Week 2: Brisbane [Smeltz], Chennai [Carter], Doha [Špidlá], Sao Paolo [Juraev]

[Magrat Garlick]

LOL @ the Brit.

Some tasty semis shaping up in Doha.

Heath clearly taking the Safin route (lose in insignificant tournaments so Slam opposition will underrate you)

 

[Agent TBY]

Great stuff there. Hope I get a bit further before crashing out.

 

[Mister Wright]

Shocking start to the season! I'll be looking to atone in Sydney.

 

[luffy]

Absolutely shattered at the singles loss...

Good to win the doubles match however.

 

[Matteh]

Doubles

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Sao Paolo Challenger
3rd Round Singles - Sao Paolo, Brazil

• Richard Langley's impressive run at Sao Paolo came to a shattering end at the hands of 4th seed Emelio Cobos of Argentina. After a sound thrashing of the 13th seed in the 2nd round, Langley hit the courts in top form. He was untroubled on his own serve in the 1st set, but similarly found difficulty finding a hole in the Cobos service. The first set went to a tie breaker where the pressure finally told on Langley. With the breaker poised at 4 - 4, Langley served up a double fault and was sent onto the back foot. Cobos capitalised to take the breaker 7 - 4. Langley regained his composure in the set break and again looked safe on his own serve. However, with the set at 5 games a piece, Cobos ignited with a string of winning backhands to take the break to love. Langley took Cobos to deuce in the next game, but couldn't follow through, losing 7 - 6 (7 - 4), 7 - 5.
  
• In another affair of East vs. West, in form youngsters Phoenix Wleft and Marcuss Deane took to the number one court. The first set was a tense affair with a surprisingly high unforced error count. However, with Wleft 6 - 5 to the good, and Deane serving, Wleft slipped chasing a good, wide return from Deane. With Wleft on the floor, the physio was called for. After 5 minutes of treatment, Wleft was able to continue, but the game wasn't the same afterwards. Wleft failed to score in the ensuing tie break, and lost his first two service games in the second set. The final result 7 - 6 (7 - 0), 6 - 1 to Deane. The prognosis on Wleft's injury is good though and he should be fine for the next tournament.
  
• Deane takes on 6th seed Anwar Juraev in the quarters who defeated Sam Lazzeri 6 - 3, 4 - 6, 6 -4

• Seeded players out: Sam Lazzeri (9), Waylon Jones (12)

 

[Marcuss]

Nice start to the year, obviously the injury takes something away from the achievement and it was always going to be difficult to match up to the excitement of my last performance but I'm more than happy to keep motoring towards the final.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Sao Paolo Challenger
2nd Round Doubles - Sao Paolo, Brazil

It was mixed fortunes for the doubles pairings of the former CWLand republic on the 2nd day of the Sao Paolo doubles. The draw had opened up massively after the exit of the top 3 seeds on the first day and every pair still in the draw harbours hopes of progressing deep into the tournament.

• Wildcards Koal Kao and Marcuss Deane were unceremoniously dumped out of the doubles contest by Frenchmen Franck Brunet and Jeremy Chateau. The French pair had dumped out second seeded Uruguayian pair Mario Acosta & Gonzalo Castro in round 1 and were much too good for the new West CWLand pairing. Deane managed to hold serve in the opening game of the match, but once the French duo hit their straps, the CWLanders were not given another sniff. The CWLanders occasionally showed a lack of understanding, twice colliding chasing a ball, and on a number of occasions they were guilty of ball watching. Deane in particular grew frustrated and smashed a ball out of the court and into the next court, disrupting the singles match between Juraev and Lazzeri. 6 - 1, 6 - 0.
  
• With both players out of the singles draw, the East CWLand pairing of Mat Mitchell and Matt Bre showed that they're building up a useful doubles pairing by winning a hard fought victory over British pairing Doug Plunkett and Anthony Weatherby. The British pair had faced a tough battle over Matthaus Muller & Tim Zander, the 3rd seeds, in round 1 and as the match wore on fatigue started to show. As it was a single break of the Mitchell serve was enough for the British pair to take the 1st set. However, the CWLand pair gelled much better in the 2nd set to dominate the British pair whose could not hold their own serve. With the set heading to a conclusion, the Bre serve was broken at 5 - 0 to the CWLanders after a remarkable run of 5 deuces. The CWLanders broke the Brit serve yet again though to take the 2nd 6 - 1. The match tie break was a nail biter, characterised by a number of lengthly rallies. With the score at 8 - 8 and Weatherby serving, a 4 minute rally was won by a brutal Bre backhander which was perfectly placed in the rear left-hand corner. With a match point at hand, the CWLanders didn't let go as and prevailed 3 - 6, 6 - 1, 10 - 8.

