Domagoj Biljeskos

All posts tagged Domagoj Biljeskos

Heat Strokes Beat Ground Strokes @CroatiaOpenUmag Qualifying #ATPUmag

Posted by Admin on July 19, 2015
Posted in: ATP, Guest Writer, On Site, Umag. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Heat Strokes Beat Ground Strokes @CroatiaOpenUmag Qualifying
Stefano Berlincioni for Tennis Atlantic

Umag

Arrived in Croatia yesterday evening and checked in with Bastian Trinker, an Austrian guy that every year comes and plays here with good support on the stands from his family.

Quick dinner where I met Thomas Fabbiano and Agustin Velotti, both apparently travelling alone. During dinner the qualifying draw came out: no big names because of Davis Cup and a lot of Challengers scheduled next week.

This morning at breakfast I saw very relaxed Brazilians Wilson Leite and Andre Sa and then I headed to the tournament.

Already in the morning at 9 we had more than 30°C so the heat will be a key factor also this year: it will not be easy for any player to play three qualifying rounds in three consecutive days under this heat.

Surchenko def. Biljesko 63 62

I attended this match because I was curious to watch the local Domagoj Biljeskos, 18 years old who was #38 as junior. He appeared sick and nervous from the very beginning as he got broken in first game of the match with 3 double faults. He has no particular weapon but was quite evident that the match was very even because Surchenko is really nothing special. Self confidence was at a very low level, which killed any hope for the local guy who played a terrible match: 17 double faults in 9 service games say it all.

Linzer def. Galovic 61 63

Another apparently one way match from the score but the match was quite close. Galovic can hit very hard and he is always unlucky with quail draws here in Umag, Unfortunately for him, Linzer was more consistent but I have to say this was the best match of the day from a quality point of view.

Marcora def. Sabry 63 62

I watched only a few rallies but Marcora appeared always in control of the match, clearly overpowering the Egyptian.

Mitak def. Sudic 61 62

Local young players out of ATP top 1500, with Mitak being clearly better but both playing quite poorly.

Velotti def. Bejtulahi 63 10 ret.

Velotti looked very motivated, fist pumping after every point won. He played at good level and in the first few games the match was quite close, but then the Serbian fell apart and retired for illness.

Trinker def. Viola 64 26 62

I arrived at the end of second set and the Austrian looked really spent because of the heat and I thought Viola would have won quite easily the third set. The match has been quite funny because both were looking for winners and quick rallies and no one could play long rallies under the noon Umag sun. Viola lost focus at the beginning of third set and the Austrian managed to hold until the end thanks to his big serve. The Italian tanked the last game because he had no more energy to fight.

Fabbiano def. Cagalj 63 22 ret.

I arrived on 63 21 and I was pretty surprised by the Croat because he was serving well and hitting decent shots from baseline. After a very long rally he went to the net and retired almost from nowhere. He also cited illness as his reason for retirement.

Leite def. Urbanja 60 63

Leite was a nightmare match-up for Urbanja who plays Umag quail every year with good local support (Slovenia being so close to Umag) but he really had no chance against the Brazilian.

Trevisan def. Sa 75 62

The Brazilian doubles player started very well, being aggressive and consistent from baseline. Trevisan probably didn’t expect such a motivated opponent and got broken early. The match was quite good with the Italian showing his powerful forehand but also his unforced errors. He didn’t lose his head despite being 3-5 down in the first set, managed to win the next 7 games and then had just to stay focused.

Leonardi def. Gonzalez 62 64

Match was quite funny because the Mexican was barely moving from the warm-up. The Italian just had just to play consistent tennis and hit drop shots as soon as he could: Gonzalez ran as in slow motion trying to reach the ball for a couple of times and he didn’t even try on some of them. Credit to Leonardi to have played with focus, but in the second round against Bagnis his opponent will fight much more.

First round qualifying matches ended at about 2 pm and started at 11 am today. Again, it will not be easy to play under this hot sun.

This evening exhibition on Center Court with Goran Ivanisevic and friends. Last year was very funny so I expect a good show also this year.

 

Advertisement