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Isner Still Capable of US Open Title Despite Washington Loss

Posted by Admin on August 13, 2018

Posted in: ATP. Tagged: American Tennis, Bet 365, isner, John Isner, us open, US Open Bets, US Open Betting, US Open Odds, US Open Predictions, US Open Winner. Leave a comment

Isner Still Capable of US Open Title Despite Washington Loss

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It is fair to say that a straight-set defeat to a player ranked outside the top 150 does not exactly bode well for a player’s fortunes at the upcoming US Open. John Isner was defeated by his compatriot Noah Rubin in the second round at Washington, with 6-4 7-6 a competitive scoreline on paper but not necessarily indicative of how lethargic Isner looked. This win propels Rubin into the top 140 for the first time in his career, but should not diminish the expectations of Isner at the US Open. The big-serving American is otherwise in stellar form, and will view this year’s US Open as his best chance to deliver an unlikely Grand Slam title.

It is not surprising that Isner looked fatigued and unable to power down his serves in usual emphatic fashion. Isner’s run to the semi-final at Wimbledon culminated in an epic battle against Kevin Anderson, which finished an incredible 7-6 6-7 6-7 6-4 26-24 in Anderson’s favour. Isner has more experience than most in dealing with exhausting matches, and his run to the Atlanta title two weeks later demonstrates how this season has seen the American finding new levels of consistency.

What will be even more encouraging for Isner is that his Atlanta title came with only one tie-break across his four matches. Tie-breaks have become synonymous with Isner because of his status as one of, if not the, leading server on the ATP tour, with his relative weakness in returning and moving around the court causing the 6ft 10in player to rarely break opponents’ serve. Therefore the ease with which he dispatched promising talent Alex De Minaur and the wily serve-and-volleyer Mischa Zverev without requiring a tie-break marks the development in Isner’s return game this year.

Isner may never return with the speed and guile of the world’s leading players, but perhaps he doesn’t need to. If his serve is on form then there is little an opponent can do, so it is a case of Isner being ruthless on return to maximise break opportunities. Despite Isner’s strong form this year, he is still often underappreciated when it comes to discussing potential Slam winners; Isner has odds of 40/1 in tennis betting with bet365 to win the US Open title, placing him behind the likes of Denis Shapovalov, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic. Isner is in far better form than many of those considered more likely to triumph at Flushing Meadows, and will know that this year’s US Open could represent the best chance he’ll get to win a Grand Slam.

While the ability to rely on his serving game will ensure that the 33 year-old will remain a dangerous foe on the ATP tour for a few more years, this could be the defining tournament of Isner’s career. This year has seen him soar to a career-best ranking of 8, and his run at Wimbledon was his first Grand Slam semi-finals. Therein lies the biggest concern with Isner’s prospects; the American has never gone beyond the quarter-final in his home Grand Slam.

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The last two US Open tournaments have seen Isner fall in early rounds as a heavy pre-match favourite, but his defeat to Roger Federer in the round-of-sixteen in 2015 will give him more encouragement. The scoreline of 7-6 7-6 7-5 epitomises how Isner has the ability to keep matches close against the sport’s elite. The margins are always narrow in a tie-break; Isner could feasibly dominate on serve for forty minutes before bringing some clutch playing to nick the tie-break. He won’t always be able to do that against returners of the calibre of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but he may not need to. The US Open draw last year blew wide open and saw Anderson make a shock run to the final. If the stars align for Isner this year, he could defy the odds to become the first American to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.

Big Serving Veteran John Isner Takes Maiden ATP 1000 Title in Miami
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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32 year old John Isner had struggled his way through 2018 with just one match win, but in Miami he turned it on, winning six straight to capture the biggest ATP title of his career. A long time battler on the ATP Tour, Isner will return to the top 10 after dispatching Alexander Zverev 6-7 6-4 6-4 in the final, preventing Zverev from taking a third career Masters title.

