Friday, October 31, 2008

French star Tsonga prevails over Roddick in three sets to reach Paris Semifinal

The French faithful got what they wanted on Friday at the BNP Paribas Masters, as thirteenth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (pictured) defeated seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5). In a three set thriller that lasted two hours and 44 minutes, Tsonga delighted the crowd with an impressive performance.

Late in the final set, Roddick challenged an out call on his serve while in front 40-0. The scoreboard showed that he had no challenges remaining, but Roddick, Tsonga and even chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani knew he had used only two of his three challenges in the third set.

“But the guy who sits in a box somewhere and puts the Hawkeye replay on, refused to run it because he insisted I had none left, despite the umpire telling him otherwise,” said a frustrated Roddick after the match.


The situation continued to grow worse as both players, mainly Roddick, were getting frustrated as Lahyani was not able to convince the Hawkeye replay guy to let Roddick use the challenge system. After nearly five minutes of craziness, an ATP Supervisor came onto the court and settled the situation, letting Roddick use his one remaining challenge since all parties agreed he had one challenge remaining. With the Paris fans yelling and screaming, Roddick won the challenge and would win the game.

With every out of this world shot that Tsonga would make, the crowd would go wild, but every time Roddick won a point the crowd of 12,000 didn’t get too lively. As the young Frenchman who reached the Australian Open finals earlier this year caved in on victory, leading 6-5, 30-30 on Roddick’s serve, the American would eventually hold serve and send the final set into a tiebreak.


Quickly grabbing a 6-2 lead in the tiebreak, Tsonga had the hometown crowd extremely energized. Tsonga stopped in the middle of the point at 6-2 to challenge and in-call on the right baseline, but the Hawkeye replay system proved the ball did indeed hit the line, giving Roddick the point. Roddick, who clinched a spot at the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai after beating Gilles Simon in the third round, would win the next two points to fight off his third straight match point. At 6-5, the Frenchman was able to close out the match with an impressive forehand volley winner to reach his first career ATP Masters Series semifinal. As Tsonga showed loads of emotion in admiration of his victory, as if he had just won a grand slam title, the Paris crowd gave him a well-deserved standing ovation for a great deal of time.

During the match, Tsonga hammered 15 aces compared to Roddick’s 14, though Tsonga hit six double faults while the American hit none. Roddick was able to win 77 percent of his first service points, while the Frenchman won just 61 of 91 points on his first serve. Both players broke serve on three occasions, but Roddick will be the disappointed one, as he had 17 opportunities to break serve throughout the match, compared to only five for Tsonga. After beating Roddick for the first time in three career meetings, Tsonga will next tangle with No. 11 seed James Blake for a place in the Paris finals.

Other Quarterfinal Scores from Friday
No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko def. No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6-1, ret. (knee injury)
No. 8 David Nalbandian def. No. 4 Andy Murray, 7-6(3), 6-3
No. 11 James Blake def. No. 2 Roger Federer, W/O (back injury)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Masters Series Paris results from Thursday Oct. 30

BNP Paribas Masters
Paris, France
Singles - Third Round
(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. (16) Gael Monfils (FRA), 6-3, 6-2
(6) Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. Tomas Berdych (CZE), 6-1, 6-1
(4) Andy Murray (GBR) def. (15) Fernando Verdasco (ESP), 6-3, 7-6(6)
(8) David Nalbandian (ARG) def. (9) Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG), 6-4, 6-0
(7) Andy Roddick (USA) def. (10) Gilles Simon (FRA), 6-3, 7-5
(13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. (3) Novak Djokovic (SRB), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
(11) James Blake (USA) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER), 6-4, 6-4
(2) Roger Federer (SUI) def. Marin Cilic (CRO), 6-3, 6-4

Singles – Quarterfinals (Friday)
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (6) Nikolay Davydenko
(4) Andy Murray vs. (8) David Nalbandian
(7) Andy Roddick vs. (13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
(2) Roger Federer vs. (11) James Blake

Justin’s Predictions
(1) Rafael Nadal will defeat (6) Nikolay Davydenko in 2 sets
(4) Andy Murray will defeat (8) David Nalbandian in 3 sets
(13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will defeat (7) Andy Roddick in 3 sets
(2) Roger Federer will defeat (11) James Blake in 3 sets

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

No. 1 Nadal, No. 2 Federer, No. 4 Murray win in Paris; Nalbandian also advances

Rafael Nadal (pictured) and Roger Federer kicked off their BNP Paribas Masters campaigns with convincing second round victories on Wednesday in Paris. Top-seeded Nadal cruised to a, 6-2, 6-4, victory over lucky loser Florent Serra, while No. 2 seed Federer defeated Sweden’s Robin Soderling, 6-4, 7-6(7).

In a match that last 74 minutes, both the top ranked Spaniard and the Frenchman served up five aces, but Nadal was more successful overall on the serve, winning 85 percent of his first serve points and dropping only six points on his second serve. The five-time grand slam singles champion broke serve on three of five opportunities, while Serra could not convert on his lone break point chance. The 22-year-old improves to
81-10 on the year, which includes titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and six other singles titles. Currently ranked No. 63 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Serra falls to 20-24 on the season. Next up for the left-handed Spaniard is a third round encounter with No. 16 seed Gael Monfils of France.

In the evening session on Court Central in front a sold out crowd including his agent’s famous tennis wife Mary Jo Fernandez, Federer was able to get past Soderling due to his strong service performance. Federer smashed 10 aces and was able to win 90 percent of his first serve points. The 13-time grand slam champion, who broke serve once during the match, did not face any break points on his serve. Paris is the only Masters Series event that the Swiss star has not yet won. The singles winner last week at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in his hometown of Basel, Federer improves to 64-14 on the season. Also a title winner last week but at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in France, Soderling falls to 45-21 on the season and currently stands winless in eight matches played against Federer. Next up for Federer is hard hitting Croatian Marin Cilic, who defeated Marcel Granollers, 6-4, 7-6(2).

World No. 4 Andy Murray, who has been on fire lately, was also victorious as he defeated American Sam Querrey, 6-2, 6-4. A winner of the last two Masters Series events in Cincinnati and Madrid, Murray got broken to start the match and fell behind 0-2, but quickly recovered winning six straight games to win the opening set, 6-2. Throughout the 75-minute battle, Murray smashed eight aces, while breaking the 6’6” Californian natives serve five times.

“After the start I thought I played well, neutralized his biggest strength early on in the match and then obviously got ahead early in the second set,” said Murray. “A bit disappointed to lose my serve, but again, the way I responded was very good.”

Other noteworthy winners on Wednesday were defending champion and No. 8 David Nalbandian, No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, No. 10 Gilles Simon and No. 11 James Blake. In two hours and eight minutes, Nalbandian was able to get past German Nicolas Kiefer, 7-6(5), 6-3. Nalbandian hit six aces, which was two less than Kiefer, but was able to muster two service breaks compared to only one by the German. Next up for Nalbandian is a third round meeting with Davis Cup teammate Juan Martin Del Potro, who he defeated last week in Basel.

Davydenko, who has struggled recently but has already clinched a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, got past Croatian qualifier Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6(5), 7-5, in one hour and 44 minutes. The Russian hammered 12 aces, served 87 percent on his first serve and was able to secure the lone service break of the match at 5-5 in the second set. Davydenko, who has less stress on him these days since he was found not guilty on tennis betting, next faces former Paris champion Tomas Berdych. Berdych upset No. 12 seed Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3, 7-5, behind six aces and a perfect three for three on break point opportunities.

Simon, the a singles champion this year in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis, defeated Russian Igor Andreev, 6-3, 7-5, in 95 minutes. At the Masters Series Madrid event two weeks ago in which he finished as runner-up, Simon saved four match points in his opening round match against Andreev. Simon improves to 49-24 on the season and next will do battle against No. 7 Andy Roddick for a place in the quarterfinals.

American James Blake, who has struggled tremendously to find good results since taking time off after the US Open, found his form again as he came from behind to defeat Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli, 6-7(10), 6-3, 6-4, in two hours. Still having an outside shot at qualifying for the year-end championships in Shanghai, Blake next faces German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round. This afternoon, Kohlschreiber ended David Ferrer’s Tennis Masters Cup hopes by defeating the Spaniard, 6-3, 6-2.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Tennis Masters Cup hopes still alive for Roddick, Del Potro; Djokovic wins in Paris

Seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick and ninth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro (pictured) both came away victorious in the second round on Tuesday at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia was also a winner on Day Two in France.

