Farmers Tennis Classic – The Good, The Bad, and The…

Written by: Tennischiro on 24th July 2011

Farmers Tennis Classic - The Good, The Bad, and The... |

(Above: Denis Kudla)

Farmers Tennis Classic Update – Qualis – Day 1

The Good, The Bad, and the …

It was a beautiful day for tennis in West LA today and the turnout for the qualifying matches was pretty good. There were at least a couple of hundred people there. And they were well rewarded for their hike down to the Sycamore courts from the lot 11. Some of the tennis was really awesome.

The Good: UCLA and the tournament had done a really nice job with signs on Sunset to direct drivers to the tennis parking for the Sycamore courts. And it was just $8 instead of the usual $11.

The Bad: I was wrong again. Parking Area 15 was not available for spectators.

And the …: Nope. Parking was ok!

As I walked up, the second match was just getting started on court 1. American Denis Kudla at 5′ 11″ is not small, but facing Aussie Chris Guccione ‘s 6′ 7″ lefty serve, you could not help but think of David and Goliath. I saw one of Guccione’s second serves make a violent turn to Denis’s right. The sheer speed of the serve was awesome. Chris is a big man who looks to be “Aussie fit”. There are no obvious weaknesses in his game. And when he goes forward to the net, his volleys look impenetrable at first. Then when I saw the serve kick sideways and above Denis’s shoulders if not his head, I thought I was seeing someone who could still play “serve and volley tennis”. But wait a minute. This is qualis, right?! Yes, and Kudla showed how speed kills. He ran down ball after ball and passed the big man with some amazing passing shots. He had no break points of his own in the first set, but he managed to fight off 2 on his own serve as they went to the tie-breaker. Kudla managed to get a critical minibreak at 4-4 in the breaker and served it out. It was clear Kudla had the upper hand if he could survive the overwhelming advantage Guccione had on his first couple of shots after the serve. Kudla accomplished with really sound groundstrokes and some speedy defensive plays.

Theo were playing in the middle of the day and it appeared the heat took a toll on the big man. He labored just a bit at the beginning of the second set and went down an early break. But Kudla faltered for just a moment and gave the Aussie one break chance at 3-1 and he converted. For a while, it seemed like Guccione had a little new life. Kudla played a terrible game at 2-3 to let the match even up. You could tell how upset Kudla was for having let the break advantage get away from him. He knew how tough it would be to break again. But with a couple of more really brilliant passes he was able to pull it off, breaking for the match in the last game. Kudla is well worth watching. His speed and strong fundamentals make him a threat against anyone. Better than that, the fact that he calmed down right away after losing that early second set break advantage and kept the pressure on the veteran Aussie speaks volumes about his competitive maturity despite the fact he is just 18.

Tomorrow, Kudla will play Southern California veteran Tim Kpulun. Tim had a nice win against contemporary Zach Fleischman, who had to retire down a set and a break, but he is giving away almost 9 years and, more importantly, is not playing the world circuit full-time like young Kudla.

The Good: I was wrong about the side of the hill being too small. There was plenty of room the full 240 feet in front of courts 1 and 4. But you need to bring a blanket or a beach towel to sit on. The hill is too steep for chairs. I embarrassed myself falling off mine! It would be better to just sit on the grass. Unless you get one of the few flat spots at the bottom of the hill.

The Bad: While the space is pretty large, the actual comfortable space under the shady trees is really limited. And while it was really pleasant in the shade, out in the direct sun it was a like an oven. I think it’s that ozone thing. The direct sunlight seems hotter than in past years, even when it isn’t terribly hot.

The Ugly: While parking and seating were better than I expected and the turnout was really encouraging (hey, the only charge is parking), the courts are at the bottom of a pretty steep couple of hundred yards walk. Coming back up, I was thinking “What a great hill for training!” And I actually enjoyed the little bit of invigorating exertion getting up that hill. But if you have an elderly or slightly disabled person with you that struggles up hills, going back up is a tough trek. If that is your situation, you can get down alright, but you should try to see if you can hitch a ride for your disabled/elderly charge with one of the courtesy cars they are using for the players. If you have a legitimate request, I think they would be glad to accommodate you.

Kudla/Kuplun is the first match on at 12 noon on court 4. The hill runs next to the sideline of courts 1 and 4. The courts run basically north/south. As you enter the viewing area (grassy knoll), you come to court 1 first. There is a nice shade area in front of the south end of court 1 as you enter. The second shade area is right between courts 1 and 4, so if you get a good spot you can comfortably watch both courts. In the right spot you can actually watch all four courts, but courts 2 and 5 are in back of 1 and 4 and not as easy to see.

The winner of Kudla/Kuplun will play the winner of Ito/Kosakowski. Daniel Kosakowski is one of the young SoCal players who did well today. He won his match against Latvian Karlis Lejnieks 1&2. Tatsuma Ito didn’t have such an easy time of it. He played British lefty, Alex Bogdanovic to a third set tie-breaker, which he won 7-4. But the match was not even that simple. It was on court 5 in the back and I lost track of it when I went seeking shade. Ito seemed to have it well in hand, but after winning the first 6-4, he dropped the second set by the same score. A quick look at the statistics sheds some interesting light on the match. The point differential in that critical third set was just one point, so Alex had been leading that indicator in the third set going into the tie-breaker. In fact, overall, Alex won 6 more points in the match. Alex had less doubles (4 to 5) and more aces (15 to 3). Alex was actually ahead in almost every statistic that they listed on the site, but one. The key statistic in the match was break point conversions. While they both managed just 2 breaks in the match, Ito was 2/2 while Bogdanovic was just 2 for 13. That would have been fine if Alex had been able to maintain the pressure in the tie-breaker. But Tatsuma was able to win the important points.

