Men Tennis Updates – Hamburg, Gstaad, Atlanta, and Rankings

Written by: Staff on 17th July 2012

Men Tennis Updates - Hamburg, Gstaad, Atlanta, and Rankings

epa03285538 Gilles Simon of France serves to Xavier Malisse of Belgium during their second round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 28 June 2012. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

Hamburg

Singles – First Round: (2) G Simon def. C Berlocq 4-6 7-6(7-5) 6-1

Even the ATP scoreboard seems to think this event should still be a 48-draw: It listed this and the day’s other matches as “second round” matches. They are in fact first round matches — but, since this is a 500 point event, the points are enough to matter. These points allow defending champion Gilles Simon to clinch his Top Fifteen ranking. Carlos Berlocq remains stuck below #35.

Singles – First Round: (Q) D Munoz-de la Nava def. R Ramirez Hidalgo 1-6 6-4 6-3

Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo may be getting a little old for these really long, grinding clay matches. With only one more clay event this year, it seems likely that he will end the year around #100.

Singles – First Round: (Q) F Delbonis def. T Robredo 5-7 6-0 6-1

Tommy Robredo seems to be finding it difficult to last out a whole match. He isn’t quitting, but he is collapsing. No word on why, though.

Singles – First Round: R Haase def. (WC) M Bachinger 6-4 6-2

Robin Haase is right on the brink of the Top Forty. We would guess that this won’t quite do it, but one more win probably would.

Singles – First Round: N Davydenko def. J Nieminen 5-7 6-4 6-0

A small upset — Jarkko Nieminen came in just above #40, Nikolay Davydenko just below. Nieminen is still the higher-ranked, but two more wins would put Davydenko ahead.

Doubles – First Round: Andujar/Fognini def. (WC) Kern/Krawietz 6-1 6-4

Gstaad

Singles – First Round: B Paire def. (8/WC) B Tomic 6-0 6-4

This isn’t really much of an upset; Bernard Tomic came in at #45, Benoit Paire at #47. And Paire is more used to clay. Mostly what this tells us is that Tomic’s attempts to get in form before the Olympics really aren’t working very well — his serving in particular was atrocious.

Singles – First Round: (Q) M Fischer def. (WC) S Ehrat 6-2 6-4

Sandro Ehrat came in with a ranking of #427 and no experience. Little surprise that he got blitzed….

Singles – First Round: (Q) J Hernych def. (Q) M Viola 6-3 2-6 6-3

A small upset; Jan Hernych is the lower-ranked of these two by about sixty places.

Singles – First Round: P Mathieu def. I Andreev 6-3 7-6(7-4)

Paul-Henri Mathieu is still ranked a mere #172, so even first round points count for him. He should rise to around #165.

Doubles – First Round: Ungur/Volandri def. (4) Brown/Elgin 5-7 7-6(7-4) 10-3 (Match TB)

Doubles – First Round: Bellucci/Kohlmann def. Cerretani/Roger-Vasselin 6-3 5-7 10-7 (Match TB)

Atlanta

Singles – First Round: (5) K Anderson def. P Lorenzi 6-4 6-3

You have to wonder what Paolo Lorenzi though he was doing playing a hardcourt event when there were two clay events this week. What he was doing in practice, of course, was losing his chance to earn points. Kevin Anderson needs two more wins for the points to start counting, and probably three to rise in the rankings.

Singles – First Round: (WC) J Sock def. (7) A Bogomolov Jr. 6-2 4-6 6-4

Not even a multi-hour rain could long delay Alex Bogomolov Jr.’s continuing melt-down. This may well cost him his Top Fifty spot.

Singles – First Round: (WC) S Johnson def. D Young 6-3 3-6 6-3

A good day for American wildcards! Donald Young will remain stuck below #50.

Singles – First Round: N Mahut def. P Capdeville 6-3 3-6 6-4

Because more points are coming on than going off this week, Paul Capdeville may well fall below #140 this week. And he is Chile’s top player…. It has been a long fall since the 2004 Olympics….

Singles – First Round: I Kunitsyn def. (WC) B Baker 6-4 6-7(3-7) 6-3

Ironic that the one American wildcard who has been doing well is the only one to lose. Still, Baker is safe in the Top Hundred.

Singles – First Round: G Muller def. M Matosevic 7-6(7-5) 6-4

Gilles Muller is defending semifinalist points this week, so this is an important win for him. As will be his next two….

Doubles – First Round: (4) J Delgado/Skupski def. Charroin/Shamasdin 2-6 6-4 11-9 (Match TB)

Doubles – First Round: Malisse/Russell def. Fruttero/Tursunov 1-6 6-1 10-3 (Match TB)

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

This Week’s Movers — Men

Each week, Daily Tennis will look at the biggest movers of the week, looking at how they did what they did.

Biggest Upward Mover — Most Places Moved (Top 100)

Leader: Jerzy Janowicz — Moved 22 places, from #109 to #87.

Janowicz, who had already gotten a big boost out of Wimbledon, won the Scheveningen €42K Challenger to hit the Top Hundred.

Runner-Up: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez — Moved 17 places, from #87 to #70

A Stuttgart semifinal at last has Garcia-Lopez going the right direction.

Biggest Percentage Mover — Cut Ranking By Highest Percent (Top 100)

Leader: Janowicz, cut ranking 20%

Runner-Up: Garcia-Lopez, 20%

Biggest Loser — Most Places Lost (Top 100)

Loser: Juan Carlos Ferrero — Dropped 19 places, from #37 to #56

Ferrero was last year’s Stuttgart winner; this year, he lost his opener.

Biggest Percentage Loser — Worst Percentage Increase in Ranking (Top 100)

Loser: Ferrero, ranking increased 51%.

Ranking Notes

As is often the case in a week of optional events, it was fairly quiet, rankings-wise. Janowicz was the only player to gain as much as 20% (Garcia-Lopez actually improved a little less than 20%), and Marcell Granollers (who rose 17%, to #20) was the only other player to rise more than 12%. On the down side, other than Ferrero, the only player to fall more than 18% was Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who slipped 24% (to #92).

Maybe more interesting is the fact that this is the week Roger Federer officially sets the record for weeks at #1.

Our Personal Picks for “Best Mover of the Week”

These are subjective picks!

Obviously it has to be either Janowicz or Garcia-Lopez. Garcia-Lopez earned his points at an ATP event, whereas Janowicz’s were at a Challenger (and not a strong one). But Janowicz had the slightly bigger move and hit the Top Hundred. We’ll go with Janowicz.

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