Isner heated up with early wins against Jiri Vesely, and Mikhail Youzhny, then upset Marin Cilic, Hyeon Chung, and Juan Martin Del Potro in consecutive matches to reach the final. His last three wins prior to the final dominant performances. Zverev ran through a tough road of Daniil Medvedev, David Ferrer, Nick Kyrgios, Borna Coric, and Pablo Carreno Busta, posting a solid week despite a tough finals loss.

With the ATP season switching to clay, Zverev should have more success ahead, while Isner is unlikely to make much of a dent in big events until the hard court Summer, but he’ll still have the memory of the biggest result in his career coming in 2018.

Top seed Roger Federer was upset by Thanasi Kokkinakis early on, as Kokkinakis played up to his potential and got past a fatigued Federer in three sets, never backing down.

The Bryan brothers took the doubles title defeating Russia’s Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the doubles final for their 37th Masters 1000 title.

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John Isner Wins Fourth BB&T Atlanta Open Title
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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John Isner won his fourth BB&T Atlanta Open title on Sunday, thrilling the home fans and overcoming issues with his knee and hand to win a pair of tiebreaks 7-6 7-6. The difference in the match was just four points in total, and the match took nearly two hours on Sunday afternoon. Isner, who suffered from knee soreness starting in the first set, served up 23 aces, and won well over 80% of his first serve points. The first set featured no break points. The first set tiebreak had plenty of minibreaks though, with Harrison failing to take a set point at 6-5, and eventually getting broken to lose the first set 8-6 in the breaker.

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The underdog American kept his focus from a set down, he broke Isner early in the second set, but was broken right back and despite Isner damaging his hand on his racquet strings, a second set tiebreak would ensue. Harrison won the first minibreak to go up 2-0, but it was all Isner from there, he took the match on his second match point, 9-7. Isner has now won two tournaments in two weeks, and eight matches in a row, as he took the title in Newport the week prior to Atlanta. There is no place Isner feels more comfortable than the BB&T Atlanta Open, and Harrison couldn’t disrupt that.

Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles title 6-3 6-4 over Koolhof/Sitak, it took them less than hour to win their second ATP doubles of the season. The Bryans also have two titles total in Atlanta, this time it took them less than an hour.

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Poland defeats USA to win the 2015 Hopman Cup

Posted by Admin on January 10, 2015

Posted in: ATP, Hopman Cup, Steen Kirby, WTA. Tagged: 2015 Hopman Cup, 2015 Hopman Cup Recap, Aga Radwanska, Aganieska Radwanska, atp, hopman cup, Hopman Cup 2015, Hopman Cup Recap, isner, Janowicz, Jerzy Janowicz, John Isner. Team USA, perth, Perth Tennis, radwanska, Radwasnka, serena williams, Team Poland, Tennis Recap, wta.

Poland defeats USA to win the 2015 Hopman Cup
Steen Kirby,Tennis Atlantic

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Hopman Cup

Team Poland, made up of golden generation stars Agnieszka Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz toppled Team USA’s Serena Williams and John Isner to capture the 2015 Hopman Cup crown.

Isner performed well but it was Serena who would come up short for team USA in the final, as Radwanska beat her in 3 sets in the women’s singles match, and she teamed up with Janowicz to win the deciding mixed doubles match in straight sets. Isner’s straight set victory over Janowicz forced a decisive mixed doubles match but Poland was simply a stronger team this week as Serena struggled in an unusual manner in all of her matches.

In other notable round robin action, everyone in group A, except Italy finished 2-1, as it was a parity filled group. Italy finished 0-3, in part due to Fabio Fognini taking a lackadaisical approach to tennis yet again. Team Czech Republic beat Team Canada, the Americans beat the Italians, Canada beat the USA thanks to singles wins by Eugenie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil, and they also beat Italy, while team USA beat the Czechs. The lower ranked Adam Pavlasek performed well for the Czech team, earning a singles win over Fabio Fognini in 3 sets, and winning two out of his three mixed doubles matches with Lucie Safarova.

