With the preview week for the clay court season completed, things are about to get underway in earnest. Well, sort of. First of all, the results.
Sam Querrey ended the potential for a disaster to get any worse by beating Wayne Odesnik, but then he continued his poor performance in finals and lost to Juan Ignacio Chela. In his defense, clay has to be considered Querrey's worst surface, at least according to the way he plays, and it's also Chela's best. Still, Querrey's game really got loose in the final game of the last two sets, which is a shame, because he played well - for the most part. To be a really elite player, though, Sam's going to need to be more focused in finals. Credit to Chela, for winning his first title in three years.
In Casablanca, there was another winner who hadn't won a title in quite a few years. Stan Wawrinka had gone 0-5 since 2006, including a runner-up earlier this year to Marin Cilic. He beat Victor Hanescu to claim the second title of his career. It's surprising to me that Wawrinka can't put a strong week of tennis together more often. He's really a force when he's playing his best. We'll see if he can build off this victory for the rest of the claycourt season, where he generally does well.
Looking ahead to Monte Carlo, there's really only one question: can Rafael Nadal continue his dominance on this surface for another year? He is 29-1 at this event, winning it the last five years, a record which is just unbelievable. Amazingly, there is another multiple titlist in the field, as Juan Carlos Ferrero won here in 2002 and 2003. Everyone else who's won this tournament is out of tennis, if you can believe that.
Nadal's road to another title won't be easy, but he could have gotten a tougher draw. After his first-round bye, he'll get likely get young gun Thiemo De Bakker, who has been anxious for this part of the season to come along, I imagine. But he probably wasn't hoping his second match at the first Masters event on his favorite surface would be against Rafael Nadal. Beyond that, Nadal could face Juan Monaco or Jarkko Nieminen, and then either Tsonga or Ferrero. It's a shame, but it's not unlikely that we'll see the two titlists playing each other in the quarters.
The field at this event is not as strong as it might be, as a number of top players are out injured, and several others are taking their free "skip a Masters event" card at this event. Only five of the top ten players are in attendance, so the top seed at this event is Novak Djokovic. He'll have to get through a pretty tough quarter in his own right. The final between Hanescu and Wawrinka gets repeated as a first-round match here, which is a bit unusual. Another first-round match to watch here is Gulbis-Chiudinelli. Djokovic's quarter also has Robredo facing off against a potentially dangerous Horacio Zeballos, as well Nalbandian and Youzhny in the mix.
Murray's quarter is arguably the weakest, but these smaller Masters events are pretty stacked. He'll open against either Bellucci or Kohlschreiber, and he'll need to up his level to beat either of those guys on red clay. After that, he may get Melzer, and is likely to find David Ferrer waiting for him in the quarters. I don't expect to see Ljubicic make it out of this quarter, but he's been a surprising figure as of late. This is the quarter that's most likely to have a shock contender make it out of, I'd expect.
The last quarter, featuring fourth-seed Marin Cilic, has some big hitters scattered in it as well. Cilic opens against Andreev, who loves the way the clay slows down theb all and lets him really get around and rip his forehand. He'll then face either Seppi, Montanes, or Baghdatis, all tough players. The bottom section of that quarter will likely see Gasquet, Verdasco, or Berdych come out of it. Cilic's career record on clay is only 22-21, so he can make some headway this season. For comparison, though, Murray is only 20-18. They need to really play up to their seeding at this tournament.
We'll see if order will be restored this week, or whether the run of incredible upsets is going to continue as we've seen in the first two Masters Series of the year. The smart money is on Nadal, as in fact, the odds are better for Nadal winning than any of the other players in the draw. But things have not been quite as promising in Nadal's game as they have been in years past, so we'll see if he can play at his usual level.
