Lucky Loser Norbert Gombos First Man to Reach Round of 16 @CitiOpen, Wasn’t Even in Main Draw This Morning Steve Fogleman in Washington
Norbert Gombos got a good night’s sleep last night. That was a good thing.
“I was here and practicing, and I’d already booked my flight ticket back home for tomorrow,” he said after his upset win against Adrian Mannarino of France at the Citi Open in Washington. “I just woke up and was already set up for a practice with Tsonga, and I signed up for lucky loser.”
He was defeated by American Tim Smyczek in qualifying on Sunday. After he signed up for lucky loser status this morning, he was shortly thereafter informed that Kevin Anderson might be withdrawing (right knee pain), which gave him less than three hours to get ready for his match.
It was, in fact, like winning the lottery. “I’m just happy to play again here, against the top players in the world,” he told me. And the 28-year-old Slovakian will face another surprise in Miomir Kecmanovic, who upset Pierre Hugues Herbert in three sets this afternoon. One of these guys will become a Citi Open quarterfinalist.
In WTA play, American Jesse Pegula was down a set and a break but managed to claw her way back to victory over Iga Sweitak of Poland.
Dominika Cibulkova won her first grass court title with victory over Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
The Slovak prevailed 7-5 6-3 in the entertaining encounter to claim her second title of the season and the sixth of her career. For Pliskova, the result marked her ninth defeat in 14 WTA finals, and the sixth loss in her last eight.
Cibulkova was broken immediately on a windy day in the south east, but was not punished after her Czech opponent double-faulted three times in her opening service game. The 12th seed then continued to make headway with Pliskova unable to find her range, moving 3-1 clear.
However, it was then Cibulkova’s turn to slip up. Three lost games in a row – two on serve – handed the initiative back to Pliskova, who proceeded to donate it back again after being broken herself in the eighth game.
It was, in many ways, a typical topsy-turvy set in the WTA, with neither seeming too keen to win it at times. But an errant game from Pliskova when serving to take it to a tie-break proved very costly. A backhand into the net and a forehand long handed Cibulkova a 0-30 lead, and the set was hers when Pliskova dragged a backhand wide.
A fired up Cibulkova, whose intensity on court has become a hallmark of her game, refused to let up in the second set, securing an early break of serve in the second set – thanks to a stunning pass – as her groundstrokes became increasingly potent from both the forehand and backhand.
While Pliskova turned on the style in bursts, a noted lack of consistency thwarted the Czech’s hope of serious threateningly Cibulkova. The seventh game of the second set offered her the best chance of finding a foothold, but an inability to capitalise on any of the four break points she carved out would haunt her. Knowing the importance of averting the danger, Cibulkova let out a giant roar when getting the hold to go 5-2 up.
If there was any finishing line fever, the former Australian Open runner-up showed few signs of it. She immediately raced 40-0 clear, and became triumphant when Pliskova pulled a backhand wide on Cibulkova’s third match point.
Speaking to BBC Sport afterwards, an ecstatic Cibulkova commented, “This is my best week on grass. I was playing really well. The conditions were very hard.
“I said when I arrived that Martina Navratilova has won it 11 times – it would be good to win it once.”
Pliskova’s serve, such a key facet of her game, was not as much of a weapon against Cibulkova as it was in her semi-final versus Johanna Konta. Just four aces – two in each set – were dealt from the Czech’s racket, as her adversary managed to formulate rallies and dictate the play, and exploit Pliskova’s inferior movement.
The windy conditions also favoured Cibulkova, whose compact style was always going to be less affected than Pliskova’s more languid approach.
The win moves Cibulkova up to 18th in the WTA rankings, and Wimbledon’s 19th seed will begin her SW19 quest against Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. Pliskova, meanwhile, can still be happy with another successful week on the grass, as she maintained her ranking at 17. Yanina Wickmayer awaits in the first round of Wimbledon.
But Eastbourne belonged to Dominika Cibulkova, thanks to successes over Jelena Ostapenko, Kateryna Bondarenko, Agniezska Radwanska, Monica Puig and Pliskova. The pocket rocket of women’s tennis is enjoying a fruitful year and now lies 7th in the WTA race.
