MEN’S TENNIS NEWS, RESULTS & MONTE CARLO MATCHES PREVIEWED

TODAY’S MEN’S NEWS

 

Casablanca

 

Singles – Semifinal: (2) M Klizan def. D Dzumhur 4-6 6-4 6-0

Too bad for Damir Dzumhur that he had to have that collapse at the end. Had he won, he would easily have hit a career high. As it is, he might gain a spot or two, but it won’t be much. That’s by contrast to Martin Klizan, who will rise from #41 to at least #33 and very likely #32. A title would put him in the Top Thirty.

 

Singles – Semifinal: D Gimeno-Traver def. (3) J Vesely 6-7(3-7) 6-4 6-4

Can you recall a two and a half hour clay match in which one player never faced a break point? We can’t (which doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, of course; it surely has). In any case, it’s now happened again. Daniel Gimeno-Traver never had his serve threatened, and he was just enough better than Jiri Vesely to reach his first-ever final. Vesely, who seems to be developing consistency problems, will be just below #45.

 

Doubles – Final: Junaid/Shamasdin def. (1) Bopanna/Mergea 3-6 6-2 10-7

For a Canadian, Adil Shamasdin really seems to like playing in Africa!

Shamasdin had only one previous title, at Johannesburg 2011 (with Cerretani). He really hasn’t been a major factor at the ATP level; at 32, he came here with a career record of 32-51. But put him south of the Mediterranean and something seems to change. (He said, “I always like coming to Africa”; well he should!) Or maybe it’s just that he’s finally found his game. He’s now 10-4 this year, and should be hitting a career high around #55.

It’s an even bigger day for Rameez Junaid, who at 33 had only a 17-32 doubles record, and no titles at all. This could be one of those career-extending results. His comments show how much of his career he’s spent in Challengers: “We are going to play until the end of the year and hopefully get to play the bigger tournaments like this one.”

 

Houston

 

Singles – Semifinal: J Sock def. (3) K Anderson 7-6(7-3) 6-3

We have to think Kevin Anderson lost this the day before, when he needed three sets, and eight hours (three of them on the court), to beat Jeremy Chardy. There just wasn’t anything left.

Jack Sock, in a way, gave and took away. He beat Anderson — but he had earlier beaten Roberto Bautista Agut, and that means that Anderson will rise to #15 despite this loss. Jack Sock not only reached his first ATP final, but this took him, for the moment, to #42 in safe points, ahead of Sam Querrey in the contest to be the American #2, but with Querrey still to play….

 

Singles – Semifinal: (8) S Querrey def. (6) F Verdasco 7-5 2-6 6-4

You would never know, looking at Sam Querrey’s numbers, that this was a clay match — and a clay match on a wet day; there was a rain delay late in the match. Querrey had sixteen aces, and faced only three break points (although he saved only one of them, compared to seven of nine saved by Fernando Verdasco). It took two hours, but Verdasco is out — and, since he was defending big points, he is out of the Top Thirty as well. He’ll be within one spot of #40.

And what a fascinating situation in the final! It’s not just that we have two Americans, meaning we’re guaranteed an American champion (although who would have expected even that?). It’s that Querrey and Jack Sock are within fifty points of each other. So the winner will be Top Forty (at least #32 if it’s Querrey; #36 if it’s Sock), and the #2 American; the loser will be the American #3. Imagine what the Davis Cup brain trust is thinking right about now!

 

Doubles – Final: (Alt) Berankis/Gabashvili def. Huey/Lipsky 6-4 6-4

The world is full of doubles teams that are greater than the sum of their parts, but this may set a record in that regard. Berankis/Gabashvili came in with a combined ranking of #702. Ricardas Berankis had only ten career doubles wins. Teymuraz Gabashvili had more, but had lost twice as many matches as he had won. Neither had ever won a title, singles or doubles. And yet they beat two doubles specialists, combined ranking #102, both of whom have enough titles that they shouldn’t suffer nerves in a final. Jack Sock must be hoping this is an omen for the singles, where he will be trying for his first singles title against an opponent who is much more experienced in finals.

Berankis increases his point total by more than 250%, and will go from #544 to around #210 (it will be interesting to see if this causes him to actually start using his talent). Gabashvili will rise from #162 to around #105.

