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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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

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.

Sloane Stephens

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.

Citiopen Official Site

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.

John Isner, ATP Newport, 2012 Copyright TennisEastCoast.com

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.

Newport2014Site
“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

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Smyczek Shocked: Tuesday’s Top Seed Defeat at Charlottesville Challenger

Posted by Admin on October 29, 2013
Posted in: ATP, Charlottesville, USTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Smyczek Shocked: Tuesday’s Top Seed Defeat at Charlottesville Challenger
Steve Fogleman, Tennis East Coast

Charlottesville’s top seed, Tim Smyczek, fought a grueling battle against world #313 Saketh Myneni at the ATP Challenger in this Virginia city today. Trouble was, Smyczek of Milwaukee’s best wasn’t good enough for Myneni, who may have played the match of his career in mixing it up just enough to befuddle the world #83.

Smyczek

Smyczek

That’s why you’ve got to play the matches. Myneni bested a player 230 rungs above him. It’s the wacky world of Challenger tennis, where every man’s a dark horse waiting to emerge from the shadows of the dimly-lit indoor facilities where these sorts of things are decided.

Another excellent match for viewing, if I do say so myself, was Chase Buchanan’s three set nail-biter over Austin Krajicek. The two have played each other before, and they both took advantage of that knowledge. By the time it was over, Buchanan was a bit better and he was in a very, very good mood seconds after walking off court after 2 1/2 hours.

Donald Young quietly beat the pants off of Josh Milton, who is a misanthrope on court, but an affable man off of it.

Also not close was Filip Peliwo’s 2 and 2 on Bjorn Fratangelo. Fratangelo was 2-0 h2h on Peliwo, but that was on clay.

Tennys Sandgren sailed past Laurent Rochette, and was good enough to indulge us for a few after his work was done for the day.

Rounding out the short matches, Kevin King knows these UVA courts from his GA Tech days, and made Jose Hernandez know it, winning 6-3. 6-1.

Rhyne Williams won in straights, but Britian’s David Rice, or “Ricey” as they call him, made Williams work for it.

Peter Polansky also did straight sets, but just like the Williams-Ricey match, it was a crazy competitive second set for Noah Rubin, who was joined by his McEnroe Tennis Academy retinue. The thoughtful and demur Polansky had some very encouraging words for Rubin during our post-match interview, but the audio went haywire during that part of the video. Sorry, Peter!

Jesse Levine prevailed over Steve Johnson in yet another competitive two-setter.

Devvarman

Devvarman


And just seconds ago, Somdev Devvarman came back to beat Jarmila Gajdosova’s ex-husband, Sam Groth, in three.

For background, there was a hay load of hemming and hawing about the officiating today. I sit on the baseline opposite the line judge to take photos, so I was the only person at the event who saw exactly what they saw. I’ve got to say that most of the players were right today when they expressed incredulity at the calls.

It started with Denys Molchanov, who lost the first set on a questionable call, a ball he insisted several times was “7 centimeters out”. How’s that for a good eye? Americans can only guesstimate to the inch. I really wish that the metric system had taken hold here. He won the final two sets to prevail.

Myneni and Buchanan both argued about calls today and they also won. In a losing effort, Laurent Rochette was furious about match point over Tennys Sandgren and was screaming in profane French all the way to training.

Tim Smyczek was making his point to the chair ump a full five minutes after the match had concluded. Smyczek is one of the great sports on the tour, as he always begins with “You know, I respect everything that you do…”.

Now that all the good tennis has already been played, the crowds should start showing up tomorrow.

BTW: I have a great story to share with you about ‘video rights’ when I get safely home. It involves a guy with a dream catcher/puka shell tight leather necklace. Remind me to tell it.

