Nadal Wins Rio & Tennis Results & News: Bryan’s Win Delray

Written by: on 23rd February 2014
RIO DE JANEIRO OPEN
Nadal Wins Rio & Tennis Results & News: Bryan's Win Delray

epa04098427 Spanish Rafael Nadal celebrates his victory over Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov during the ATP final match of Rio de Janeiro Open in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 23 February 2014. EPA/ANTONIO LACERDA  |

* Gulbis tops Tsonga to win first title of 2014

* Nadal bounces back from tough semifinal to win Rio

* Cilic edges Anderson for second title of year

* Bryans finally earn first title of 2014

****** TODAY’S MEN’S NEWS ******

 

Rio de Janeiro

 

Singles – Final: (1) R Nadal def. A Dolgopolov 6-3 7-6(7-3)

Rafael Nadal had not looked very good the night before; his explanation seemed to boil down to the fact that he was struggling with the uncomfortable conditions. But it was thoroughly uncomfortable on Sunday as well — high heat and very high humidity. (This is, after all, summer in Brazil!) Maybe it helped that he faced an opponent who came from Kiev. Apart from the distractions, Alexandr Dolgopolov can’t have much experience with weather like this. He didn’t earn his first break until Rafael Nadal served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, and that merely prolonged the agony for a few minutes.

It’s the second title of the year for Rafael Nadal, which sounds pretty good until you compare it with the rate at which he added titles last year. Still, this is a 500 pointer, which is worth a lot more than his earlier title at Doha. He’s getting back to the top of the Race. And, of course, he remains an overwhelming #1 in the rankings.

Alexandr Dolgopolov spent months struggling to get back into the Top Fifty. He’s finally made it. Even with the loss, he will rise from #54 to probably #38.

Doubles – Final: Cabal/Farah def. (2) Marrero/Melo 6-4 6-2

The clay helped. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah aren’t such a factor away from it. But Marrero/Melo know clay, too — and they have titles. Cabal/Farah don’t. Or didn’t. Cabal had five career finals, including Roland Garros 2011 with Schwank, but he had lost them all. Including two this year, at Brisbane and Vina del Mar. Farah had four finals, no titles. And this is not only the first title for each, but it’s at a 500 point event. A pretty nice day for both guys.

Marseille

 

Singles – Final: (3) E Gulbis def. (2) J Tsonga 7-6(7-5) 6-4

Ernests Gulbis, your next assignment is: Win something that matters.

The Great Gulbis Breakthrough continues; this is career title #5 (he is now 5-0 in finals), and three of them (Delray Beach 2013, St. Peterburg 2013, and Marseille 2014) have come in the last 52 weeks. But — they’re all 250 point events. We show him rising to #18 with this win. But he can’t go much higher unless he starts stacking up points at the big events. He has only 190 points at Slams. He is holding one Masters quarterfinal (Canadian Open); everything else is a Round of Sixteen or less. He just doesn’t have much more room for optional events.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga probably wishes he had Gulbis’s problems. He fails to defend his title — meaning that he is no longer holding any titles at all — and that costs him a hundred points. Still, he remains #10, and he will have a genuine shot to go higher next week.

Doubles – Final: (2) Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin def. Hanley/Marray 4-6 7-6(8-6) 13-11

There is a funny sort of symmetry to Julien Benneteau’s career. He has made nine singles finals (at least one a year for six years in a row from 2008 to 2013). He has lost them all. But, with this victory, he now has nine doubles titles. Maybe he needs to carry a cardboard cutout of a partner to stand behind the court when he plays singles finals….

Or maybe he should spend more time with Edouard Roger-Vasselin, because Roger-Vasselin has quietly become one of the top doubles players in the world. In the last 26 months, he has seven titles (and has won seven of the eight finals he has played). He has won on grass, indoor hardcourt, and outdoor hardcourt. He has won with four different partners. It’s getting to the point where 250 point titles don’t help him much. But he is certain to stay Top Twenty — and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him go higher.

Delray Beach

 

Singles – Final: (7) M Cilic def. (4) K Anderson 7-6(8-6) 6-7(7-9) 6-4

This match seemed as if it always wanted to turn into a blowout, and never quite did. Marin Cilic threatened Kevin Anderson at the very start, but couldn’t get the break. In the second set, he served for the match at 5-3 and was broken. He had a match point in the next game, but Anderson saved it. Cilic had the first minibreak of the tiebreak, but couldn’t hold on to it, and they went to the third set. And Cilic broke in the very first game. That finally gave him the lead he needed — although he had to save three break points as he served for the match. It took him more than three hours to finish.