 

MONTE Carlo preview

 

Men’s Look Forward: Monte Carlo

 

Trying to guess the Monte Carlo field is always a crapshoot. That’s what comes of being a one-of-a-kind event.

 

Points-wise, Monte Carlo is a Masters: the winner gets a thousand points. But, requirements-wise, it’s a 500 point event: Players don’t have to play, and don’t lose a rankings slot if they don’t play. So, on the one hand, it’s a great place to earn points, because lots and lots of points available with no penalty if you lose. On the other hand, it’s a great time to take off, because there is no penalty and it’s just after the transition from hardcourts.

 

The result is tremendous variability in the field. Some years, it is effectively devoid of Americans. This year, though, John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Steve Johnson are all in the draw. (Probably smart for Isner, given that he did so badly in Houston, but Querrey is going to have a fast plane trip to organize….) Many top players also take the week off. In particular, Roger Federer has been known to skip, but this year, he’s in the draw.

 

Adding it all up, we’d say this year’s field is a little above average; it features eight of the Top Ten, and sixteen of the Top Twenty. Andy Murray is missing, of course; he has, shall we say, a side obligation. Also absent is Kei Nishikori — which is more surprising. Admittedly he skipped last year also, and clay is not his surface. But he needs to work on it. And Murray’s absence would have opened the door for him to reach #3 — potentially a significant advantage when it comes time to seed the really big events of Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros. Instead, he risks falling behing Rafael Nadal, or even Milos Raonic, so his absence could cost him considerably in the seedings game.

 

Lower down, #12 Feliciano Lopez is also missing — something he perhaps regrets after his poor showing in Houston. Kevin Anderson, who did better in Texas, isn’t here either. That gives us a nice sort of pattern: The sixteen Top Twenty players who are in the field are the sixteen seeds in the draw, with the eight Top Ten players having the eight byes. Novak Djokovic, obviously, is #1, and Roger Federer #2. With Murray and Nishikori out, Rafael Nadal is #3 (a seeding he is obviously quite worthy of, on clay!). He’s in Djokovic’s half, which is obviously a nice gift for Federer, who has “only” to contend with #4 Milos Raonic in the semifinal. In the quarterfinal, Djokovic faces #8 Marin Cilic, who probably isn’t really back in form yet. Nadal’s quarterfinal opponent is #5 David Ferrer, which at first glance doesn’t seem like much of a problem — but it was Ferrer who beat Nadal here last year. Raonic has to deal with #6 Tomas Berdych. And Federer will be going against countryman Stan Wawrinka, the #7 seed, who just happened to beat him in last year’s final as Federer looked to finally win this title. (Wawrinka, in fact, has beaten Federer two of the last three times he played!)

 

In the Round of Sixteen, Djokovic would face #13 Ernests Gulbis, who is really struggling. Cilic’s opponent is #11 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is just barely back. Nadal takes on #15 John Isner, who is American, doesn’t like clay, and did badly at Houston. We might get a closer match when #5 Ferrer takes on #11 Simon, although we won’t claim to be excited by that matchup…. #6 Berdych is up against #12 Bautista Agut, who looked bad in Houston but is Spanish. Raonic’s third round opponent is also Spanish, #16 Tommy Robredo. Wawrinka will be facing #9 Grigor Dimitrov — an interesting preparation for his match with Federer. And Federer himself will take on #14 Gael Monfils, who is in on a wildcard.

 

Tsonga and Cilic aren’t the only players in the early stages of a comeback here. Florian Mayer will finally be making his return to the ATP; he’ll face Cilic in the second round if he can get past Mikhail Youzhny in the first. (Oddly enough, the “other” Mayer, Leonardo, isn’t playing, so there will be no confusion. Ivo Karlovic, Pablo Cuevas, and Richard Gasquet round out the list of Top Thirty players who will miss the event.)

