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The Battle in the Bronx Heats Up for Quarterfinalists #NYJTLBronxOpen

Posted by Admin on August 22, 2019
Posted in: ATP, Bronx Open, New York, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Wang Qiang, 2019 Bronx Open (Photo: Mike Renz for TennisAtlantic.com)

Wang Qiang, 2019 Bronx Open (Photo: Mike Renz for TennisAtlantic.com)

The Battle in the Bronx Heats Up for Quarterfinalists
Steve Fogleman in the Bronx

It’s been a slow march at the Cary Leeds Center in the Bronx’s Crotona Park as the tournament scheduled four second round matches on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today’s four matches offer the survivors a place in the semifinals as a reward for their perseverance during this hot week in a tournament virtually isolated from the New York they’ve come to know and love.

Magda Linette, 2019 Bronx Open (Photo: Mike Renz for TennisAtlantic.com)

Magda Linette, 2019 Bronx Open (Photo: Mike Renz for TennisAtlantic.com)

Including qualifying, Magda Linette has won five straight matches on the Bronx courts this week, embarrassing Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a 6-1, 6-4 win yesterday. She’d like to make it six in a row, but 10th seed Karolina Muchova stands in the way. The Czech dispatched the penultimate American in the draw, Kristie Ahn, 6-3, 6-1.

Camilla Giorgi, 2019 Bronx Open (Photo: Mike Renz)

Camilla Giorgi, 2019 Bronx Open (Photo: Mike Renz)

It seems like Camilla Giorgi is on the cusp of another title. After a good run through the draw in Washington, she ended up in the final only to wilt in the notorious heat and humidity there. Coming back from injury, that wasn’t surprising. Her preparation over the last month suggests that she may be ready to rake in her third title. To do it, she’ll need to overcome the player with the most career titles left in the draw, Alize Cornet. It will not surprise me if the winner of this match takes home the Bronx Open gold-plated manhole cover on Saturday.

Wang Qiang has done all she’s needed to do to justify her #1 seeding. A rather routine win against Fiona Ferro yesterday gave her just enough court time to compete well today. Sometimes a bye can be a curse in a tournament, but she showed no signs of rust and should be in good form to edge past Anna Blinkova. The 20-year-old lucky loser stunned Mihaela Buzarnescu on Wednesday.

The last American standing, in singles or doubles, is Bernarda Pera. She’ll face the top seed remaining in the bottom half of the draw, Karolina Muchova. I’m sensing an upset here as Pera’s shown signs of improved confidence with her matchplay this month.

RESULTS – AUGUST 21, 2019

Singles – Second Round
[1] Q. Wang (CHN) d [Q] F. Ferro (FRA) 61 64
[Q] M. Linette (POL) d [9] A. Sasnovich (BLR) 61 64
[10] K. Muchova (CZE) d [WC] K. Ahn (USA) 63 61
[LL] A. Blinkova (RUS) d M. Buzarnescu (ROU) 16 63 63

Doubles – Semifinals
[3] D. Jurak (CRO) / M. Martinez Sanchez (ESP) d [2] H. Chan (TPE) / L. Chan (TPE) 16 63 12-10
Quarterfinals
S. Aoyama (JPN) / A. Krunic (SRB) d R. Olaru (ROU) / Z. Yang (CHN) 06 61 11-9

ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2019
VICTOR KIAM STADIUM start 11:00 am
[5] K. Siniakova (CZE) vs [WC] B. Pera (USA)
[10] K. Muchova (CZE) vs [Q] M. Linette (POL)
C. Giorgi (ITA) vs A. Cornet (FRA)
[1] Q. Wang (CHN) vs [LL] A. Blinkova (RUS)

PERSHING SQUARE STADIUM start 12:00 pm
M. Gasparyan (RUS) / M. Niculescu (ROU) vs S. Aoyama (JPN) / A. Krunic (SRB)

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Qualifying Field Set @CincyTennis

Posted by Admin on July 23, 2019
Posted in: ATP, Cincinnati, Western & Southern Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN QUALIFYING FIELDS ANNOUNCED

Qualifying Event Part of First Watch Opening Weekend

Alison Riske (Photo: @Tennis_Shots)

Alison Riske (Photo: @Tennis_Shots)

CINCINNATI (July 23, 2019) – Players who have won a total of 11 tour titles this season are among the entrants into the qualifying tournament for the 2019 Western & Southern Open. The qualifying event will take place over First Watch Opening Weekend, August 10-11, at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

A total of 15 players – seven women and eight men – will advance out of the two-round qualifying tournament into the 56-player main draw fields for the Western & Southern Open.

