Today’s Men’s News (09/27): Bangkok & Kuala Lumpur

Written by: Staff on 27th September 2012

Today's Men's News (09/27): Bangkok & Kuala Lumpur

epa03412554 Richard Gasquet of France returns the ball to Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during their second round match at the ATP PTT Thailand Open tennis tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, 27 September 2012. EPA/PONGMANAT TASIRI |

Bangkok

Singles – Second Round: (2) R Gasquet def. G Dimitrov 5-7 7-5 6-4

Richard Gasquet will get to start adding points if he can win his next match, but he can’t rise above #14 this week no matter what.

Singles – Second Round: (3) M Raonic def. I Karlovic 7-6(7-3) 6-4

If you want the ace numbers, it was 14 for Milos Raonic — and only nine for Ivo Karlovic. Karlovic won only 50% of second serve points. Which is pretty deadly for him….

Singles – Second Round: (4) G Simon def. G Soeda 6-4 6-4

Once again, no Top Fifty spot for Go Soeda. Gilles Simon needs at least two more wins to move.

Singles – Second Round: (5) F Verdasco def. D Young 7-5 6-4

There are times when we really don’t want to calculate a player’s ranking. Donald Young was defending finalist points, and he didn’t have any points to spare! Young was already well below #100, so this pretty well guarantees that he will be going back to playing qualifying and Challengers only.

Singles – Second Round: G Monfils def. (6) V Troicki 7-5 7-5

Gael Monfils costs Viktor Troicki his chance to return to the Top Thirty — but Monfils himself gains no points. He needs a final.

Singles – Second Round: (8) B Tomic def. D Sela 4-6 6-3 6-4

It appears this will put Bernard Tomic in the Top Forty.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (1) Paes/Tecau def. Tipsarevic/Waske 6-0 3-6 10-5 (Match TB)

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (4) Butorac/Hanley def. Kas/Troicki 6-4 6-2

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (WC) Lu/Udomchoke def. J Murray/Sa 6-4 7-5

The Thais didn’t have much luck in singles, but the doubles is going well for them, with both the Ratiwatanas and Danai Udomchoke in the semifinal.

Kuala Lumpur

Singles – Second Round: (1) D Ferrer def. A Bogomolov Jr. 6-4 6-2

No points for David Ferrer yet. Indeed, he can’t earn points here. But at least he’s earning his appearance fee.

Singles – Second Round: (2) J Monaco def. (WC) J Wang 6-4 7-5

If we have our optional events right, Juan Monaco needs one more win to pass John Isner and take the #10 ranking. And his next opponent is Vasek Pospisil, who is promising but is ranked below #100.

Singles – Second Round: (3) K Nishikori def. A Ramos 6-7(5-7) 6-2 6-1

One more win would let Kei Nishikori defend his points and (probably) keep the #17 ranking.

Singles – Second Round: A Falla def. (4) A Dolgopolov 6-3 3-6 6-3

Alexandr Dolgopolov loses the chance to rise above #20, but it doesn’t look as if he will fall.

Singles – Second Round: I Sijsling def. (5) F Lopez 7-6(7-0) 7-6(7-2)

One of these days, we’re going to revisit our study of whether top players are more likely to suffer upsets at 250 point events or at events where they have reason to care about their results…. Although, in this case, Feliciano Lopez did have reason to care — a semifinal here would likely have put him back in the Top Thirty.

Singles – Second Round: N Davydenko def. D Istomin 7-5 6-4

Denis Istomin remains stuck below #45.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (1) Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. (Alt) Pospisil/Singh 4-6 6-3 10-5 (Match TB)

Some time about now, the points should be enough to start helping the Poles as they try to qualify for London. Their chances look fair, but they certainly aren’t clinched yet.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (2) Bracciali/Melo def. Kohlmann/Moser 7-6(7-3) 6-4

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (3) Peya/Soares def. N Davydenko/Norman 6-3 6-3

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Fleming/Hutchins def. (4) Knowle/Polasek 6-3 2-6 10-4 (Match TB)