Montanes, Monfils Win at Tennis, Pico Wins at Drama

Sorry about the lack of blogging, I was doing stuff and then recovering from it. It happens.

Anyway, congratulations to Albert Montanes, who won the title in Bucharest today for his second clay-court title of the year, beating Pico 76(2) 76(6).

I saw the second set, and it seemed like Pico was actually setting up a lot of the points really well, only to lose control when it came to executing at the end. He was a minibreak up more than once in the second-set tiebreak and gave it away with unforced errors. And there was a lot of wailing at the sky and flopping about like a fabulous thespian, which fairly made it all worth it.

Credit to Montanes though, who I find quite heart-warmingly sweet. I thought he played really well and some of his drop-shots were things of beauty. It isn’t easy to successfully drop-shot someone as quick as Pico. And he’s so happy when he wins. So I’m OK with this. I’m sure it’ll be a relief to him to know that.

And in Metz, Gael Monfils won his first title for four years (!), defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber 76(1) 36 62. I have nothing to say about this match apart from that having watched the first set, I can’t really understand how it went three, but hey, that’s Bambi for you.

Best worst trophy ever.

Friday’s OOP

Seoul

Centre Court (from 11.00hrs)
1. Chan Yung-Jan vs. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
2. Maria Kirilenko vs. Vera Dushevina (NB 12.30)
3. Daniela Hantuchova vs. Kimiko Date Krumm (NB 14.00hrs)
4. Magdalena Rybarikova vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues
5. Gullickson/Kriz vs. Kleybanova/Makarova

Tashkent

Centre (from 11.00hrs)
1. Alexandra Panova vs. Shahar Peer
2. Yaroslava Shvedova vs. Monica Niculescu (NB 12.00hrs)
3. Akgul Amanmuradova vs. Stefanie Voegele (NB 16.00hrs)

Court 3 (from 12.00hrs)
1. Darya Kustova vs. Olga Govortsova
2. Ar.Rodionova/Savchuk vs. Diatchenko/Dzehalevich (NB 13.30hrs; court TBA)
3. Govortsova/Poutchek vs. Niculescu/Rolle (NB 14.30hrs; after suitable rest)

Metz

Bucharest

Thursday ATP Results: Mmmmm, Tandilese(s).

I have no idea how to make that grammatically correct. But that’s not the point. The point is that Bucharest has two from Tandil in the quarterfinals, and as we all know, that means it rocks. IT’S MATHS.

Gonzo to the Maximo did his part by taking care of giant-slayer Oscar Hernandez, and pretty Pico smashed Pere Riba. Some other people might have won too, I wasn’t paying attention.

In Metz, Monfils, Petzchner and Gasquet are all through, while Tipsy upset ol’ Baldy. That’s a good result for him.

Bucharest

Singles – Second Round
[3] J Monaco (ARG) d [Q] P Riba (ESP) 64 62
S Greul (GER) d [6] D Koellerer (AUT) 61 64
[8] P Cuevas (URU) d P Luczak (AUS) 75 64
M Gonzalez (ARG) d O Hernandez (ESP) 75 36 61

Doubles – Quarter-finals
[1] L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) d D Koellerer (AUT) / J Levinsky (CZE) 63 64
[2] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d [Alt] F Gil (POR) / D Munoz-De La Nava 60 63
[3] J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) d [WC] M Copil (ROU) / H Tecau (ROU) 64 67(7) 10-8
[4] P Cuevas (URU) / M Granollers (ESP) d A Pavel (ROU) / G Trifu (ROU) 75 60

Metz

Singles – Second Round
[1] G Monfils (FRA) d [WC] S Grosjean (FRA) 61 61
[4] P Petzschner (GER) d [WC] M Llodra (FRA) 76(3) 63
J Tipsarevic (SRB) d [8] I Ljubicic (CRO) 64 76(3)
R Gasquet (FRA) d C Rochus (BEL) 75 46 62