The winners of seven ATP titles – Nicolas Jarry (Bastad), Juan Ignacio Londero (Cordoba), Feliciano Lopez (Queen’s), Reilly Opelka (New York), Tennys Sandgren (Auckland), Lorenzo Sonego (Antalya) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Montpellier) – will be joined by four WTA champions – Polona Hercog (Lugano), Alison Riske (‘s-Hertogenbosch), Elena Rybakina (Bucharest) and Yafan Wang (Acapulco) – in the qualifying fields.

Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Copyright TennisEastCoast.com

Tsonga

In addition, players in the qualifying fields have combined to reach another 14 tour-level finals in 2019. The women’s field also features a duo coming off deep runs at Wimbledon in semifinalist Barbora Strycova and quarterfinalist Riske.

“The qualifying tournament often provides some of the most compelling action because there is a lot on the line for these players who are battling to reach the main draw,” said Western & Southern Tournament Director Andre Silva. “We think these two days are a great opportunity for our fans to not only see these matches across eight courts but also provide a chance to get up-close-and-personal to main draw competitors who are practicing across the other nine courts.”

Tickets for First Watch Opening Weekend start at $14. Tickets for these and all other sessions of the tournament are on sale now at wsopen.com.

Below are the initial player entry lists for the qualifying fields for the 2019 tournament:

WTA Rank • Name (Nationality) Age

32 Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic) 33

35 Shuai Zhang (China) 30

37 Alison Riske (USA) 29

43 Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia) 26

44 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) 28

45 Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) 25

48 Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia) 24

49 Viktoria Kuzmova (Slovakia) 21

50 Kristina Mladenovic (France) 26

52 Yafan Wang (China) 25

53 Alize Cornet (France) 29

54 Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 28

55 Veronika Kudermetova (Russia) 22

57 Margarita Gasparyan (Russia) 24

58 Mihaela Buzarnescu (Romania) 31

59 Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) 24

60 Magda Linette (Poland) 27

61 Iga Swiatek (Poland) 18

64 Anastasia Potapova (Russia) 18

65 Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) 20

67 Kateryna Kozlova (Ukraine) 25

68 Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) 34

69 Viktorija Golubic (Switzerland) 26

70 Rebecca Peterson (Sweden) 23

71 Tatjana Maria (Germany) 31

73 Lauren Davis (USA) 25

74 Bernarda Pera (USA) 24

76 Jennifer Brady (USA) 24
ATP Rank • Name (Nationality) Age

38 Nicolas Jarry (Chile) 23

43 Jordan Thompson (Australia) 25

44 Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) 22

45 Mikhail Kukushkin (Kazakhstan) 31

46 Ugo Humbert (France) 21

49 Joao Sousa (Portugal) 30

50 Marton Fucsovics (Hungary) 27

52 Lorenzo Sonego (Italy) 24

54 Cameron Norrie (Great Britain) 23

55 Dan Evans (Great Britain) 29

56 Juan Ignacio Londero (Argentina) 25

57 Reilly Opelka (USA) 21

59 Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) 28

60 Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 37

61 John Millman (Australia) 30

62 Martin Klizan (Slovakia) 30

66 Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia) 19

67 Federico Delbonis (Argentina) 28

68 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 34

69 Casper Ruud (Norway) 20

70 Tennys Sandgren (USA) 28

71 Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan) 22

72 Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 35

73 Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan) 23
Four players will be added to each of these fields through wild card entries.

In 2018, the Western & Southern Open attracted more than 194,000 spectators. The reigning singles champions are ATP No. 1 Novak Djokovic and WTA No. 5 Kiki Bertens. In addition to the tennis, the W&S Open features more than 50 musical acts, 20 food vendors, six signature bar areas and a retail plaza for patrons to enjoy between matches.

The Western & Southern Open is an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA Premier 5 tournament and is a member of the US Open Series. Started in 1899, the tournament annually supports a number of charities in the Cincinnati area.

—W&S Open

Former Champs John Isner and Nick Kyrgios The Top Seeds @BBTAtlantaOpen 2018

Posted by Admin on July 22, 2018
Posted in: Atlanta, ATP, BB&T Atlanta Open, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Former Champs John Isner and Nick Kyrgios The Top Seeds at ATP Atlanta 2018
Steen Kirby,Tennis Atlantic

The 2018 US Open Series kicks off in Atlanta as top caliber ATP Tennis returns stateside with the 250 stop in the tennis capital of the American South. Here is your full preview, with predictions.