• Seeded players out: None

 

[Marcuss]

At least I can focus on taking out the singles competition I suppose.

 

[ripper868]

Bowenburg Maxum

 

[Matteh]

Forming a decent partnership with Bre.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Needs more Drake.

 

[Paid The Umpire]

Good to see a good start to the season... will it continue?

 

[vic_orthdox]

Happy to get a couple of wins under the belt early in the season.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

No pictures or rankings until next week because my laptop is getting repaired.

Qatar ExxonMobil Open II
Quarter Finals - Doha (Qatar)


Qatar will be treated to a big semi finals day this week with three expected results and one upset making for an exciting final four.

• Third seed Sven Oxenstierna has avenged a quarter final loss to Ivan Genov in Halle last year by surviving a good fight from the Bulgarian to advance in straight sets. The world No. 5 was stunned by the stocky Bulgarian in the Wimbledon lead up tournament, and was keen to not repeat the same result as he surged to a 3-1 lead. Genov managed to scrap a break back, but it was not enough to avoid dropping the first set 7-5. The second set saw both men regain their steel on service, and after going the journey on service it was the tiebreaker that would decide whether Genov still had a chance. Despite bringing up one set point he could not do it as Oxenstierna escaped with a solid hit out and a 7-5, 7-6(7) win. His opponent in the semi finals will be world No. 2 Daniel Paez Blanco who needed just fifty-six minutes to dispatch Portugal's Valter Cordiero.
• In the bottom half of the draw, fifth seeded Croat Miroslav Brdar suggested that he's a player to watch in season II as he thumped World No. 8 Jozsef Boros in straight sets. The Hungarian took a full set to get warmed up, but the damage had been done as the lanky Croat eased to a 6-0, 7-5 win. In a preview of their first round Davis Cup tie, his opponent is the Czech Republic's Radek Spidla following the second seed's 7-6(5), 7-5 win over Spain's Sergio Joaquin.

Seeded players out:

Jozsef Boros.

• In the doubles draw, the big upset came in the form of Serbian pair Dusko Milosevic & Savo Petkovia's straight sets upset of Carlos Machado & Denis Rodrigues. Fresh off a Davis Cup triumph, Milosevic and Petkovia finished off the Brazilian fourth seeds who, in their first tournament together, could not make any inroads in a 6-4, 6-3 loss. They now face Daniel Paez Blanco & Sergio Joaquin in the semis following the Spanish duo's 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Mikel Fosdike & Christian Mary.

Seeded players out:

Carlos Machado &

Denis Rodrigues.

[B]Singles[/B]
[B]Quarterfinals[/B]
(1)Daniel Paez Blanco (ESP) def. Valter Cordiero (POR) 6-1 6-2
(3)Sven Oxenstierna (FRC) def. Ivan Genov (BUL) 7-5 7-6(7)
(5)Miroslav Brdar (CRO) def. (4)Jozsef Boros (HUN) 6-0 7-5
(2)Radek Spidla (CZE) def. Sergio Joaquin (ESP) 7-6(3) 7-5
[B]Semifinals[/B]
(1)Daniel Paez Blanco (ESP) vs.(3)Sven Oxenstierna (FRC)
(5)Miroslav Brdar (CRO) vs. (2)Radek Spidla (CZE)
[B]Doubles[/B]
[B]Quarterfinals[/B]
(1)Tal Cohen/Raz Teper (ISR) def. Almen Benaglio/Janos Varga (SUI/HUN) 6-4 4-6 (10-8)
(3)Mark Harmel/Yves Parmentier (BEL) def. Dmitry Orlov/Oleg Puder (RUS) 7-6(8) 6-0
Dusko Milosevic/Savo Petkovia (SRB) def. (4)Carlos Machado/Denis Rodrigues (BRA) 6-4 6-3
Daniel Paez Blanco/Sergio Joaquin (ESP) def. Mikel Fosdike/Christian Mary (FRA) 6-2 6-2
[B]Semifinals[/B]
(1)Tal Cohen/Raz Teper (ISR) vs. (3)Mark Harmel/Yves Parmentier (BEL)
Dusko Milosevic/Savo Petkovia (SRB) vs. Daniel Paez Blanco/Sergio Joaquin (ESP)

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Aircel Chennai Open II
Quarter Finals - Chennai (India)

