lucky loser Giovanni Lapentti. #3 seed Damir Dzumhur couldn’t do it, losing 7-5 6-3 in the first round to James McGee.

 

McGee capitalized fully, becoming the player to take advantage of the opening in the draw as he beat Andres Molteni 6-1 6-4 for a place in the semi-final. However, here he was facing second seed and defending champion Paolo Lorenzi, a match in which he was the strong underdog. On top of that he lost in six earlier attempts to reach a Challenger final. But his luck finally changed, notching up one of his best career wins as he beat Lorenzi 6-3 5-7 6-3. In the final Pella was clearly too strong however, as the Argentinean took down his seventh Challenger title after a 6-3 6-3 victory. A more than impressive week for Pella, but ranking wise he is still a long way from where he wants to be at #155. McGee improves to a career high ranking of #170, rising thirty-three spots.

 

2015 Guangzhou and Santiago Challenger Previews and Predictions

Posted by Admin on March 10, 2015
Posted in: ATP, ATP Challenger, Chris De Waard. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

2015 Guangzhou and Santiago Challenger Preview and Predictions
Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Challenger Tour Official Page

There are two Challengers on the schedule for this week, one in China on hardcourt and the other one in Chile on clay.

China International 2015

ATP Challenger Tour
Guangzhou, China
9-15 March 2015
Prize Money: $50,000

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Blaz Kavcic (110)
2: Hyeon Chung (121)
3: Aleksandr Nedovyesov (130)
4: Alexander Kudryavtsev (131)
5: John Millman (137)
6: Yuichi Sugita (148)
7: Hiroki Moriya (156)
8: Roberto Carballes Baena (160)

The last direct acceptance is Saketh Myneni, ranked 232nd.

First round match-ups to watch

(3) Aleksandr Nedovyesov – Somdev Devvarman

Nedovyesov comes into this match on a high, having decided the Davis Cup tie between Kazakhstan and Italy in a deciding rubber against Fabio Fognini. Nedovyesov squeezed out a 7-5 fifth set win to seal the deal over his opponent of almost hundred ranking spots higher. Devvarman’s form is all over the place right now and if Nedovyesov can recover physically, he should beat the Indian.

(2) Hyeon Chung – Saketh Myneni

Things can change rapidly in the life of a tennis player. Exactly a year ago, Chung lost in the first round of a Futures event, while he can now play himself to the brink of the top 100 if he wins this tournament. He comes into this event with great form, notching up a SF-W-F record in his last three Challengers. Reaching at least a semi-final should be within his reach here as well, having landed a comfortable draw. Myneni has developed into a dangerous player and will surely threaten Chung, but the latter is still the favorite here.

Top Half
It’s hard to look past the two highest ranked players here. Top seed Blaz Kavcic and #3 seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov have the best papers to reach the semi-final here. Nevertheless, it’s still unsure whether Nedovyesov will fully recover from his titanic Davis Cup effort, in which case his section will become wide open. Perhaps unseeded Marton Fucsovics can take advantage. Fucsovics had an excellent Davis Cup showing as well, which included hammering world #143 Radu Albot off the court in a 6-2 6-1 6-2 victory. This should enable him to be fresher than Nedovyesov.

Bottom Half

Second seed Hyeon Chung is the overwhelming favorite to not only reach the semi-final, but the final as well and I would be very surprised if someone managed to upset him. He starts off in a section with a fellow seed who is more of a clay court specialist, Roberto Carballes Baena, and is projected to face Yuichi Sugita, Kimmer Coppejans or Alexander Kudryavtsev in the semi-final, none of which should cause him any worries in search of his third consecutive Challenger final.

Predictions

Semis:

Fucsovics d. Kavcic
Chung d. Coppejans

Final:

Chung d. Fucsovics

Cachantun Cup

ATP Challenger Tour
Santiago, Chile
9-15 March 2015
Prize Money: $40,000

Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)

1: Joao Souza (75)
2: Alejandro Gonzalez (90)
3: Maximo Gonzalez (96)
4: Facundo Bagnis (120)
5: Horacio Zeballos (138)
6: Facundo Arguello (140)
7: Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (177)
8: Renzo Olivo (190)

The last direct acceptance is Giovanni Lapentti, ranked 302nd. Top seed Joao Souza expectedly withdrew after his marathon Davis Cup match, the longest Davis Cup singles match of all time, against Leonardo Mayer, which he lost 15-13 in the fifth set.

First round match-ups to watch

Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo – Pedro Cachin

37 year old Ramirez Hidalgo keeps on grinding, coming off back to back Futures finals in Spain, winning one of them. Cachin is more than seventeen years younger, but is a big talent and has arrived at a stage where he should really beat someone like the veteran Spaniard. Last year Ramirez Hidalgo beat him in straights, but Cachin is likely to do better this time around.

(6) Facundo Arguello – Guido Pella

Former world #75 Guido Pella has never been the same after 2013, when he reached the semi-final of Düsseldorf and played Novak Djokovic in the second round of Roland Garros. He currently sits at #196. However, he does have a good draw here, although it seems the other way around given Arguello’s seeding. But the two played each other in Bucaramanga earlier this year, with Pella winning 6-4 6-3. That result could well be repeated here.

Top Half

With top seed Joao Souza withdrawing, this is wide open. Nicolas Jarry will likely take over Souza’s spot in the quarterfinal, where he is projected to face #8 seed Renzo Olivo. In the bottom section #5 seed Horacio Zeballos has landed a very cushy draw, facing a wild card and a qualifier in his first two matches. But he isn’t in great form, so after that he may well fall to one of Facundo Bagnis, Gonzalo Lama or Christian Garin, of whom Bagnis is the comfortable favorite.

Bottom Half

This half is very likely to be decided between the two Gonzalez’s in the draw, #3 seed Maximo and #2 seed Alejandro. Alejandro hasn’t made deep runs this year, but he has mostly been playing on the main tour. In a Challenger field he should have an edge over the rest. If the two Gonzalez’s were to face in the semi-final, it would be a repeat of last year’s Cordoba final, in which Alejandro won 7-5 1-6 6-3.

Predictions

Semis:

Bagnis d. Olivo
A. Gonzalez d. M. Gonzalez

Final:

A. Gonzalez d. Bagn