Forza Italia: @GiorgiCamilla Moves Forward to @CitiOpen Singles Final Steve Fogleman in Washington
Camila Giorgi looks to win the third title of her career tomorrow after a 7-6, 6-1 victory over young American Caty McNally at the Citi Open in Washington earlier today. This is Giorgi’s first crack at a Washington final. The Italian won her latest title at the Linz Open in Austria in October of last year and has a record of 2-4 in WTA finals.
Camila Giorgi, 2019 Citi Open (Photo: Mike Renz)
Giorgi’s run this week has been stellar. She knocked out a red-hot Sachia Vickery in straight sets, and a 3-set comebacker over Rebecca Petersen, followed up with straight set wins over Zarina Diyas and McNally today.
Caty McNally, 2019 Citi Open (Photo: Mike Renz)
McNally had an impressive week in singles and the 17-year-old multiple junior grand slam champion is set to play in the doubles final later this afternoon with fellow American Coco Gauff after she rests up from the semifinal loss.
2016 Le Gosier and Napoli Challenger Recaps Chris De Waard, Tennis Atlantic
Le Gosier
After being forced to withdraw from his second round match at Miami due to sickness, Rajeev Ram took a wildcard into this event and became the top seed. 15-year-old revelation Felix Auger-Aliassime received a wildcard as well, but had to withdraw in the third set of his first round encounter against Gianni Mina. He cited weakness as the reason, which I don’t think I have ever seen before. Ram survived the first two rounds, but then received a beatdown at the hands of sixth seed Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarterfinal, 6-2 6-2. The other semi-finalist from the top half was 18-year-old Stefan Kozlov, who beat Vincent Millot 5-7 7-5 6-2 in the quarterfinal. In a great match between youngsters, Nishioka is 20, Kozlov managed to squeeze out the win, 3-6 7-5 6-3.
In the bottom half second seed Taylor Fritz survived a spectacular match in the second round against Gonzalo Lama, surviving four match points in his 6-7(9) 6-4 7-6(10) win. Fritz’s eventual loss followed in similarly spectacular fashion, losing 6-7(5) 6-4 7-5 to third seed Malek Jaziri in the semi-final. The final put a halt to all the marathon matches, with Jaziri convincingly beating his 14-year younger opponent, 6-2 6-4. Jaziri rose twenty ranking spots to #74 after winning his fifth Challenger title, while Kozlov made a big jump of seventy spots to #225, a career high ranking.
Top seed Filip Krajinovic barely survived his first round match against qualifier Julian Reister, after which Arthur De Greef beat him in the second round, 6-4 7-5. Third seed Jan-Lennard Struff went out in the first round to wildcard Gianluca Mager, 7-6(4) 4-6 6-4. De Greef took out another seed in the quarterfinal, fifth seed Roberto Carballes Baena, 7-6(2) 6-3. Marius Copil offered even less resistance in the semi-final, with De Greef prevailing 6-3 6-2. In the bottom half the seeds did equally bad, with, fourth seed Thomas Fabbiano going out in the first round and second seed Rogerio Dutra Silva only going one round further.
Dutra Silva lost to Jozef Kovalik, who took full advantage of the draw opening up. He beat old-timer Filippo Volandri in the quarterfinal, 6-4 6-7(4) 6-2, before beating sixth seed Gastao Elias 6-1 6-7(6) 6-3 in the semi-final. Kovalik had it easier in the final, beating De Greef 6-3 6-2 to win his second Challenger title. Kovalik rose thirty-two ranking spots to a career high ranking of #139, while De Greef rose eight spots to crack the top 200 for the first time at #198.
Brava Flavia! @Flavia_Pennetta Retires as Queen of Queens Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic
Flavia Pennetta has called her tennis career to a close after the Italian won her maiden grand slam title after a straight sets victory over compatriot Roberta Vinci.
For all the pre-tournament hype about Serena possibly completing the calendar year grand slam, it was another piece of history that was created.
After upset victories for Pennetta over Halep and Vinci over Serena, little Italy would have two representatives in a grand slam final- A first.
After a first week that saw big names crash out early, the second week would provide similar drama. Pennetta put in a class display of tennis to shock seconded seeded Halep in a rain delayed semi-final, whilst Vinci broke the hearts of Serena fans across the globe with a three sets win over the defending champion.
The 26th seeded Pennetta went into women’s final on Saturday as the favourite, and she lived up to that tag early. After failing to convert five break points at 2-2, she finally got it done with the sixth attempt.
