Americans in Belgrade, Marin in Munich, F(r)ed in Estoril
Posted by gauloises1 on May 9, 2010
So here’s the state of play. Somewhat ironically, there’ll be an all-American final in Belgrade.
John Isner had a great win over Stanislas Wawrinka and Sam Querrey disposed of little Filip Krajinovic, in his first ATP semi-final courtesy of Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal. He lost 61 62 in front of his home crowd.
Welcome to the wonderful world of the ATP!
In Munich, Marin Cilic has somehow cobbled enough wins together to be in the final. Yes, it’s one of those weeks. He actually played really well against Marcos Baghdatis today and got better as the match went on, which is, I suppose, a good thing.
It’ll be Mikhail Youzhny facing him in the final, after Youzhny disposed of Philipp Petzchner who had knocked out the defending champion Tomas Berdych. Youzhny is up 3 -0 in the head-to-head with Cilic, by the way. I’m just saying.
And the shock of the day in Estoril was Roger Federer’s 62 76(5) loss to Albert Montanes, the defending champion, in Estoril. It was a rain-delayed day, the conditions were terrible and for whatever reason, Federer just didn’t adapt at all. It was a mystifyingly lame performance from him, although he insists he isn’t worried – his post-match comments basically added up to ‘meh, these things happen’. I was fairly impressed with Montanes, though, who didn’t let either the conditions or the unexpected lack of resistance throw him off and is now in an excellent position to defend his title.
Lost in the Federer shuffle, however, has been the fact that Frederico Gil has become the first Portuguese player to reach an ATP final and he’s done it on his home ground, beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 62 57 63. Heartwarming stuff.
AmyLu said
I caught patches of Fed’s match on replay tonight, and I think his biggest issue was his movement. He took quite a few lunging steps and slides — I don’t remember ever seeing him look that off movement-wise in a match before, as normally his footwork just seems to be precise and perfect.
Never imagined that Isner and Querrey would make the final in Belgrade. I am happy for both (although I really wish Nole were opposite Isner), and I’m thrilled with the Munich final. Hoping Youzhny wins, but I won’t be upset if Cilic wins.
linz said
Quisner final. On clay. You know I’m a happy camper. I really hope Johny wins this one- not only do I like him more, but Sam beat him in a final already this year. So proud of both guys though, what a year they continue to have- pretty amazing.
Cilic/Youzhny- I am actually going to have to watch that match! Love Youzh and I really need to watch Marin play more, I feel like I always forget/miss his matches for some reason.
I have absolutely no clue what to make of Fed right now- NO CLUE. I mean, a big part of me really does feel like he just doesn’t really care right now- he got a few matches under his belt in Estoril, which was all he wanted, and then he just didn’t feel like digging deep against Montanes- but I mean, is it really that simple? Does he still have that much control over it? I feel like the next 6 weeks is going to be very interesting for him- of course, he has a million points to defend with Madrid, the French, and Wimbledon- and can he manage that with a 5-4 record since the AO? However, I’m the last person in the world who’s going to underestimate Fed- trust me. I mean, it’s like Serena- how many times have we all been fooled by her performances in the non-slams just to see her jumping up and down with the trophy at the end of the 2 weeks?
I’m rambling because I’m confused. And because I know that I can’t enjoy any of these Fed losses because I feel like he’s just going to crush my soul in a few weeks.
irefusetotellyou said
Is Gil pooping in that one photo or what?
yellybean said
filip <3
DV said
Filip is simply awesome, but he need to bulk up ASAP.