In group B, similar to group A, there was a lot of parity, the home Aussies would finish shut out at 0-3, and everyone else finished 2-1. Poland beat Australia, Great Britain beat France, the Poles beat the Brits, the French beat the Aussies, and the Poles, and the Brits beat the Aussies. Andy Murray turned in a notable performance for team GB, he went 3-0 in his singles matches with wins over Benoit Paire, Janowicz, and Marinko Matosevic without dropping a set. The formerly promising Frenchman Paire continues to languish, he finished 0-3 in his singles matches. Now most of the ATP and WTA stars of the Hopman Cup will continue their pre AO preparations with traditional tournament competition and tennis will return to the Perth Arena next year.

Summer Sneaking Up on Us: @CitiOpen, @TennisHalloFame Announce Early Player Fields

Posted by Admin on May 25, 2014

Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, Washington, WTA. Tagged: 2014, atp, bryan brothers, championships, Citi Open, dc, Hall of Fame, isner, Kyrgios, lleyton hewitt, mahut, new englans, Newport, player, player field, rhode island, sloane stephens, tennis, washington, wta.

Summer Sneaking Up on Us: @CitiOpen, @TennisHalloFame Announce Early Player Fields

Bryan Brothers, Isner, Gasquet, Hewitt, Stephens Commit Early to Citi Open
Isner, Hewitt, Baghdatis, Kyrgios, Mahut In at Hall of Fame Tennis Championships

The countdowns to the Citi Open and the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships have officially started.

Fans can watch their favorite stars in action and up close on the East Coast this summer. Early commitments to Citi Open include ATP World Tour Rankings No. 1 doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan, top-ranked American John Isner, top-ranked French player Richard Gasquet, and top-ranked Australian Lleyton Hewitt. On the women’s side, fan favorite Sloane Stephens, ranked No. 16 in the WTA Tour, will make a return appearance. Full player fields will be determined and announced approximately six weeks prior to the start of that tournament.

Citi Open runs from July 26 – August 3 at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center at 16th and Kennedy Streets NW. To purchase, fans can click the link at www.citiopentennis.com and search for Citi Open, or call the tournament hotline at 202-721-9500.

In Newport, Defending champion Nicolas Mahut of France has committed to the player field for the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, where he captured both the singles and doubles titles last year. In addition, two wild cards have been awarded to Marcos Baghdatis, an exciting player formerly ranked in the world top-10, and Nick Kyrgios of Australia who achieved the world No. 1 ITF Juniors ranking in 2013. The three new entries to the field will join No. 1 American John Isner and Australian great Lleyton Hewitt in that tournament, which will be played at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., July 5 – 13. The Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, which is held directly after Wimbledon, is the only event played on grass courts in North or South America, and the only ATP World Tour event in New England.

“Tennis season has finally arrived in New England and we are gearing up for a great tournament this summer at the International Tennis Hall of Fame,” commented Tournament Director Mark Stenning. “Nico Mahut was unstoppable in Newport last summer and we are glad to welcome him back as defending champion. Marcos Baghdatis and Nick Kyrgios are exciting players to watch, and we know the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships fans will enjoy seeing them compete.”

Nicolas Mahut won both the singles and doubles titles at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships last year, following an epic couple of days of competition in which inclement weather forced him to play four matches in 24 hours. Mahut entered the Newport tournament last year ranked world No. 127. Since winning in Newport, he has consistently climbed the ATP World Tour rankings and is currently world No. 38, having reached a career high of world No. 37 earlier this month. Mahut’s victory in Newport last year was his second career title, having won his first just weeks prior at the Topshelf Open at s-Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands. With countryman Michael Llodra, Mahut was a finalist at the French Open in doubles last year. Inclusive of his 2013 Newport titles, he has won two singles titles and eight doubles titles.

