Men Tennis Update – Memphis,Marseille, and Buenos Aires Thursday, February 21, 2013

Written by: Staff on 20th February 2013

Men Tennis Update - Memphis,Marseille, and Buenos Aires Thursday, February 21, 2013

epa03591337 Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan hits a return shot to John Isner of the US in their first round match in the US National Indoor Tennis Championships at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 19 February 2013. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

Memphis

The Story So Far:

TUESDAY: D Istomin def. (3) J Isner 6-4 6-3

One week after falling out of the Top Fifty, Denis Istomin starts a campaign to make it back (although this alone won’t do it). He may cost John Isner his shot at a return to the Top Fifteen.

TUESDAY: I Sijsling def. J Melzer 6-4 7-6(7-3)

Jurgen Melzer’s slow decline continues. He was last year’s champion, and that represented a third of his points. He will fall from #27 to around #50.

TUESDAY: F Lopez def. B Becker 4-6 6-3 6-4

Benjamin Becker made the semifinal last year. He will fall to #85 or a little lower.

WEDNESDAY

Singles – First Round: (6) T Haas def. E Donskoy 7-6(8-6) 6-4

Tommy Haas will start counting points with his next win, but we’d guess he’ll need a final to climb above #18.

Singles – First Round: (7) A Dolgopolov def. B Phau 6-3 6-4

No move yet for Alexandr Dolgopolov, but one more win would leave him just below the Top Twenty; two more might well make him #20.

Singles – First Round: (Q) D Young def. X Malisse 5-1, retired

Xavier Malisse will probably remain just above #50.

Singles – First Round: M Matosevic def. G Soeda 7-6(8-6) 6-4

Go Soeda remains stalled below #70.

Singles – First Round: L Hewitt def. Y Lu 2-6 7-6(7-3) 6-4

An official upset — Lleyton Hewitt is still below #100, although one more win might put him back in.

Marseille

Big Results Before Wednesday:

MONDAY: B Tomic def. (8) M Klizan 4-6 6-3 7-6(9-7)

Martin Klizan blew a match point in this match — and, in the process, blew his Top 25 hopes.

TUESDAY: G Muller def. (5) R Gasquet 2-6 6-4 7-6(7-5)

Richard Gasquet wasn’t going to rise above #10 this week no matter what, and he isn’t likely to fall, but obviously losses like this don’t help his long-term prospects.

TUESDAY: M Granollers def. (WC) G Monfils 6-4 6-4

A bit of a surprise on this surface, and it means no return to the Top Hundred for Gael Monfils.

TUESDAY: (PR) S Devvarman def. B Paire 7-6(8-6) 6-7(7-9) 6-4

Benoit Paire stalls again. This means he won’t move much above #40.

WEDNESDAY

Singles – First Round: (6) G Simon def. R Haase 7-5 7-5

Robin Haase remains around #50.

Singles – First Round: J Benneteau def. (WC) L Pouille 7-6(7-0) 6-3

Julien Benneteau obviously didn’t let his Rotterdam loss affect him too much. This doesn’t affect his point total, but he has a pretty good Top Thirty chance.

Singles – First Round: D Tursunov def. (Q) E Roger-Vasselin 7-5 6-3

One of the few signs of hope for Dmitry Tursunov lately. He remains below #100, however.

Singles – Second Round: (1) T Berdych def. (WC) E Gulbis 6-4 6-7(10-12) 6-4

So far, this has been a decent year for Ernests Gulbis; his ranking has been rising. But this means he’ll stay below #100 for now.

Singles – Second Round: (3) J Tsonga def. N Davydenko 7-6(7-1) 6-3

Nikolay Davydenko will remain below #40 — probably #42 or #43.

Singles – Second Round: G Muller def. M Granollers 7-6(7-2) 7-6(7-1)

Marcel Granollers won’t be moving significantly, either — he should be within one spot of his current #35.

Singles – Second Round: B Tomic def. S Devvarman (PR) 6-3 7-5

This ought to take Bernard Tomic above #45.

Doubles – First Round: Murray/Peers def. Brunstrom/Klaasen 7-6(7-5) 7-6(8-6)

Doubles – First Round: Cerretani/Shamasdin def. Bednarek/Rosol 6-4 6-7(3-7) 10-7

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (1) Qureshi/Rojer def. Ratiwatana/Ratiwatana 6-0 6-4

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (3) Knowle/Polasek def. Janowicz/Nielsen 6-4 6-2

Buenos Aires

Big Results Before Wednesday:

MONDAY: (WC) D Schwartzman def. (4) T Bellucci 6-4 4-6 6-1

Bellucci remains below #35.

MONDAY: A Bedene def. (5) H Zeballos 4-6 7-6(7-4) 6-3

Horacio Zeballos just can’t follow up on his first title. He’ll stay around #40.

TUESDAY: A Montanes def. (7) P Andujar 5-7 6-2 6-4

Albert Montanes continues his slow comeback by costing Pablo Andujar his Top Forty chance.

WEDNESDAY:

Singles – First Round: (1) D Ferrer def. (WC) A Velotti 6-4 6-1

A good start for David Ferrer, but it hardly matters — he has so many good 250 point results that not even a title will affect his point total.

Singles – First Round: (6) F Fognini def. G Garcia-Lopez 7-5 6-3

No points yet for Fabio Fognini, either — but his next win counts, and would take him to just below the Top Forty.

Singles – First Round: D Nalbandian def. C Berlocq 6-3 2-6 6-3

David Nalbandian needs two more wins to defend his points, but he continues to look strong.

Singles – First Round: (LL) M Trungelliti def. (Q) F Arguello 4-6 6-3 1-0 retired (Abdominal)

Talk about absurd luck — Marco Trungelliti made the main draw when Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo pulled out hurt, then made the second round when his opponent got hurt. His next opponent is probably feeling pretty nervous….

Doubles – First Round: (1) Cermak/Mertinak def. Gimeno-Traver/Ramos 6-1 6-2

Doubles – First Round: (3) Marach/Zeballos def. (WC) Alund/Pella 6-3 7-6(7-5)

Doubles – First Round: (4) Brown/Kas def. Felder/Sousa 7-5 6-2

Doubles – First Round: Monroe/Stadler def. Cipolla/Starace 6-3 6-4 .

Topics: Buenos Aires, Denis Istomin, John Isner, Marseille, Memphis, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Xavier Malisse