Men Tennis Update – Memphis,Marseille, and Buenos Aires Monday, February 25, 2013

Written by: Staff on 24th February 2013

Men Tennis Update - Memphis,Marseille, and Buenos Aires Monday, February 25, 2013

epa03599142 Feliciano Lopez of Spain returns a shot to Kei Nishikori of Japan during their final match in the US National Indoor Tennis Championships at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, USA 24 February 2013. Nishikoiri won the match and the championship. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

Memphis

Singles – Final: (5) K Nishikori def. F Lopez 6-2 6-3

If you want to read about exciting matches — read about the day’s other singles finals. Feliciano Lopez hit eight aces, but won only 16% of second serve points; he won 40 points in the match (out of exactly a hundred played), and 28 of those were on first serves. Any thing else — second serves or returns — was Kei Nishikori’s; the #5 seed won 81% of the other sorts of points.

It is the third title for Nishikori, and arguably the most significant; it is his second 500 point event, but the other was Tokyo, where he had the home court advantage. And it’s his first indoor title. He’ll make a nice move; we show him rising from #22 to #16.

Feliciano Lopez loses his Top Thirty chance, but he will rise from #47 to around #34. Not too bad for a guy just back from injury.

Doubles – Final: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. (WC) Blake/Sock 6-1 6-2

As with the singlers, there isn’t much to say about this final; it took less than 45 minutes. It’s already the third title this year for the Bryans, following Sydney and the Australian Open, and of course it’s a 500 point event — meaning that the Bryans now have the two biggest events played so far (well, two of the three — Rotterdam was also a 500). They haven’t qualified for the year-end Championships yet, of course — but it would be no surprise if they qualify by Miami.

Even if they need a little longer, they added some nice memories. Mike Bryan commented, “It’s incredible there hasn’t been an all-American final here since 2001, but it was great to be back where we won our first title. Bob and I couldn’t have played any better. We love coming back here. To have three titles in four tournaments so far this season is amazing.”

Marseille

Singles – Final: (3) J Tsonga def. (1) T Berdych 3-6 7-6(8-6) 6-4

It was every bit as dramatic as it looked. Would the outcome have been different in another country? Who knows?

For Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, this is a milestone in several ways. It is his tenth career title. It is also his first title of 2013; he has now won at least one title in five of the last six years (he missed 2010).

The down side? His last five titles in a row have all been 250 pointer. His last (and only) 500 pointer was Tokyo 2009; his last (and only) title bigger than that was Paris 2008. It’s tough to climb when all you win are bottom-tier events — and, indeed, Tsonga will remain #8, right where he came in. He isn’t likely to fall any time soon, but he isn’t at all likely to climb, either; he is still almost a thousand points behind #7 Juan Martin del Potro. If you have to be in a rut, being in a rut around #8 in the world isn’t bad — but it’s still a rut.

Of course, Tomas Berdych is in his own rut, in his case at #6. Like Tsonga, he wasn’t going to move no matter what. But this is a minor blow to his hopes of reaching the Top Five in coming months.

Doubles – Final: (2) Bopanna/Fleming def. (1) Qureshi/Rojer 6-4 7-6(7-3)

Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Qureshi quite definitely had better results with each other than with other partners, so it is always interesting to see them face off, especially in a final. Even more interesting is the fact that Bopanna probably had the weaker partner here — but still managed to win. He earns his first title of the year. Qureshi is still looking for his first since he and Rojer won Halle last year.

Even more amazing is the fact that Colin Fleming was less than 100%; Bopanna commented, “It’s always tough to play against friends. Then I also want to thank my partner. He wasn’t feeling well this morning but he came out and played a great match.”

Buenos Aires

Singles – Final: (1) D Ferrer def. (3) S Wawrinka 6-4 3-6 6-1

David Ferrer sure knows how to put on a show. Two very close sets — and then he struck.

Too bad for Ferrer that he doesn’t get any points out of this. He has too many 250 point events. This is already his second 250 point title of the year — he also won Auckland. Interestingly, he won those same two events last year. 2013 is starting to look like a clone of 2012. Of course, given that 2012 was the best year of his career to date, he probably won’t complain.

It’s title #20 for Ferrer.

Stanislas Wawrinka at least managed to go one round deeper this year than last. So his point total rises. Unfortunately, it does him very little rankings good, because others around him also added points.

Doubles – Final: Bolelli/Fognini def. Monroe/Stadler 6-3 6-2

Nicolas Monroe is thirty years old, and so obscure that the ATP doesn’t even know whether he is right- or left-handed. He’s been a pro for nine years, and had never made a final. As best we can tell, he never even played an ATP singles match! We could go on, but you get the idea. Think he was excited?

Maybe too excited. This took less than an hour, and Monroe/Stadler won less than 40% of the points. But at least they get to say they reached a final.

Fabio Fognini is Top Fifty in singles, but his big match record is only slightly better: two singles finals, one doubles title: Umag 2011 (with Bolelli). Title #2 may not be as big as #1, but he’s probably pretty happy too. For Simone Bolelli, it’s title #3.

©Daily tennis news wire

Topics: Buenos Aires, Feliciano Lopez, For Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kei Nishikori, Marseille, Memphis, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News