The lead lasted all of two games as Vinci was able to break back to level the score. There was nothing to separate the Italian pair in the opening set, so a tiebreak was needed. Vinci had experienced grand slam success in doubles with Sara Errani but found singles to a whole different kettle of fish. It would be the 26th seed who would claim the breaker 7-4 and take a big step towards taking home the crown.
With the nerves out of the way and wind behind her sails, Pennetta was on fire in the second set, winning the first four games. But with victory in sight she allowed one break back to Vinci who was fighting for her survival.
But Pennetta would hold strong with her nerve, and whilst serving to stay in the match Vinci would eventually cecum to the pressure. A love break would seal it for Pennetta who realised she achieved her dream of being a grand slam champion.
“I never think to be so far. I never think to be a champion…It’s a dream come true.” Said an emotional Pennetta.
Despite the joy of the Italian claiming her maiden slam, tennis was hit the sad news that she would be hanging up the racket, following in the footsteps of Marion Bartoli who retired after winning Wimbledon two years ago.
“Before I started this tournament one month ago, I took a big decision in my life. This is the way I would like to say goodbye to tennis.” Added the Champion. “I want to thank everyone who helped me throughout my career, all my coaches, my family – they couldn’t come, but I know they’re going to be really happy and proud of me … thank you for everything, you gave me a lot of emotion and I love you guys.”
Despite the sadness of perhaps not seeing Pennetta play again, this is a spectacular way to bow out and could start a change of the tide on the WTA tour.
Serena will have to wait until next year to start her quest for title #22 and another calendar year grand slam quest, but the rise of the two Italians could inspire confidence in the rest of the tour to step up on the big occasions.
To put it simply, we have got some very interesting times ahead.
60 Second Interview with @SaraErrani at @FamilyCircleCup #FCC2015 Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
Sara Errani spoke with Tennis Atlantic on Monday in a speed-round interview from the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. Having been granted a first-round bye, she won her opening second-round match moments ago against last year’s finalist, Jana Cepelova. I tweeted a photo of her during Saturday practice which received over 20,000 impressions and wondered what she thought about her army of digital fans.
On Social Media Fans:
“I have fun with them. There are a lot of good people and fans suporting me so it’s noce to have them when you go around the world to play matches.
Is She Clay-Ready?
“I hope so. Here it would be tough. It’s not easy to play on this (green clay) surface, but I’m really happy to start the clay season”.
College Tennis Buys and Sells: Spring 2015 Jeff McMillan, Tennis Atlantic
The college tennis season is in full swing and conference play is heating up as the weather gets hotter all around the country. Here is a look at whose stock you should buy and whose stock you should sell as we go deeper into conference play. BUY UNC-Wilmington: UNCW has been a strong mid-major program, for years now but early this season the Seahawks looked to be a much weaker version of previous years teams. A loss to UNC-Greensboro seemed to seal UNCW’s fate as 2015 being a rebuilding year. But the Seahawks had other ideas. They fought back and got big wins over Drake and Penn State, both top 45 teams to launch themselves into the rankings at 49 and cement their place as a strong mid-major team once again in 2015.
Virginia Tech: The Hokies have surprised a lot of people early in the ACC season. They started ACC play by upsetting Notre Dame which was a very positive start to the conference season but the real eye-opener was the 6-1 domination of Duke, without #1 player Amerigo Contini. Since then VT survived a tough test from NC State, who was all set to take an important upset win, but the Hokies dug in and denied the Wolfpack the win. A huge part of the Hokies success and their rise to #16 in the nation has been the play of Hunter Koontz, who has only 1 loss this season at the number 4 and 3 positions.
Eric Johnson: The USC Trojan senior has become a rock for his team in the midpoint of the lineup this season. He has only one loss on the dual season and has been beating his opponents by lopsided scores, including ranked players Ralf Steinbach and Maxime Tchoutakian.
Quentin Monaghan: The Notre Dame leader at #1 has been one of the top players in the nation all season. However what he lacked was a signature win, but he got that Friday with a straight set win over Virginia’s Ryan Shane, improving to 6-1 vs ranked opponents in the past month with his only loss coming to the #1 ranked player in the country, Sebastian Stiefelmeyer of Louisville. He is leading the charge on what has been a big of a rebuilding year for the Irish.
Matches on TV: College tennis fans have been able to enjoy college tennis on TV this year more than ever. Just in the past few weeks, matches have been shown on ESPN3, the Pac 12 network and the Longhorn Network. The broadcasts have been well done and have been exciting for every involved. Hopefully we see even more of this in the future.
