Kitzbuhel
Juan Monaco is taking aim at a second title at this mountain event after winning the trophy in 2007. The Argentine stated his case 6-3, 6-4 over local wild card Andreas Haider-Maurer to move into the quarter-finals after his opening match following a bye. Monaco has been away for six years from he tournament but has won seven of his last eight ATP titles on his favored clay, including Dusseldorf in May. The South American missed the last two Kitz editions, which were won by Robin Haase, losing finalist at the weekend at the Swiss alpine tournament in Gstaad.
Monaco next plays Daniel Gimeno-Traver, a winner over Czech Jan Hajek 6-3, 6-3 and reversing a five-set loss to the Spaniard in the Roland Garros first round.
The unseeded Haase won his 11th straight match at the famed ski venue as he defeated Daniel Brands 6-4, 6-1, taking just over an hour, The German has been a danger man on European clay, taking advantage of back pain from Roger Federer a week ago to upset the Swiss in a Gstaad opener. The Dutchman set up a match with Fernando Verdasco, after the third seed opened with a defeat of Spanish compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 7-6(7).
Seventh seed Albert Montanes got by with the help of hit 11 in a defeat of Gstaad finalist Victor Hanescu of Romania 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(5), a two-and-a-half-hour epic. There was a big local win for Austrian teenager Dominic Thiem, ranked 268 as the youngster beat experienced countryman and fourth seed Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-3. Melzer, 33, played the final here in 2008 and lost to Juan Del Potro. The defeat was the 19th this season for Melzer, who has been dealing with injury.
Washington DC
2012 finalist Tommy Haas was shut out by rain which plagued the event, his second-round opening match against American Tim Smyczek interrupted by the poor weather with the German leading 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 in a fight back which will have to be resumed.
But five matches were completed on the ATP side of the joint event at Rock Creek Park, with eighth seed John Isner, last week’s Atlanta champion, starting in the capital by defeating qualifier Alex Kuznetsov 7-6(2), 7-6(4), saving nine of ten break points and firing nearly 20 aces.
There’s been an unexpected breakthrough in form for Mardy Fish, who has suffered a fear of playing after dealing with an irregular heartbeat for the past 18 months, a problem which doctors believe they have fixed. But the 31-year=old former top 10 player, nervous about testing himself, is getting back into the mix. He proved that with a 299th career victory and a knockout of 12th seed Julien Benneteau 6-3, 7-5. Fish reached the semis-here a year ago.
“It was a good test to see where I was. It’s a good court for me, it’s very fast,” said the veteran after his second-round win. “I passed, and move on to the next one.”
Czech Radek Stepanek, the 2011 champion, advanced 6-2, 6-1 win Michael Llodra of France to next play Russian Dmitry Tursunov, a 199 match winner who upset French fifth seed Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-2.
RANKINGS
Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings
As of July 28, 2013
Rank &
Prior…Player………..Points
1..(1) Djokovic……….12310
2..(2) Murray………….9360
3..(3) Ferrer………….7120
4..(4) Nadal…………..6860
5..(5) Federer…………5875
6..(6) Berdych…………4865
7..(7) Del Potro……….4500
8..(8) Tsonga………….3480
9..(9) Gasquet…………3045
10.(10) Wawrinka………..2915
11.(11) Nishikori……….2495
12.(12) Haas……………2395
13.(13) Raonic………….2225
14.(14) Almagro…………2135
15.(15) Cilic…………..2075
16.(19) Fognini…………2075
17.(16) Simon…………..2055
18.(17) Janowicz………..2029
19.(18) Tipsarevic………2025
20.(22) Isner…………..1770
21.(21) Anderson………..1740
22.(20) Querrey…………1570
23.(28) Robredo…………1570
24.(24) Seppi…………..1550
25.(25) Dolgopolov………1500
26.(23) Kohlschreiber……1490
27.(26) Chardy………….1406
28.(27) Paire…………..1405
29.(33) Youzhny…………1395
30.(29) Lopez…………..1390
DRAWS
Washington — Week of July 29
1 del Potro (WC)
–bye
Hewitt
R Harrison
Goffin
Lu
–bye
14 Tomic
12 Benneteau
–bye
Llodra
Fish
Duckworth (WC)
Qualifier
–bye
7 Anderson
3 Haas
–bye
Zemlja
Qualifier
Berankis
Kamke
–bye
13 Dodig
11 Dimitrov
–bye
Malisse
Ram
Istomin
Giraldo
–bye
6 Querrey
5 Simon
–bye
Qualifier
Tursunov
Stepanek
Johnson (WC)
–bye
10 F Lopez
15 Davydenko
–bye
Blake
Matosevic
Kudla (WC)
Qualifier
–bye
4 Raonic
8 Isner
–bye
Bogomolov
Monfils
Qualifier
Qualifier
–bye
9 Dolgopolov
16 Baghdatis
–bye
Lacko
Falla
Sock (WC)
Sijsling
–bye
2 Nishikori
Kitzbuhel — Week of July 29
1 Kohlschreiber
–bye
de Schepper
L Mayer
M FIscher (Q)
Zeballos
Pavic (WC)
8 Granollers
3 Verdasco
–bye
Bellucci
Garcia-Lopez
Rufin
Haase
Brands
5 Berlocq
7 Montanes
Ungur
Bedene
Hanescu
And. Kuznetsov
Thiem (WC)
–bye
4 Melzer
6 Bautista Agut
Hajek (Q)
Veic (Q)
Gimeno-Traver
Haider-Maurer (WC)
D Novak (Q)
–bye
2 Monaco
WEDNESDAY
Kitzbuhel
Singles – Second Round
[2] J Monaco (ARG) d [WC] A Haider-Maurer (AUT) 63 64
[3] F Verdasco (ESP) d G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 62 76(7)
[WC] D Thiem (AUT) d [4] J Melzer (AUT) 75 63
[7] A Montanes (ESP) d V Hanescu (ROU) 76(2) 36 76(5)
R Haase (NED) d D Brands (GER) 64 61
D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) d [Q] J Hajek (CZE) 63 63
Doubles – First Round
J Murray (GBR) / J Peers (AUS) d [2] D Bracciali (ITA) / F Polasek (SVK) 64 06 12-10
[4] M Emmrich (GER) / C Kas (GER) d V Hanescu (ROU) / F Mergea (ROU) 64 62
R Haase (NED) / R Klaasen (RSA) d C Berlocq (ARG) / H Zeballos (ARG) 63 60
Washington
Singles – Second Round
D Tursunov (RUS) d [5] G Simon (FRA) 64 62
[8] J Isner (USA) d [Q] A Kuznetsov (USA) 76(2) 76(4)
M Fish (USA) d [12] J Benneteau (FRA) 63 75
[13] I Dodig (CRO) d T Kamke (GER) 26 62 63
R Stepanek (CZE) d [17] M Llodra (FRA) 62 61
Doubles – First Round
T Huey (PHI) / D Inglot (GBR) d C Fleming (GBR) / J Marray (GBR) 64 67(4) 10-7