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus has been a staple of the ATP World Tour since the early 2000s. He has achieved notable wins against some of the world’s best players including Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, and Andy Murray, and has been involved in many long, exciting matches. He is recognized for the energy that he brings to each match, and for his ability to draw fans in. In 2006, Baghdatis reached a career high of world No. 8 and won his first career title with a victory at the China Open. He has finished the season ranked in the world top-50 six times in the past eight years, and has won four ATP World Tour titles. Baghdatis made his Davis Cup debut for the Cyprus Davis Cup team in 2000 as a 14-year-old. He has been a dedicated and successful player for his country ever since, and has been instrumental in advancing the team from the lowest division of Davis Cup to move up two levels into the Euro/Africa Group II. With 43 straight wins, he is one of the most successful Davis Cup players of all time.

Nineteen-year old Australian Nick Kyrgios had a break through season just about this time last year, and has been going strong ever since. Kyrgios was given a wild card into the 2013 French Open, at which he won his first career ATP level match, defeating then world No. 52 Radek Stepanek in three tiebreak sets. Also last year, Kyrgios won the Australian Open junior title and the Wimbledon junior doubles title. He achieved the world No. 1 ITF Juniors ranking. This season, Krygios won back-to-back Challenger Tour titles in April. Earlier this year he represented Australia in Davis Cup competition. Next week, he is set to play in the French Open again, and has been training with Roger Federer in advance of the tournament. He is currently ranked world No. 161.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, including access to the International Tennis Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony on July 12, are available now. Hall of Fame Members save $5 on tickets, and enjoy many other benefits throughout tournament week, including access to a Member Lounge, first-in-line status for autographs, and much more. Tickets and membership info is available on HallofFameTennisChampionships.com or by phone at (401) 849-6053.

—-S. Pegarido/A. McLaughlin

2013 Western & Southern Open Reflections from Traveling Fan Girl @CincyTennis

Posted by Admin on August 27, 2013

Posted in: ATP, Cincinnati, Western & Southern Open, WTA. Tagged: 2013, cincinnati, Cincy, courtney massey, Fan, Granollers, isner, Janowicz, Lopez, open, recap, Reflections, tennis, Tips, western & southern, Wrap. 1 Comment

2013 Western & Southern Open Reflections from Traveling Fan Girl @CincyTennis

If you’re looking for in depth match analysis and a load of tennis jargon, you may want to stop reading. For those of you who aren’t familiar with my work, let me introduce myself. My name is Courtney Massey. I am the owner of The Traveling Fan Girl Facebook page and tennis blog. I’m happy to report that it will soon be an official website. Glad I got that shameless self promotion out of the way!

My style of writing focuses on the emotions and atmosphere that surrounds the players and tournaments. I started writing for Tennis East Coast last year and you may have seen my photographs throughout many of the posts. For the first time, I took over the Tennis East Coast twitter account during my stay in Cincinnati. I frequently posted Iphone pictures of players around the grounds. If you missed any of that, feel free to go back and enjoy all the image goodness. After you finish reading this, of course. Now, let’s get to the good stuff!

I’ve been attending the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio for the last five years. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The Western & Southern Open is my favorite tournament! Clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks this way. This year it seemed like everyone wanted to get in on the action. From day one, the grounds were occupied more heavily than I’ve seen in all my years in attendance. Hardly surprising given the decent prices and how much the event has expanded recently. Not only do you get to see all the top players in both the men’s and women’s fields, but it is the friendliest tournament of all. No matter where you go, you can strike up a conversation with anyone around you. I’ve had countless meetings with people at practices, matches, and just hanging out around the grounds. The tournament for me has become more about the social aspect than the actual tennis. At least us tennis fans know how to multi-task any way, right?

View From Cincy Media Center

This year was a big first for me. Due to my diabolical collaboration with Tennis East Coast, I was granted my very first press pass for the event! To say I was excited would be an extreme understatement. However, it wasn’t as perfect as I originally thought it would be. Because of the large amount of media requests this year, the tournament had to cut me down to two days of qualifier access. So basically I was allowed to roam the media center and charge my phone for two days. I was incredibly bummed that I wasn’t able to take full advantage of a week’s media pass for all my favorite players, but I was still pleased I got to have that experience.