Currently ranked No. 7 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Roddick helped his Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai chances tremendously with a convincing win over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-4. Both players smashed a significant amount of aces throughout the 66-minute match with Roddick firing 13 and Lopez hitting 12 aces, but it was the veteran American who won 90 percent of his first serve points, while dropping only seven points on his second serve. The former World No. 1 and 2003 US Open
champion broke Lopez’s serve twice, while the left-handed Spaniard did not have any break point opportunities throughout the fairly routine match. By reaching the semifinals this week, Roddick can clinch his spot in the year-end championships in Shanghai. Next up for Roddick is a third round match against either Tennis Masters Cup hopeful Gilles Simon or Russian Igor Andreev.

The 6’6” Argentine Del Potro who reached the semifinals last week in Basel played very steady tennis on the way to defeating Croatian Mario Ancic, 6-0, 6-4, in 79 minutes. A winner of four consecutive singles titles this past summer, the 20-year-old hit three aces, won 70 percent of service points and was able to break serve on four of seven chances throughout the match. Despite Ancic dropping only six points on his first serve throughout the match, he was only able to win eight of 29 second serve points. Currently ranked at a career best No. 9, Del Potro improves to 45-12 on the season and can punch a ticket to Shanghai with a run to the finals in Paris. Ancic falls to 32-16 on a year that has had many highs and lows, but included earning a law degree earlier this year from a University in his native Croatia. Del Potro will face either No. 8 seed David Nalbandian or German veteran Nicolas Kiefer for a place in the quarterfinals.

No. 3 seed Djokovic was leading Dmitry Tursunov, 6-2, 4-3, when the Russian retired from the match with a right shoulder injury. Before Tursunov’s injury, Djokovic had hit eight aces, made 81 percent of his first serves and broke the Russian on three occasions. Djokovic, who has already clinched a spot at the Tennis Masters Cup, improves to 60-15 on the season and will next face either No. 13 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Radek Stepanek in the third round on Thursday.

Others second round winners included No. 15 seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain and No. 16 seed Gael Monfils of France. Verdasco was able to grind through a tough three set match against fellow countryman Tommy Robredo, winning 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-2, in just over two hours. In the third round on Thursday, Verdasco will take on red-hot No. 4 seed Andy Murray or American Sam Querrey for a place in the final eight. With the hometown crowd behind him the entire match, Monfils was able to get past qualifier Juan Monaco, 6-4, 6-4, in 80 minutes. The 2008 Roland Garros semifinalist hammered 12 aces past his Argentine opponent while winning 92 percent of his first serve points. Next up for the entertaining young Frenchman is a third round date with either World No. 1 Rafael Nadal or lucky loser Florent Serra.

Other completed matches on Day Two in Paris
Singles – First Round

Robin Soderling def. (WC) Josselin Ouanna, 6-3, 6-4
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-1, 6-4
(Q) Ivan Ljubicic def. (Q) Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 6-4
(LL) Florent Serra def. (LL) Guillermo Canas, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
Radek Stepanek def. Marc Gicquel, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

Masters Series Paris results from Monday Oct. 27

BNP Paribas Masters
Paris, France
Singles - First Round
Marin Cilic (CRO) def. Andreas Seppi (ITA), 7-6(5), 6-2
Nicolas Kiefer (GER) def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO), 6-4, 7-5
Mario Ancic (CRO) def. Rrainer Schuettler (GER), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Sam Querrey (USA) def. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP), 7-5, 6-7(5), 3-2 ret. (back)
Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. (Q) Robby Ginepri (USA), 6-4, 7-5
(Q) Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Marat Safin (RUS), 6-0, 7-6(4)
(Q) Simone Bolelli (ITA) def. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN), 7-5, 6-4
Igor Andreev (RUS) def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA), 7-6(6), 6-3
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) def. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB), 6-3, 6-4

Noteworthy Second Round matches on Tuesday
No. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)
No. 7 Andy Roddick (USA) vs. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Mario Ancic (CRO)
No. 16 Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. (Q) Juan Monaco (ARG)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

This Week's Biggest Movers*

On the rise:
  • #83 (+19) Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)
  • #50 (+16) Victor Hanescu (ROU)
  • #44 (+12) Julien Benneteau (FRA)
  • #66 (+12) Mischa Zverev (GER)
  • #94 (+11) Ivo Minar (CZE)
  • #18 (+9) Robin Soderling (SWE)

Moving down:
  • #57 (-17) Marc Gicquel (FRA)
  • #86 (-17) Dudi Sela (ISR)
  • #59 (-16) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
  • #71 (-9) Nicolas Devilder (FRA)
  • #98 (-9) Gilles Muller (LUX)
  • #36 (-7) Jarkko Nieminen

* Each week, this will feature players in or just recently out of the Top 100 whose rankings have undergone the greatest change since the last set of rankings.

BNP Paribas Masters preview

BNP Paribas Masters
Location: Paris, France
Dates: October 26-November 2, 2008
Draw Size: 48
Surface: Indoor Carpet
Prize Money: $2,270,000 (Euros); men’s singles champion: $363,600
2007 Singles Final: David Nalbandian, ARG, def. Rafael Nadal, ESP, 6-4, 6-0
Official Web site:
http://www.bnpparibasmasters.org/

Top story lines:
1. Can Andy Murray win his third straight Masters Series shield?
2. Does Roger Federer have what it takes to get back into the winners circle at a Masters Series event?
3. Can defending champion David Nalbandian repeat his incredible 2007 Paris results and win the title this year?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. Tomas Berdych vs. Robby Ginepri (Berdych leads 1-0; winning most recently 6-3, 6-3 at this
event in 2006; Berdych won the Masters Series Paris in 2005; Berdych was the champion this year in Tokyo, finalist in Bastad and semifinalist in Bangkok and at the Masters Series Miami; Berdych has defeated Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro and James Blake this year; Berdych is currently ranked No. 22; Ginepri was a semifinalist in Delray Beach, San Jose and Las Vegas; Ginepri is currently ranked No. 53)
2. Ivo Karlovic vs. Nicolas Kiefer (Kiefer leads 3-1; winning most recently 7-6(5), 7-6(3) on hard courts in Madrid in 2007; Karlovic was the champion in Nottingham and a semifinalist in Rotterdam and at the Masters Series Cincinnati; Karlovic defeated Roger Federer in Cincinnati and Novak Djokovic in Madrid; Karlovic reached a career best ranking of No. 14 in August but is currently ranked No. 20; Kiefer was a finalist at the Masters Series Canada and semifinalist in Halle; Kiefer has twice defeated Nikolay Davydenko and also has wins this season over Gilles Simon and James Blake; Kiefer is currently ranked No. 37)


Potential notable late round match:
No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 16 Gael Monfils, Third Round
· Nadal leads 2-0; winning both times on clay
· Nadal took over the No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer on August 18, 2008, which was helped by winning his fourth straight French Open title, as well as winning an epic five set thriller over Roger Federer the finals at Wimbledon
· Monfils reached the semifinals at the French Open this year
· Monfils is currently ranked at a career best No. 16

No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,
Third Round
· Series tied 1-1; Tsonga won most recently on hard courts 7-6(4), 6-4 in the finals of the
Thailand Open in Bangkok
· Djokovic has won three titles this year including the Australian Open, while also reaching three finals and five semifinals
· Tsonga was a surprise singles finalist at the Australian Open this year

No. 8 David Nalbandian vs. No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro,
Third Round
· Nalbandian leads 2-1; winning most recently 6-4, 6-4 last week in the semifinals at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel
· Nalbandian has won two titles this year at events in Buenos Aires and Stockholm, while finishing as runner-up in Acapulco and Basel
· Del Potro has won four titles this year at events in Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel, Los Angeles and Washington

· Nalbandian is currently ranked No. 8, while Del Potro is currently ranked at a career best No. 9

Watch out for…
1. No. 4 Andy Murray (Winner at Masters Series events in Cincinnati and Madrid and smaller tournaments in Doha, Marseille and St. Petersburg; Finalist at the US Open; has victories this year over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Martin Del Potro and Gilles Simon; currently ranked at a career best No. 4)
2. No. 10 Gilles Simon (Winner in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis; finalist at the Masters Series Madrid; semifinalist in Rotterdam, Lyon and at the Masters Series Canada; has victories this year over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, James Blake and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; currently ranked at a career best No. 10)

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 2 Roger Federer

Federer wins third straight title at Davidoff Swiss Indoors; 57th career title

Swiss No. 1 seed Roger Federer (pictured) won his third straight Davidoff Swiss Indoors in his hometown of Basel after defeating No. 2 seed David Nalbandian, 6-3, 6-4, in 70 minutes. The 13-time grand slam singles champion improves his series record against Nalbandian to 10-8.