Sell
Cameron Norrie: The TCU freshman burst onto the scene in the fall with several huge wins and skyrocketed to the ITA top 20 immediately. He was widely expected to be a stalwart at #1 for the Horned Frogs all season. However the Kiwi has come on hard times recently. After losing 5 of 8 at the #1 position he was moved down to #2 and is now playing at #3 for TCU. In the past two weeks he has had two lopsided losses to unranked players (6-1 6-3 to Ettore Zito of MTSU and 6-1 6-1 to Chris Kipouras of Dartmouth). He still has time to regain his fall form, but TCU will need him as the season gets to the business end.
SEC veterans: This year has seen 3 SEC players have unexpectedly horrendous seasons, players that had been very solid in previous years. Andrew Adams of South Carolina, Hunter Reese of Tennessee and Harrison Adams of Texas A&M. All 3 of these SEC veterans have piled up the losses in the spring of 2015. Adams and Reese are leaving their schools on low notes, as the senior leaders combine for 2 wins on the season vs teams with a pulse (Andrew Adams has wins over A&M and Stanford while Reese has zero wins of significance). Harrison Adams likewise has had dreadful results. The junior Aggie currently has ZERO wins vs any team since the dual season began. The struggle of these 3 once very good SEC players is baffling and goes to show that any slip in game can cost you dearly in stout college tennis competition.
Naoki Takeda making the NCAA individual field: Arizona men’s tennis has been in bad shape for a while now, but despite the horrible season they are having this year the one bright spot has been Takeda who was as highly ranked as #29 in the nation this year. However in the past few matches he has had two troubling losses to unranked players, which has put his chances of representing Arizona in the NCAA individual tournament in May in jeopardy. The blow of his loss to Peter Nagy of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has softened with Nagy going into the rankings at 73 but his loss to Garrett Patton of Boise State is still very damaging. His high ranking is tenuously based off the strength of a lone win over Dominik Koepfer of Tulane. He will need one more big scalp in Pac 12 play if he wants to play in the 64 player draw in May in Waco.
The Pac 12: While usually a tennis powerhouse, the Pac 12 has been one of the weaker major conferences this season. Southern Cal is a smidge weaker than they have been in the previous championship winning seasons and UCLA is a top 15 now rather than a top 5 team like in the past few years. The top of the conference has gone down a bit but the real struggle has been in the lower parts of the conference. Oregon, Arizona, Washington and Utah would all miss the tournament if the tournament started today and while Oregon and Washington have a chance to make the tournament if they can get some wins coming up, Utah and Arizona both have no chance. Cal is also ranked much lower (low 20s) than they have been recently and Stanford is right around the NCAA tournament bubble. If the Pac 12 wants to be regarded as a top tennis conference again, they must have multiple top 30 teams. Teams like the bottom 4 must improve and strengthen the depth that the other major conferences currently have.
Match abandonment: This controversial practice is the norm in conference play for the Pac 12 and the SEC. It creates a ton of unfinished singles matches, many of which are very close to finish anyway. Recently Xander Veys of UNC-Wilmington was up 4 match points on #38 Ben Lott of Drake when a match on an adjacent court finished clinching the match for UNCW. Ben Lott just stopped playing and walked away, robbing Veys of a big ranked win. Match abandonment makes for uneven records, as some players in the SEC have more unfinished matches than finished ones and it messes up individual rankings for the whole nation. Teams and players would benefit from every match being finished (within reason) as they do in the Big Ten and in the ACC.
France, Switzerland Reach Davis Cup Final; Canada, USA, Croatia to Feature in World Group Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
Davis Cup Semifinals:
France d. Czech Republic 4-1
On clay in Paris, a star-studded French team crushed a normally solid Czech team. Richard Gasquet thrashed Tomas Berdych 6-3 6-2 6-3 in the opening singles rubber, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga followed that up with a 6-2 6-2 6-3 win over Lukas Rosol in the second Friday singles rubber. France clinched with a Saturday doubles victory by the in-form Gasquet and Tsonga over Berdych and Radek Stepanek in 4 sets.
The dead rubbers were won by Jiri Vesely against Julien Benneteau in straights, and Gael Monfils over Rosol in 3 sets. There was little drama in this tie as the Czech team was unprepared for a top tier French squad.