Showing posts with label houston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label houston. Show all posts
Monday, April 12, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Week 14 Semifinal Preview
We're up to the semifinals at the first four clay court tournaments of the season, and unfortunately, the biggest story of the week is not a good one. Wayne Odesnik, convicted of possessing and smuggling HGH into Australia earlier in the year, is still playing at this year's U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston. Pete Bodo has the best look at the whole situation, but the summary is this:
There is no possible way, based on any evidence that we've been presented with thus far, that Odesnik will not get out of a suspension. He's been convicted of possession, and that is punishable in the same way that a positive drug test would have been. So it's a near-certainty that he'll be out of the game for two years, and all of his results between his conviction and his suspension will be nullified. His prize money, too. So that means he's playing in this tournaments - and making the the quarterfinals, thus far - for nothing, except denying other players their shot.
It's either really stupid, or really shameless, or both. I don't have a lot of sympathy for this guy at this point, and I hope that he loses to Querrey in the next round, or else he has a real shot at winning at the tournament, which is absolutely a terrible result for all involved. The ATP needs to review their policies after this whole ordeal and get some sort of a provisional suspension in place so that this does not happen again. It's just not acceptable. Hopefully, Querrey can end this story before it becomes a real problem for the ITF and the WADA.
In any case, the other semifinal in Houston, which looked like it would be Gonzalez and Hewitt, is instead Juan Ignacio Chela and Horacio Zeballos. Not quite the blockbuster that the organizers were hoping for. They're both relatively unknown players in the states, but both very talented clay court players, and either one has a legitimate shot of walking away with the title. Here's hoping that they beat Odesnik, if Querrey can't pull it off.
In Casablanca, things are relatively quiet. Victor Hanescu has been playing some great ball to beat Jarkko Nieminen, who blew through qualifying, and then former top-ten player Richard Gasquet, who still hasn't gotten his career Renaissance. Hanescu faces Florent Serra in one semifinal, while the other is top seed Stan Wawrinka against Italy's Potito Starace, who hasn't had the toughest draw, but hasn't lost a set and has been playing great ball. Really, any one of these players has a legitimate shot at the title, and it's tough to know who's going to come out on top.
Really, everyone's looking ahead to next week's tournament in Monte Carlo - the draw comes out tomorrow, so we'll take a look at that and see the real beginning of the clay court season starting next week. This is all just a warm-up.
There is no possible way, based on any evidence that we've been presented with thus far, that Odesnik will not get out of a suspension. He's been convicted of possession, and that is punishable in the same way that a positive drug test would have been. So it's a near-certainty that he'll be out of the game for two years, and all of his results between his conviction and his suspension will be nullified. His prize money, too. So that means he's playing in this tournaments - and making the the quarterfinals, thus far - for nothing, except denying other players their shot.
It's either really stupid, or really shameless, or both. I don't have a lot of sympathy for this guy at this point, and I hope that he loses to Querrey in the next round, or else he has a real shot at winning at the tournament, which is absolutely a terrible result for all involved. The ATP needs to review their policies after this whole ordeal and get some sort of a provisional suspension in place so that this does not happen again. It's just not acceptable. Hopefully, Querrey can end this story before it becomes a real problem for the ITF and the WADA.
In any case, the other semifinal in Houston, which looked like it would be Gonzalez and Hewitt, is instead Juan Ignacio Chela and Horacio Zeballos. Not quite the blockbuster that the organizers were hoping for. They're both relatively unknown players in the states, but both very talented clay court players, and either one has a legitimate shot of walking away with the title. Here's hoping that they beat Odesnik, if Querrey can't pull it off.
In Casablanca, things are relatively quiet. Victor Hanescu has been playing some great ball to beat Jarkko Nieminen, who blew through qualifying, and then former top-ten player Richard Gasquet, who still hasn't gotten his career Renaissance. Hanescu faces Florent Serra in one semifinal, while the other is top seed Stan Wawrinka against Italy's Potito Starace, who hasn't had the toughest draw, but hasn't lost a set and has been playing great ball. Really, any one of these players has a legitimate shot at the title, and it's tough to know who's going to come out on top.