So what’s it like in an official tournament media center? Let me tell you. At first, I wasn’t sure where the elevator was, so I walked four flights of outdoor stairs to the media entrance. Yeah, that was fun! I never thought I was afraid of heights, but it was actually kind of freaky walking up that high and looking out at the tennis courts below. Once I made it to the entrance, I walked in to the big air conditioned room. Inside are rows and rows of tiny cubicles. Inside each one is a TV monitor and power outlets for everyone to keep up with the matches and plug in their equipment.

A majority of the journalists have their own assigned cubicle with their name on them. I, on the other hand, had to find an empty cubicle that just had a number. On the side of the rows of cubicles is a huge desk with nice and helpful people behind them. A very pleasant lady gave me a little information on how things work and I was able to snag a free notebook. Never turn down free stuff! On the other side of the room is a giant window that looks out onto Stadium Court. I must say, the view is gorgeous! I never cared for the idea of being high above the court, since my main focus is to get quality photos, but it’s pretty amazing. Of course, you also have a snack table at the back. The table was filled with fruit, snacks, bagels, and water, which I made sure to munch on while my phone was charging.

The tournament grounds feel both spacious and intimate. I spend most of my time at the practice courts, which are the best way to get photos of all your favorite players. It’s also a prime location to get photographs with them, if that’s what you’re looking for!

Janowicz

Sometimes, however, you get too close. While watching Jerzy Janowicz practice I mistakenly looked down at my phone. Suddenly, I felt it! A ball had come flying and the side of my body was there to stop its momentum. With a hard thud, the ball bounced off me. I want to thank all the guys who were standing around me and didn’t think to stop it! Nice to know that chivalry isn’t dead. I’ve always joked about getting hit by a ball, but that was the first time it actually happened. It didn’t hurt too bad, but it didn’t feel good either. Before you ask, I didn’t see if Jerzy had apologized, but I also know he would never hit someone on purpose. I should have demanded a kiss on the cheek, but instead I just tweeted about it.

Luckily, that was the only contact I made with a tennis ball during my stay, but not without another close call. While watching Llodra and Mahut practice, once again, I looked down at my phone and BAM! A ball came flying and smacked against the deck I was leaning on. That ball landed near my head that time. I’m very thankful for the lack of impact but I started to question whether there was a bounty out for my head.

Noteworthy Incidents:

Jelena Jankovic vs Roberta Vinci: A Disturbance in the Force

Jelena Jankovic

This match was a pretty easy win for Jankovic, but it’s getting my attention due to the not-so-welcome crowd participation. During a rally, one of Vinci’s balls looked wide but didn’t receive a call. A guy in the crowd decided he’d become the lines person for the day and started yelling, “It’s out! It’s out!”. Jankovic, clearly distracted by this, stopped to complain to the umpire. While she complained, the crowd around us spewed hatred and disgust for the character in the stands. One woman behind me was livid. “Shut up! You can’t do that!”, she protested. The guy seemed stunned by the reaction. “What? It was out”, he spoke nonchalantly. “That’s not your decision to make! Just leave! Just leave!”, was the response. For those Drinking Made Easy Fans, the guy looked exactly like Steve McKenna, which just made the situation even more hilarious!

Women’s Doubles Final- Grönefeld/Peschke vs Hsieh Su-wei/Peng Shuai : Someone’s Not a Happy Camper

Women’s Doubles Final

The Women’s Doubles Final looked like it would be a very quick match. At the start, Grönefeld and Peschke were dominating their opponents, but as tennis fans know, momentum can shift at any moment. Hsieh Su-wei and her partner, Peng Shuai, battled back and won the match in the Super Tiebreak. After the match, Peschke was understandably frustrated. She sulked in her seat and started kicking her legs up and down like a petulant child. Although it looked amusing from the sidelines, I had to feel for her. To lose a match like that isn’t easy. During the awards ceremony, things lightened up. After Grönefeld answered questions, the attention went to Peschke. “Do you have any comments?”, the announcer asked her. “I wish I had comments. Do you have some for me?”, Peschke joked. She and everyone else in the Stadium lightened and it was a cute moment. Hsieh Su-wei and Peng Shuai were all smiles and laughter as they thanked each other and accepted their award with lots of excitement.