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2013
COURT 7 start 11:00 AM
[3] M Russell (USA) vs T Sandgren (USA)

Not Before 12:00 noon
[WC] M Frank (USA) vs [4] D Young (USA)
[5] R Ram (USA) vs P Polansky (CAN)

Not Before 5:30 pm
S Devvarman (IND) / S Singh (IND) vs [WC] M Frank (USA) / M Styslinger (USA)
[WC] J Jenkins (USA) vs T Angelinos (GRE)

COURT 9 start 1:00 PM
[4] J Cluskey (IRL) / M Neuchrist (AUT) vs D Rice (GBR) / S Thornley (GBR)
[1] S Groth (AUS) / J Smith (AUS) vs S Johnson (USA) / T Smyczek (USA)
[Q] J Hernandez (DOM) / M Pokrajac (CAN) vs [2] A Krajicek (USA) / T Sandgren (USA) – After Appropriate Rest

Stacked Field For 2013 Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger (@CVilleTennis)

Posted by Admin on October 24, 2013
Posted in: ATP, Charlottesville, USTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

Stacked Field For Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger (@CVilleTennis)

Charlottesville Facebook Page

Qualifying for The Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger begins this weekend at the Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville, Virginia. Main draw play starts Monday and the Finals will be held on Sunday, November 3.

Sometimes, this challenger feels like a semi-secret event, lacking a dedicated website and social media pre-tournament promotion.

Once qualifying begins, Tournament Director Ron Manila puts on a very well-managed affair.

Admission is free all week again this year thanks to sponsors, and there’s some mighty talent for the hardy souls who make it to the Boar’s Head this year.

The singles winner will receive a check for $10,800 and 90 ATP rankings points. The winning doubles team gets $4,650.

Here’s your player field so far:

Smyczek, Tim USA 91
Devvarman, Somdev IND 95
Russell, Michael USA 101
Young, Donald USA 103
Kuznetsov, Alex USA 122
Ram, Rajeev USA 123
Williams, Rhyne USA 124
Zverev, Mischa GER 143
Reynolds, Bobby USA 149
Johnson, Steve USA 150
Levine, Jesse CAN 157
De Voest, Rik RSA 167
Groth, Samuel AUS 193
Krajicek, Austin USA 219
Polansky, Peter CAN 222
Smith, John-Patrick AUS 223
Molchanov, Denys UKR 233
Peliwo, Filip CAN 252
Sandgren, Tennys USA 265
Buchanan, Chase USA 282
Fratangelo, Bjorn USA 293
Angelinos, Theodoros GRE 294
Myneni, Saketh IND 302
Neuchrist, Maximilian AUT 322

(credit: SKozak, MensTennisForums.com)

Charlottesville Challenger Scoreboard (Photo: Steve Fogleman)

Also: According to a post on MensTennisForums.com, 2011 Champion Izak Van Der Merwe, Robby Ginepri, Brian Baker, Bobby Reynolds and Mischa Zverev are scratched from the event, allowing Alternates Chase Buchanan, Bjorn Fratangelo, Theodoros Angelinos, Saketh Myneni and Max Neuchrist to enter main draw singles.

Defending Champion Denis Kudla may yet enter the event, a favorite tournament of the Virginia resident. According to Kudla’s agent, Sam Duvall, Denis is hoping to enter Paris Masters Qualifying. Barring a few withdrawals in Paris, Denis will be in Charlottesville next week as a wild card.

Kudla Coming to Charlottesville?

Kudla Coming to Charlottesville?


Eight qualifiers will advance through the weekend to fill out the 32 man draw. The doubles field is set at 16.

They’ll be a full preview on our site complete with highlighted matches and predictions as soon as the draw is released.

I’m going to cover the first few days of the Challenger from Charlottesville and look forward to providing you with daily updates and player interviews in addition to twitter updates.

—S. Fogleman

Strong Is Beautiful: Citi Open A Knockout Among WTA International Tournaments

Posted by Admin on July 17, 2013
Posted in: Washington, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Strong is Beautiful

Strong is Beautiful: @CitiOpen Is a Knockout Among @WTA International Tournaments

Though this blog now covers many events, I am always sentimental about Citi Open. It’s like my first-born, because it was the first tournament to which I was credentialed as media. And there only a few of us who can say that they were among the credentialed media for the inaugural Citi Open at College Park, because I counted all twelve of them.

My how you’ve grown, Citi Open. In addition to Citi beginning its sponsorship of the DC ATP Tournament formerly known as Legg Mason Tennis Classic last year, the WTA field for the 2013 event is rock-solid.

CitiOpen Tennis Center College Park

The Inaugural Citi Open Trophy. 2011

Let me explain the talent arc of this event. There are 8 top seeds in a field of 32. In 2011, the average rank of a seeded WTA player at Citi Open was 50.125. The top seed was world #24 Sharar Peer.