From the start, Federer was dominant in all aspects, especially on serve. The 27-year-old, who earned his 57th career ATP singles title with his victory today, hammered eight aces past his Argentine opponent, while losing only seven points on serve throughout the match. The former World No. 1 was able to break Nalbandian’s serve while up 3-2 in the first set and in the third game of the second set. Nalbandian did not have any break point opportunities throughout the match.

“I’m happy the way things are going right now; I played well at the US Open, in Davis Cup and last week in Madrid,” said Federer. “This was another good week for me. It was fantastic to beat one of my biggest rivals in a good match. It was great to win at home. That is what really stands out for me, realizing a childhood dream and winning the title over and over again.”

Playing in Basel for the ninth time in his lavish career, Federer improved his record to 29-6, which includes three titles and runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2001. The Swiss superstar improves to 63-13 on the season, highlighted by winning the US Open and titles in Estoril and Halle. Federer also reached the singles final at the French Open and at Wimbledon, as well as teaming with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka to win the doubles gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

The 26-year-old Nalbandian, who won titles earlier this year in Buenos Aires and Stockholm, falls to 1-3 in finals in Basel. He won the title in 2002 by defeating Fernando Gonzalez and was a finalist in 2003 and 2004. Currently ranked No. 8 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Nalbandian falls to 39-15 on the season.

“Roger played almost perfect, he played great,” said Nalbandian. “He served very well and although I didn’t play bad he was better than me today. I had a good week though.”

Federer earned a winner’s paycheck of $145,200 (Euros) by winning the title, while Nalbandian collected a finalist check for $78,475 (Euros). Both players are scheduled to play next week in Paris at the BNP Paribas Masters. Federer is seeded No. 2 and is on the lower portion of the draw, while Nalbandian is seeded No. 8 and could meet No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro in the third round.

Murray defends St. Petersburg Open title; 8th career ATP title for the World No. 4

World No. 4 and top-seeded Scot Andy Murray (pictured) easily defended his St. Petersburg Open title on Sunday by smoothly defeating Kazakhstani qualifier Andrey Golubev, 6-1, 6-1, in 56 minutes. In the shortest singles final on the ATP Tour this season in terms of match time, Murray claimed his fifth title of the season while continuing his red-hot dominating tennis performances.

“I think he started the match a bit nervous and I was playing consistent from the baseline," said Murray. “I was the favorite and he didn't have anything to lose. The match was close in the beginning of both sets but once I was able to take the lead I felt more comfortable.”


Despite not hitting one ace during the match, Murray was able to win 27 of 31 first service points, while only having to hit 10 second serves throughout the match. Murray, who reached the US Open finals in September, broke Golubev five times this afternoon, while the Kazakhstani was unsuccessful breaking serve on his the two break point opportunities.

Murray, who has already clinched a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, improves to 53-14 on the year. His 53 victories this season puts him alongside Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko as the only players to have recorded at least 50 wins this year. Murray, the singles title winner in Doha and Marseille, as well as Masters Series titles in Cincinnati and Madrid, improves to 8-5 in finals during his young career.

The 21-year-old Golubev, who reached the main draw after winning three straight matches in the qualifying tournament, improves to 6-4 on the season. Starting the tournament off ranked No. 150 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Golubev will move up to a career high No. 112 on Monday when the rankings are released.

“I was playing well all week but today I was just off. I think I ran out of fuel,” said Golubev. “I felt very tired. This match was good for me to compare my game to the top players in the world. Murray didn't make any mistakes and was more stable during the entire match, especially on his serve. I'm still more happy than disappointed. Obviously I feel a bit frustrated not to play the way I wanted. But overall I'm very happy with the week.”

For his victory in St. Petersburg, Murray earned a winner’s check worth $171,000 and will immediately travel to Paris to play in this week’s BNP Paribas Masters. Seeded No. 4 and receiving a first round bye in Paris, Murray will face either Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis or American Sam Querrey in the second round. With his magical run to the finals, Golubev earned a finalist check worth $92,400, which is the biggest payday in his young career.

No. 7 Soderling captures third career ATP singles title by winning Lyon event

After playing nearly three years without winning a title, Robin Soderling (pictured) ended that drought by winning the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in France on Sunday by defeating Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, to capture his third career ATP singles title. Due to his outstanding performance in France, Soderling will jump from No. 27 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings to a career high of around No. 18 or No. 19 when the rankings are released on Monday morning.

The 24-year-old Swede smashed 10 aces compared to the Frenchman’s seven aces, while also winning 53 of 64 first service points throughout the match. The seventh-seeded Swede, who
captured his first career title in Lyon in 2004, was able to break serve four times while Benneteau was only successful breaking serve once.

Soderling becomes the first Swedish player to win an ATP singles title since former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson won the St. Petersburg Open on October 30, 2005. Since Johansson claimed the title in Russia, Swedish players have gone 0-7 in singles finals, including Soderling finishing as runner-up in Memphis in 2006, as well reaching the finals in Rotterdam, Memphis and Stockholm this season.

This week Soderling pulled off two impressive Top 10 wins, defeating No. 7 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals in straight sets, then No. 10 Gilles Simon in the semifinals. Soderling improves to 44-20 on the season, including a 22-6 record on indoor courts.

“Lyon is a special place for me since I won my first title here in 2004. I think that I'm more consistent now than back then. I move better and my defense has improved as well,” said Soderling.

The 26-year-old Benneteau drops to 22-20 on the season, but will move up to roughly No. 46 in the rankings from his current No. 56 ranking. Benneteau, who defeating Soderling in the third round at this year’s French Open, was looking to claim his first career ATP singles title.

“If somebody told me at the beginning of the week that I would be losing the final in three sets I would have been more than happy,” said Benneteau. “But I'm still disappointed because it really could have been the perfect day for me today. Winning my first title in Lyon close to my hometown would have been unbelievable.”

Soderling earned a champions check for $115,500 (Euros) for his victory and will next travel to Paris to play in the BNP Paribas Masters where he will play French wild card entrant Josselin Ouanna in the opening round on Tuesday. Benneteau earned a finalist check for $62,400 (Euros) and will not be competing in Paris next week.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Italian tennis player Federico Luzzi dies of Leukemia at 28

Italian tennis pro Federico Luzzi, a former top 100 player, died this morning of leukemia at a Florence, Italy hospital. The 28-year-old was taken to the hospital earlier this week with a high fever and was then diagnosed with an acute case of leukemia. This morning he went into an irreversible coma and passed away shortly after.

“Losing a young man so tragically in the prime of his life, a son to a loving family and a great sportsman is a terrible blow. Federico was hugely respected by his fellow professionals and was one of the most popular players on the ATP Tour. Federico will be much missed by all who knew him and the thoughts and the prayers of everyone at the ATP are with Federico's family on this very sad day for tennis,” said ATP Chairman Etienne de Villiers.


Picking up his first tennis racquet at the age of three, Luzzi would turn pro in 1999 and eventually reach a career high ranking of No. 92 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings in 2002. Throughout his career, Luzzi won many matches over highly distinguished tennis players including 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, former World No. 2 and two-time French Open finalist Alex Corretja, former Top 5 player and 2004 French Open finalist Guillermo Coria and 2005 French Open runner-up Mariano Puerto. Luzzi also defeated many current tennis stars during his tennis career including Mario Ancic, Dmitry Tursunov, Dominik Hrbaty, Arnaud Clement and Feliciano Lopez.

During the prime of his career, Luzzi was a major contributor to the Italian Davis Cup team. In 2001, he won a Davis Cup singles match against Finland 14-12 in the fifth set in a match that lasted four hours and 35 minutes, the longest Davis Cup match ever played by an Italian player.