Switzerland d. Italy 3-2
This tie extended into Sunday, but it was in the books after four rubbers, and the dynamic Swiss duo of Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka earned a big achievement by reaching the Davis Cup final over Italy at home in Geneva. Federer beat Simone Bolelli 7-6 6-4 6-4 and Wawrinka beat Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-3 6-2 to give the Swiss an opening 2-0 lead on Friday. Bolelli and Fognini came back to win the doubles over Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli in 5 sets, but Fognini could not even get a set off of Federer in the fourth Sunday singles rubber. Federer clinched the Swiss a spot in the final 6-2 6-3 7-6 over the Italian number one.
Andreas Seppi won a consolation dead rubber over Swiss B-teamer Michael Lammer in 3 sets in the dead fifth rubber.
World Group Playoffs:
Serbia d. India 3-2
Serbia, minus Novak Djokovic, narrowly avoided being upset by India on the road, prevailing on a live fifth rubber win. Dusan Lajovic and Filip Krajinovic got the Serbian side off to a great start on Friday with a pair of singles wins over Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman, but Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes kept the tie alive with a doubles win over Ilija Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic. On Sunday, Devvarman continued the Indian comeback with a five set win over Lajovic. After a rain delay pushed the tie into Monday, Krajinovic slammed the door with a straight sets win over Bhambri. The Indian team played spirited tennis but it was not enough, as Serbia will stay in the World Group.
Brazil d. Spain 3-1
A massive upset, Spain went down to Sao Paulo and got themselves knocked out of the World Group by an underdog Brazilian team on clay. Thomaz Bellucci was the hero for Brazil as he won a 5 set singles rubber from 2 sets to love down against Pablo Andujar on Friday, after Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut had dispatched Rogerio Dutra Silva in straights in the previous Friday singles rubber. Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares, the Brazilian doubles specialists, beat Marc Lopez and David Marrero, the Spanish doubles team to take a 2-1 lead. On Sunday, Bellucci stuck a dagger in Spanish hearts with a 4 set upset win over Bautista Agut, who played poorly. Spanish captain Carlos Moya did not have any top Spanish players besides RBA on his roster, but this is still a massive embarrassment for Spanish tennis to lose so ignominiously to a non-tennis powerhouse like Brazil.
Argentina d. Israel 3-2
A tie that never really seemed in doubt, though it went to a live fifth rubber, Leonardo Mayer beat little-known Israeli futures player Bar Tzuf Botzer in the opening singles rubber on Friday. Israeli veteran Dudi Sela matched his feat with a win over Carlos Berlocq to leave the tie squared up going into Saturday. Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, the Israeli doubles specialist team, beat Federico Delbonis and Horacio Zeballos in 5 sets to give Israel a 2-1 lead, but after Sela meekly bowed out to Leo Mayer in the fourth singles rubber, Berlocq slammed the door, crushing Botzer with a third set bagel. The young Israeli showed signs of promise but the Argentine team was stronger top to bottom and won the day as a result.
Canada d. Colombia 3-2
Milos Raonic joined Bellucci as a Davis Cup star this week. The Canadian number one won a pair of singles rubbers in straight sets to clinch the tie at home in Halifax over an underdog Colombian team. His first win in singles came on Friday over Alejandro Gonzalez, after Vasek Pospisil had defeated Colombian number one Santiago Giraldo in straights. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah extended the tie into live Sunday play with a win over Daniel Nestor and Pospisil in doubles, but a Raonic win in the opening Sunday rubber over Giraldo finished the tie. Gonzalez beat Frank Dancevic in a dead fifth rubber. The Canadian team continues to gel well together and should be a threat in the World Group.
USA d. Slovakia 5-0
It was a comfortable white-washing for the USA in Chicago. John Isner and Sam Querrey combined to win six consecutive sets of tennis against Norbert Gombos and Martin Klizan on Friday, the Bryans clinched the tie on Saturday with a crushing doubles win over Gombos and Lukas Lacko, and then Isner and Querrey wiped up against Lacko and Gombos in the dead rubbers.
Australia d. Uzbekistan 5-0
A fast grass court in Perth helped Lleyton Hewitt and company dominate Uzbekistan. The young Nick Kyrgios and Hewitt combined to win six consecutive sets of tennis on Friday over Denis Istomin and Farrukh Dustov respectively, then Chris Guccione and Hewitt beat Dustov/Istomin to clinch the tie with a doubles victory. Sam Groth and Kyrgios won dead rubbers over Temur Ismailov and Sanjar Fayziev as the Uzbek team went 0-13 on sets in this tie.
