Daily Men Tennis News – Eastbourne, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Wimbledon

Written by: Staff on 20th June 2012

Daily Men Tennis News - Eastbourne, 's-Hertogenbosch, Wimbledon

epa03238380 Andy Roddick of the USA returns to Nicolas Mahut of France during their first round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 27 May 2012. EPA/CHRISTOPHE KARABA |

Eastbourne

Singles – Second Round: D Istomin def. (2) M Granollers 6-1 4-6 7-6(7-2)

A result that surely would have gone the other way on clay…. For Denis Istomin, this should spell a Top Forty spot.

Singles – Second Round: (3) A Seppi def. C Berlocq 7-6(7-2) 6-3

Once again Carlos Berlocq fails to rise above #37. Andreas Seppi hasn’t moved yet, but he is the top seed left here — indeed, the second-highest-ranked player left in action this week. If he can win two more matches, he’ll hit the Top 25.

Singles – Second Round: F Fognini def. (4) B Tomic 4-6 6-3 7-5

This shouldn’t hurt Bernard Tomic in the short run, but this is not a good omen going into Wimbledon — which will be his first really big point defense.

Singles – Second Round: (6/WC) A Roddick def. J Chardy 6-2 7-6(8-6)

No points yet for Andy Roddick, but taking this wildcard still looks smart: With this, he finally earns a real win — his first in months. Maybe it will get him un-stuck. Between this and being seeded, it was quite a good day for him: “I don’t think I deserve

what I got. I had resigned myself to not being seeded, certainly with my form this year — they can’t give me credit for three years ago…. I was looking forward to trying to be a spoiler. It’s a new position for me.” He added that he feels a lot better on grass since he’s been here and has been playing really well in practice.

Singles – Second Round: (7) P Kohlschreiber def. (WC) J Baker 6-2 3-6 6-3

One more win and the points start counting for Philipp Kohlschreiber. He needs a title to hit the Top 25.

Singles – Second Round: S Darcis def. M Baghdatis 6-4 4-6 6-4

Marcos Baghdatis really does seem to have a thing about the Top Forty. And not a good thing. This will leave him probably #42.

Singles – Second Round: R Harrison def. Y Lu 6-1 7-6(7-2)

These two came in very close in the rankings, both a little below the Top Fifty, with only the winner having a chance to make it. This won’t quite put Ryan Harrison in, but one more win certainly would.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (3) Fleming/Hutchins def. Erlich/A Ram 7-6(7-2) 7-6(7-2)

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Elgin/Istomin def. Bracciali/Seppi 5-7 7-6(7-1) 12-10 (Match TB)

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (WC) J Delgado/Skupski def. Andujar/Ramos 6-3 6-0

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Ebden/Young def. (WC) Inglot/Marray 6-2 4-6 11-9 (Match TB)

‘s-Hertogenbosch

Singles – Second Round: (1) D Ferrer def. L Mayer 6-3 6-1

Odds are pretty low that David Ferrer has ever read Beowulf, even in Modern English, let alone in Old English. But if he had, he could be quoting the “Lay of the Last Survivor”:

“Heald þu nu, hruse, nu hæleð nu mostan,

Hold now, O ground, [the hoard] that heroes may not have” (line 2247).

Ferrer is the last surviving seed here. Ironic, given that he is also the only player here who has so many titles that he cannot earn any points here!

Singles – Second Round: T Ito def. (3) J Melzer 6-2 6-2

This means no return to the Top Thirty for Jurgen Melzer.

Singles – Second Round: B Paire def. (8) L Kubot 6-3 0-6 6-4

Lukasz Kubot will stay right around the bottom of the Top Fifty.

Singles – Second Round: (WC) I Sijsling def. O Rochus 7-5 7-6(7-4)

It doesn’t appear that this will quite suffice to make Igor Sijsling Top Hundred, but he is very, very close. One more win would do it.

Singles – Second Round: E Roger-Vasselin def. F Cipolla 6-2 3-6 6-1

Edouard Roger-Vasselin is quietly having a breakthrough year, having risen to #69. This isn’t going to make him Top Fifty, but it looks as if it might happen by summer’s end.

Singles – Second Round: X Malisse def. P Lorenzi 7-6(7-3) 6-2

How high can Xavier Malisse go before the end of the grass season? It’s likely that that will decide whether he ends the year in the Top Hundred or not — he certainly didn’t do much on other surfaces!

Singles – Second Round: G Muller def. A Falla 6-3 6-0

This was so lopsided that Gilles Muller didn’t even really have to get his serve working — he had only two aces.

Singles – Second Round: (Q) P Petzschner def. (WC) M Pavic walkover (back)

A depressing way for Mate Pavic to follow up his first round win (which increased his points by more than 50%). Still, Philipp Petzschner is out of the Top Hundred; he too needs all the points he can get.

Doubles – First Round: Malisse/Norman def. Emmrich/Kohlmann 6-1 6-4

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (1) Lindstedt/Tecau def. Bogomolov/Cerretani 6-3 7-6(7-4)

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Becker/Petzschner def. (2) Qureshi/Rojer 3-6 6-3 10-4 (Match TB)

Qureshi and Rojer see their winning streak end at five. No huge surprise, though; Petzschner is a top doubles player (interesting that he didn’t play with Melzer), and both Germans seem to like grass.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Brunstrom/Marx def. (3) Cermak/Polasek 6-1 7-6(7-4)

Wimbledon

As you may have seen in World News, the Wimbledon seeds are out. Almost everyone eligible for seeding has chosen to play, including Mardy Fish, who was thought doubtful. Gael Monfils is the only seeded withdrawal. That let Andy Roddick grab the last seed — and then the seeding formula promoted him. A little. Not enough to matter. The full list is as follows:

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Roger Federer

4. Andy Murray

5. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

6. Tomas Berdych

7. David Ferrer

8. Janko Tipsarevic

9. Juan Martin Del Potro

10. Mardy Fish

11. John Isner

12. Nicolas Almagro

13. Gilles Simon

14. Feliciano Lopez

15. Juan Monaco

16. Marin Cilic

17. Fernando Verdasco

18. Richard Gasquet

19. Kei Nishikori

20. Bernard Tomic

21. Milos Raonic

22. Alexandr Dolgopolov

23. Andreas Seppi

24. Marcel Granollers

25. Stanislas Wawrinka

26. Mikhail Youzhny

27. Philipp Kohlschreiber

28. Radek Stepanek

29. Julien Benneteau

30. Andy Roddick

31. Florian Mayer

32. Kevin Anderson

Although most players below the Top Five see their seeds adjusted, only a few of these changes affect the seeding tiers. Marin Cilic moves into the #13-#16 tier, knocking Fernando Verdasco down to #17. Bernard Tomic rises from the #26 seed to #20, and Andreas Seppi from #25 to #23; this knocks Stanislas Wawrinka and Radek Stepanek out of the #17-#24 block.

Topics: Andy Roddick, Eastbourne, men tennis news, S Hertogenbosch, Sports, Wimbledon