Doubles – Quarter-finals
R Schuettler (GER) / M Zverev (GER) d P Marx (GER) / B Phau (GER) 62 62
P Kohlschreiber (GER) / P Petzschner (GER) d [2] R Hutchins (GBR) / J Kerr (AUS) 75 67(5) 10-7
C Fleming (GBR) / K Skupski (GBR) d [3] C Kas (GER) / R Wassen (NED) 63 36 11-9

Doubles – First Round
[WC] T Ascione (FRA) / M Gicquel (FRA) d Y Lu (TPE) / J Tipsarevic (SRB) 76(3) 26 10-7

“Yeah, But That Sucks So Much Also.”

I know I mentioned this already, but this Doubles Vision video blog from Metz with Ross Hutchins and Eric Butorac is just the cutest thing. Love it.

Hutch is such a sweet little sex kitten.

Tuesday ATP Results: Ming is Merciless

So I suppose the biggest news of the day is Almagro losing in straight sets to Fognini.

And by ‘big’, I mean ‘only’.

Bucharest

Singles – Second Round
F Fognini (ITA) d [2] N Almagro (ESP) 64 76(3)
[5] A Montanes (ESP) d M Granollers (ESP) 61 63
R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) d [WC] M Copil (ROU) 63 67(3) 64
[Q] S Ventura (ESP) d A Martin (ESP) 45 ret. (left leg)

Singles – First Round
[8] P Cuevas (URU) d [WC] A Pavel (ROU) 63 76(2)
S Greul (GER) d S Darcis (BEL) 75 63

Doubles – First Round
[1] L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) d [WC] A Cruciat (ROU) / P Luncanu (ROU) 76(2) 63
[4] P Cuevas (URU) / M Granollers (ESP) d L Friedl (CZE) / D Vemic (SRB) 60 76(8)
[Alt] F Gil (POR) / D Munoz-De la Nava (ESP) d M Kohlmann (GER) / A Peya (AUT) 63 62
[WC] M Copil (ROU) / H Tecau (ROU) d O Hernandez (ESP) / A Montanes (ESP) 61 62
A Pavel (ROU) / G Trifu (ROU) d R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) / S Ventura (ESP) 76(1) 62

Metz

Singles – Second Round
[2] P Kohlschreiber (GER) d B Phau (GER) 46 63 62
[3] P Mathieu (FRA) d M Gicquel (FRA) 76(5) 64
[7] A Beck (GER) d [Q] T Ascione (FRA) 62 64
E Korolev (RUS) d D Istomin (UZB) 36 75 76(2)

Singles – First Round
[WC] M Llodra (FRA) d M Zverev (GER) 46 63 63
[WC] S Grosjean (FRA) d J Nieminen (FIN) 76(1) 75

Doubles – First Round
[1] A Clement (FRA) / M Llodra (FRA) d R Bopanna (IND) / J Nieminen (FIN) w/o (Nieminen – illness)
[3] C Kas (GER) / R Wassen (NED) d Y Allegro (SUI) / D Martin (USA) 63 67(4) 10-5
C Fleming (GBR) / K Skupski (GBR) d F Moser (GER) / C Rochus (BEL) 76(2) 61
A Beck (GER) / M Berrer (GER) vs P Kohlschreiber (GER) / P Petzschner (GER)

Wednesday’s OOP

Seoul

Centre Court (from 11.00hrs)
1. Kimiko Date Krumm vs. Lee Ye-Ra
2. Daniela Hantuchova vs. Ayumi Morita (NB 14.00hrs)
3. Meghann Shaughnessy vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues
4. Chang Kai-Chen vs. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
5. Kleybanova/Makarova vs. Kim/Lee

Court 2 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Chan Yung-Jan
2. Sybille Bammer vs. Magdalena Rybarikova
3. Ferguson/Maekawa vs. Chan/Spears
4. Petkovic/Rybarikova vs. Han/Zhang