Top Half:

John Isner is seeking a 5th Atlanta Open title, the defending champion is doing so from a career high #8 ranking. His first match should come against Alex De Minaur or lucky loser Hubert Hurkacz, both are promising players, but Isner’s serve on the Atlanta hard courts should be too much for them.

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Local favorite Emil Reinberg (University of Georgia), faces tour veteran Mikhail Youzhny in the opening round. Newport semifinalist Tim Smyczek drew Nottingham champion Mischa Zverev with Zverev most likely to go through to face Isner in the quarters, with Isner a heavy favorite.

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American young gun Frances Tiafoe will begin against Marius Copil, with Alex Bolt or Marcos Baghdatis waiting on deck. Tiafoe has had the best season of his career already and should ease past Copil and Bolt to reach the quarters.

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Now 30, Matt Ebden has gotten himself to the point he’s now a top 4 seed in an ATP tournament. Ebden will have a tough test against either big serving Ivo Karlovic or a struggling Donald Young in round 2. Karlovic is in the twilight of his career and hasn’t had a good season, so Ebden should be a slight favorite in his section with Tiafoe winning their quarterfinal to reach the semis.

Bottom Half:

Nick Kyrgios won the 2016 title in Atlanta, to reach that stage again he’ll likely have to get past his friend and countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis, presuming Kokkinakis defeats fellow qualifier Noah Rubin in round 1. Kyrgios when healthy is hard to stop so he should get past Kokkinakis and also Jeremy Chardy (or Cam Norrie) in the quarters. Chardy opens with Ricardas Berankis, while Norrie drew a struggling Malek Jaziri.

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A finalist last year, Ryan Harrison faces James Duckworth in his opening match this year in dire need of a form boost. Harrison should beat Duckworth but Lukas Lacko presents a tougher challenge. Lacko draws Prajnesh Gunneswaran in round 1. I have Harrison going through to the quarters against Hyeon Chung.

Chung, when fit, has already shown what a dangerous player he can be. The Korean #1 faces Taylor Fritz or Ramkumar Ramanathan in round 2. Fritz should beat a tired Ramanthan but Chung will be favored to reach the semis.

Predictions

Semis
Isner d. Tiafoe
Kyrgios d. Chung

Isner will be a heavy favorite to retain his Atlanta title after the great run at Wimbledon, while Kyrgios, Tiafoe, and Chung look to steel themselves for a good hard court summer in North America.

Final
Isner d. Kyrgios

Exclusive Interview: @KikiMladenovic Perseveres in Heat of Battle @CitiOpen; @SabineLisicki Back to Winning Ways in Washington

Posted by Admin on August 3, 2017
Posted in: Citi Open, Washington, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Exclusive Interview: Kiki Mladenovic Perseveres in the Heat of Battle at Citi Open;  Lisicki Back to Winning Ways in Washington
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Kiki Mladenovic was struggling throughout her match with the heat yesterday in a brutal 3-set win against Tatjana Maria at the Citi Open in Washington. In the end, she easily showed that she’s earned the title of prime contender against top seed Simona Halep, who was resting from her win more for than 24 hours after Mladenovic advanced. She made time for an exclusive interview with Tennis Atlantic after the match.

There was some talk in the media this week (and every year) about the fact that the women play in the afternoon and the men follow later during what are inevitably  cooler temperatures with more fans in the stands. So what about the idea that the WTA players get the worst tee-times at Citi Open, in the high heat of the D.C.-in-August day? Would she like to play a little later in the afternoon? Mladenovic put it in perspective.

Kristina 'Kiki' Mladenovic, 2017 Citi Open (Photo: Teninis Atlantic)

Kristina ‘Kiki’ Mladenovic, 2017 Citi Open (Photo: Teninis Atlantic)

“I would love to. I wish” she said, “but I cannot complain. The men and the women struggle the same way. They played really late last night. We were in bed watching, them, the men, last night so you get some compromises, I guess. Hopefully, it gets easier with the upcoming scheduling in the coming days.”

Exactly 10 months ago, she was #57 in the world. Today, she’s #13. Exactly what is going on here?

“My motto hasn’t changed. Lots of work, like everybody, I guess. But I believe in the process and the journey. I’m giving it all everyday. I’m trying to find all the details I can to improve and be a better player each day.”

“The biggest difference would be my physical condition. I think I’ve improved a lot in my movement and my strength.”

She noted that she’s “very happy” with the 2017 season thus far.