Her forceful, aggressive mantra is suited well to tennis’ quickest surface, and with Radwanska in her section of the Wimbledon draw, there’s no reason why the 27-year-old can’t have a deep run over the next fortnight.
The Croatian-Australian pairing of Darija Jurak and Anastasia Rodionova overcame the Chinese Taipei duo of Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan in three sets.
The unseeded Jurak/Rodionova dropped the first set 7-5 but won the second 7-6 in a close encounter. They then wrapped up the title courtesy of a 10-6 win in the super tie-breaker. It was the pair’s first triumph together as pairing, Jurak’s third overall and Rodionova’s 10th.
2014 Izmir, Meknes, Trnava, Campinas & Quito Challenger Previews Chris De Waard, Tennis East Coast
Turkey, Morocco, Slovakia, Brazil and Ecuador will provide the venues for this week’s Challenger events, with all of them except for Izmir in Turkey (hardcourt) being played on clay.
Izmir Cup
ATP Challenger Tour
Izmir, Turkey
15-21 September
Prize Money: €106,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Malek Jaziri (96)
2: Filip Krajinovic (107)
3: Alexander Kudryavtsev (132)
4: Evgeny Donskoy (135)
5: Ante Pavic (138)
6: Marsel Ilhan (142)
7: Iliya Marchenko (148)
8: Alexander Zverev (150)
The last direct acceptance is Mirza Basic, ranked 304th.
First round match-ups to watch
(1) Malek Jaziri – (PR) Philipp Petzschner
Petzschner comes off his best week after coming back from injury, reaching the semi-final of the Istanbul Challenger, where he lost in three sets to Tatsuma Ito. Jaziri, on the other hand, lost in the first round of that same tournament to #310 Fabrice Martin 6-4 6-2. We may well see the top seed leave the tournament in the first round for the second week in a row.
Ilija Bozoljac – Borna Coric
Coric is rumored to carry a minor knee injury, but he played a Davis Cup match this weekend on clay, losing in straights to Robin Haase. Prior to that he had a great result on hardcourt, however, reaching the second round of the US Open after beating world number 27 Lukas Rosol. With Bozoljac anything could happen, but a lot of people are hoping Coric will prevail to set up a second round match with another 17 year old: Alexander Zverev.
Top Half
This is a tricky half to predict, with a lot of outsiders having a chance to make a deep run. I’d rate #4 seed Evgeny Donskoy the favorite, but he doesn’t have an easy draw with Mirza Basic, Konstantin Kravchuk/Hiroki Moriya and Ante Pavic being on his path. In the top section, I have the feeling Petzschner will upset top seed Jaziri, making a run to the semi-final to face off with Donskoy.
Bottom Half
A second round match-up between 17 year olds Alexander Zverev and Borna Coric would be really interesting, but Coric has a tricky opener against Ilija Bozoljac. #3 seed Alexander Kudryavtsev also had a bad draw, facing off against Egor Gerasimov in the first round, against whom he lost in straight sets only two months ago. In the bottom section, #2 seed Filip Krajinovic should be able to get through, although Ruben Bemelmans is a dangerous floater when he is on his game. If Krajinovic does well at this tournament, it could mean he enters the top 100 for the first time.
Predictions
Semis:
Donskoy > Petzschner
Krajinovic > Zverev
Final:
Krajinovic > Donskoy
Krajinovic is the player who looks the most consistent and stable at the moment, which should get him through this tournament and into the territory of direct qualification for main tour events. He comes off a great Davis Cup weekend, where he beat Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri to secure a 3-2 victory for his team, so his confidence level should be high.
Morocco Tennis Tour Meknes
ATP Challenger Tour
Meknes, Morocco
15-20 September
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Pablo Carreno Busta (74)
2: Albert Ramos-Vinolas (75)
3: Damir Dzumhur (113)
4: Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (163)
5: Roberto Carballes Baena (213)
6: Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (218)
7: Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (222)
8: Lucas Pouille (225)
The last direct acceptance is Yannik Reuter, ranked 295th.
First round match-ups to watch
(8) Lucas Pouille – Gerard Granollers
Pouille comes off a good run in Szczecin, where he reached the semi-final and fell to the eventual winner Dustin Brown. Granollers just fell short in his last two first round matches, losing in three sets both times. However, with 42% of his ranking points to defend in the remainder of the year, Granollers desperately has to make something happen.