Croatia d. Netherlands 3-2
Marin Cilic carried his team into the World Group, coming off his career best US Open victory. In Friday action, Mate Delic, who primarily plays on the challenger circuit, upset ATP regular Igor Sijsling in 4 sets to give Croatia a 1-0 lead. Robin Haase countered for the Dutch over young Croat Borna Coric in straights to make it 1-1. Cilic and Marin Draganja won the doubles rubber over Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer to make it 2-1 in favor of Croatia. Robin Haase forced a live fifth rubber with a 5 set win over Delic, coming back from 2 sets down, but Cilic stepped into the breach and beat Thiemo De Bakker in 4 sets to clinch the tie, a massive result for Croatian tennis.
Belgium d. Ukraine 3-2
This tie was moved from Ukraine due to the military conflict situation there and played in Estonia on indoor hard. An in-form Belgium team rolled off three straight victories after outspoken Ukranian Sergiy Stakhovsky beat Steve Darcis in the opening Friday singles rubber. David Goffin beat Illya Marchenko in straights, Ruben Bemelmans and Oliver Rochus beat Stakhovsky and Sergei Bubka in the doubles rubber, and Goffin beat Stako in straights on Sunday to clinch the tie. The dead rubber was won by Marchenko over Darcis. If Goffin continues to play well, Belgium may be a dangerous dark horse opponent in the world group.
2014 Davis Cup Semifinals Preview, Predictions Jeff McMillan, Tennis East Coast
Gasquet
Czech Republic @ France
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris
Surface: Outdoor Red Clay
Rubber 1: Thomas Berdych vs Richard Gasquet
Rubber 2: Lukas Rosol vs Jo-Wilfired Tsonga
Rubber 3: Radek Stepnaek/Jiri Vesely vs Julian Benneteau/Gael Monfils
Rubber 4: Thomas Berdych vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Rubber 5: Lukas Rosol vs Richard Gasquet
France selected clay in an attempt to neutralize Rosol and Berdych, both of whom play their weakest tennis on the red dirt. The French have many advantages here: the home crowd, the surface and the form of their players. However, team captain Arnaud Clement has made the controversial decision to play Gasquet in singles instead of Gael Monfils, who is certainly in better form, arguably the stronger player on clay and more embracing of a wild crowd like the ones that the Davis Cup bring. The selection of Gasquet will make this tie a closer affair and give the Czechs a fighting chance of going into Paris and getting the upset. Berdych should defeat Gasquet in the opening match. Barring a truly inspired display from Rosol, Tsonga will then even the tie at 1-1 heading into day 2. The remaining matches are all a slight edge to France, meaning they should take 2 of the 3 to beat the Czech Republic 3-2.
Italy @ Switzerland
Venue: Palexpo, Geneva
Surface: Indoor Hard
Rubber 1: Simone Bolelli vs Roger Federer
Rubber 2: Fabio Fognini vs Stanislas Wawrinka
Rubber 3: Paolo Lorenzi/Andreas Seppi vs Roger Federer/Stanislas Wawrinka
Rubber 4: Fabio Fognini vs Roger Federer
Rubber 5: Simone Bolelli vs Stanislas Wawrinka
Switzerland looks to continue their march to a maiden Davis Cup title and Federer looks to add the elusive Davis Cup title to his immense resume. For Italy, they are trying to extend an already impressive Davis Cup run that included Fabio Fognini routining Andy Murray in Napoli to send Italy into the semis. Fognini will need to produce an even more magnificent display of tennis and get plenty of help from Simone Bolelli, who has been preferred to Andrea Seppi in singles, if Italy is to pull off a massive upset in Geneva. Switzerland is the heavy favorite in all 5 ties and should roll at home to the final.
ATP Genova, Alphen aan den Rijn, Medellin Challenger Previews, Predictions Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
AON Open Challenger
ATP Challenger Tour
Genova, Italy
2-7 September
Prize Money: €85,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Albert Ramos-Vinolas (95)
2: Dustin Brown (97)
3: Benoit Paire (98)
4: Albert Montanes (114)
5: Andreas Beck (115)
6: Damir Dzumhur (119)
7: Aljaz Bedene (133)
8: Gastao Elias (142)
The last direct acceptance is Pedro Sousa, ranked 312th. Viktor Troicki entered this tournament on a special exempt after his victorious run last week and plays second seed Dustin Brown in the first round.
First round match-ups to watch
(2) Dustin Brown – (SE) Viktor Troicki
Obviously. This is a match that easily could’ve taken place at Grand Slam or 500 level, but in a way it’s better for us on Challenger level since we are now guaranteed a stream. Brown must hate his draw. Not only did he as the second seed draw someone who won a Challenger last week, he is the defending champion and now there is a very reasonable chance he crashes out in the first round. Brown currently sits just inside the top 100 at #97, but if Troicki beats him he would drop out of the top 120, so it’s a crucial match for him. He has to hope for one of his good days, since he’ll need to overpower Troicki while keeping the unforced error count lower than he usually does.