Mladenovic plays Canada’s Bianca Andreescu tomorrow on Grandstand 2, which hardly seems fitting for the putative #1 seed of the tournament until Simona Halep was denied a wild card to Stanford. Either way, Mladenovic is content to earn everything she achieves, here and beyond.

Sabine Lisicki, 2017 Citi Open

Sabine Lisicki, 2017 Citi Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

Sabine Lisicki is indeed back to her winning ways. After an absence from the tour due to injury, Lisicki edged past plucky Valentini Grammatikopoulou 7-6, 7-6 at Citi Open in Washington today. Lisicki wasn’t thrilled with her play, but she’ll take the win and advance to the second round against Aryna Sabalenka tomorrow. “It was my first hard court match since last year. Lots of things I need to improve on,” she told Citi Open Radio immediately after the match. Lisicki was sidelined for the first half of the season with shoulder problems. No matter what her ranking, the US fans adore Lisicki and the feeling was clearly mutual today after the match.

 

2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 32 (Winston-Salem)

Posted by Admin on August 24, 2015
Posted in: 2015 ATP Draw Challenge, ATP, Chris De Waard, Joe Craven, Steen Kirby, Winston-Salem Open. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 32 (Winston-Salem)
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The final stop on the US Open Series is Winston-Salem.

Winston-Salem

2015 Winston-Salem Open Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Simon vs. Bedene, Herbert vs. Baghdatis, Sousa vs. Haas, Bolelli vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Young, Donaldson vs. Johnson, Paire vs. Chung, Lu vs. Garcia-Lopez, Bellucci vs. Duckworth, Klizan vs. Vesely, Gabashvili vs. Kokkinakis, Jaziri vs. Troicki, Coric vs. Giraldo, Schwartzman vs. Andujar, Janowicz vs. Rosol, Kukushkin vs. Anderson
Round 3 matches: Simon vs. Baghdatis, Sousa vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Johnson, Paire vs. Lu, Bellucci vs. Klizan, Kokkinakis vs. Jaziri, Coric vs. Andujar, Janowicz vs. Anderson
Quarterfinals: Baghdatis vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Paire, Bellucci vs. Kokkinakis, Coric vs. Anderson
Semifinals: Querrey vs. Tsonga, Kokkinakis vs. Anderson
Final: Tsonga vs. Anderson
Champion: Anderson

Chris de Waard’s picks

Round 2 matches: Simon vs. Bedene, Stakhovsky vs. Baghdatis, Sousa vs. Haas, Bolelli vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Young, Groth vs. Johnson, Paire vs. Chung, Lu vs. Garcia-Lopez, Bellucci vs. Duckworth, Ilhan vs. Vesely, Gabashvili vs. Kokkinakis, Jaziri vs. Troicki, Coric vs. Giraldo, Schwartzman vs. Andujar, Janowicz vs. Gulbis, Mahut vs. Anderson
Round 3 matches: Simon vs. Baghdatis, Sousa vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Johnson, Paire vs. Garcia-Lopez, Duckworth vs. Vesely, Kokkinakis vs. Troicki, Coric vs. Andujar, Gulbis vs. Anderson
Quarterfinals: Simon vs. Querrey, Tsonga vs. Paire, Vesely vs. Kokkinakis, Coric vs. Gulbis
Semifinals: Simon vs. Tsonga, Kokkinakis vs. Coric
Final: Tsonga vs. Coric
Champion: Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a favorite this week.

Week 31 standings

Cincinnati
1: Steen (224 points) (+1000 points overall)
2: Niall (210 points) (+600 points overall)
3: Joe (176 points) (+360 points overall)
4: Chris (166 points) (+360 points overall)
5: Jeff (0 points) (+0 points overall)

Overall standings (after week 31)
1: Steen: 14,780 ranking points (+1000 points overall)
2: Niall: 13,050 points (+600 points overall)
3: Joe 12,270 points (+360 points overall)
4: Chris: 11,115 points (+360 points overall)
5: Jeff: 9,900 points (+0 points overall)

Steen adds to his lead as Niall widens the gap between the top 2 and everyone else.

ATP Draw Challenge (London Queens)

Tiafoe, Klizan lead 2015 ATP Winston-Salem (@WSOpen) Qualifying Pack

Posted by Admin on August 23, 2015
Posted in: ATP, Steen Kirby, Winston-Salem Open. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Tiafoe, Klizan lead 2015 ATP Winston-Salem Qualifying Pack
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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Four qualifiers joined the large Winston-Salem Open field for 2015, as they demonstrated their good form in advance of the 2015 US Open.

Two of the players set to feature at the open, Martin Klizan, and young gun American Frances Tiafoe were the stars of the qualifying draw.