 

There are plenty of other interesting players floating around the draw, too. Djokovic may open against Nicolas Almagro, whose ranking is in the pits but who is already showing signs of comeback potential. Gulbis, even in his current form, ought to be able to handle Andreas Haider-Maurer, but Haider-Maurer is in the best form of his career, and after that comes Bernard Tomic or Lukas Rosol. Tsonga opens against Querrey, which on paper shouldn’t be too hard, but then comes David Goffin, the top unseeded player. Nadal is likely to open against Dominic Thiem. Isner starts against Steve Johnson, so we’re guaranteed an American in the second round, but then comes Viktor Troicki or Martin Klizan. Bautista Agut’s second round is likely to be against Philipp Kohlschreiber. Robredo’s first round is against Andreas Seppi. Wawrinka will play either Jiri Vesely or suddenly in-form Juan Monaco in round two. Dimitrov has a peculiar path — first Fernando Verdasco, who is Spanish but who will likely be tired after a long week in Houston, then either Jerzy Janowicz or slumping but clay-loving Fabio Fognini. Monfils will play his second round against Borna Coric (who of course has very little ATP clay experience) or Alexandr Dolgopolov (good on clay when he’s in good form, which he isn’t right now). And Federer is likely to start against Jeremy Chardy.

 

The Rankings

 

What a difference a year makes! Last year, Rafael Nadal was the #1 seed at Monte Carlo, but lost to Ferrer in the quarterfinal. Ferrer went on to the semifinal, where he lost to Wawrinka. Wawrinka beat Federer in the final; he had earlier beaten Raonic in the quarterfinal. Federer had beaten Tsonga in the quarterfinal, and Djokovic in the semifinal. Djokovic had beaten Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the other quarterfinal — and Garcia-Lopez isn’t even in the draw this year; obviously whatever happened to him at Casablanca was bad. It appears that Garcia-Lopez, who already has lost his Top Thirty spot, will be falling out of the Top Forty.

 

As we see, six of this year’s Top Ten — Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Raonic, Ferrer, and Wawrinka — made the 2014 quarterfinal or better. Of the other current Top Ten players, Berdych lost in the third round (to Garcia-Lopez), Cilic lost in the second round (to Wawrinka), and Murray and Nishikori didn’t play.

 

As you probably remember from what we’ve said over the past few weeks, that means no change at #1; Novak Djokovic will be safe for months to come. Roger Federer is safe at #2 also. Below that, things start to get interesting. #3 Murray has about a 975 point lead on #5 Nadal, meaning that Nadal could regain the #3 spot if and only if he wins the title. Any other result and Murray remains #3.

 

Nikshikori’s #4 spot is in a lot more danger. Nadal can pass him with a semifinal — and he’s seeded for the semifinal. Raonic could pass him with a final, and Berdych or Ferrer with a title. A semifinal could perhaps take Raonic past Nadal if Nadal loses early; Berdych and Ferrer also have shots at the #5 ranking, but they need titles.

 

The bigger question about the latter two is whether Berdych or Ferrer will be #7; Berdych comes in with a 110 point lead in safe points, but that means that Ferrer might be able to keep the #7 ranking if he can make the quarterfinal. Wawrinka is #9, and will be no better than #9 unless he defends his title and Ferrer loses in the first couple of rounds. The question is, can he stay ahead of Cilic and Dimitrov? Cilic might be able to pass him qith a quarterfinal; Dimitrov would need a final.

 

The gap between #11 and #12 remains huge, meaning that the contest for the last Top Ten spot remains a two-way race between Cilic and Dimitrov (or, just possibly, a three-way contest, with Wawrinka also in the mix). No one else has a shot. Dimitrov needs at least a final to have any possibility of reaching #10.

 

On the other hand, Simon needs only a quarterfinal to pass Lopez and reach #12, which could be big when it comes time to seed Madrid and Rome. And we have a very close contest between Anderson, Gulbis, and Bautista Agut for just two Top Sixteen spots. So even without the possibility of a change at the top, there are many important rankings contests to watch.

 

STATS

 

RANKINGS

 

Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings

As of April 11, 2015

 

 

Rank &

Prior…Player………..Points

1..(1) Djokovic……….13205

2..(2) Federer…………8895

3..(3) Murray………….6060

4..(4) Nishikori……….5280

5..(5) Nadal…………..5255

6..(6) Raonic………….5070

7..(7) Ferrer………….4670

8..(8) Berdych…………4510

9..(9) Wawrinka………..4405

10.(10) Cilic…………..3360

11.(11) Dimitrov………..3055

12.(12) Lopez…………..2380

13.(13) Simon…………..2210

14.(14) Tsonga………….2135

15.(16) Anderson………..1960

16.(15) Bautista Agut……1940

17.(17) Gulbis………….1910

18.(18) Monfils…………1750

19.(19) Isner…………..1720

19.(20) Robredo…………1720

21.(21) Goffin………….1695

22.(22) Karlovic………..1470

23.(23) Cuevas………….1442

24.(25) Mayer…………..1409

25.(26) Kohlschreiber……1395

26.(27) Tomic…………..1365

27.(28) Gasquet…………1330

28.(29) Fognini…………1285

29.(31) Mannarino……….1258

30.(33) Rosol…………..1220

 

