Men Tennis Update – Barcelona and Bucharest Thursday, April 25, 2013

Written by: Staff on 24th April 2013

Men Tennis Update - Barcelona and Bucharest Thursday, April 25, 2013

epa03627994 Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during his semi-final match against Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 15 March 2013. Nadal won the match and advanced to the final. EPA/PAUL BUCK |

Barcelona

Singles – Second Round: (Q) D Tursunov def. (1) D Ferrer 7-5 3-6 6-1

Whatever the reason was that David Ferrer skipped Monte Carlo, it looks as if it was a genuine problem. He looked awful in this match — and said as much afterward, with extreme disappointment. He wants this title, and he can’t seem to win it. And he opens the door, just a little tiny bit, for Rafael Nadal to have a shot at the #4 Roland Garros seed. Nadal still needs to win everything, and he needs Ferrer to keep under-performing, but this gains Nadal some of the ground he lost at Monte Carlo…

Singles – Second Round: (2) R Nadal def. C Berlocq 6-4 6-2

…and it looks as if Nadal wants to take the opening that Ferrer gave him. He needs a lot more than this, of course.

Singles – Second Round: (4) N Almagro def. I Dodig 6-1 7-5

Nicolas Almagro needs a title to climb this week, but even with Nadal still in the draw, this looks like one of his better chances.

Singles – Second Round: (5) M Raonic def. E Roger-Vasselin 6-4 6-2

Milos Raonic made the semifinal here last year — one of his best clay results. So he needs a good bit more if he doesn’t want to fall to #14 or lower.

Singles – Second Round: (7) J Monaco def. B Tomic 6-0 6-2

Bernard Tomic defended his points, but it appears he will nonetheless lose a ranking spot. Perhaps fitting, after a scoreline like that.

Singles – Second Round: A Ramos def. (9) J Janowicz 4-6 6-2 6-3

Jerzy Janowicz might rise from #25 to #24, but that is as high as he can go.

Singles – Second Round: (11) M Klizan def. (WC) A Montanes 6-3 6-4

It’s just possible that this will put Martin Klizan in the Top Thirty. One more win would clinch.

Singles – Second Round: (13) B Paire def. P Andujar 6-4 5-7 6-3

Benoit Paire is likely to be right around the cutoff for Roland Garros seeding. This moves him to possibly #32 — but, of course, there is a lot of clay still to come.

Singles – Second Round: T Robredo def. (14) G Dimitrov 7-5 6-1

Grigor Dimitrov loses his Top 25 chance — but red-hot Tommy Robredo will rise to around #40. At the rate he’s going, he has a shot at a Roland Garros seed.

Singles – Second Round: (15) M Granollers def. B Kavcic 6-3 6-1

For now, Marcel Granollers is still #35 in safe points. Any more wins could take him toward a French Open seed.

Doubles – First Round: Marrero/Verdasco def. (Alt) Davydenko/Istomin 6-4 1-6 12-10

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Peya/Soares def. Fleming/Marray 7-6(7-5) 6-4

Bucharest

Singles – Second Round: (2) G Simon def. J Nieminen 4-6 6-4 6-4

A tough start for Gilles Simon, considering that he is the defending champion here. Lucky for him he gets a day off, given that he hasn’t earned any points yet.

Singles – Second Round: L Rosol def. (3) A Seppi 6-1 3-6 6-3

This is good news for Simon, too, since it means that Andreas Seppi can’t pass him. And Seppi was the one real threat. Simon still needs a lot to keep his #16 ranking, but it appears the worst he can be is #18. Lukas Rosol hasn’t really moved yet, but any more wins could take him places.

Singles – Second Round: (8) V Troicki def. T Kamke 6-4 6-2

It’s good to see Viktor Troicki finally doing something. Not enough yet to budge his ranking significantly, though.

Singles – Second Round: D Brands def. (WC) G Monfils 7-6(7-1) 2-0 retired (Lower Back)

As if Gael Monfils needs more injuries….

Doubles – First Round: (1) Mirnyi/Tecau def. Bracciali/Starace 6-4 6-4

Doubles – First Round: Inglot/Rosol def. (2) Knowle/Polasek 6-3 6-4

Doubles – First Round: Dlouhy/Marach def. Cabal/Farah 2-6 6-3 10-5 .

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (3) Gonzalez/Lipsky def. Cermak/Mertinak 6-2 7-5

No matter what the seedings say, we’d consider this a fair upset on clay. Which is promising, perhaps, for Gonzalez/Lipsky.

©Daily tennis news wire

Topics: Barcelona, Bucharest, David Ferrer, Gilles Simon, men tennis news, milos raonic, Nicolas Almagro, Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Viktor Troicki