Klizan, a top 40 player, was a surprise entrant in the qualifying draw, and will now look to boost is below .500 hard court record this year at the main draw level with a good run in Winston-Salem. The Slovakian beat Eric Quigley in round 1 and Deiton Baughman in round 2 before finishing his sweep of American qualifying competitors with a straight set win over in-form American Bjorn Fratangelo who found his hopes of playing in an ATP main draw for the second straight week stopped in their tracks. Klizan scored a minor upset over Dominic Thiem in Cincinnati and is likely to get through round 1 given the lower ranked and less talented Marsel Ilhan is his opponent.

Frances Tiafoe failed to win a match in his main draw opportunity in Atlanta this summer, but he’ll get another crack at his first ATP main draw win as a professional against James Duckworth in the opening round in Winston-Salem. The confident 17 year old beat Patrick Daciek. Radu Albot, and fellow American Ryan Harrison to qualifying, beating the experienced baseline grinder Harrison in three sets, as he recovered from a first set breadstick to get the win. Tiafoe has already been awarded a main draw wild card for the US Open, so he gets to bypass qualifying, and he’s he has a lot of tennis ahead as he will also be playing in the US Open Juniors as he’s still 17 and got a wild card for that tournament.

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Joining Klizan and Tiafoe in the main draw are a pair of Europeans, Marco Cecchinato and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Cecchinato normally prefers clay, but he has a surprisingly positive 7-6 hard court record on the season now, after blazing through qualifying without a set dropped against Andrew Carter, Skander Mansouri and Wil Spencer. He’ll open against Aljaz Bedene in round 1, another player who prefers clay.

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Herbert, a 24 year old Frenchman and quasi doubles specialist, continued his success at the ATP qualifying level this season and relied on his serve to get past Kimmer Coppejans, Kevin King and Sekou Bangoura without dropping a set. Herbert had one of the tougher draws to qualify, so his results have been impressive in North Carolina and he’ll have a great chance to get a win over ATP veteran Sergiy Stakhovsky in round 1.

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Steen Kirby (Marseille)

 

 

Federer Sweeps Away Competition for 7th @CincyTennis Title

Posted by Admin on August 23, 2015
Posted in: ATP, Cincinnati, Steen Kirby, Western & Southern Open. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Federer sweeps away competition for 7th ATP Cincinnati Title
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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Roger Federer gave himself momentum heading into the US Open with a masterclass 7-6(1) 6-3 victory over world #1 Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati on Sunday. The victory gives Federer seven career titles in Cincinnati, as he repeats as champion, and once more denies Djokovic the lone Masters 1000 title that he lacks.

Federer was aggressive against Novak on the day, and finished the match in just an hour and a half of afternoon play in the warm sunshine. Djokoic, though he reached the final, was clearly less than 100% and his failure to generate a single break point against the Federer serve demonstrated that fact. Normally one of the best returners in the mens’ game, Djokovic was on the defensive from the start, and though he saved seven of eight break point chances in the match, after the first set tiebreak he had a limited chance of engineering a comeback. His poor tiebreak proving to be the defining moment of the match.

Federer choosing to skip Montreal and play just Cincy as a warm up for the US Open seemed to pay off as the fresh veteran #2 seed didn’t drop a set all week in Ohio. He started his title campaign with routine wins over Roberto Bautista Agut and Kevin Anderson, and then rolled past Feliciano Lopez and Montreal champ Andy Murray to reach the final. Lopez had upset Rafael Nadal in the previous round, his best win of the season, and Murray was in good form, but fatigued by the time the semifinal took place.

Djokovic still demonstrated why he’s the world #1 this week, without being entirely healthy and fit, he got past Benoit Paire in straights, David Goffin in three sets, Stan Wawrinka in straights, losing just five games total to his rival, and surprise semifinalist Alexandr Dolgopolov, who posted his best result of the season with a win over Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals, but came up just short of upsetting Novak once again this year, losing in three sets, after being up a set and in a second set tiebreak. Both Goffin and Dolgopolov saw their level drop, the closer they got to a potential victory against Djokovic.

Presuming he can gets some rest and recover his health and conditioning, Novak will remain the favorite to take the US Open title, while Federer ensured he’s going to be part of the title conversation with Andy Murray, all of whom had good summers on the US Open Series. Murray also won the 2015 Emirates Airlines US Open Series bonus challenge over Djokovic.

In doubles Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin did one better than their final in Montreal and took the title over fellow veterans Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic.

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Steen Kirby (Marseille)