• If there was any doubt Scotland Rivers means business in season II, he put them to bed in a dynamite display against top seed Jefferson Drake. In a big East vs. West clash in the first quarter final, the world No. 79 stunned the world No. 11 in three sets to book his place in a maiden tour semi final. Drake came into the match as favourite, but there were danger signs early as he dropped the first set due to a number of uncharacteristic mistakes on his forehand side. Rivers, meanwhile, was in sparkling touch and regularly came to the net to give the CDR No. 1 a mountain of grief. Whilst Drake hit back to take the second, he was not able to shake off the FRC player who drew level at 5-5 in the third and earned a decisive break of service. He needed just one match point to secure his victory and a semi final matchup with third seed Davis Kennedy who roundly thumped eighth seed Atthaphol Sae-ul 6-2, 6-3. The victory will see Rivers rise to at least No. 67 in the world.
• In the second semi final, fifth seed Morgan Carter received a boost to his finals chances after smashing in form Czech player Petr Brozik. Brozik had been on a big run of wins, but could not make the most of them here as he was accounted for 6-1, 6-4 by the American. Carter would have expected a clash with fourth seed Patrick Pascaul, but the Frenchman threw away a set-to-love lead against Oliver Engel to fall 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Seeded players out: Jefferson Drake;

Patrick Pascaul;

Atthaphol Sae-ul.

• In the doubles, all four seeded teams cruised through to the semi finals with confident victories. Second seeds Jefferson Drake & Martti Korpinen were shocked early by Morgan Carter & Bjorn Donaldson who captured the first set 6-1. But the talented duo managed to overcome the humiliating start to take the second 6-4 and control the match tiebreaker to secure a 1-6, 6-4, 10-3 win.
• In the semis they'll face mixed CWLand pair Rob Bowenburg & Jarkko Maxum following their 6-0, 6-2 mauling of Denis Inomov & Rustam Toshpulatov. The Uzbek pair struggled to maintain any pressure on the duo; Toshpulatov's normally dangerous serve woefully off as he fired down nine double faults and a first serve percentage of 45.

Seeded players out: None.

[B]Singles
Quarterfinals
[/B]Scotland Rivers (FRC) def. (1)Jefferson Drake (CDR) 6-4 4-6 7-5
(3)Davis Kennedy (CAN) def. (8)Atthaphol Sae-ul (THA) 6-2 6-3
Oliver Engel (LUX) def. (4)Patrick Pascaul (FRA) 3-6 6-4 7-5
(5)Morgan Carter (USA) def. Petr Brozik (CZE) 6-1 6-4
[B]Semifinals[/B]
Scotland Rivers (FRC) vs. (3)Davis Kennedy (CAN)
Oliver Engel (LUX) vs. (5)Morgan Carter (USA)
[B]Doubles
Quarterfinals[/B]
(1)Hayden Onwye/Ross Onwye (MAR) def. Vladimir Gryzlov/Denis Isaev (RUS/BLR) 7-5 3-6 (10-2)
(3)Lee Inmin/Qingdong Tsai (KOR/TPE) def. (WC)Ritwik Bhutia/Shyam Sequiera (IND) 6-3 6-2
(4)Rob Bowenburg/Jarkko Maxum (FRC/CDR) def. Denis Inomov/Rustam Toshpulatov (UZB) 6-0 6-2
(2)Jefferson Drake/Martti Korpinen (CDR) def. Morgan Carter/Bjorn Donaldson (USA/SWE) 1-6 6-4 (10-3)
[B]Semifinals
[/B](1)Hayden Onwye/Ross Onwye (MAR) vs. (3)Lee Inmin/Qingdong Tsai (KOR/TPE)
(4)Rob Bowenburg/Jarkko Maxum (FRC/CDR) vs. (2)Jefferson Drake/Martti Korpinen (CDR)

 

[NUFAN]

Awesome work Maxum, looking forward to the semi final against Drake and Korps.

SBI you may need to edit who Rivers beat, it says Ox at the start but later on it says Drake.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

West out to a strong start.

Shame these tournaments don't really matter, but a good hit-out against Genov. Hope to level my career record against Páez, it's a quick court after all.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Brisbane International II
Quarter Finals - Brisbane (Australia)

Quarter final day in Brisbane was filled with surprises as just one favourite picked up a semi final spot - and even that was tough going.

