Men’s Update – Delray Beach

Written by: Staff on 1st March 2012

Singles – Second Round: (1) J Isner def. R Sweeting 6-3 6-4
Now here’s a goofball thought: Forget required and optional events. Let players count their best 18 events — but don’t award any points for the early rounds of 250 point events. You have to reach at least the semifinal to earn any points. After all, that’s the way it works in practice for the top players anyway. John Isner, for instance, needs one more win before anything goes toward his total.

Singles – Second Round: M Matosevic (Q) def. (6) A Bogomolov Jr. 4-6 6-1 6-3
Suddenly we find ourselves wondering if 2011 was a fluke and if Alex Bogomolov Jr. is really still the same guy he was for the first eight or nine years of his ATP career. He’s 7-6 this year, plus a withdrawal, and has only one quarterfinal and nothing better than that. And all but one of his losses have been to players ranked below him. He will, obviously, once again fall short of the Top Thirty. To give him his due, he said he was sick and later pulled out of the doubles.
For Marinko Matosevic, this win earns him his first appearance in an ATP quarterfinal.

Singles – Second Round: (8) B Tomic def. (Q) T Smyczek 6-1 7-5
Bernard Tomic is already adding points, but he is in a tough spot in the rankings; it appears he needs a final to move above #36.

Singles – Second Round: E Gulbis def. S Darcis 6-7(6-8) 6-1 6-3
These are two of the most inconsistent guys on the ATP — Ernests Gulbis so much so that, these days, he’s actually ranked below Steve Darcis. Little wonder, perhaps, that they gave us a seesaw contest.

Doubles – First Round: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. Nieminen/Troicki 7-6(7-4) 6-2
The Bryans aren’t going to do anything noticeably for their point totals here, but at least they’re back in action after Bob’s Baby Break.

Doubles – First Round: (4) Knowles/Malisse def. Ianni/Kudla (Alt) 6-4 6-3
Ianni/Kudla were the last-minute replacements for Ball/Bogomolov.

Doubles – First Round: Mertinak/Sa def. Norman/Siljestrom 6-4 3-6 10-5 (Match TB)
Surprising that Mertinak/Sa came here rather than playing on clay in Acapulco. But it seems to have worked.

Doubles – First Round: Darcis/Rochus def. (WC) Monroe/Sock 6-7(10-12) 6-3 10-2 (Match TB)

Doubles – First Round: Elgin/Istomin def. Ward/Yani (Alt) 6-4 6-2
Ward/Yani replaced Melzer/Petzschner — apparently Jurgen Melzer, in addition to a broken toe, has a bad back.

Topics: Delray Beach