Top Half
Top seed Carreno Busta is back for more after his victory in Seville last week and I see no reason why he shouldn’t reach another final here. The other seeds in this half are Lucas Pouille, Adrian Menendez-Maceiras and Roberto Carballes Baena, whom I can’t see threatening him. That shouldn’t be a surprise, given that the ranking of #4 seed Menendez-Maceiras is about 100 spots worse than Carreno Busta’s.
Bottom Half
What Carreno Busta is to the top half, Ramos-Vinolas is to the bottom half. The only one relatively close to his ranking is Damir Dzumhur, but he played Davis Cup on indoor hardcourt this weekend, so his form remains to be seen. Ramos faces Matteo Viola, last week’s Biella winner, in the second round, which could be a challenge, but he should be able to get through. Ramos lost to Viktor Troicki in a very close encounter in the final of the Baja Luka Challenger last week, so his form is good.
ATP Challenger Tour
Trnava, Slovakia
15-21 September
Prize Money: €42,500
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Robin Haase (70)
2: Blaz Rola (93)
3: Pere Riba (110)
4: Albert Montanes (111)
5: Andreas Haider-Maurer (118)
6: Adrian Ungur (134)
7: Marton Fucsovics (140)
8: Victor Hanescu (143)
The last direct acceptance is Arthur de Greef, ranked 250th. Last week’s Biella semi-finalist Benjamin Balleret entered the tournament as a special exempt. Jan Hajek, Miloslav Mecir and Karol Beck entered the tournament on a wild card.
First round match-ups to watch
(PR) Steve Darcis – Marco Cecchinato
An interesting encounter between two players who could have well been seeded. Cecchinato picked up his form a bit as of late, reaching a quarter and a semi-final in his last two tournaments. Darcis played Davis Cup on indoor hardcourt this weekend, so it remains to be seen how he will adapt.
(5) Andreas Haider-Maurer – (SE) Benjamin Balleret
Will Balleret be able to continue his form after his unlikely lucky loser run to the semi-final last week? After losing to the world #1616 in qualifying, he got another chance and perhaps should’ve given himself more than a semi-final spot, considering he missed a match point in that match. Haider-Maurer comes off a tournament victory and a semi-final last week, so that’s not an easy customer to try and continue your form against.
Top Half
Top seed Haase should make it to the quarterfinal, but there Darcis, Cecchinato or Ungur will be a tough opponent against whom he could potentially lose. In the bottom section, Haider-Maurer should be able to continue his good form with another semi-final, especially considering #4 seed Albert Montanes isn’t playing his best tennis at the moment.
Bottom Half
#2 seed Blaz Rola ran into Viktor Troicki last week, and here his draw isn’t that pleasant either. In the second round he could face last week’s Biella runner-up Filippo Volandri, after which Mate Delic could wait for him, who had a solid Davis Cup weekend. In the top section, #3 seed Pere Riba has lost his previous two first round matches and is desperately looking for a turnaround. A lot of dangerous unseeded players are lurking here, among them Andrea Arnaboldi and Jason Kubler.
Predictions
Semis:
Haider-Maurer > Haase
Rola > Fucsovics
Final:
Rola > Haider-Maurer
Rola and Haider-Maurer played each other earlier this year on clay in Panama, with Rola winning 7-5 6-3.
Campeonato Internacional de Tenis de Campinas
ATP Challenger Tour
Campinas, Brazil
15-21 September
Prize Money: $40,000
Seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Diego Schwartzman (85)
2: Facundo Bagnis (98)
3: Facundo Arguello (116)
4: Gastao Elias (139)
5: Guido Andreozzi (166)
6: Axel Michon (179)
7: Guilherme Clezar (189)
8: Andre Ghem (194)
The last direct acceptance is Fernando Romboli, ranked 409th.
First round match-ups to watch
(7) Guilherme Clezar – Gonzalo Lama
Lama entered the top 200 for the first time this month and is well capable of upsetting the seed here. Clezar had a great semi-final run at San Marino last month, but has been a bit shaky in his last couple of matches.
