Gasquet, Acasuso earn spots in BCR Open Romania quarterfinals

The second round winners on Thursday at the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest had little trouble advancing to the quarterfinals.

No. 1 seed Richard Gasquet (pictured) played near flawless tennis in his routine, 6-3, 6-2, victory over local wild card entrant Victor Crivoi to advance to his fourth quarterfinal of the season. Currently ranked No. 12 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, despite an early exit at the recent US Open, the young Frenchman lost only 11 points on his serve, while breaking the Romanian’s serve five times on nine opportunities. Gasquet was also able to win 54 percent of return of serve points in the 68-minute match. Gasquet’s quarterfinal opponent is No. 97 ranked Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia, who was a 6-0, 6-1 winner in exactly one hour over Romanian wild card Adrian Cruciat. The quarterfinal match between Gasquet and Gabashvili will be the first meeting between the pair.

In other second round action in Bucharest, 2004 BCR Open champion Jose Acasuso continued his winning ways as he held off a great effort by fellow Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello, winning, 6-4, 7-5. Improving to 3-0 lifetime against his fellow Buenos Aires resident, Acasuso was able to fight back from a 4-1 deficit in the first set and a 3-0 deficit in the second set to secure a berth in the quarterfinals, which is his fifth of the year. Acasuso made 71 percent of his first serves, winning 58 percent of his service points overall throughout the two-hour battle. Next up for Acasuso will be Ivan Navarro of Spain. Navarro was winning, 6-3, 1-0, when German opponent Denis Gremelmayr retired with a left ankle injury. In their only previous meeting, Acasuso easily beat Navarro in straight sets at the clay court event in Vina del Mar, Chile in 2006. A finalist at the Copa Telmex in Buenos Aires (Brazil) in February, Acasuso is currently ranked No. 51 in the world, while Navarro is ranked No. 71 in the most recent rankings.

Defending champion Simon advances, while No. 3 Almagro and No. 4 Mathieu fall in Romania

Defending BCR Open Romania champion and No. 2 seed Gilles Simon (pictured), as well as No. 6 seed Carlos Moya, continued their winning ways on Wednesday with easy victories to earn them spots in the quarterfinals.

Simon, who is having a career best year that includes titles at Indianapolis and Casablanca (Morocco) and a victory over Roger Federer in Canada , breezed to a 6-3, 6-4, victory over Spaniard Albert Montanes. Simon smashed 8 aces without hitting a double fault, while winning 79 percent of his first serve points and 61 percent on second serve points. The 23-year-old Frenchman reached a career high ranking of No. 13 on August 4th and currently ranks No. 17 after a third round performance at the US Open in New York. Simon next meets compatriot Florent Serra in the quarterfinals, who was victorious in three tight sets against Potito Starace. Simon leads the head-to-head series 2-1, with their only clay court meeting occurring in Casablanca early this year, with Simon winning, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 en route to the title.

No. 6 seed Moya won in convincing fashion this afternoon with a 6-3, 7-6(6), win over Spanish qualifier Pablo Andujar. A quarterfinalist at the Masters Series Hamburg and Cincinnati, as well as a runner-up result in Costa do Sauipe (Brazil), the 1998 French Open champion earned his 22nd victory of the season. Currently ranked No. 61 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Moya was able to capitalize on Andujar’s 5 double faults and break serve on 2 occasions in the roughly hour and a half long match. For the third straight match in Bucharest, Moya will play a fellow Spaniard, as he will take on Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for a spot in the semifinals. Garcia-Lopez stunned No. 3 seed Almagro, 6-4, 7-5.

The first round match between No. 4 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu and Ivan Navarro was completed early Wednesday after it was postponed due to bad lighting on Tuesday. Navarro shocked the Frenchman, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3, for his 6th win of the season. Playing majority of his tournaments in Challenger level events, Navarro looks to make just his second ATP level quarterfinal of the year, Newport (Rhode Island) being his only quarterfinal appearance in 2008. German Denis Gremelmayr will be the young Spaniard’s next opponent.

Gasquet, Almagro, Moya advance on Day Two in Romania

Of the 10 matches completed on Tuesday at the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest, seven of them went the distance, with No. 1 Richard Gasquet, No. 3 Nicolas Almagro and No. 6 Carlos Moya (pictured) all pulling out victories in three sets.

After a surprise first round exit at the US Open, Gasquet was a late entry into the field, as he was granted a wild card right before the draw was made. The 22-year-old, who has yet to win a title this season, battled his way back from a break down in the final set to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, victory over Spaniard Oscar Hernandez. Gasquet smashed 10 aces en route to his 24th victory of the season, earning him a spot in the second round where he will face Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi, a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, winner over Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.