Men’s Doubles Final: Bryan Brothers vs Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez: Oh No You Didn’t!

Lopez, Granollers

The doubles final was a pretty good match that culminated in a superbreaker to decide the Championship. Nearing the end of the match, Marcel Granollers attempted to challenge a call. Unfortunately, the umpire said he had played the point and couldn’t challenge. Both Lopez and Granollers challenged this call, but of course, the call stuck and so were they. It wasn’t long after when the Bryan Brothers claimed the victory. However, it’s what happened after the match that caught my full attention. While they were setting up the awards table, Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers were still arguing the call in a very animated fashion! They weren’t going to let it go easily. Once the trophy presentation got under way, the guys calmed down and accepted their award with smiles.

Marcel Granollers Argues

Men’s Singles Final: Rafael Nadal vs John Isner : USA! USA! USA!

I’m not going to talk much about this match since I’m sure you all watched it yourself, but I did want to comment on the atmosphere. Having an American in the Final certainly made Stadium Court feel electrified. Although there were many Nadal supporters in the house, the American pride the majority showed for John was powerful! After the match, I went over to the area where the players walk out of the stadium. The crowd there made sure to clap and cheer loudly as Big John signed an enormous amount of autographs and exited the grounds. By the level of cheers and congratulations he received, you’d think he did in fact win that title.

Tip on Traveling In/Around Mason:

Hey, Big Boy! You look like you could use 3000 calories!

If you are driving to the tournament, you will see lots of signs catering to tennis fans, some of which include deals! A few of the local restaurants and bars have discounted drinks for USTA members or fans who come in wearing tennis gear. Be sure to keep a look out at the signs to make sure you don’t miss these specials!

The Western & Southern Open will be my last tournament of 2013. Hopefully you will all join me on my journey next year. Live tennis is always an adventure!

—Courtney Massey (@CM_TravelingFG) for Tennis East Coast

Newport at Wimbledon: Almost All American 1st Round Winners Got Next @TennisHalloFame

Posted by Admin on June 25, 2013

Posted in: ATP, International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport. Tagged: atp, Championship, Hall of Fame, isner, james blake, lleyton hewitt, new england, Newport, querrey, rhode island, tennis. Leave a comment

Newport at Wimbledon: Almost All American 1st Round Winners Got Next @TennisHalloFame

The main draw of the 2013 International Tennis Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, Rhode Island has 10 players who hail from the United States, and 4 out of the 5 left standing in Wimbledon after the first round will be playing on the New England grass in less than two weeks.

John Isner, Denis Kudla, James Blake and Rajeev Ram are headed to Newport, but not until their business is finished in London. That’s because they all advanced to the second round at Wimbledon. Throw in our Canadian brothers Vasek Pospisil and Jesse Levine, who both made the second round, and that adds up to 6 of the 8 North American men left in Wimbledon are up next at Newport.

Looks like Chowder

Regardless of nationality, the top 15 seeded players for the HOF Championships posted a decent 10-5 record in the first round. In the finest performance yet at SW19 this year, Lleyton Hewitt made quick work of #11 Stan Wawrinka. Look out for him at the Newport Casino.

James Blake was on fire against Thiemo De Bakker.

Denis Kudla got his first Grand Slam win.

And then there was Newport top seed Sam Querrey losing to Bernie Tomic.