This season, the Arezzo, Italy native competed in six challenger events, reaching the quarterfinals at events in Belgrade, Serbia and Todi, Italy. In his last event he fell to Italian Pietro Fanucci, 0-6, 7-6(6), 6-2, in the opening round at the Napoli, Italy challenger tournament. Throughout his lengthy professional tennis career, Luzzi posted an 18-31 record, while earning $544,562 in tournament prize money.

He is survived by his parents, Maurizio and Paola, and older sister, Francesca.

Saturday Oct. 25 results on the ATP Tour

Davidoff Swiss Indoors
Basel, Switzerland
Saturday - Semifinals
No. 1 Roger Federer def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 David Nalbandian def. No. 3 Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-4, 6-4

Sunday – Singles Final
No. 1 Roger Federer vs. No. 2 David Nalbandian (Federer leads series 9-8)
Sunday – Doubles Finals
No. 2 Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles vs. Christopher Kas/Philipp Kohlschreiber

St. Petersburg Open
St. Petersburg, Russia
Saturday - Semifinals
No. 1 Andy Murray def. No. 3 Fernando Verdasco, 6-0, 6-3
(Q) Andrey Golubev def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3, 6-0

Sunday – Singles Final
No. 1 Andy Murray vs. (Q) Andrey Golubev (First meeting)
Sunday – Doubles Final
Rohan Bopanna/Max Mirnyi vs. Travis Parrott/Filip Polasek

Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon

Lyon, France
Saturday - Semifinals
Julien Benneteau def. No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6(4), 7-5
No. 7 Robin Soderling def. No. 4 Gilles Simon, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3

Sunday – Singles Final
No. 7 Robin Soderling vs. Julien Benneteau (Benneteau leads series 2-1)
Sunday – Doubles Final
No. 2 Michael Llodra/Andy Ram vs. Stephen Huss/Ross Hutchins


Key Terms:
Q = Qualifier

Friday, October 24, 2008

Friday Oct. 24 results on the ATP Tour

*All completed matches on Friday were in the Quarterfinal round

Davidoff Swiss Indoors
Basel, Switzerland
No. 1 Roger Federer def. Simone Bolelli, 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 David Nalbandian def. (Q) Benjamin Becker, 7-6(4), 6-4
No. 3 Juan Martin Del Potro def. No. 6 Igor Andreev, 6-4, 7-5
Feliciano Lopez def. No. 4 James Blake, 6-4, 7-6(7)


Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
Lyon, France
No. 7 Robin Soderling def. No. 1 Andy Roddick, 7-6(5), 7-6(5)

No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-6(5), 6-1
No. 4 Gilles Simon def. (WC) Josselin Ouanna, 6-3, 7-5
Julien Benneteau def. Steve Darcis, 6-3, 6-2


St. Petersburg Open
St. Petersburg, Russia
No. 1 Andy Murray def. Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6(5), 7-5
No. 3 Fernando Verdasco def. Rainer Schuettler, 7-5, 6-2
Victor Hanescu def. (WC) Michail Elgin, 6-1, 6-4
(Q) Andrey Golubev def. (Q) Mischa Zverev, 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-6(4)

Key Terms:
Q = Qualifier
WC = Wild Card

Thursday, October 23, 2008

ATP stars Federer, Nalbandian, Del Potro, Blake advance in Switzerland

The four seeded players that were featured in the five scheduled matches on Thursday at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel all advanced to the quarterfinals. Hometown product Roger Federer (pictured), Argentine players David Nalbandian and Juan Martin Del Potro and American James Blake were the four seeded players to advance to the quarterfinals.

Struggling through his first round match against American Bobby Reynolds, No. 1 Federer again found himself in trouble many times against Jarkko Nieminen, but was able to advance by winning, 7-6(6), 7-6(1). Nieminen who falls to 0-10 against Federer and has yet to win a set in ten matches against the legendary Swiss player, served for the first set at 5-4 but was broken before losing in a tiebreak. Federer hammered 11 aces past
Nieminen, but was broken three times throughout the match including twice in consecutive service games in the opening set.

“It sends shocks through you when you get broken back to back, takes away a little confidence. It's a sign that if you're opponent can break you twice he can break you more often. That's why I knew it was going to be a tough night despite my good record against him. He hit some great passing shots and made me work hard tonight,” said Federer.

With his victory today, Federer improves to 60-13 on the year, which has been highlighted by winning the US Open in September and titles in Estoril and Halle. Federer also finished as runner-up at the French Open, Wimbledon and two Masters Series events. Federer will next clash with Italian Simone Bolelli, a 6-4, 6-2, winner over Marcel Granollers of Spain.

No. 2 Nalbandian survived a scare against Belgian Kristof Vliegen, winning in over two hours, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4). The Argentine, who is now 20-4 in Basel, is chasing his third singles title of the year after already winning in Buenos Aires and Stockholm. The 26-year-old won the Basel title in his debut in 2002 and has also reached the finals twice. Currently ranked No. 8 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Nalbandian improves to 37-14 on the season and earns his first career victory against Vliegen, who won their only other previous meeting on clay in Barcelona in 2004. In the quarterfinals, the former Wimbledon runner-up will meet German qualifier Benjamin Becker.

No. 3 seed Del Potro had little trouble getting past Swiss wild card Stephane Bohli, 6-3, 6-3. The talented young Argentine, who is on track to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, smashed six aces past Bohli, while losing only five points on his powerful first serve. In a year in which he has won four singles titles and currently owns a career best No. 9 ranking, Del Potro improves to 43-11 on the season. He next faces Russian No. 6 seed Igor Andreev in the quarterfinals.

No. 4 Blake continued his successful play in Basel as he defeated Spaniard Oscar Hernandez, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, in just over two hours. Blake hammered an outstanding 17 aces and won 80 percent of points on his serve throughout the three set battle. With his second round victory, Blake advances to his 12th quarterfinal of the year and improves his record to 45-22. Currently ranked No. 11, Blake reached the finals earlier this year in Delray Beach and Houston, while also reaching the Bronze Medal match at the Beijing Olympics in August. The American will face Spaniard Feliciano Lopez on Friday for a spot in the semifinals.

No. 1 Roddick, No. 3 Tsonga, No. 4 Simon win in France; No. 2 Gasquet upset

Former champion and top-seed Andy Roddick (pictured) got by his friend and fellow American Robby Ginepri on Thursday at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in France to advance to the quarterfinals that will take place on Friday. No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and in-form fourth-seed Gilles Simon were also winners on Thursday, while No. 2 Richard Gasquet was upset in his second round match.

Backed behind a dazzling 26 aces, Roddick defeated Ginepri, 7-6(5), 7-6(3), in 98 minutes to reach his 12th quarterfinal of the season. Roddick could not convert on his six break point chances, while Ginepri was unsuccessful on his two break point chances but the more experienced Roddick got the job done when it mattered the most in both tiebreakers.
Roddick, who has won three titles this year, improves his record to 47-15 on the year, as he still hopes to lock up one of the final three spots for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai. Roddick, who improves to 8-1 lifetime against Ginepri, has played in the year-end championship five times in his career minus 2005 when he was injured. Ginepri falls to 25-19 with his loss on Thursday to Roddick. In the quarterfinals, the Austin, Texas resident will face No. 7 seed Robin Soderling, who defeated Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus, 6-1, 6-2, behind 20 aces.

Frenchman Tsonga, who was a surprise Australian Open finalist, grinded past veteran Fabrice Santoro, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, in one hour and 52 minutes to advance to his fifth quarterfinal of the season. Tsonga hammered 16 aces compared to Santoro’s four aces, while also breaking serve on three of four opportunities. Currently ranked No. 14 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Tsonga improves to 27-11 on the season. Next up for the exciting young Frenchman in the quarterfinals is former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who defeated No. 8 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu in 58 minutes by a score of, 6-4, 6-1. The quarterfinal clash between the pair will be their first meeting against each other.

Simon, last week’s finalist at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid, struggled for a second straight match in Lyon but was again able to come out victorious as he defeated Italian Andreas Seppi, 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-4. The 23-year-old Nice native who has captured three ATP singles titles this year could move up to No. 8 in the ATP 2008 Race standings for the year-end championship if he defeats Josselin Ouanna in the quarterfinals. In his victory over Seppi, Simon served up 13 aces and won 77 percent of his first serve points. Simon was also able to break serve twice.

