Mirnyi/Tecau win Bucharest

Barcelona

 

Singles – Semifinal: (2) R Nadal def. (5) M Raonic 6-4 6-0

There was a long weather delay before they could start action in Catalonia; it forced them to play both singles semifinals at the same time, and the doubles semifinals had to be put off until Sunday. It obviously didn’t slow down Rafael Nadal, though; he’s in yet another final. Not much chance he’ll earn the #4 Roland Garros seed, but he’s certainly putting his case. He leaves Milos Raonic at #13, which is where he came in.

Singles – Semifinal: (4) N Almagro def. (8) P Kohlschreiber 6-2 6-1

And so, yes, we have two Spaniards in the final. Which gives Nicolas Almagro at least a chance of climbing. If he can beat Nadal, he’ll rise to #11. Otherwise, he stays #12. Philipp Kohlschreiber will stay at #21 — and he has the Munich title coming off next week.

Bucharest

 

Singles – Semifinal: L Rosol def. (2) G Simon 6-2 6-3

Defending points just doesn’t seem to be Gilles Simon’s thing. And he was last year’s champion here. Clearly trouble was brewing…. He will fall from #16 to #17. Lukas Rosol — who posts probably his best result since the famous Nadal win — puts himself in the Top Forty.

Singles – Semifinal: G Garcia-Lopez def. (5) F Mayer 6-4 4-6 6-3

What a crazy event…. No seeds in the final. Florian Mayer appears to be at #27. The final should be interesting. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez will be much more tired (this was the later of the two semifinals as well as the longer), and he’s older… but he has been here before. Lukas Rosol is rested, inconsistent, and far less experienced.

Doubles – Final: (1) Mirnyi/Tecau def. Dlouhy/Marach 4-6 6-4 10-6

This is a case where everybody is happy. Lukas Dlouhy did manage to win the Orleans Challenger last fall, but other than that, he hadn’t made a final since Metz 2011. Of course, he would have liked to have won his first title since Sydney 2011…. But it’s progress. It’s progress for Mirnyi/Tecau, too; they pick up their first team title. Indeed, it’s the first title for Max Mirnyi since Queens; Horia Tecau wins his first title since Cincinnati. Mirnyi/Tecau came in a mere #13 in the doubles Race; this will help significantly, although they remain below the magic #8.

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

 

Men’s Look Forward: Munich, Oeiras

 

It’s going to be a quiet week.

This is the only week between Monte Carlo and Rome to have no event larger than a 250 point tournament. So the players who want to do well at the big tournaments have a tendency to take this week off.

So take a guess at which Top Ten player signed up for Munich. Yep, it’s Janko “I-play-everything” Tipsarevic, back to show just how exhausted one guy can get. Other than that, the draw looks pretty much the way it did last year. Marin Cilic is the #2 seed, Tommy Haas #3 (of course, he wasn’t seeded up there in 2012!), defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber #4; they all have byes. Alexandr Dolgopolov is #5, Florian Mayer #6, Mikhail Youzhny #7, and Jurgen Melzer #8. Tipsarevic might have to start against Thomaz Bellucci, Melzer opens against Gael Monfils, Kohlschreiber is likely to open against Marcos Baghdatis, Youzhny starts against Radek Stepanek, Haas will have to face Ernests Gulbis or Jarkko Nieminen, and Cilic may open against Nikolay Davydenko. Not a bad field for a 250, especially one in this time slot.

Oeiras, an old event but held in a new venue, is even weaker — except for one thing. David Ferrer, who had a horrid time at Barcelona and presumably thinks he needs matches, took a wildcard to earn the #1 seed. He is, of course, the top player in action this week — and the only Top Fifteen player in the Portugese draw. The #2 seed is Stanislas Wawrinka. Defending champion Andreas Seppi is #3. Fabio Fognini is seeded #4 and has the last bye even though his ranking has slipped in the past week. Julien Benneteau is #5, Benoit Paire #6, Horacio Zeballos #7, and Tommy Robredo’s recent strong results earned him the #8 seed. There aren’t many real unseeded threats, although Wawrinka might have to open against Albert Ramos.

The Rankings

The schedule this year is rather different from last; in 2012, there were three tournaments — Belgrade, Estoril, and Munich — in this slot. The winner at Belgrade was Andreas Seppi; Benoit Paire suddenly got people’s attention by reaching the final; the semifinalists were Pablo Andujar (now in a severe slump) and David Nalbandian (ditto). Juan Martin del Potro won Estoril, over Richard Gasquet; Stanislas Wawrinka and Albert Ramos were semifinalists. The Munich champion was Philipp Kohlschreiber, with Marin Cilic the finalist and Tommy Haas and Feliciano Lopez the semifinalists.

That probably means, yet again, no movement in the Top Ten. Certainly nothing in the Top Eight; we might see #10 Tipsarevic gain on #9 Gasquet. But Ferrer cannot rise, and #7 del Potro’s lead over #8 Tsonga is too big to overcome. Wawrinka might be able to move into the Top Fifteen. Seppi’s Top Twenty ranking is in danger. Kohlschreiber might fall, but probably not more than two spots. Paire could end up around #40.