In 2012, the average rank of a seeded WTA player at Citi Open was 56.25, with world #28 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as top seed. Of course, last year’s field was ravaged by the Summer Olympics, so much so that the defending champion of the 2011 Citi Open, Nadia Petrova, skipped it to play in London.

If Strong is Beautiful, Then This Field Is A Knock-Out

This year’s WTA player field is so strong that it blows away the past tournaments. The average rank of a top 8 seeded player is 25.375 in 2013 at Citi Open. That’s basically twice the ranking quality of 2011 and more than twice the ranking quality of last year’s field.

As you probably know, an International-level event, though sounding prestigious, is near the bottom of the WTA totem pole. How does DC’s average seeded player ranking compare with other events at the International level? Very favorably.

Two International tournaments are going on this week. The Swedish Collector Open in Bastad has world #1 Serena Williams as the top seed, and still has an average seed ranking of 50.125, the same field quality as the inaugural Citi Open. And that’s with Serena bumping up the average ranking. Bad Gastein, this week’s other International-level event, has a 60.75 average mean seed ranking. They’ve got world #33 Mona Barthel as top seed and #72 Karin Knapp in the 8 slot.

The Citi Open field is so strong it approaches the quality of next week’s Bank of the West Classic. Even with two top 10 players in the world, their top 8 seeds average out to a 22.875. That’s right. Stanford, a Premier-level tournament with three times the prize money of Citi Open, gets a player field that’s remarkably similar to DC’s field.

2011 Citi Open Seeds (Wikipedia)

Nation Player Ranking* Seed
 ISR Shahar Pe’er 24 1
 RUS Nadia Petrova 32 2
 AUT Tamira Paszek 42 3
 AUS Jelena Dokić 53 4
 SRB Bojana Jovanovski 58 5
 GBR Elena Baltacha 60 6
 IND Sania Mirza 64 7
 ITA Alberta Brianti 68 8

2012 Citi Open Seeds (Wikipedia)

Country Player Ranking Seeds
RUS Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 28 1
RSA Chanelle Scheepers 42 2
USA Sloane Stephens 52 3
USA Vania King 56 4
CZE Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 60 5
CZE Iveta Benešová 61 6
USA Coco Vandeweghe 70 7
BLR Olga Govortsova 81 8

2013 Citi Open Seeds (Projected)

1. Angelique Kerber (9)
2. Sloane Stephens (16)
3. Simone Halep (23)
4. Kaia Kanepi (25)
5. Ekaterina Makarova (26)
6. Alize Cornet (30)
7. Sorana Cirstea (33)
8. Magdalena Rybarikova (41)

We asked Citi Open Tournament Director Jeff Newman if he agreed that this is a great line-up and to help us find possible reasons why this field is so powerful for a WTA International level event.

We’re certainly excited about this strong WTA player field. DC is a great destination for players, and the proximity on the calendar helps us leading into Cincinnati, Canada and the US Open. We were very pleased to have a last direct acceptance of #80.  —Jeff Newman

That’s a last direct acceptance into the entire field of 32.

Newman will let the WTA decide whether Citi Open could or should be bumped up to a WTA Premier Tournament in the future.

Magdalena Rybarikova, 2012 WTA Washington

Magdalena Rybarikova, Defending Citi Open Champion

More WTA Matches On Stadium

One big change this year in DC is that the first matches will generally begin at  2:00 p.m. and not the long-standing 4:00 p.m. start time.

Speaking of statistics and averages, last year, I grumbled that the women only made it on Stadium Court 6% of the time. Well, leave it to Citi Open to take care of that. This year, the matches will start at 2:00 p.m. to allow for more WTA matches on Stadium. In fact, the WTA will have Stadium Court for the first matches of the day from Monday through Wednesday this year, according to Newman.

“We wanted to make sure DC tennis fans get an even bigger bang for their buck than ever before”, Newman posited.

After crunching the numbers, I’m confident that DC fans are in for a very big bang for their buck.

If Strong is Beautiful, then this field is a knockout.

—-Steve Fogleman, TennisEastCoast.com

The qualifying action begins at Citi Open in Washington, DC in just 10 days. The joint ATP/WTA event runs through August 4. Tickets available at citiopentennis.com or 202-721-9500.