Another notable second round match saw Belgian Steve Darcis stun No. 2 seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5). World No. 58 Darcis ended Gasquet’s hopes of winning a second Lyon title in three years. Darcis improves to 22-21 on the year on the way to his third quarterfinal of the year and will next do battle against Julien Benneteau for a place in the semifinals.

No. 1 Murray advances in St. Petersburg; No. 4 Youzhny, No. 8 Safin eliminated

Defending champion and No. 1 seed Andy Murray (pictured) defeated Latvian Ernests Gulbis, 6-4, 6-2, in the second round at the St. Petersburg Open in Russia on Thursday to advance to his 10th quarterfinal of the season. Murray was solid on serve throughout the match, smashing five aces, while dropping only five first serve points and eight second serve points. The 21-year-old Scot, who reached the US Open finals in September, was able to break serve on four of nine opportunities, while Gulbis broke serve only once.

Murray earned his 50th win of the season this afternoon by defeating Gulbis, which makes him the fifth player this season to win at least 50 matches. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay
Davydenko are the other four players in the 50-match win club for the 2008 season. Currently ranked No. 4 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Murray is chasing his fifth title of the year after already winning singles titles in Doha, Marseille and at Masters Series events in Cincinnati and Madrid. In the quarterfinals Murray will take on Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, a 6-4, 7-6(3), winner over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

Two Russian seeds were eliminated on Thursday, as qualifier and world No. 150 Andrey Golubev defeated No. 8 Marat Safin and No. 4 seed Mikhail Youzhny was beaten by German qualifier Mischa Zverev in straight sets. Safin won the title in St. Petersburg in 2000 and 2001, while Youzhny won the title here in 2004.

Golubev, a Kazakhstan qualifier, beat Safin in one hour and 14 minutes, 6-4, 6-2, to earn his fifth career ATP level victory and his first ATP quarterfinal berth. Golubev won a remarkable 24 of 27 first serve points and was able to break serve four times, while Safin was successful breaking serve only once during the match. Golubev will next meet Zverev in the quarterfinals.


Zverev smashed five aces and made 79 percent of his first serves en route to a convincing, 7-5, 6-4, victory over No. 4 Youzhny. The German qualifier broke serve on four of five opportunities, while the former Top 10 player from Moscow broke only twice. Youzhny falls to 28-21 on the season, while Zverev improves to 18-21 on the season.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

No. 4 Blake, No. 6 Andreev advance in Switzerland; Fish, Baghdatis eliminated

Fourth-seeded Tampa, Florida based James Blake (pictured) won his first round match on Wednesday at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, but best friend and newly married Mardy Fish was not so lucky, falling in straight sets to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the second round. No. 6 seed Igor Andreev was also a winner on Day Three in Basel, a town known as Roger Federer’s birthplace.

Blake, who lost early in Madrid last week in his first fall tournament of the year due to lots of rest and relaxation after a long summer of tournament play, got back to his winning ways as he defeated German Nicolas Kiefer, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Improving his season record to 44-22, Blake smashed 11 aces and was able to break the German’s serve on three occasions. Blake improves to 4-1 lifetime against Kiefer, who was once ranked No. 4 in the South African Airways ATP
Rankings, but currently stands at No. 37. Next up for Blake is a second round clash with Spaniard Oscar Hernandez, whom he owns a 2-0 career record against, winning most recently in the semifinals of the Houston event earlier this year.

In a second round battle, Lopez stunned No. 8 Fish, 7-6(9), 6-4, in just fewer than 90 minutes to prevent a possible quarterfinal between Fish and his best friend Blake. The Lopez and Fish match was a fine display of serving, as the left-handed Spaniard fired 16 aces compared to three double faults, while the hard-hitting right-handed star from Florida smashed 14 aces and six double faults. Fish won 89 percent of first serve points while Lopez won 83 percent of his first serve points, but it was the Spaniard who was able to get the only break of serve during the match. Currently ranked No. 39, Lopez improves to 2-0 lifetime against Fish. With the loss, Fish falls to 32-23 on the season which has been filled with successful results including beating Federer at the Masters Series Indian Wells and reaching the quarterfinals at the US Open in New York.

Also in the second round, Andreev snuck by German Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6(6), 6-7(0), 7-5, in two hours and 34 minutes to advance to his eighth quarterfinal of the season. The aggressive Russian smashed 17 aces past his German opponent and was able to win 54 of 68 points on his first serve. Currently ranked No. 21, Andreev improves to 42-30 on the year and now owns a remarkable 7-0 career edge against Kohlschreiber. In the quarterfinals, the Russian will either face No. 3 seed Juan Martin Del Potro or Swiss wild card Stephane Bohli.

Other players winning their opening round matches on Wednesday included Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, Spaniard Marcel Granollers and qualifier Kristof Vliegen. Nieminen broke serve on four occasion en route to a, 6-2, 6-4, win over Argentine Eduardo Schwank. Granollers, the 2008 Houston champion, defeated former Basel finalist Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, in over two hours. Vliegen, who is trying to work his way back into the Top 30 after injuries caused his ranking to drop to No. 96, beat German wild card Philipp Petzschner, 6-2, 6-3. In the only other second round match on Wednesday, qualifier and former Baylor University star student-athlete Benjamin Becker beat German lucky loser Andreas Beck, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, which was helped out by smashing an outstanding 19 aces. Becker next faces either No. 2 David Nalbandian or Vliegen, who will face off in the second round on Thursday.

No. 4 Simon, No. 7 Soderling, No. 8 Mathieu advance in France; Robredo upset

All three seeds playing first matches on Wednesday advanced to the second round with quality wins at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in France. Those winners were recent Masters Madrid finalist Gilles Simon, No. 7 seed Robin Soderling of Sweden and No. 8 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France.

Simon, seeded fourth in Lyon, fell behind early to Juan Monaco, but quickly recovered to defeat the Argentine, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, in just over two hours. The Nice native who owns titles this year at events in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis, fired eight aces past the Argentine, while breaking serve on four of nine opportunities. Simon, who cracked the Top 10 this week at No. 10 in the South African
Airways ATP Rankings for the first time in his young career, earned his 46th victory of the season. Simon, who is hoping to gain more points in his fight for one of the final three available spots for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, next faces Italian Andreas Seppi for a place in the quarterfinals.

Soderling easily dispatched French qualifier Thierry Ascione, 6-4, 6-1, behind a strong serving performance in which the Swede smashed 11 aces. The 24-year-old, who won the Lyon title in 2004, dropped only three points on his first serve and five points on his second serve. Improving his Lyon career record to 8-1, Soderling earned his 40th win of the year today. Soderling has not won a title in 2008, but has finished as runner-up on three occasions. Next up for Soderling is a second round match against qualifier Christophe Rochus of Belgium, a 6-2, 6-4, winner on Wednesday over US Open quarterfinalist Gilles Mueller of Luxembourg.

Mathieu, the 2002 Lyon champion, cruised to victory on Wednesday, beating Argentine Guillermo Canas, 6-3, 6-4. The World No. 33 only hit two aces compared to 10 aces by Canas, but the Frenchman was able to break serve three times, while Canas only broke serve once. Mathieu improves to 32-26 on the season, while the Argentine falls to 21-22. Next up for the Frenchman is former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain.

In second round action, Frenchman Julien Benneteau (pictured) continued his winning ways, while wild card entrant Josselin Ouanna continued his magical tournament by winning his second consecutive match. Benneteau stunned No. 5 seed Tommy Robredo of Spain, 6-2, 6-2, in 71 minutes. Since losing in the second round at the French Open in May, Benneteau had not won consecutive matches until today. This afternoon the Frenchman smashed seven aces, won 84 percent of first serve points and broke serve on four occasions. He will next meet either No. 2 seed Richard Gasquet or Steve Darcis.

Ouanna, a young rising French player, beat Ecuador’s Nicolas Lapentti in 87 minutes, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, to advance to his first career ATP level quarterfinal. The Frenchman was able to break serve both times he had the chance, most importantly in the final set. Ouanna who doesn’t even own a bio on the ATP Tour official website, improves to 2-3 on the season and will next face either No. 4 Simon or Seppi for a place in the semifinals.