DRAWS

 

Casablanca — Week of April 6

 

 

……………….QF……………..SF………….F

1 Garcia-Lopez…..Ouahab(WC)

7 Kukushkin……..Gimeno-Traver……Gimeno-Traver..Gimeno-Traver

3 Vesely………..(3)Vesely……….Vesely

8 Schwartzman……Bedene(Q)

 

6 Haider-Maurer….(6)Haider-Maurer

4 Granollers…….Dzumhur………….Dzumhur

5 Carreno Busta….Almagro

2 Klizan………..(2)Klizan………..Klizan……..Klizan

 

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Garcia-Lopez….lost 2R (Ouahab)

2 Klizan

3 Vesely……….lost SF (Gimeno-Traver)

4 Granollers……lost 2R (Dzumhur)

5 Carreno Busta…lost 1R (Berlocq)

6 Haider-Maurer…lost QF (Dzumhur)

7 Kukushkin…….lost 2R (Gimeno-Traver)

8 Schwartzman…..lost 1R (de Greef)

 

Houston — Week of April 6

 

 

………………QF…………..SF…………F

1 Lopez (WC)……(1)Lopez(WC)

8 Querrey………(8)Querrey……Querrey…….Querrey

4 Isner………..Gabashvili

6 Verdasco……..(6)Verdasco…..Verdasco

 

7 Chardy……….(7)Chardy

3 Anderson……..(3)Anderson……Anderson

5 Giraldo………(5)Giraldo

2 Bautista Agut…Sock………….Sock………Sock

 

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Lopez (WC)…….lost QF (Querrey)

2 Bautista Agut….lost 2R (Sock)

3 Anderson………lost SF (Sock)

4 Isner…………lost 2R (Gabashvili)

5 Giraldo……….lost QF (Sock)

6 Verdasco………lost SF (Querrey)

7 Chardy………..lost QF (Anderson)

8 Querrey

 

Monte Carlo — Week of April 13

 

 

1 Djokovic

–bye

Qualifier

Almagro (PR)

Tomic

Rosol

Haider-Maurer

13 Gulbis

 

11 Tsonga

Querrey

Qualifier

Goffin

Youzhny (WC)

F Mayer (PR)

–bye

8 Cilic

 

3 Nadal

–bye

Thiem

Pouille (WC)

Troicki

Klizan

Johnson

15 Isner

 

11 Simon

Balleret (WC)

Qualifier

Qualifier

Estrella Burgos

Bolelli

–bye

5 Ferrer

 

6 Berdych

–bye

Carreno Busta

Stakhovsky

Kohlschreiber

Kukushkin

Becker

12 Bautista Agut

 

16 Robredo

Seppi

Granollers

Mannarino

Sousa

Qualifier

–bye

4 Raonic

 

7 Wawrinka

–bye

Vesely

Monaco

Fognini

Janowicz

Verdasco

9 Dimitrov

 

14 Monfils (WC)

Qualifier

Coric

Dolgopolov

Chardy

Qualifier

–bye

2 Federer

 

 

SCORES

 

SATURDAY

 

CASABLANCA

Singles – Semifinal

(2) M Klizan def. D Dzumhur 4-6 6-4 6-0

D Gimeno-Traver def. (3) J Vesely 6-7(3-7) 6-4 6-4

Doubles – Final

Junaid/Shamasdin def. (1) Bopanna/Mergea 3-6 6-2 10-7

 

HOUSTON

Singles – Semifinal

J Sock def. (3) K Anderson 7-6(7-3) 6-3

(8) S Querrey def. (6) F Verdasco 7-5 2-6 6-4

Doubles – Final

(Alt) Berankis/Gabashvili def. Huey/Lipsky 6-4 6-4

 

 

Content Via Bob LARSON tennis news.

Topics: Atp, Casablanca, Houston, Monte Carlo, Tennis

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