One of the most interesting matches of the day was between Spaniard Almagro and Somdev Devvarman, a two-time NCAA Singles Champion while at the University of Virginia, who recently became a full time member of the ATP Tour. The singles winner at Costa do Sauipe (Brazil) and Acapulco (Mexico), Almagro was able to smash 11 aces and break the Indian qualifier’s serve on five occasions to advance to face compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round.

Despite winning the French Open in 1998 and 20 titles throughout his career that started in 1995, Moya has struggled all season long and has seen his ranking drop from No. 18 on January 7, 2008 to his current No. 61 ranking. Regardless, Moya used his experience in closing out tight matches to edge past fellow Spaniard Alberto Martin, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4. The former World No. 1 recorded 5 aces, while making 75 percent of his first serve to earn just his 21st victory of the year. Moya advanced to the finals in his debut in Bucharest in 1996 losing to crafty Spaniard Alberto Berasategui. Moya next meets Spanish qualifier Pablo Andujar, who beat Argentine Brian Dabul, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Defending champion No. 2 Gilles Simon and No. 8 Jose Acasuso were amongst the other seeded winners on day two. The only seeded player to exit on Tuesday was No. 5 seed Ernests Gulbis of Latvia who fell to Teimuraz Gabashvili in three sets. 2007 finalist and hometown star Victor Hanescu lost to Martin Vassallo Arguello, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

This Week's Biggest Movers*

On the rise:

• #63 (+67) Gilles Muller (LUX) - Quarterfinalist at US Open (pictured)
• #81 (+45) Kei Nishikori (JPN) - Lost in Round of 16 at US Open
• #93 (+19) Kristof Vliegen (BEL) - Winner in early September challenger event
• #82 (+16) Evgeny Korolev (RUS) - Won first round US Open match, semifinalist at early September challenger event
• #40 (+15) Sam Querrey (USA) - Lost fourth round match to Nadal at US Open

Moving on down:

• #123 (-59) Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) - Hasn't entered an event since Roland Garros, quarterfinalist at 2007 US Open
• #61 (-19) Carlos Moya (ESP) - Second round exit at US Open, quarterfinalist in 2007
• #57 (-18) Tommy Haas (GER) - Lost second round at US Open, quarterfinalist in 2007
• #88 (-18) Sebastien Grosjean (FRA) - Lost first round at US Open, advanced to Round of 32 last year
• #90 (-14) Dudi Sela (ISR) - Lost first round at US Open, has lost 10 of last 12 ATP level matches

* 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.

Top 16:

• 1) Rafael Nadal
• 2) Roger Federer
• 3) Novak Djokovic
• 4) Andy Murray +2
• 5) David Ferrer -1
• 6) Nikolay Davydenko -1
• 7) David Nalbandian
• 8) Andy Roddick
• 9) Fernando Gonzalez +2
• 10) Stanislas Wawrinka
• 11) James Blake -2
• 12) Richard Gasquet
• 13) Juan Martin Del Potro +4
• 14) Ivo Karlovic
• 15) Fernando Verdasco -2
• 16) Tommy Robredo -1

Federer wins US Open to earn 13th career Grand Slam title

The last couple months many critics have been dropping bombs on World No. 2 Roger Federer (pictured), saying he might never win a grand slam title again. They were completely wrong about that. The 27-year-old defeated Scotland’s Andy Murray, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2, to win his 5th straight US Open title and 13th grand slam title overall. The win marked his 34th straight victory in Flushing Meadows and earned him a place in history as the only man to win five successive grand slam titles at two different slams (US Open and Wimbledon).

Federer came out firing as his younger and less experienced opponent showed signs of nervousness and fatigue. Entering the match with a 12-4 record in Grand Slam finals, Federer was able to smash 36 winners, including three aces, while the 21-year-old Scot managed to hit only 16 winners. Federer broke Murray’s serve on seven occasions, while Murray only broke serve twice, one coming at 5-1 in the final set. Federer’s finals experience was shown as he moved towards the net 44 times and won points there 31 times.

The only time in the match where Murray gave Federer and his fans a scare was at 6-2, 2-0. Murray went on to win 11 of the next 12 points to even things at 2-2 and was up 0-40 on Federer’s serve before the No. 2 seed turned things up a notch. After saving the first break point, Murray missed a backhand that appeared good, but TV replays confirmed that earlier in the rally one of Federer’s shots was hit long. Murray did not stop the point to challenge and Murray eventually lost the game to go down 3-2.