There are 13 days until main draw play begins at the American Wimbledon. Let’s hope one or more of these guys shows up a little late to Little Rhody because he was too busy playing quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

—S. Fogleman

2012 ATP Winston-Salem Preview

Posted by Admin on August 19, 2012

Posted in: ATP, Winston-Salem Open. Tagged: atp, isner, roddick, tennis, Tsonga, winston salem. Leave a comment

2012 ATP Winston-Salem Preview

Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com

In the final tune up before the US Open and the last event in the summer long Emirates US Open Series, pros will battle it out on courts at the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Winston-Salem is in just its second year on the ATP calendar.

ATP Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem Open

ATP World Tour 250 (and Emirates US Open Series)

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

August 19-August 25, 2012

Prize Money $553,125

Top 8 seeds (who all receive 1st round byes, asdo the top 16 seeds)

1: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

2: Tomas Berdych

3: John Isner

4: Alexandr Dolgopolov

5: Andy Roddick

6: Marcel Granollers

7: Sam Querrey

8: Julien Benneteau

The addition of top 10 players Tsonga and Berdych gives Winston-Salem a stellar field for an ATP 250.

1st round matchups to watch:

Go Soeda vs. Ryan Harrison

Harrison lost last week to fellow youngster Bernard Tomic in Cincy and hasn’t had the brightest summer, while Soeda hasn’t played since the Olympics and will make his return to the hardcourts where he last made the semis in Atlanta.

Tommy Robredo vs. Lukasz Kubot

Tommy Robredo was once a top ten player, but after struggling mightily with the injury bug, he sits inside the top 200. The Spanish vet has had to make do playing on the challenger circuit and the occasional main draw of ATP events, and while he prefers clay, his results have been looking up recently. On theother hand, Kubot lost to Yen-Hsun Lu in Cincy and hasn’t been hot recently. Robredo could pull off an upset.

Top Half:

Tsonga is Top Dog in Winston-Salem

Tsonga, hopefully recovered from a knee injury that forced him to skip Cincy, will start off against either Thomaz Bellucci or Marcos Baghdatis (who pushed eventual quarterfinalist Milos Raonic to three sets in Cincy). It gets easier for Tsonga from there as he likely faces 15 seed Pablo Andujar or Atlanta finalist Gilles Muller in the third round.

Marcel Granollers will face the winner of Harrison/Soeda, while 12 seed Kevin Anderson, who lostin the first round of both Toronto and Cincy and has been icy this summer, will face a qualifier or grinder Carlos Berlocq in the second round. This part of the draw is pretty open for whoever wants to seize the moment.

Toronto semifinalist and defending champ John Isner will face Benoit Paire or Martin Klizan and then could see 13 seed Jurgen Melzer, who gave Sam Querrey a scare in Cincy. After that, he could play the man he beat in the Winston-Salem final last year, Julien Benneteau, who plays the winner of Kubot/Robredo, or more likely 10 seed Viktor Troicki.

Bottom Half:

Berdych, who has struggled mightily on the hard courts this summer, will face either fellow struggler Alex Bogomolov or Malek Jaziri in the second round, after that he could battle 16 seed Jarkko Nieminen , Tatsuma Ito or a qualifier.

5 seed Andy Roddick, the Atlanta Champ who lost to Jeremy Chardy in Cincy and might be slightly banged up, will face the winner of wildcard James Blake vs. Albert Ramos and then could face 11 seed Denis Istomin inthe third round. Istomin will play a Belgian in his opener: either Xaiver Malisse or Steve Darcis.

4 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, the wildly inconsistent DC champ who got completely thrashed in his last two matches, to Radek Stepanek in Toronto and Nikolay Davydenko in Cincy, will face the winner of Lukas Lacko vs.Yen-Hsun Lu. Whoever advances will face either 14 seed David Nalbadian, who nearly managed to enact revenge on Tommy Haas in the 1st round of Cincy but choked away the match, or the winner of Nikolay Davydenko/Robin Haase. Davydenko impressed in advancing to the third round of Cincy out of nowhere, but had to retire with shoulder issues against Novak Djokovic.