No. 1 Murray, No. 3 Verdasco, Safin advance in Russia; Davydenko withdraws

Fresh off a title at last week’s Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid, No. 1 seed and defending champion Andy Murray (pictured) defeated Serbian Viktor Troicki on Wednesday, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the second round at the St. Petersburg Open in Russia. The 21-year-old who reached the finals at this year’s US Open smashed four aces while winning 24 of 26 points on his first serve throughout the match. In the 69-minute match, the Scot was able to break serve on three occasions while Troicki was unsuccessful on his lone break point chance. Murray, who is currently ranked No. 4 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, improves to 49-14 on the season and will next meet Latvian Ernests Gulbis on Thursday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The last two players to advance to the second round along with Murray after wins today were No. 8 seed Marat Safin and qualifier Andrey Golubev Kazakhstan. Safin defeated Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-2, 6-4, in 68 minutes. Safin hammered nine aces and was able to break serve four different times, while Stakhovsky only hit one ace and could only break serve once on four opportunities. The former two-time St. Petersburg champion improved his career record to 17-4 at this event and will next face Golubev in the second round.

Golubev upset World No. 107 Olivier Rochus of Belgium, 6-1, 6-4, to earn his third ATP level win of the season. Golubev smashed a remarkable 14 aces while Rochus only came up with one ace throughout the match. The Kazakhstan native lost only five points on his first serve and was able to break serve four times. The Belgian falls to 13-25 on the season after this afternoon’s loss.

Third-seed and 2007 finalist Fernando Verdasco of Spain need just over an hour to dispatch wild card entrant Karlis Lejnieks, 6-1, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals. The lefty was able to win 89 percent of first serve points, while dropping only six points on his second serve. The 24-year-old advances to his eighth quarterfinal of the season. Currently holding onto a 44-25 record, the Spaniard will next meet German Rainer Schuettler for a spot in the semifinals. Schuettler ended Dominik Hrbaty’s tournament with a, 6-3, 6-3, defeat in 67 minutes. Currently ranked No. 340 in the world, Hrbaty has been struggling to find his old Top 15 form since injuring his elbow during the 2007 season.

Other news making noise in St. Petersburg was the withdrawal of second-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko. Davydenko defeated Australian Chris Guccione, 6-4, 6-4, on Tuesday, but had to withdraw from his second round match on Wednesday with a left wrist injury. His second opponent Michail Elgin, a Russian wild card, now advances to the quarterfinals due to Davydenko’s withdrawal.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Becker stuns No. 5 Wawrinka after being down two match points in Switzerland

German qualifier Benjamin Becker (pictured) stunned No. 5 seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel on Monday after being down two match points at 5-6 in the final set. The former Baylor University student-athlete who is best known for beating Andre Agassi at the US Open in his final professional tennis match, hurt the Swiss stars chances at securing one of the final three spots at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai. Wawrinka will most likely have to win next weeks Masters Series Paris event if he wants to secure a spot in Shanghai.

Becker fired 10 aces and won 74 percent of his first serve points, while Wawrinka hammered nine aces and won 65 percent of his first serve
points. Wawrinka, the recent Beijing Olympics gold medal winner in doubles with Roger Federer, won four more points than Becker and broke serve five times compared to four times by Becker, but it was the German player who was more stable on the crucial points. Becker, who started the season ranked No. 81 but has since dropped to No. 137 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings earned just his first victory since beating Kristian Pless in Indianapolis in July before losing to eventual champion Gilles Simon. Becker improves to 10-19 on the season and will next face lucky loser Andreas Beck or Nicolas Devilder in the second round.

Other winners on opening day in Basel included newly married American Mardy Fish, Igor Andreev and Feliciano Lopez. No. 8 seeded Fish beat Argentine Agustin Calleri, 7-6(5), 6-2, in 89 minutes. Fish struck nine aces and only two double faults, while losing only three points on his first serve throughout the match. Fish was able to break serve twice while Calleri couldn’t convert on his two break point opportunities. No. 6 seeded Andreev who skipped his countries tournament this week in St. Petersburg to play in Basel, came away with a confidence building victory over respected Austrian star Jurgen Melzer, 7-6(5), 7-5, in just over an hour and a half. Andreev, who improved to 32-22 on the season, smashed 11 aces while saving all five break points he faced. Next up for Andreev in the second round is either Denis Gremelmayr or Philipp Kohlschreiber. Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who had a strong performance last week in Madrid, pulled out a, 7-6(5), 7-6(7), victory over hometown wild card entrant Marco Chiudinelli in two hours and five minutes. Lopez won 39 out of 49 first serve points, while smashing 15 aces in the tight two set battle. Lopez next meets Fish for a place in the quarterfinals.

World No. 340 Hrbaty stuns Tursunov in Russia; Robredo, Ferrero advance in Lyon

On Monday at the St. Petersburg Open, three Russians were on the match schedule and all three came up on the losing end of things. World No. 340 Dominik Hrbaty (pictured) hammered No. 6 seed Dmitry Tursunov, 6-1, 6-1, in 56 minutes to earn just his fifth ATP level win of the season. Hrbaty broke serve on six occasions while losing just seven points on his first serve throughout the match. Next up for the former World No. 12 is a second round match against German Rainer Schuettler, who beat Russian Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2, 6-3, in 81 minutes. The 32-year-old Schuettler is a former finalist in St. Petersburg, losing in 2001 to Marat Safin. The only other singles winner on Monday was Romanian Victor Hanescu who defeated Evgeny Korolev, 6-1, 6-2, in convincing fashion. Hanescu, who won the Gstaad event earlier this year, could next face No. 5 seed Marin Cilic in the second round if the Croatian were to win his opening round match that will be played on Tuesday.

In France at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, No. 5 seed Tommy Robredo and former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero were among the early first round winners. Robredo beat fan favorite Michael Llodra, 6-4, 6-3, in 64 minutes behind eight aces. Robredo improves to 36-21 on the season, as Llodra falls to 23-21 after winning two singles titles in the beginning of 2008. Spaniard Ferrero who has battled injuries recently, defeated Californian Sam Querrey, 6-3, 7-5, in 81 minutes to improve his 2008 record to 2-0 against the young American, having won at Wimbledon earlier this year. The upset of the day was provided by French wild card Josselin Ouanna who defeated veteran Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4, in just over two hours. Despite the hard-hitting Croatian smacking 24 aces compared to Ouanna’s 11 aces, it was the 20-year-old Frenchman who broke serve when it mattered the most in the final set. Currently ranked No. 181 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Ouanna earned his first career ATP level win after three previous failed attempts. Ljubicic drops to 18-17 on the year after the loss.

Monday, October 20, 2008

This Week's Biggest Movers*

On the rise:
  • #91 (+15) Roko Karnusic (CRO)
  • #65 (+12) Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE)
  • #73 (+8) Potito Starace (ITA)
  • #81 (+8) Vincent Spadea (USA)
  • #82 (+8) Nicolas Massu (CHI)
  • #66 (+7) Victor Hanescu (POR)

Moving down:
  • #109 (-15) Robert Kendrick (USA)
  • #63 (-11) Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)
  • #89 (-11) Gilles Muller (LUX)
  • #37 (-10) Nicolas Kiefer (GER)
  • #71 (-9) Marcos Daniel (BRA)
  • #100 (-9) Chris Guccione (AUS)

* Each week, this will feature players in or just recently out of the Top 100 whose rankings have undergone the greatest change since the last set of rankings.

ATP Challenger Series Results* (Oct. 13-19)

Calabasas, California, U.S.A. (Hard)
No. 1 Vincent Spadea (USA) def. Sam Warburg (USA), 7-6(5), 6-4

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Hard)
No. 1 Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) def. Mathieu Montcourt (FRA), 6-3, 6-2

Montevideo, Uruguay (Clay)
SE Peter Luczak (AUS) def. No. 4 Nicolas Massu (CHI), walkover

Kolding, Denmark (Hard)
No. 1 Roko Karanusic (CRO) def. Karol Beck (SVK), 6-4, 6-4

*The ATP Challenger Series is a series of international men’s professional tennis tournaments throughout the world that allow players to win enough ranking points to earn an entry into an ATP-level main draw or qualifying draw. The ATP Challenger Series is fully administered by the ATP Tour.