He picks up his second title of the year, and second this month. He now has eleven titles in his career, five on indoor hardcourt, four on outdoor hardcourt, one on grass, one on clay — an interesting and impressive mix. Less impressive is the fact that they’re all low-tier. And here he goes with another 250 point event. It appears he will rise to #25 as a result of this. But he’d climb a lot faster if he could win at bigger events.

Kevin Anderson would have been Top Twenty had he won this. As it is, it looks as if he’ll stay right at #21, which is where he came in. He almost seems to be glued right about at #21 or #22.

Doubles – Final: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. Cermak/Elgin 6-2 6-3

We now return you to normal reality, already in progress.

Or, to put it another way, “Finally, the Bryans win their first title of 2014.” And #94 as a team overall, but who’s counting? (Well, we suspect Mike is counting up to one hundred; this is #96 for him, so he needs four more.) The pair have now won at least one title for fourteen years straight. And, surely, still counting.

It won’t affect their rankings, of course; they are still the overwhelming #1 team. But their race standing was, shall we say, unexpectedly low. It’s still rather low. But going in the right direction.

Frantisek Cermak is still looking for his first title since Moscow 2012; his ranking has fallen to #71 (though this should help a bit). He is trying to win title #30, so this was disappointing. But this means that he has reached at least a final every year since 2002. (Indeed, last year was the first year since 2001 that he didn’t win a title.) He’ll never threaten Mike Bryan’s record, but it’s certainly an impressive list.

 

 

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

 

THIS WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:

Dubai (500/Hard). Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic

Acapulco (500/Hard). Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal

Sao Paulo (250/Clay). Defending Champion: (new event)

NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:

Indian Wells (1000/Hard). Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal

 

RANKINGS

 

Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings

 

As of February 23, 2013

Rank &

Prior…Player………..Points

1..(1) Nadal………….14580

2..(2) Djokovic……….10580

3..(3) Wawrinka………..5560

4..(4) Ferrer………….5370

5..(5) Del Potro……….4960

6..(6) Berdych…………4890

7..(7) Murray………….4795

8..(8) Federer…………4305

9..(9) Gasquet…………2950

10.(10) Tsonga………….2785

11.(11) Raonic………….2440

12.(12) Haas……………2435

13.(13) Isner…………..2320

14.(14) Fognini…………2260

15.(16) Youzhny…………2100

16.(17) Robredo…………2050

17.(18) Almagro…………1930

18.(23) Gulbis………….1788

19.(19) Janowicz………..1750

20.(15) Nishikori……….1715

21.(21) Anderson………..1685

22.(20) Dimitrov………..1675

23.(22) Simon…………..1485

24.(24) Monfils…………1475

25.(29) Cilic…………..1455

26.(25) Kohlschreiber……1375

27.(26) Pospisil………..1359

28.(30) Paire…………..1275

29.(28) Tursunov………..1257

30.(31) Mayer…………..1245

**DRAWS

 

Rio de Janeiro — week of February 17, 2014

WINNER: Rafael Nadal

……………..QF………….SF……….F

1 Nadal……….(1)Nadal…….Nadal…….Nadal

6 Granollers…..Sousa

4 Robredo……..(4)Robredo

8 Andujar……..(8)Andujar…..Andujar

 

5 Almagro……..Dolgopolov…..Dolgopolov..Dolgopolov

3 Fognini……..(3)Fognini

7 Monaco………Bellucci(WC)

2 Ferrer………(2)Ferrer……Ferrer

 

STATUS OF SEEDS

1 Nadal……..WON TOURNAMENT

2 Ferrer…….lost SF (Dolgopolov)

3 Fognini……lost QF (Dolgopolov)

4 Robredo……lost QF (Andujar)

5 Almagro……lost 1R (Dolgopolov)

6 Granollers…lost 1R (Sousa)

7 Monaco…….lost 2R (Bellucci)

8 Andujar……lost SF (Nadal)

Marseille — week of February 17, 2014

WINNER: Ernests Gulbis

……………….QF……………….SF……..F

1 Gasquet……….(1)Gasquet………..Gasquet

5 Dodig…………(5)Dodig

3 Gulbis………..(3)Gulbis…………Gulbis….Gulbis

8 Mahut…………(8)Mahut

 