7 seed Sam Querrey, the LA champ, will face either Santiago Giraldo or Edouard Roger-Vasselin and then likely faces a tough match up with 9 seed Feliciano Lopez. Lopez will play the winner of Leonardo Mayer vs. Donald Young. Young has lost has lost 17 matches in a row and it shows no signs of stopping.

Dark Horses: Viktor Troicki and Feliciano Lopez

Troicki made the third round of Cincy and has been better of late. In addition, he has the advantage of having a pretty easy draw until he’d reach Isner in the quarterfinals. While he would be an underdog in that match, it would be winnable.

As for Lopez, the Winston-Salem draw is stronger in the top half than it is in the bottom, which is much more wide open. While he hasn’t shown anything that dynamic, Feli always has it in him to make a run and the only other seed in his path is the still somewhat inconsistent Sam Querrey. If he defeats Querrey, he either gets Nalbandian or Dolgopolov, and you never really know which Dolgopolov is going to show up. The semis are certainly possible for Feli and if he gets the inconsistent and possibly injured Roddick in the semis, and then a possibly still injured Tsonga in the final, ANYTHING is possible.

Predictions:

Semis:

Tsonga d. Isner

Lopez d. Roddick

Final:

Tsonga d. Lopez

2012 ATP Newport Tuesday

Posted by Admin on July 10, 2012

Posted in: ATP, Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport. Tagged: atp, isner, Newport, nishikori, querrey, raonic, tennis hall of fame. Leave a comment

Upsets began the day at the Campbell’s Tennis Hall of Fame Championships in Newport. David Goffin was the first victim, falling 6-4. 6-3 to qualifier Benjamn Becker in 1:09. Becker played three matches on these courts over the last three days, and the experience showed. Goffin never led in the match, and Becker won all 13 first serve points in the second set. Then, Denis Istomin, the only Wimbledon 4th rounder in the field, was knocked out by qualifier Tim Smyczek 3 and 3. Finally, Izak Van Der Merwe took out Gilles Muller in 3.

Istoming following his defeat at Newport

Those expected to win who actually did included Sam Querrey in a 7-5, 7-6 (5) triumph over Alex Bogomolov, Jr. Querrey used 11 aces to get over Bogo. Kei Nishikori defeated Igor Sijsling 6-4, 6-4. And Milos Raonic came back from a first set loss to emerge past Ebden. Isner was the only one today who was able to beat his qualifier, knocking off Sergei Bubka.

ATP Newport Monday Recap

Posted by Admin on July 9, 2012

Posted in: ATP, Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport. Tagged: atp, hall of fame tennis championships, isner, istomin, lleyotn hewitt, Newport. Leave a comment

Another cloudless day in Newport saw the return of an old favorite and four qualifiers advancing to the main draw. Two time Grand Slam Champion Lleyton Hewitt won in doubles with Chris Guccione, while Tim Smyczek, Sergei Bubka, Izak Van Der Merwe and Benjamin Becker had their tickets punched. And Vasek Pospisil hosted the annual kid’s clinic.

With his first grass match ever, Jack Sock made the most of Center Court, exacting a 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 win over Igor Kunitsyn. Nico Mahut did his part to set up a second round match with Isner by dispatching Marco Chiudinelli 6-0, 7-6 (2). Michael Russell did his part to continue Young’s frustrating slump, sending him back to Atlanta 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Dudi Sela took advantage of numerous mistakes by Canadian Frank Dancevic 6-0, 6-2, and Olivier Rochus outlasted Japan’s Go Soeda 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

2011 Runner Up Rochus was a winner today, despite the awkward pic

Tomorrow’s action includes Nishikori/Sijsling, Bogo/Querrey, Becker/Goffin at 11 a.m., followed by Raonic/Ebden, Smyczek/Istomin, Van Der Merwe/Muller, followed by Isner/Bubka, Zemlja/Ram, Matosevic/Levine and Pospisil/Hewitt.