Key Phrases
SE = Special Exemption

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Davidoff Swiss Indoors preview

Davidoff Swiss Indoors
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Dates: October 20-26, 2008
Draw Size: 32
Surface: Carpet
Prize Money: $891,000 (Euros); men’s singles champion: $145,200
2007 Singles Final: Roger Federer, SUI, def. Jarkko Nieminen, FIN, 6-3, 6-4
Official Web site:
http://www.davidoffswissindoors.ch/

Top story lines:
1. Will hometown hero Roger Federer win the
Davidoff Swiss Indoors for the third straight year
2. Can 2002 Basel champion David Nalbandian earn his way back into the winners spotlight?
3. Can James Blake get his good tennis results back on track after a long break after the US Open and an early exit last week in Madrid?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. No. 4 James Blake vs. Nicolas Kiefer
2. No. 6 Igor Andreev vs. Jurgen Melzer

Potential notable late round match:
No. 1 Roger Federer vs. No. 7 Tomas Berdych, Quarterfinals
No. 2 David Nalbandian vs. No. 5 Stanislas Wawrinka, Quarterfinals
No. 4 James Blake vs. No. 8 Mardy Fish, Quarterfinals

Watch out for…
1.
No. 3 Juan Martin Del Potro
2.
Feliciano Lopez

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 1 Roger Federer

Jordan: No. 1 Roger Federer

St. Petersburg Open preview

St. Petersburg Open
Location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Dates: October 20-26, 2008
Draw Size: 32
Surface: Indoor Hard
Prize Money: $1,049,000; men’s singles champion: $171,000
2007 Singles Final: Andy Murray, GBR, def. Fernando Verdasco, ESP, 6-2, 6-3
Official Web site:
http://www.spbopen.ru/

Top story lines:
1. Can the defending champion and in-form Andy Murray win again in St. Petersburg?
2. Can Russian Nikolay Davydenko win this tournament for the first time in his career?
3. Do past champions Mario Ancic (2006), Mikhail Youzhny (2004) and Marat Safin (2000, 2001) have any shot at going deep again in St. Petersburg?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. No. 1 Andy Murray vs. Viktor Troicki
2. No. 2 Nikolay Davydenko vs. Chris Guccione
3. No. 6 Dmitry Tursunov vs. Dominik Hrbaty

Potential notable late round match:
No. 1 Andy Murray vs. No. 7 Mario Ancic, Quarterfinals
No. 4 Mikhail Youzhny vs. No. 8 Marat Safin, Quarterfinals

Watch out for…
1
. No. 3 Fernando Verdasco
2. No. 5 Marin Cilic

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 5 Marin Cilic

Jordan: No. 2 Nikolay Davydenko

Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon preview

Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
Location: Lyon, France
Dates: October 20-26, 2008
Draw Size: 32
Surface: Indoor Carpet
Prize Money: $713,000 (Euros); men’s singles champion: $115,500
2007 Singles Final: Sebastien Grosjean, FRA, def. Marc Gicquel, FRA, 7-6(5), 6-4

Official Web site: http://www.gptennislyon.com/

Top story lines:
1. Can 2005 champion Andy Roddick find success in Lyon once again?
2. Does defending champion Sebastien Grosjean have any shot of going deep despite playing sparingly all season?
3. Will French star Gilles Simon make noise in Lyon after a recent remarkable Masters Madrid tournament performance?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. No. 1 Andy Roddick vs. Nicolas Mahut
2. No. 6 Ivo Karlovic vs. Nicolas Lapentti

3. No. 8 Paul-Henri Mathieu vs. Guillermo Canas
4. Robby Ginepri vs. Sebastien Grosjean
5. Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Sam Querrey

Potential notable late round match:
No. 4 Gilles Simon vs. No. 6 Ivo Karlovic, Quarterfinals

Watch out for…

1. No. 2 Richard Gasquet
2. No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Jordan: No. 1 Andy Roddick

No. 4 Murray wins Madrid title; claims second career Masters Series title

Scotland native Andy Murray (pictured) ended marathon man Gilles Simon’s magical tournament by defeating the Frenchman, 6-4, 7-6(6), to win the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid on Sunday. The fourth-seeded Scot earned his second consecutive ATP Masters Series shield after winning the Masters Series Cincinnati in early August.

Simon got off to a slow start this afternoon by getting broken in the fifth game of the opening set when Murray got the Frenchman out of position with a spectacular lob followed by a solid backhand up the line that forced a Simon error. In the second set, Simon was steady throughout and even held a 6-4 lead in the tiebreak, but failed to seal the deal in that set
despite the set points. Murray ripped a cross-court backhand winner to get up a 7-6 lead and earn a championship point. On the very first championship point he held, both players were involved in a very exciting side-to-side rally that once brought Murray to net and then saw Simon miss a tricky volley to end the match. Murray yelled in excitement after capturing the title and would throw his wristbands and racquet into the crowd after a nice chat and handshake at the net with Simon.

Murray was remarkable on serve today, winning 84 percent of his first serve points, while smashing 11 aces compared to only one ace by Simon. Simon, who won titles earlier this year in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis, did not have any break point chances throughout the 95-minute match. The 23-year-old Nice native falls to 45-23 on the year, but moves up from No. 12 to No. 9 in the ATP 2008 Race standings for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

The 21-year old Scot who already assured himself a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup, improves to 48-14 on the season. After winning the title today, as well as titles earlier this year in Doha, Marseille and Cincinnati, Murray now owns seven career ATP singles titles. Murray becomes the first British player to win four titles in an ATP season and also becomes the first player British player to win two ATP Masters Series titles. British stars Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski each won one Masters Series title during their outstanding careers.

Murray now heads to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he is the No. 1 seed at the St. Petersburg Open. If he sticks with his commitment to play in the event, Murray will meet rising Serbian Viktor Troicki in the opening round and could take home $171,000 if he were to win the tournament.

In Lyon, France at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, Simon is expected to play pending a possible withdrawal due to wanting some rest before the Masters Series Paris takes place in one week. If he decides to stay in the draw, the Frenchman will be seeded No. 4 and will face Argentine Juan Monaco in the first round. He could possibly meet Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals and top-seed Andy Roddick in the semifinals.

No. 4 Murray stuns No. 2 Federer; Simon wins thriller against No. 1 Nadal in Madrid

DOWN THE TEE tennis blog is on the road today, so please go to www.atptennis.com to read about No. 4 Andy Murray's win over No. 2 Roger Federer and Gilles Simon's three-set victory over World No. 1 Rafael Nadal at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid in Spain.

DOWN THE TEE tennis blog will be back on Sunday with a Masters Madrid finals wrap-up!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Federer, Murray win to set up US Open rematch in Madrid; Nadal also advances

Fairly routine wins were the case for the three big stars playing on Friday at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid, as No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 2 Roger Federer (pictured) and No. 4 Andy Murray all cruised into the semifinals. Frenchman Gilles Simon found himself in another dogfight but was able to beat No. 14 Ivo Karlovic without facing match points, unlike two of his other matches this week.

Federer, the 2006 Madrid champion and former World No. 1, had little trouble beating No. 9 seed Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, 6-3, 6-3, in 89 minutes. The Swiss star lost only eight points on his first serve, while also winning 56 percent of his second service points. The 13-time grand slam singles champion broke serve three times, while the Argentine did not convert on his lone break point opportunity. Federer improves to 58-12 this season, which includes winning the US Open and titles in Estoril and Halle. Along with his three singles titles this year, Federer teamed with fellow Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka to win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in August. The owner of four titles and a 23-match winning streak before a quarterfinal loss at the US Open, Del Potro now falls to 41-11 on the year. In the semifinals Federer will meet his US Open finals opponent Murray.

This afternoon Murray took care of business against Frenchman Gael Monfils in quick fashion, winning, 6-2, 6-2, in 68 minutes. Throughout the rather routine match, the Scotland native broke serve six times, while Monfils broke both times he had the chance.

“I’ve been playing great in practice and hopefully I can keep doing it in matches,” said Murray. “I’m not putting a whole lump of pressure on myself to win every time, I’m just going out and playing and playing well because of that. Playing against Federer is always a great challenge. I’ve played well against him in the past, apart from at the US Open, which wasn’t so good. I’ll definitely be much more relaxed tomorrow than in New York.”

Murray, who has already qualified for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, improves his series record to 2-1 against Monfils following today’s victory. Murray, the champion this year at the Masters Series Cincinnati and in Doha and Marseille, improves to 46-14 on the season. Monfils, who currently is ranked at a career high No. 18 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, falls to 29-16 on the year.

