Montpellier
Singles – Quarterfinal: (3) R Gasquet def. (6) J Benneteau 6-1 4-6 6-1
Julien Benneteau will not be rising; odds are that he will stay #38. Richard Gasquet won’t rise, either, but this makes his grip on the #10 ranking a little stronger.
Singles – Quarterfinal: (8) B Paire def. (4) G Simon 7-5 7-6(7-4)
Benoit Paire continues to be utterly unpredictable. He is now one win away from the Top Forty; he costs Gilles Simon the chance to rise above #14.
Singles – Quarterfinal: M Llodra def. J Hajek 7-6(7-3) 6-1
And so we have three Frenchmen in the semifinal. Michael Llodra is getting close to a return to the Top Fifty.
Singles – Quarterfinal: J Nieminen def. S Stakhovsky 4-6 6-3 7-6(7-2)
Jarkko Nieminen is our one remaining non-French player. He will also be one of the most tired players here. That doesn’t sound too promising, but he’s already put himself back above #60. Excluding the Helsinki Challenger, it is only his second semifinal in the last twelve months.
Doubles – Semifinal: Brunstrom/Klaasen def. (1) Fleming/Marray 6-6(7-9) 7-6(7-3) 12-10
Zagreb
Singles – Quarterfinal: (1) M Cilic def. B Kavcic 6-3 7-6(7-5)
From now on, the points count from Marin Cilic. His #12 ranking is now absolutely certain. But he remains more than 300 points below #11.
Singles – Quarterfinal: (3) M Youzhny def. I Dodig 6-3 6-2
Mikhail Youzhny is now right on the cusp of the Top Thirty; make the final and he is in.
Singles – Quarterfinal: (4) J Melzer def. L Rosol 6-4 6-4
With this, Jurgen Melzer finally starts to move — perhaps as high as #27. Is he finally coming out of his slump? It’s never easy to tell, with him.
Singles – Quarterfinal: R Haase def. (Q) P Petzschner 6-4 3-6 6-0
Had Philipp Petzschner won this, he would have had to face is long-time doubles partner Melzer. He would also have been close to a return to the Top Hundred. Not now, though.
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Dodig/Pavic def. (4) Melzer/Petzschner 7-6(7-5) 7-5
This result seems so unlikely that we can’t help but wonder if Philipp Petzschner didn’t hurt himself a little in that last set of singles.
Doubles – Semifinal: (2) Knowle/Polasek def. (Alt) Cipolla/Devvarman 6-2 6-2
Vina del Mar (Thursday)
Singles – Second Round: (3) J Chardy def. (WC) C Garin 4-6 6-3 6-2
One more win would put Jeremy Chardy at #25, but that appears to be as far as he will go this week.
Singles – Second Round: H Zeballos def. (4) P Andujar 6-3 6-3
Pablo Andujar will not rise above his current #45.
Singles – Second Round: (5) A Ramos def. F Volandri 6-7(5-7) 6-3 7-5
Albert Ramos hasn’t added to his point total yet, but a semifinal would take him to around #48.
Singles – Second Round: (6) P Lorenzi def. T Robredo 6-4 6-4
Tommy Robredo’s push for the Top Hundred again stalls.
Singles – Second Round: (7) D Gimeno-Traver def. A Montanes 6-4 6-4
Albert Montanes came in at #101, but we’re guessing he is going to remain below #100. At this rate, he may have a hard time getting into Roland Garros.
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Berlocq/Mayer def. (4) Marach/Zeballos 6-2 6-4
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Kuznetsov/Sa def. Ramirez Hidalgo/Robredo 6-3 6-2
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Lorenzi/Starace def. Andujar/Riba 6-4 6-3
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Monaco/Nadal def. Rufin/Volandri 6-2 7-6(7-4)
Everyone is of course watching all of Rafael Nadal’s matches, including the doubles, but this one is surprising only for how close it was — the opposition wasn’t much.
©Daily tennis news wire
Topics: Fed Cup, Julien Benneteau, Michael Llodra, Montpellier, Richard Gasquet, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Vina del Mar, Zagreb