Court 13 (from 12.00hrs)
1. Grandin/Haynes vs. Hsu/Namigata

Court/time TBA
1. Cirstea/Shaughnessy vs. Jans/Rosolska

Tashkent

Centre (from 11.00hrs)
1. Maret Ani vs. Shahar Peer
2. Nigina Abduraimova vs. Stefanie Voegele
3. Bychkova/Panova vs. Amanmuradova/Kustova (NB 14.00hrs)
4. Ar.Rodionova/Savchuk vs. Olaru/Voskoboeva

Court 3 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Arina Rodionova vs. Olga Govortsova
2. Yaroslava Shvedova vs. Ekaterina Ivanova
3. Govortsova/Poutchek vs. Chalova/Frankova (NB 14.00hrs)
4. Kondratieva/Lefèvre vs. Niculescu/Rolle

Court 4 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Galina Voskoboeva vs. Darya Kustova
2. Evgeniya Rodina vs. Monica Niculescu

Metz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bucharest

Tuesday ATP Results: Hanescu, Andreev Upset

We lost the first and fourth seeds in Bucharest today, with local favourite (and top seed) Victor Hanescu falling to Oscar Hernandez and Igor Andreev going down to qualifier Santiago Ventura, both in straight sets. In happier news, Pico progressed smoothly, beating Brazil’s Jan Silva 62 64, and only needs two more wins to beat Tommy Robredo for most wins on clay in 2009. Oh, and fellow Tandilese Gonzo to the Max beat Olivier Rochus 64 in the third.

In Metz, Richard Gasquet had a testing time of it against Michael Berrer but won in the third-set tiebreak, while the older Frenchies suffered, Santoro losing to Christophe Rochus and Clement falling to Tipsarevic. And check out this adorable Double Vision blog courtesy of Booty and Hutch. Seriously. I am loving this whole Double Vision business.

Bucharest

Singles – First Round
O Hernandez (ESP) d [1] V Hanescu (ROU) 76(5) 64
[2] N Almagro (ESP) d S Bolelli (ITA) 64 63
[3] J Monaco (ARG) d [Q] J Silva (BRA) 62 64
[Q] S Ventura (ESP) d [4] I Andreev (RUS) 64 61
[5] A Montanes (ESP) d P Starace (ITA) 64 62
[6] D Koellerer (AUT) d [Q] F Volandri (ITA) 26 75 63
R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) d [7] A Seppi (ITA) 64 64
[Q] P Riba (ESP) d F Gil (POR) 75 57 62
[WC] M Copil (ROU) d V Crivoi (ROU) 63 62
A Martin (ESP) d F Serra (FRA) 46 60 64
M Gonzalez (ARG) d O Rochus (BEL) 67(4) 61 64
F Fognini (ITA) d D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 16 64 63
S Greul (GER) leads S Darcis (BEL) 75 11 – match suspended (darkness)

Doubles – First Round
[2] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d J Cerretani (USA) / L Zovko (CRO) 63 60
[3] J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) d L Arnold Ker (ARG) / J Monaco (ARG) 46 63 10-4
D Koellerer (AUT) / J Levinsky (CZE) d M Gonzalez (ARG) / I Zelenay (SVK) 63 62

Metz

Singles – First Round
C Rochus (BEL) d [5] F Santoro (FRA) 06 64 76(3)
E Korolev (RUS) d [6] B Becker (GER) 62 63
[8] I Ljubicic (CRO) d [Q] S de Chaunac (FRA) 46 61 76(1)
M Gicquel (FRA) d [Q] R Valent (SUI) 63 61
D Istomin (UZB) d A Golubev (KAZ) 62 64
[Q] T Ascione (FRA) d A Mannarino (FRA) 76(5) 64
J Tipsarevic (SRB) d [LL] A Clement (FRA) 64 64
R Gasquet (FRA) d [Q] M Berrer (GER) 63 26 76(5)

Doubles – First Round
[2] R Hutchins (GBR) / J Kerr (AUS) d [ALT] E Korolev (RUS) / D Sitak (RUS) 46 60 10-4
R Schuettler (GER) / M Zverev (GER) d [4] E Butorac (USA) / S Lipsky (USA) 64 64
P Marx (GER) / B Phau (GER) d A Golubev (KAZ) / A Motti (ITA) 67(4) 62 10-6