Nadal, the defending champion at Roland Garros and Wimbledon won routinely, 6-4, 6-4, against fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in just over 90 minutes. Despite hitting no aces, Nadal was steady with his serve as he won 74 percent of his first serve and 72 percent of his second serve points. The five-time grand slam champion and World No. 1, was able to break Lopez’s serve twice, while Lopez could not convert on his two break point chances. Nadal captured his 80th win of his historic season with his win this evening. Nadal, the owner of eight titles this year, is looking to capture his 13th career ATP Masters Series shield. The 22-year-old stands behind only Andre Agassi, who has won 17 and Federer who owns 14. Next up for Nadal is Simon, who won a three-set thriller over Karlovic.

Despite being down early breaks twice in the first set and once in the third set, Simon was able to get past against Karlovic, winning, 7-6(1), 4-6, 7-6(2). Karlovic smashed an incredible 27 aces compared to Simon’s four aces, but that wasn’t enough for the 6’10” serving machine out of Croatia. The singles winner this year in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis, Simon enters tomorrow’s semifinal match against Nadal having not yet won a set in his previous two meetings against the top-ranked player. They most recently faced each other in the third round of this year’s Australian Open.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Djokovic, Roddick eliminated in Madrid; No. 1 Nadal, No. 2 Federer advance

As heavy favorites No. 1 Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid on Thursday in convincing fashion, it was other matches that caught my attention. Those matches included name makers Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic, as well as little known Top 20 Gilles Simon.

The first match that caught my attention was Frenchman Gael Monfils (pictured) beating No. 8 seed Roddick for the third straight time, this time winning, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in the third round in Madrid. Frequently around the tennis world people talk about how overrated Roddick has been since winning the 2003 US Open and reaching No. 1 in the rankings. I have to admit that I am definitely one to question all his media attention due to his lackluster results over the last few years. Despite the boring results of late, I find it hard to believe that a player can beat Roddick three straight times, especially when they don’t have as much experience and they can’t stack up in the serving department like Roddick can. With that said, Monfils deserves a round of applause for earning three straight wins over Roddick, something that not too many ATP players besides Federer have accomplished. The Paris born star, once the No. 1 junior player in the world, currently owns a career high ranking of No. 18.

The second match that caught my attention was the match between No. 3 seed Djokovic and No. 14 seed Ivo Karlovic. Djokovic has put together an amazing tennis resume this season with titles at the Australian Open and the Masters Series Indian Wells and Rome, but this evening he fell to Karlovic, 7-6(4), 7-6(5). The monster-serving Croatian smashed 20 aces past Djokovic and lost only six points on his first serve throughout the match. Djokovic had three break point chances but couldn’t convert on any of his chances due to strong serving and great net play by the 6’10” Croatian. It seems to me that since Djokovic reached No. 3 in the world and has been running his mouth to the media more than usual, his results have been pretty average for a guy with a grand slam title and a Top 5 ranking. Whether it’s telling the media before Wimbledon that Federer was scared and would lose early (Federer reached the finals, where he lost to Nadal in five sets in one of the greatest ATP matches in the history of the sport) or if its not choosing his words wisely in front of a sold-out crowd at the US Open after beating Andy Roddick, I think Djokovic do less talking and stay focused on winning matches. He is truly capable of one day taking over Nadal as the top-ranked player in the world, but this year proved to me that he has been losing some matches that he should never even come close to losing.

The last match that caught my attention was the Gilles Simon match against American qualifier Robby Ginepri. The reason this match is important is because it’s the second time this week that the talented Frenchman has saved multiple match points en route to victory. On Monday in his first round win over Russian Igor Andreev, the World No. 16 fought off four match points to eventually win the match in a third set tiebreak. Today he was again on the brink of defeat facing two match points against Ginepri, but prevailed in a third set tiebreak, winning, 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(6). To fight off match points in a professional tennis match is not the easiest task, but to pull it off twice in three matches is superb.

Others Winners of Thursday in Madrid:
Third Round

No. 1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. No. 15 Richard Gasquet (FRA), 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 Roger Federer (SUI) def. No. 16 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA), 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 Andy Murray (GBR) def. Marin Cilic (CRO), 7-5, 7-6(2)
No. 9 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) def. No. 7 David Nalbandian (ARG), 6-4, 6-2
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) def. No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI), 6-4, 6-4

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Federer sets all-time ATP Tour prize money record with win over Stepanek in Madrid

Former Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid champion and current World No. 2 Roger Federer (pictured) got his 2008 Madrid campaign off to a smooth start on Wednesday as he defeated Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 7-6(6), to advance to the third round. Defending champion David Nalbandian and No. 8 Andy Roddick were also winners on Day Three, as No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 6 David Ferrer fell to lower-ranked opponents.

Federer, a winner of 13 grand slam singles titles, fired up ten aces in his route of Stepanek that lasted just under 90 minutes. Federer won a remarkable 93 percent of his first serve points, while capturing the only service break of the match during the first set.

"I thought I actually moved okay, I had a good spring in my step," said Federer. "You can always serve a bit better, but my feeling out there was positive and confident, which was a good thing to have in the first round, which tend to be tricky."

With his victory today, Federer passes legendary tennis player Pete Sampras for the most tournament prize money earned on the ATP Tour, with a current total of $42,300,847. Along with the large amount of tournament prize money earned since turning pro in 1998, Federer has won an amazing 56 career singles titles. Federer improves to 56-12 on the season and will next meet French star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in the quarterfinals. The former World No. 1 is looking to win the Madrid title for the first time since beating Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in the 2006 title match. The third round clash between Federer and Tsonga will be the first meeting between the pair.

Nalbandian, who defeated Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal last year in Madrid en route to the title, escaped a scare from hard-hitting Czech star Tomas Berdych, winning 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-1. The Argentine smashed nine aces, while winning 77 percent of his first serve points and breaking serve on six occasions.

“I played a good match,” said Nalbandian. “At the beginning of the second set, I lost control of ball and my timing was off. After that, I played at a great level. In general, I’m very happy with my performance today.”

Next up for Nalbandian in the third round is fellow Argentine and No. 9 seed Juan Martin Del Potro, who was beating Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2, 4-2, when the Finland native withdrew with an injury. For the second year in a row, Nalbandian and Del Potro will square off in the third round in Madrid. Last year in the pair’s only career meeting, Nalbandian cruised to a, 6-2, 6-4 win over Del Potro. Del Potro is currently ranked No. 9 in the world, but last year when he played Nalbandian he was ranked at No. 53.

Currently ranked No. 8 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings and the current owner of three ATP singles title in 2008, Roddick easily took down Spaniard hopeful Tommy Robredo, 6-3, 6-4, in just over an hour. Roddick hammered 13 aces past Robredo, while winning 73 percent of first serve points and dropping only four points on his second serve throughout the match. The 26-year-old American who is looking to reach the year-end Tennis Masters Cup for the sixth time, next does battle against World No. 18 Gael Monfils of France. Monfils owns a 2-1 series edge against Roddick, winning the last two meetings, most recently though on clay in Austria in 2007.

For a second straight week, Davydenko hurt his bid for a spot in the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, losing early again, this time falling in his opening match to American qualifier Robby Ginepri, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. No. 63 Ginepri became the lowest ranked player to beat the Russian since he lost to then No. 130 Gilles Muller in the fourth round of this year’s US Open. With the loss, Davydenko falls to 49-18, as he will have to wait until his next tournament to try and clinch a spot in the year-end tournament for the fourth straight year. Ginepri, who recently turned 26, improves to 24-17 on the year. Ginepri will next meet Frenchman Gilles Simon, who was a winner against James Blake on Tuesday.

In a match between two Spaniards, Feliciano Lopez got the better end of the deal as he stunned No. 6 Ferrer, 6-4, 7-6(4), in 98 minutes to advance to the third round. For the second straight year, Lopez stunned Ferrer in the second round in Madrid. Next up for Lopez is a third round meeting with Beijing Olympics doubles gold medallist and No. 10 seed Stanislas Wawrinka.


Other Winners on Wednesday in Madrid:
Second Round

No. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. (Q) Victor Hanescu (ROU), 6-7(8), 7-6(6), 3-1, ret.
No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER), 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5)
No. 14 Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Robin Soderling (SWE), 7-6(7), 7-6(8)
No. 16 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. (Q) Marcel Granollers (ESP), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)