Really, everyone's looking ahead to next week's tournament in Monte Carlo - the draw comes out tomorrow, so we'll take a look at that and see the real beginning of the clay court season starting next week. This is all just a warm-up.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Miami Review and Next Week's Preview
Roddick won today, in what could only be described as an efficient and workmanlike performance. It didn't reach the level of shotmaking and spectacle that Roddick got to against Nadal, but it wasn't necessary. Berdych never quite got out of third gear, and he really needed to hit that level in order to push Roddick today. Roddick served effectively - not huge, but he was hitting his spots and preventing Berdych from really getting his feet underneath him and getting too many returns deep. He won 70% of his second serve points against the Czech, and he's going to be tough to beat when that's the case.
In fact, Roddick never even faced a break point against Berdych. He was only broken twice in the entire tournament, once against Benjamin Becker and once against Nadal. And that's all well and good, but he also managed to take advantage of the brief period where Berdych got troubled by the pressure of the situation or the sun or just an inexplicable dip in focus. Roddick broke Berdych at 5-all in the first set and then again at love-all in the second, and that was all he needed. He had a couple more break points near the end of the second set which were also match points, but Berdych managed to save them. That kind of thing could have given a less steady player pause, and it could have turned the match around. I've seen it happen before. But Roddick came back and served out the match with aplomb.
It's a bit of shame that the clay court season is just starting, because this is the biggest purple patch of Roddick's play that we've seen in a long time. And he's said in his post-tournament interview that he's not thrilled about the move to clay, which is a shame. Yes, it blunts the effectiveness of his hard serve, but his kick will still work, and his new style of defensive-minded back court play should actually serve him well. There is no reason he can't get some points at these claycourt masters series events or get into the French Open. I really hope to see him get over his phobia of crushed red brick.
Whether Roddick wants it to or not, the claycourt season starts in earnest now. But that doesn't mean that it has to leave the United States quite yet. The U.S.'s last vestige of claycourt tennis takes place this week in Houston, Texas. It should be interesting to see if an American player can do well here, as there are quite a few of them in the draw. It's green clay, which is quicker than its red counterpart, so that could help.
Lleyton Hewitt won this tournament last year, and he's back this year, in his first tournament since the drubbing he got from Roger Federer at the Australian Open. He could open against Mardy Fish, if Fish survives his first round. Both players are recovering from surgery and subsequent injury, but it could still be a good match.
Also, be on the lookout for Americans Querrey, Isner, and Russell, who are all in the same half of the draw. Even though he's the lowest-ranked, I think that Russell's game is actually the most well-suited to clay. Keep an eye on the fourth American in the bottom half of the draw as well - Wayne Odesnik, who is going to keep playing tennis while he waits for the decision resulting from the discovery that he was caught with HGH on his way into Australia. I'm surprised by his decision, and interested to see how he plays under the circumstances. He's actually not a bad player on this surface, but he's just going to get hounded here.
Also, keep an eye on Fernando Gonzalez, the top seed, and Horacio Zeballos. We all know that the South Americans have always been better on the clay. Another player who's one to watch in the top half is American wildcard Donald Young. He dropped in qualifying in the last four tournaments he's played in, so it's got to be a gift to get a wildcard directly into the main draw. Let's see if he can take advantage. Taylor Dent is also here, but this surface has just got to be death for a guy who plays big serve, net rush, and put away the volley. Don't expect him to get far.
The other tournament going on this coming week is on the other side of the pond, in Casablanca. The draw there is not especially robust, either. This week is always a bit of a dead week in some respect, as the players who did well during the hard court swing need rest, and the players who are really focusing on the claycourt swing want to get ready for the Monte Carlo masters, which takes place the following week.
The top seed and favorite to win it is Stan Wawrinka, who shouldn't really be troubled on his way to the semis, where he might face a Frenchman like Arnaud Clement or Paul-Henri Mathieu. It would be a surprise for the Swiss number two to fall prior to that. The bottom half is a bit more open, with Victor Hanescu - who really shouldn't consider clay his best surface but somehow does - Daniel "Crazycakes" Koellerer and two of the tournaments potential winners actually meeting in the first round - Olivier Rochus and Richard Gasquet.