Monday’s OOP: Seoul, Tashkent, Bucharest, Metz

Seoul

Centre Court (from 11.00hrs)
1. Urszula Radwanska vs. Vera Dushevina
2. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Angela Haynes
3. Andrea Petkovic vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues

Court 2 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Anastasija Sevastova vs. Mathilde Johansson
2. Groenefeld/Srebotnik vs. Lu/S.Sun

Court 13 (from 10.00hrs)
1. Yurika Sema vs. Rika Fujiwara (Singles Q Final)
2. Sophie Ferguson vs. Zhang Shuai (Singles Q Final)
3. Cirstea/Shaughnessy vs. Jans/Rosolska

Court 14 (from 10.00hrs)
1. Chang Kai-Chen vs. Han Xinyun (Singles Q Final)
2. Junri Namigata vs. Xu Yi-Fan (Singles Q Final)
3. Chang/Chen vs. Chuang/Yan

Court TBA (NB 15.00hrs)
1. Kleybanova/Makarova vs. Kim/Lee

Tashkent

Centre (from 10.00hrs)
1. Galina Voskoboeva vs. Neuza Silva
2. Vitalia Diatchenko vs. Stefanie Voegele
3. Khabibulina/Tulyaganova vs. Camerin/Palkina (NB 14.00hrs)

Court 3 (from 10.00hrs)
1. Yuliana Fedak vs. Alexandra Panova (Singles Q Final)
2. Laura Thorpe vs. Arina Rodionova (Singles Q Final)
3. Fedak/Manasieva vs. Ani/Tsurenko (NB 14.00hrs)

Court 4 (from 10.00hrs)
1. Kristina Mladenovic vs. Lesya Tsurenko (Singles Q Final)
2. Ksenia Lykina vs. Natalia Orlova (Singles Q Final)

Metz is here.

Bucharest is hiding from me …

ATP Week Ahead: Metz, Bucharest

Metz

I think Yoshi’s about to hatch.

Draw here.

This actually is pretty fun-looking. The top four seeds – Gael Monfils, Philipp Petzchner, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Paul-Henri Mathieu – all have byes through the first round, but there are some fun early matches; wildcard Sebastian Grosjean vs. Jarkko Nieminen, Mischa Zverev vs. Michael Llodra, Christophe Rochus vs. Fabrice Santoro, and Bjorn Phau vs. Rainer Schuettler.

Really though if Bambi doesn’t win this tournament, he needs a slap upside the head. Ol’ baldy Ljubicic is always potentially tricky, and Richard Gasquet (who has to start putting his life/game/head back together at some point) could make a run to the semi-finals. In fact, what am I thinking? There’s no way that Bambi will make it through this tournament whole. In the bottom half, it’s hard to see past a  Kohlschreiber-Mathieu semi; in order for this not to happen, someone’s going to have to make an unexpected run. Kohlschreiber could win the whole thing, in fact. And why not …

Bucharest

Draw here.

Sadly – or perhaps wisely, given the parlous state of his poor knees – Gilles Simon isn’t returning to defend his Bucharest title this week. But you know who is there? Pico! He’s the third seed, and I’m all about Pico this week, although he has a potentially tricky task against pesky Frederico Gil in the second round, but he should be fine from there until the semi-finals. It will probably be Victor Hanescu in the semis, although there’s a lurking Tandilese (Gonzo to the Max) in his quarter too, as well as D Cup hero Steve Darcis who plays well on clay and oh-so-charming Crazy Dani Koellerer.

Bottom half is a bit calmer, with Seppi, Andreev, Montanes and Almagro the seeds. First-rounds to watch: Alberto Martin vs. Florent Serra, Albert Montanes vs. Potito Starace, and Simone Bolelli vs. Nicolas Almagro. Game on.