Top Half
#4 seed Albert Montanes starts off with a tricky match against Marton Fucsovics, a man who is twelve years his junior and is well capable of upsetting him. However, after moving away from the main tour, Montanes has picked up his results again, winning the Cordenons Challenger two weeks ago, so he should still be favored to get past Fucsovics. After that, a potential meeting with Gastao Elias awaits him should the Portuguese beat Volandri, who beat him 6-4 6-3 at Hamburg earlier this year. Top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas should be able to get through his section, although seventh seed Aljaz Bedene may put up some stiff resistance. After all, the last clay Challenger Bedene played he won, in Italy, even: Todi in early July.
Bottom Half
This is an interesting one. Second seed Brown could fall to Troicki and with third seed Benoit Paire, you never know what you are going to get. Put some dangerous floaters like Marco Cecchinato and Potito Starace in the mix and it becomes a very difficult half to predict. The other two seeds, Damir Dzumhur and Andreas Beck, are in pretty good form as well, so it’s basically anyone’s final to reach. Nevertheless, I have to pick someone, but I wouldn’t advise putting your house on it.
Predictions
Semis:
Ramos-Vinolas > Elias
Paire > Dzumhur
Final:
Ramos-Vinolas > Paire
Ramos-Vinolas has played Elias twice already this year, with Ramos-Vinolas winning both matches in three sets. He also played against Paire, in Umag, where he beat him 7-5 6-3, so Ramos-Vinolas has to be favored over his opponents partially due to this 2014 head to head advantage.
TEAN International 2014
ATP Challenger Tour
Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands
2-7 September
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Robin Haase (70)
2: Igor Sijsling (72)
3: Daniel Gimeno-Traver (101)
4: Thiemo de Bakker (140)
5: Victor Hanescu (150)
6: Axel Michon (180)
7: Matteo Viola (193)
8: Roberto Carballes Baena (212)
The last direct acceptance is Inigo Cervantes, ranked 303rd.
First round match-ups to watch
(1) Robin Haase – Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo
Haase has been playing on hardcourt in past weeks and his last clay court match didn’t leave him with pleasant memories, as he lost 6-2 6-3 to Paolo Lorenzi in Kitzbühel, a tournament where he normally excels. To play a solid veteran grinder like Ramirez Hidalgo isn’t ideal when you have a lack of rhythm and he might make Haase pay here. Haase’s previous Dutch Challenger didn’t end all that well either, as he needed three sets to beat world #494 Dino Marcan in the first round and fell in straights to Jesse Huta Galung in the next round.
Top Half
There is quite the ranking difference between the two top seeds, Haase and Gimeno-Traver, and the rest of the field, making them the clear favorites to face off against each other in the semi-final. The second highest seed, Michon, is ranked eighty ranking spots below Gimeno-Traver and a massive 110 above Haase. That said, Haase is projected to play Huta Galung in the second round, who beat him at the Sport1 Open in July. Although Huta Galung pulled out injured in his qualifying match at the US Open, when he is healthy he may well beat Haase.
Bottom Half
Thiemo de Bakker is in a perfect position to make a run here, with two relatively easy first rounds and a projected match against slumping fifth seed Victor Hanescu or Hans Podlipnik-Castillo in the quarterfinal. Second seed Igor Sijsling, despite his form crisis, should be the slight favorite to reach the semi-final from the other section, but against De Bakker he will be the underdog, as De Bakker is quite clearly the more natural clay court player.
Predictions
Semis:
Gimeno-Traver > Huta Galung
De Bakker > Sijsling
Final:
Gimeno-Traver > De Bakker
This final would be a repeat of last year’s semi-final, when Gimeno-Traver managed to oust De Bakker in three sets. Top seed Haase has a tricky draw with Ramirez Hidalgo and Huta Galung back to back, with especially his countryman being a real danger as shown in past meetings.
Claro Open Medellin 2014
ATP Challenger Tour
Medellin, Colombia
2-7 September
Prize Money: $50,000
The last direct acceptance is Martin Cuevas, ranked 376th.