After the excitement of two masters series in a row, the week that follows is going to feel a bit like a letdown, but there's still bound to be some good tennis. Just like it is for a lot of these players, it's a warm-up before the real claycourt season starts in earnest next week.
In fact, Roddick never even faced a break point against Berdych. He was only broken twice in the entire tournament, once against Benjamin Becker and once against Nadal. And that's all well and good, but he also managed to take advantage of the brief period where Berdych got troubled by the pressure of the situation or the sun or just an inexplicable dip in focus. Roddick broke Berdych at 5-all in the first set and then again at love-all in the second, and that was all he needed. He had a couple more break points near the end of the second set which were also match points, but Berdych managed to save them. That kind of thing could have given a less steady player pause, and it could have turned the match around. I've seen it happen before. But Roddick came back and served out the match with aplomb.
It's a bit of shame that the clay court season is just starting, because this is the biggest purple patch of Roddick's play that we've seen in a long time. And he's said in his post-tournament interview that he's not thrilled about the move to clay, which is a shame. Yes, it blunts the effectiveness of his hard serve, but his kick will still work, and his new style of defensive-minded back court play should actually serve him well. There is no reason he can't get some points at these claycourt masters series events or get into the French Open. I really hope to see him get over his phobia of crushed red brick.
Whether Roddick wants it to or not, the claycourt season starts in earnest now. But that doesn't mean that it has to leave the United States quite yet. The U.S.'s last vestige of claycourt tennis takes place this week in Houston, Texas. It should be interesting to see if an American player can do well here, as there are quite a few of them in the draw. It's green clay, which is quicker than its red counterpart, so that could help.
Lleyton Hewitt won this tournament last year, and he's back this year, in his first tournament since the drubbing he got from Roger Federer at the Australian Open. He could open against Mardy Fish, if Fish survives his first round. Both players are recovering from surgery and subsequent injury, but it could still be a good match.
Also, be on the lookout for Americans Querrey, Isner, and Russell, who are all in the same half of the draw. Even though he's the lowest-ranked, I think that Russell's game is actually the most well-suited to clay. Keep an eye on the fourth American in the bottom half of the draw as well - Wayne Odesnik, who is going to keep playing tennis while he waits for the decision resulting from the discovery that he was caught with HGH on his way into Australia. I'm surprised by his decision, and interested to see how he plays under the circumstances. He's actually not a bad player on this surface, but he's just going to get hounded here.
Also, keep an eye on Fernando Gonzalez, the top seed, and Horacio Zeballos. We all know that the South Americans have always been better on the clay. Another player who's one to watch in the top half is American wildcard Donald Young. He dropped in qualifying in the last four tournaments he's played in, so it's got to be a gift to get a wildcard directly into the main draw. Let's see if he can take advantage. Taylor Dent is also here, but this surface has just got to be death for a guy who plays big serve, net rush, and put away the volley. Don't expect him to get far.
The other tournament going on this coming week is on the other side of the pond, in Casablanca. The draw there is not especially robust, either. This week is always a bit of a dead week in some respect, as the players who did well during the hard court swing need rest, and the players who are really focusing on the claycourt swing want to get ready for the Monte Carlo masters, which takes place the following week.
The top seed and favorite to win it is Stan Wawrinka, who shouldn't really be troubled on his way to the semis, where he might face a Frenchman like Arnaud Clement or Paul-Henri Mathieu. It would be a surprise for the Swiss number two to fall prior to that. The bottom half is a bit more open, with Victor Hanescu - who really shouldn't consider clay his best surface but somehow does - Daniel "Crazycakes" Koellerer and two of the tournaments potential winners actually meeting in the first round - Olivier Rochus and Richard Gasquet.
After the excitement of two masters series in a row, the week that follows is going to feel a bit like a letdown, but there's still bound to be some good tennis. Just like it is for a lot of these players, it's a warm-up before the real claycourt season starts in earnest next week.
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