"That was key," said Federer, the first male player since Bill Tilden in the 1920’s to win five straight US Open titles. "After that, I began to play freely, the way I usually do."

After losing that long game, everything continued to go down hill for Murray, a three-time singles champion on tour in 2008. In the next game, Murray seemed to aggravate his knee, but managed to continue fighting. Federer eventually won the second set and got out to a commanding 5-0 lead in the third set before getting broken at 5-1. Federer quickly got his focus back when leading 5-2 and was able to break Murray and win the match when Murray missed a shot into the net on Federer’s second championship point. Federer fell to the ground in excitement, a tradition for him upon winning a tournament.

"One thing's for sure," Federer said in an on-court interview. "I'm not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible."

The victory was Federer’s third title of the season, with his first two coming on red clay and grass. With the victory, Federer keeps his streak alive of winning at least one grand slam title for six straight years.

Murray—the new No. 4 ranked player—will earn his biggest pay check with his finals appearance, which made him just the third British player to make a grand slam final in the Open Era – Greg Rusedski and John Lloyd being the others.

Federer’s win today happened on the same day that legend Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in four sets to win his 5th US Open and 14th overall career Grand Slam in what was ultimately his final ATP match. Federer has now won 13 Grand Slam titles in just 38 career Slam events, five fewer than it took Sampras to win No. 13.

No. 7 Granollers falls on opening day in Romania

While the tennis world anticipates this afternoon’s US Open men’s singles final between Roger Federer and Andy Murray, five matches at the BCR Open Romania were completed in this week’s only ATP Tour level event.

Potito Starace of Italy pulled off the tournament’s first upset with a convincing, 6-2, 6-4, victory over No. 7 seed Marcel Granollers (pictured). Currently ranked No. 77 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Starace was able to convert on four of 14 break point chances, while making 84 percent of his first serve points. A semifinalist in Kitzbuhel (Austria) and a four-time quarterfinalist this season, Starace remains unbeaten against Granollers, winning previously in Valencia, Spain in 2007. The young Italian will next face off against Frenchman Florent Serra, who grinded out a three set victory over Nicolas Devilder, 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4), in just under three hours.

Other completed matches on Day One in Bucharest, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez held off a late charge by rising Russian star Mischa Zverev to advance to the 2nd round with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 victory. German Denis Gremelmayr also advanced as he earned his 15th win of the season with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, victory over rising Frenchman Jeremy Chardy to set up a second round clash with either No. 4 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu or Ivan Navarro. Spaniard Albert Montanes was able to advance as he got the best of Korea’s Hyung-Taik Lee despite a poor serving outing. The world No. 59 who won the title in Amersfoort (Netherlands) next meets either the defending champion No. 2 seed Gilles Simon or Evgeny Korolev for a place in the quarterfinals.

BCR Open Romania preview

BCR Open Romania

Location: Bucharest, Romania

Dates: September 8-14, 2008

Draw Size: 32

Surface: Clay

Prize Money: $370,000; men’s singles champion: $59,100

2007 Singles Final: Gilles Simon, FRA, def. Victor Hanescu, ROU, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Official Web site: http://www.bcropenromania.ro/

Top story lines:

1. Can Gilles Simon win his second straight BCR Open title?

2. Will Carlos Moya rebound after struggling most of the season?

3. Can Ernests Gulbis back up his solid summer results with a title in Romania?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:

1. Gilles Simon vs. Evgeny Korolev (Simon leads 1-0, winning 6-4 6-2 in Bucharest last year; Simon made the third round of US Open; Korolev was a semifinalist last week at challenger event in Dusseldorf, Germany)

2. Marcel Granollers vs. Potito Starace (Starace leads 1-0, winning 6-4, 6-4 on clay in Valencia, Spain in 2007; Starace was a quarterfinalist last year at BCR Open)

Potential notable late round match:

No. 3 Nicolas Almagro vs. No. 6 Carlos Moya, Quarterfinals· Series tied 2-2, with Almagro leading 2-1 on clay courts· Almagro defeated Moya in three sets in February to win the Brasil Open in Costa do Sauipe

Watch out for…

1. No. 1 Richard Gasquet (Finalist in Stuttgart and quarterfinalist at Masters Series Canada and Queen’s Club in London; defeated 2007 BCR Open champion Gilles Simon at Wimbledon; currently ranked No. 12)

2. No. 8 Jose Acasuso (Finalist in Buenos Aires and semifinalist in Acapulco; 2004 BCR Open Champion)

Champion prediction:

Justin: No. 3 Nicolas Almagro