KEYWORDS: Preview Munich Oeiras

******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********

 

 

Barcelona (500/Clay). Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal

Bucharest (250/Clay). Defending Champion: Gilles Simon

NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:

Oeiras (250/Clay). Defending Champion: Juan Martin del Potro (at Estoril)

Munich (250/Clay). Defending Champion: Philipp Kohlschreiber

******** STATS AND FACTS ********

 

RANKINGS

 

Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings

As of April 27, 2013

 

Rank &

Prior…Player………..Points

1..(1) Djokovic……….12900

2..(2) Federer…………8670

3..(3) Murray………….8570

4..(4) Ferrer………….6920

5..(5) Nadal…………..5785

6..(6) Berdych…………4760

7..(7) Del Potro……….4750

8..(8) Tsonga………….3875

9..(9) Gasquet…………3365

10.(10) Tipsarevic………3000

11.(11) Cilic…………..2675

12.(12) Almagro…………2615

13.(13) Raonic………….2225

14.(14) Haas……………2215

15.(15) Nishikori……….2090

16.(17) Wawrinka………..2005

17.(16) Simon…………..1940

18.(18) Seppi…………..1895

19.(19) Querrey…………1870

20.(20) Monaco………….1785

21.(21) Kohlschreiber……1780

22.(22) Isner…………..1690

23.(23) Dolgopolov………1590

24.(25) Janowicz………..1404

25.(24) Fognini…………1345

26.(26) Chardy………….1321

27.(29) Mayer…………..1305

28.(27) Anderson………..1295

29.(28) Dimitrov………..1272

30.(31) Klizan………….1230

**DRAWS

 

Barcelona — Week of April 22

 

……………..3R………………QF………….SF…………..F

1 Ferrer………Tursunov(Q)

16 Bellucci……(16)Bellucci……..Bellucci

11 Klizan……..(11)Klizan

8 Kohlschreiber..(8)Kohlschreiber….Kohlschreiber..Kohlschreiber

 

4 Almagro……..(4)Almagro……….Almagro……..Almagro……..Almagro

15 Granollers….(15)Granollers

10 Chardy……..(10)Chardy

7 Monaco………(7)Monaco………..Monaco

 

5 Raonic………(5)Raonic………..Raonic………Raonic

12 Verdasco……Gulbis(Q)

14 Dimitrov……Robredo………….Robredo

3 Berdych……..(3)Berdych

 

6 Nishikori……(6)Nishikori

9 Janowicz…….Ramos…………..Ramos

13 Paire………(13)Paire

2 Nadal……….(2)Nadal………..Nadal………..Nadal………Nadal

 

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Ferrer……….lost 2R (Tursunov)

2 Nadal

3 Berdych………lost 3R (Robredo)

4 Almagro

5 Raonic……….lost SF (Nadal)

6 Nishikori…….lost 3R (Ramos)

7 Monaco……….lost QF (Almagro)

8 Kohlschreiber…lost SF (Almagro)

9 Janowicz……..lost 2R (Ramos)

10 Chardy………lost 3R (Monaco)

11 Klizan………lost 3R (Kohlschreiber)

12 Verdasco…….lost 2R (Gulbis)

13 Paire……….lost 3R (Nadal)

14 Dimitrov…….lost 2R (Robredo)

15 Granollers…..lost 3R (Almagro)

16 Bellucci…….WITHDREW from QF

Bucharest — Week of April 22

 

……………….QF……………..SF………….F

1 Tipsarevic (WC)..(1)Tipsarevic(WC)

7 Zeballos………Garcia-Lopez…….Garcia-Lopez…Garcia-Lopez

4 Youzhny……….Hanescu

5 Mayer…………(5)Mayer………..Mayer

 

8 Troicki……….(8)Troicki

3 Seppi…………Rosol…………..Rosol……….Rosol

6 Fognini……….Brands

2 Simon…………(2)Simon………..Simon

 

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Tipsarevic (WC)..lost QF (Garcia-Lopez)

2 Simon…………lost SF (Rosol)

3 Seppi…………lost 2R (Rosol)

4 Youzhny……….lost 2R (Hanescu)

5 Mayer…………lost SF (Rosol)

6 Fognini……….WITHDREW

7 Zeballos………lost 1R (Garcia-Lopez)

8 Troicki……….lost QF (Rosol)

Munich — Week of April 29

 

1 Tipsarevic

–bye

Bellucci

Zemlja

Brands

Kamke (WC)

Monfils (WC)

8 Melzer

 

4 Kohlschreiber

–bye

Baghdatis

Qualifier

Qualifier

Troicki

Stepanek

7 Youzhny

 

6 Mayer

Qualifier

Matosevic

Krawietz (WC)

Gulbis

Nieminen

–bye

3 Haas

 

5 Dolgopolov

Qualifier

Mathieu

Tursunov

Davydenko

Dodig

–bye

2 Cilic

Oeiras — Week of April 29

 

1 Ferrer (WC)

–bye

Muller

Roger-Vasselin

Hanescu

Qualifier

Sijsling

6 Paire

 

3 Seppi

–bye

Falla

And. Kuznetsov

Andujar

Qualifier

Gimeno-Traver

8 Robredo

 

5 Benneteau

Qualifier

Goffin

P Sousa (WC)

Lorenzi

Qualifier

–bye

4 Fognini

 

7 Zeballos

Elias (WC)

Istomin

Donskoy

Ramos

Berlocq

–bye

2 Wawrinka

******** SCORES ********

 

SATURDAY

Barcelona

Singles – Semifinal

(2) R Nadal def. (5) M Raonic 6-4 6-0

(4) N Almagro def. (8) P Kohlschreiber 6-2 6-1

Bucharest

Singles – Semifinal

L Rosol def. (2) G Simon 6-2 6-3

G Garcia-Lopez def. (5) F Mayer 6-4 4-6 6-3

Doubles – Final

(1) Mirnyi/Tecau def. Dlouhy/Marach 4-6 6-4 10-6

©Daily tennis news wire

Topics: Gilles Simon, Lukas Dlouhy, Lukas Rosol, Max Mirnyi, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Rafael Nadal, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News

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