7 Benneteau……..Struff……………Struff

4 Seppi…………Llorda

6 Roger-Vasselin…(6)Roger-Vasselin

2 Tsonga………..(2)Tsonga…………Tsonga….Tsonga

 

STATUS OF SEEDS

1 Gasquet……..lost SF (Gulbis)

2 Tsonga………lost F (Gulbis)

3 Gulbis………WON TOURNAMENT

4 Seppi……….lost 2R (Llodra)

5 Dodig……….lost QF (Gasquet)

6 Roger-Vasselin.lost QF (Tsonga)

7 Benneteau……lost 2R (Struff)

8 Mahut……….lost QF (Gulbis)

Delray Beach — week of February 17, 2014

WINNER: Marin Cilic

…………….QF…………SF……..F

1 Haas……….Johnson(Q)….Johnson

6 F Lopez…….(6)Lopez

4 Anderson……(4)Anderson…Anderson..Anderson

8 Hewitt……..Matosevic

 

7 Cilic………(7)Cilic……Cilic…..Cilic

3 Nishikori…..Gabashvili

[Williams(Q)]…Williams(Q)

2 Isner………(2)Isner……Isner

 

STATUS OF SEEDS

1 Haas……..lost 2R (Johnson)

2 Isner…….lost SF (Cilic)

3 Nishikori…lost 2R (Gabashvili)

4 Anderson….lost F (Cilic)

5 Pospisil….WITHDREW

6 F Lopez…..lost QF (Johnson)

7 Cilic…….WON TOURNAMENT

8 Hewitt……lost 2R (Matosevic)

Dubai — week of February 24, 2014

1 Djokovic

Istomin

Bautista Agut

Qualifier

Gabashvili

Ward (WC)

Przysiezny

6 Youzhny

 

4 Federer

Becker

Stepanek

Russell

Rosol

Brands

Qualifier

8 Tursunov

 

5 Tsonga

Hanescu

Davydenko

Golubev

Dodig

Stakhovsky

Qualifier

3 Berdych

 

7 Kohlschreiber

Qualifier

Seppi

F Mayer

Jaziri (WC)

Sijsling

Devvarman

2 del Potro

Acapulco — week of February 24, 2014

1 Ferrer

Kukushkin

F Lopez

Roger-Vasselin

Querrey

Hank (WC)

Qualifier

5 Anderson

 

3 Isner

Karlovic

Sela

Qualifier

Chardy

Ebden

Dolgopolov

8 Pospisil

 

7 Gulbis

Lu

Kubot

Qualifier

Reyes-Varela (WC)

Baghdatis (WC)

Matosevic

4 Dimitrov

 

6 Simon

Qualifier

Melzer

Nieminen

Sousa

Mannarino

Andujar

2 Murray

Sao Paulo — week of February 24, 2014

1 Haas

–bye

A Gonzalez

Qualifier

Cuevas (PR)

Zeballos

Pella

7 L Mayer

 

4 Monaco

–bye

Qualifier

Ramos

Lorenzi

Qualifier

Qualifier

6 Garcia-Lopez

 

8 Giraldo

Bellucci (WC)

Reister

Haider-Maurer

Klizan

Clezar (WC)

–bye

3 Granollers

 

5 Haase

Souza (WC)

Bedene

Montanes

Volandri

Delbonis

–bye

2 Almagro

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

 

SUNDAY

 

Rio de Janeiro

Singles – Final

(1) R Nadal def. A Dolgopolov 6-3 7-6(7-3)

Doubles – Final

Cabal/Farah def. (2) Marrero/Melo 6-4 6-2

 

Marseille

Singles – Final

(3) E Gulbis def. (2) J Tsonga 7-6(7-5) 6-4

Doubles – Final

(2) Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin def. Hanley/Marray 4-6 7-6(8-6) 13-11

 

Delray Beach

Singles – Final

(7) M Cilic def. (4) K Anderson 7-6(8-6) 6-7(7-9) 6-4

Doubles – Final

(1) Bryan/Bryan def. Cermak/Elgin 6-2 6-3

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