First round match-ups to watch
(7) Gonzalo Lama – Kevin King
Not only does his name remind one of his legendary countryman Fernando Gonzalez, Gonzalo Lama’s game shows similarities as well, most notably his forehand, on which he can create similar rotation. The 21 year old won his first Challenger title in Colombia in April of this year, so he should feel comfortable coming back to the country. He plays Kevin King, who made an interesting choice coming here to play on clay, a surface which he hasn’t played on since April, when he reached the second round of the San Luis Potosi Challenger in Mexico.
Top Half
Top seed Alejandro Gonzalez should cruise through his section, which contains #8 seed Austin Krajicek, who isn’t impressive on clay in the slightest. #4 seed Guido Pella might look threatening in name, but has been struggling with injury for quite some time and probably isn’t ready yet to pose a serious challenge. It should, however, be an interesting battle between him and Wayne Odesnik for a semi-final spot.
Bottom Half
#2 seed Facundo Bagnis performed above expectations at the US Open, coming through the qualification draw and falling to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round. He most likely will face Lama in the quarterfinal, a match which I’m looking forward to very much. They have already played earlier this year at Caltanissetta in Italy, with Bagnis winning 6-4 6-4. In the other section third seed Joao Souza will probably get through to the semi-final, considering the good form he is in. In his last three Challenger events he made two semi-finals and a quarterfinal.
Predictions
Semis:
Gonzalez > Pella
Bagnis > Souza
Final:
Bagnis > Gonzalez
In a match-up between Bagnis and Gonzalez, it’s hard to ignore their previous match, played at a Challenger in Santiago last year, where Bagnis absolutely hammered Gonzalez 6-0 6-3.
World Group DC Semifinals Set: Italy/Switzerland, Czech Republic/France Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
It was a wild weekend of Davis Cup action, and upsets seemed possible, but in the end, all the favored teams advanced to the world group semifinals. Here is a review.
Czech Republic d. Japan 5-0
Radek Stepanek led the way as the Czechs whitewashed Japan, winning both singles rubbers on Friday in 4 and 5 sets respectively (Stepanek d. Tatsuma Ito, Lukas Rosol d. Taro Daniel) and then clinching the doubles with Rosol/Stepanek defeating Ito/Yasutaka Uchiyama for a 3-0 victory.
Rosol beat Uchiyama and Jiri Vesely beat Daniel in the dead rubbers to complete the sweet, as the defending DC champions earned a big road win and are into the semis again.
France d. Germany 3-2
France was nearly upset at home by an underdog German team that put up a good fight, but they managed to pull themselves together after an atrocious Friday singles to win a deciding fifth rubber.
Tobias Kamke upset Julien Benneteau, and Peter Gojowczyk played well above his normal level to defeat a struggling Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 5 sets, 6-8 in the fifth. Germany had 3 chances from there to clinch the tie, but never came close to doing so, as Benneteau/Michael Llodra beat Andre Begemann/Kamke in Saturday doubles, in 4 sets, and then Tsonga and Gael Monfils beat Kamke and Gojowczyk in the Sunday live singles rubbers to clinch the tie. Both Sunday singles matches were straight sets, and not particularly close, as Monfils was a big injection of energy for the French team, and Kamke and Gojowczyk returned to their normal level, along with being fatigued.
A French team strong on paper, they will face the Czechs in the semis at home.
Italy d. Great Britain 3-2
In another near upset, Italy was put on the ropes by team GB but clawed back on Sunday for a big victory at home. Fabio Fognini was again the hero, as he won twice in singles, on Friday with a 4 set victory over James Ward, and on Sunday to keep the tie alive with a straight set drubbing of Andy Murray.
Andreas Seppi went 1-1 in singles, as he lost on Friday to Murray in straights, but clinched the tie with a straight set victory over Ward in the fifth rubber on Sunday. Colin Fleming and Murray won the doubles over Simone Bolelli and Fognini in 4 sets on Saturday to put team GB up 2-1 and a win away from clinching, but team GB was hapless from there on out.
Switzerland d. Kazahkstan 3-2
The Swiss very nearly choked in what would have been one of the biggest Davis Cup upsets in modern history, but they survived just like their French and Italian counterparts to prevail at home in Geneva.
Stan Wawrinka continued his string of poor play post Australian Open, as he lost in 4 sets to Andrey Golubev on Friday, and then lost the doubles with partner Roger Federer to Golubev/Aleksandr Nedovyesov on Saturday in 4 sets as well.
Federer was really the hero this time for Switzerland, as his two straight sets singles victories over Mikhail Kukushkin and Golubev on Friday and Sunday clinched the tie. Wawrinka kept it alive on Sunday with a 4 set victory over Kukushkin, credit to the Kazahks for battling hard in this one.