This will be a very tough match for young Kosakowski. The 3 or 4 year advantage in full time play on the tour is significant. More than that, Ito knows that he is almost guaranteed a spot in the main draw by winning this match even if he loses in the qualifying round because he would be the first lucky loser as the highest ranked player in the qualis. However, he has to reach the qualifying round. I’ve coached a player practicing on court with Kosakowski and he has a great attitude. He is a real warrior on the court. So I think this will be a very good match.

So the plan for you: I’m afraid I’ve got to teach tomorrow afternoon so I won’t be able to see these matches, but you should try to get to the Sycamore courts just a little before noon. (Come in from Sunset at Bellagio opposite the west gate to BelAir and follow the signs.) Plant yourself on a blanket or a towel on the hillside between the two courts so you can watch both matches. (Try to watch just one at a time. It’s insanely irritating to try to watch two at once. I know. I do it all the time. Just settle for staying with one match for a couple of games. Look for when the match gets near critical periods: ends of sets, tie-breakers, seventh games. Stay with that match through the resolution of the crisis.) If you really like the sun or can’t stand a little bit of crowding (it will be tight in the shade), bring an umbrella. But then you’ll have to settle for really good viewing of just the court in front of you. There was plenty of room out in the full sunshine today.

The other matches: Two other SoCal players did well today. Bradley Klahn from Poway beat Larri Passos’s charge from Brazil, Bruno Semenzato, 6-4, 6-3. He’ll play Greg Jones, another tall Aussie (6′ 3″) with a couple of years of tour experience. That will be the second match in front of you on court 4 and figures to be a good one as well.

I say another Aussie, because there seem to be a bunch here, but the other SoCal player who came through today was Carsten Ball who represents Australia in international play, but was born, raised and lives here in Newport Beach. He actually came through quails to reach the final here two years ago. He is just an inch shorter than Chris Guccione at 6′ 6″, but he seems to be much quicker and athletic to me. However, he seemed to be less consistent. Watching him, I had a sense that if he could get his head on straight, his run to the finals two years ago was not out of the question considering his weapons: fabulous serve, great volleys and a wicked lefty topspin forehand. Yes, he is left-handed too. The serve is/looked absolutely vicious today (16 aces/2 doubles – I don’t know how you can double when you are 6′ 6″; but I must admit, that ball really moves!). He was a little lucky two years ago as the only player he faced in the top 59 was Dimitri Tursonov who had to default down a set, but he did not drop a set in 7 matches and even won the first set in the finals. It’s hard to believe so many of these guys are not even ranked in the top 200 in the world. If Ball gets through Grigelis, who looked good today pounding American Phillip Simmonds (and there was some serious pounding on that court), he will probably face fellow Aussie (?!), Marinko Matosevic. If that happens, take a good look at how many withdrawals have come in after the draw was made and how many of the seeds ahead of Matosevic are in the hunt for a lucky loser spot, before you pick your qualifiers. It’s not a question of tanking or laying down for your teammate (at least I hope not), but it is a question of motivation and what you want to save for the main draw. Ball/Grigelis will be your second match on court 1. Worth getting there early for that good seat!

Other SoCal players:

American number one junior, Marcos Giron from Thousand Oaks came out of the gate strong today, winning the first set 6-0. He won 8 more overall points in the match and most of the overall statistical comparisons. But in the critical second set, he was 0/4 on break points; he didn’t see another one and while he was able to save 2/3 in the third, it wasn’t enough as he went down 6-4, 6-4 to New Zealander Artem Sitak.

UCLA Bruin, Clay Thompson also came out gangbusters converting 2/4 break points and posting terrific stats for the first set, winning it 6-4. But he was 0/6 on break points in the second set. (Do we see a pattern here?) His opponent was not much better winning just 1/9, but that was the set, 6-4. Clay’s opponent was the 4th seed, Japanese player Yuichi Sugita and the 22 year-old’s experience showed as he pulled away with 2 breaks in the third and won 16/19 service points in the third set and not allowing a single break chance.

Cecil Mamiit ran into a 12 year younger Tim Smyzek and Tim put him out 6-2, 6-2. Cecil did a great job helping Sharapova move back into the elite ranks of women’s tennis in the last year, but it’s just not like playing full-time.

UCLA Bruin Aaron Yovan went out 6-4, 6-4 to Clement Reix of France and Clemson.

Former US Junior champ Michael McClune lost 7-6(3), 6-3 to 3rd Seed, Aussie Greg Jones.

Former UCSB player Marcin Kosakowski lost to Australian Marinko Matosevic 6-0, 6-1.

Bruin Harel Srugo went down to Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu of Chile 7-5, 6-2.

Also: Rick DeVoest looked very solid beating former NCAA champ (99) Alex Kim from Stanford. And Marcelo Melo from Brazil made quick work of Scotsman Jamie Murray. They will meet tomorrow at 12 on court 5.

If you want to see the exact results and stats for yourself, or the draws or the order of play, it’s all on the ATP site at

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/Tournament-Draws.aspx

You’ve also got links to the results and the draws right here on 10sballs:

Order of Play and Saturday Results as well as links to pdf’s of the singles main draw and qualifying draw:

https://archive.10sballs.com/2011/07/24/farmers-classic-blake-haas-malisse-harrison-on-tuesday/

Free tennis ends tomorrow! Don’t miss it!

TennisChiro