• Fourth seed Randy Smeltz has overcome a horror start in Brisbane to come from a set down to beat unseeded Fin Lari Farkkila. The Democratic Republic No. 2 had played some fine tennis this week, but found himself in a world of trouble early as the Fin stunned him with a 6-0 first set. With many suggesting that it was same old, same old for the apparently new and improved Smeltz, the world No. 18 set about rectifying his horrible start by claiming the second set 7-5. But still the Fin would not go away, and despite falling down 2-4 in the decider he managed to send it to a tiebreaker. That was all for naught, though, as Smeltz motored through the tiebreaker to love to a great turnaround and a 0-6, 7-5, 7-6(0) win. He will not be forced to face world No. 6 Darcy Cowan in the final as the top seed was stunned 6-3, 7-5 by China's Li Wang who, in his current form, might come into the semi final against the fourth seed as favourite.
• But the upset of the day came from the 34-year old local Rod Bosnar whose unbelievable run of form continued with the slaying of Oneil Stewart. Almost certain to receive the final Tennis Australia wildcard for the Australian Open draw with his performance so far, Bosnar ensured that he was No. 1 on that list as he smashed the CW Open finalist in straight sets. Stewart had firmed as a real contender to take the Brisbane International, but his previous crowd favouritism disappeared against Bosnar. The qualifier proving too good and ensuring a berth inside the world's top 200 with a 6-4, 6-3 boilover.
• There was yet another surprise in the fourth quarter final - though not as large as the third as Antonio Bachunelli played flawless tennis in a 6-3, 6-2 thrashing of Dwayne Murdoch. The Italian played his best tennis last year with a shock semi final appearance in Montreal at the Rogers Cup, but followed up with a dismal end to the year that saw a number of early exits. But the flare that saw him defeat the likes of Radivoj Daneu, Darcy Cowan and even Murdoch that week returned as his inconsistent forehand was red hot as he charged into the semis in straight sets.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Darcy Cowan;
  
  Dwayne Murdoch;
  
  Oneil Stewart.

• There was some consolation for both Oneil Stewart as he was involved in a doubles victory over double loser Darcy Cowan and Eric Henson. Stewart and partner Shaun Poole booked a semi final place with a tense 6-4, 7-5 win over the Americans, and face another makeshift duo in Toby Brookes & Henry Charles next. The Australian-British duo were too good for the third seeds Artem Krohmal & Merab Shvelidze in their 6-4, 6-4 win.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Gai Kai &
  
  Lu Xun;
  
  Artem Krohmal &
  
  Merab Shvelidze.

[B]Singles
Quarterfinals[/B]
(7)Li Wang (CHN) def. (1)Darcy Cowan (USA) 6-3 7-5
(4)Randy Smeltz (CDR) def. Lari Farkkila (FIN) 0-6 7-5 7-6(0)
(Q)Rod Bosnar (AUS) def. (5)Oneil Stewart (JAM) 6-4 6-3
Antonio Bachunelli (ITA) def. (2)Dwayne Murdoch 6-3 6-2

[B]Semifinals[/B]
(7)Li Wang (CHN) vs. (4)Randy Smeltz (CDR)
(Q)Rod Bosnar (AUS) vs. Antonio Bachunelli (ITA)
[B]
Doubles[/B]
[B]Quarterfinals[/B]
Shaun Poole/Oneil Stewart (JAM) def. Darcy Cowan/Eric Henson (USA) 6-4 7-5
Toby Brookes/Henry Charles (AUS/GBR) def. (3)Artem Krohmal/Merab Shvelidze (UKR/GEO) 6-4 6-4
(4)Morton Blundell/Wayne Boyd (BAH/USA) def. Radu Ghita/Pascal Schmidt (ROU/SUI) 2-6 6-0 (10-7)
Sergiy Malachenko/Alexey Yarkin (RUS) def. (2)Gai Kai/Lu Xun (CHN) 7-6(5) 6-3

[B]Semifinals[/B]
Shaun Poole/Oneil Stewart (JAM) vs. Toby Brookes/Henry Charles (AUS/GBR)
(4)Morton Blundell/Wayne Boyd (BAH/USA) vs. Sergiy Malachenko/Alexey Yarkin (RUS)

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Awesome work Maxum, looking forward to the semi final against Drake and Korps.

SBI you may need to edit who Rivers beat, it says Ox at the start but later on it says Drake.

Cheers.

West out to a strong start.

Shame these tournaments don't really matter, but a good hit-out against Genov. Hope to level my career record against Páez, it's a quick court after all.

Points here help you solidify a spot in the top five, but from what I remember Ox had a strong start to season I and can't really make up points until after RG. Best chance of ousting Daneu is if he doesn't do well in Indian Wells or Miami (where he has 2000 points to defend).