Switzerland hosts Italy at home in the semis.
Action Outside World Group:
Brazil and Colombia made their way to the World Group playoffs out of Americas Group 1, as Rogerio Dutra and Brazil beat Emilio Gomez and Colombia 3-1, and Santiago Giraldo and Alejandro Falla teamed up for Colombia yet again to defeat Victor Estrella and the Dominican Republic 4-1.
Asia/Oceania Group 1 World Group Playoff representatives will be India and Uzbekistan, as Somdev Devvarman led India to a 3-1 victory over South Korea, and Denis Istomin led Uzbekistan to a 3-2 victory over China, as Di Wu won twice for them but Ze Zhang couldn’t do the same in a super close, competitive tie that came down to a live fifth rubber won by Farrukh Dustov over Zhang in 5 sets.
In Europe/Africa Group 1 finals Marin Cilic and Croatia beat Jerzy Janowicz and Poland 3-1, as Janowicz was upset by the young and rising Borna Coric, Dudi Sela and Israel upset Blaz Rola and Slovenia 3-1, Sergiy Stakhovsky and his teammates gave Ukraine something to cheer for, as they beat Sweden 4-1, including a 13-11 final set victory by Stakhovsky over Johan Brunstrom in the first rubber and Lukas Lacko and Slovakia beat Dominic Thiem and Austria 4-1 to complete the world group playoffs participants.
In a couple of notable Europe/Africa Group 2 ties, Damir Dzhumhur and Bosnia beat Jarkko Nieminen and Finland 3-2 with a live fifth rubber, and Ricardas Berankis and Lithuania beat Rik De Voest and South Africa in the same fashion 3-2 with a live fifth rubber.
2014 Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinals Preview
Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
The 2014 DC semifinals will be set this weekend with the four DC quarterfinals across two continents.
Here’s a preview of all the action.
Japan vs. Czech Republic
With both Kei Nishikori and Go Soeda out of this tie for Japan, their chances of advancing, even at home in Tokyo on indoor hard are severely stunted. The Czechs are missing Tomas Berdych, but they have Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol, plus the young Jiri Vesely, all of whom are in decent form and competitive on indoor hard courts. Japan has Tatsuma Ito leading the way, and two rising young players, Taro Daniel and Yasutaka Uchiyama, but 3 top 70 players and a great doubles player In Stepanek gives the Czechs a clear edge over a Japanese team without a top 130 player. It could be 4-1 or 5-0 to finish, depending if Ito or the young Daniel, who has been given his first call up with Japan, can grab some sort of an upset.
The Pick: Czech Republic
France vs. Germany
On paper, this would be a competitive tie, but Germany is missing all of their top players (Tommy Haas, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer), while France is again stacked with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Julien Benneteau and Gael Monfils, along with Michael Llodra to play doubles. Germany’s C team of Tobias Kamke, Peter Gojowczyk and Andre Begemann for doubles is their counterweight. Even with the French team out of form, with Tsonga struggling and Monfils nagged by “personal problems”, it would take an heroic performance from the veteran Kamke and the challenger level player Gojowcyk to make this competitive. On indoor hard, at home in France, it’s hard to see a different result than France 3-0 with the tie over by Saturday doubles.
The Pick: France
Italy vs. Great Britain
Team GB has Andy Murray again, but they will be underdogs against Italy on clay in Naples. A slightly injured Fabio Fognini leads the way for Italy, backed up by the struggling but steady Andreas Seppi, and then Paolo Lorenzi and Simone Bolelli probably to play the doubles tie. Team GB has Colin Fleming/Ross Hutchins as the doubles specialist team and then James Ward as second singles backing up Murray.
On a faster surface, team GB might even be favorites, and this will be the closest tie of the weekend I’m almost certain, but on clay, if Ward loses twice to Fognini and Seppi (or even Lorenzi), team GB will only need to lose once between 2 Murray singles rubbers and the doubles rubber to lose the tie. Those odds make me go with Italy, perhaps 3-2.
The Pick: Italy
Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan
Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka lead the Swiss Express against Kazakhstan, backed up with Henri Laaksonen and Michael Lammer in reserve. Even with Stan out of form, Fed is playing well, and at home on indoor hard in Geneva they are expected to steamroll a Kazahk team made of up of Andrey Golubev, Mikhail Kukushkin, Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Evgeny Korolev. All three singles players for the Kazahks are ranked in the top 80, but Wawrinka and Federer are top ten, so assuming no injuries or funny business, I expect a 3-0/5-0 rout in this one.
Tennis Atlantic 