Top Half
Top seed Diego Schwartzman is having a great year, which saw him enter the top 100 for the first time. He should be a fair favorite to advance in this half, although players like Clezar, Facundo Arguello and Guido Andreozzi could pose a threat if they’re on their game. The safest bet here is a Brazilian or Argentinian advancing, since there are only two players with another nationality in this half.
Bottom Half
Second seed Facundo Bagnis is a bigger favorite to reach the final than Schwartzman. Perhaps a dangerous floater like Christian Lindell can trouble him, but I expect Bagnis to reach the final fairly comfortable. Fourth seed Gastao Elias comes off a Davis Cup tie in Russia and hasn’t been in the best of forms lately, so I don’t expect him to pose a threat.
Predictions
Semis:
Schwartzman > Arguello
Bagnis > Ghem
Final:
Schwartzman > Bagnis
XX Challenger ATP Trofeo Ciudad de Quito ‘Diario El Comercio’
ATP Challenger Tour
Quito, Ecuador
15-21 September
Prize Money: $40,000
The last direct acceptance is Juan Carlos Spir, ranked 433rd.
First round match-ups to watch
(3) Horacio Zeballos – Martin Cuevas
The younger brother of Pablo Cuevas will try to make something happen against the much higher ranked opponent here. Zeballos started the year inside of the top 70, but hasn’t been performing up to that level and now sits at #114.
Top Half
Nobody expected it to happen, but Victor Estrella Burgos even managed to hold his own at the main level this year, at the tender age of 34. With third rounds at Washington and the US Open and a semi-final at Bogota he has performed extremely well and posted a career high ranking of 69. In this field one has to mark him a favorite, especially considering he is 2-0 against #3 seed Zeballos, with both matches ending in straight sets. Perhaps fifth seed Austin Krajicek can cause another surprise, after winning Medellin Challenger out of nowhere two weeks ago. Last year Estrella won the title here, so he should feel really comfortable coming back.
Bottom Half
Second seed Joao Souza lost the final of the Medellin Challenger to Krajicek and in this half he should be favored to reach another final. He is likely to face Guido Pella in the semi-final, but he hasn’t been in great form and should be beaten quite easily by Souza. None of the other players in this half have been displaying a good enough form to be able to beat Souza, so any of them rising up to the occasion would be a big surprise.
Predictions
Semis:
Estrella Burgos > Zeballos
Souza > Pella
Final:
Souza > Estrella Burgos
Hard one to predict, since it can go either way. Souza leads the head to head 3-2, with three of those ending in three sets and one with Estrella retiring in the second set.
I knew little about Magdalena Rybarikova before the 2012 CitiOpen, but her play has been so consistently strong that it’s hard not to take notice of her. She agreed to speak with me after her quarterfinal victory over Jana Cepelova on Thursday evening. The 23-year old lives and trains at the Slovakian National Tennis Center in Bratislava. For the next month, she’ll be camped out in a players hotel somewhere in North America. First stop: Washington.
What’s worse: the heat or the humidity in Washington?
It’s amazing, because I came from Azerbaijan, in Baku, where it was the same. Very humid, very hot. When the sun is shining all the time, it ‘s tough to play.
Is it bitter-sweet to defeat a fellow Slovakian in Jana Cepelova today?
It’s always a tough match. Everybody’s expecting that I will win the match because I’m better ranked and older, but she’s an upcoming player. She’s my friend and she’s moving very well.
Do you think you’ve got a real chance to win another title here in DC on Saturday night?
I’m not thinking like that. I go match by match, step by step. We will see. Tomorrow will be another very tough match. I arrived here very late and had to play every day.
Who travels with you? Do you bring your family?
My coach (Mojmir Mihal). It costs too much to bring your family overseas. In Europe, yes. Maybe to New York in a few weeks, because I’ll be here for one month.
What do you think of the City of Washington?
I think it’s the best city in the States. I like it here. It’s very clean. I would like to see more.
Does the US hard court season suit your game?
I like to play in the States. I love the hard courts and it’s good for my game.
I read that you carry a lucky charm with you, a toy bear.
To be honest, now I have another one. I have a new one. I carry it in my bag. I have to always have it with me. A duck.
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