Voo de Mar

2nd semifinal:

(1)Novak Djokovic d. (3)Roger Federer              6-2, 7-6(4)                                 [ 1:39 h ]

Their first meeting since the 5-set thriller at the US Open last year where Djokovic saved a match point with an incredible return. There were parallel emotions this time in the latter stages of the semifinal, the things concluded in two sets though. The Serb held his first service game after a couple of ‘deuces’ and received a strong support from the crowd chanting “Nole! Nole!“. Apparently he is beloved in Rome. Perhaps this early signal of worshiping the best of the world, intimidated Federer a bit. He lost his serve in the following game and once again at 2:4. Djokovic’s return worked magnificently, many balls were landing on Federer’s weaker backhand side which allowed Djokovic to dictate the vast majority of rallies. The first break of the 2nd set came in the 7th game. Djokovic led 5:3 when the Roman crowd started to cheer for the Swiss. He responded with a forehand on the line facing a match point, withstood two pretty long rallies afterwards, and broke the No. 1 for the first time despite hadn’t had a break point prior to that game! Djokovic stayed cool, two months ago he experienced two similar situations in back-to-back matches in Miami. Since *5:6 (15/30) he won six straight points. Impressed especially in the first tie-breaker point as he prevailed a 25-stroke rally responding from both wings on Federer’s precisely placed shots (it was the only mini-break that night). 3:0, Fed cuts quickly to 3:2, 5:2 after another demanding rallies, 5:4 after Federer’s two hard serves. Forehand on the line and two more match points. The second one in that match was enough, Federer made a casual backhand error on the 4th stroke. Federer on tomorrow’s final: ‘‘It’s going to be an interesting one, especially after what happened in Monaco. Djokovic has pressure to defend his points and his title and Nadal wants to close the points gap with me.” If Nadal wins, he will be seeded with No. 2 in Paris which is important because a player seeded No. 3 faces in his section of the draw one of tennis titans, whilst No. 2 opens a possibility to draw Murray.

1st semifinal:

(2)Rafael Nadal d. (6)David Ferrer                      7-6(6), 6-0                                [ 2:06 h ]

The 19th meeting between two best Spanish players – it’s one of the biggest rivalries of the Open era, sadly pretty lopsided. The older Spaniard usually loses, but thankfully has been one of very few players who are able to play competitive matches with Rafa on clay… Ferrer took an early initiative and almost throughout the 1st set optically was the better player, he was getting more points directly after the first serve, he was running less, producing more winners. But Nadal never gives up until he loses the final point, he came back twice from a 1:3 deficit (games, and tie-break), saved a break point at 3:4, and on three occasions was two points away from losing the set: *5:6 (30-all), *4:5 in the tie-break; the third occasion was crucial – Ferrer attacked the net with a good approach-shot (FDTL), then played a good drop-volley, efficient against 90% players on the tour, however, Nadal chased the ball quick as lightning and managed to make a passing-shot which clipped the line. It was the turning point of this semifinal clash. Recently in Barcelona, Ferrer lost two tight sets to Nadal, here was the third one in a row, and I assume a possibility to lose another tight set clipped Ferrer’s wings. He was just a fifth business in the 2nd set except the 4th game where he showed some timid signs of interest. “[It is the] best thing possible after a fantastic time in Barcelona and Monte-Carlo, to keep playing in a clay tournament and then being in the final without losing a set is something fantastic and I am happy,” declared Nadal. “Rome for me is an important tournament and I am here for the seventh time and I couldn’t have imagined this a few years ago.“

# Nadal’s most lopsided H2H’s:

13-1 Fernando Verdasco (+12)
10-0 Richard Gasquet, Paul-Henri Mathieu (+10)
15-4 David Ferrer (+9)
12-3 Tomas Berdych (+9)
18-10 Roger Federer (+8)
13-5 Andy Murray (+8)
8-0 Stanislas Wawrinka (+8)

Quarterfinals

David Ferrer is one of the worst match-ups for Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman has just won 2 out of 17 sets he played against the Spaniard, 14 of those sets he lost, were pretty one-sided. Today they played a tie-break for the first time, in which Gasquet led 4:2 only to lose five points in succession. In the 2nd set things were going towards another tie-break but Ferrer stepped up at 4:3, made three forehand winners in a row to break Gasquet to ‘love’ and finished him off in the following game easily, the final score 7-6 6-3. It was the only quarterfinal on Supertennis Arena, second biggest court in Rome. “[It was a] tough match and I am happy getting into the semi-finals,” said Ferrer, “When I won the first set it was easier and I saw he was more tired than me.”
As the first players on Campo Centrale appeared Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych. Their rivalry is similar to that of Ferrer and Gasquet. Berdych can’t find a way to beat Rafa, although had won 3 out of their first 4 meetings. Since then it’s all been Nadal. Today he gained 11th consecutive win (including a 20-sets winning streak!) over the Czech not being close to lose any of those encounters. Berdych led *4:2 in the 2nd set but on a game point committed a double fault and Nadal soon notched a 6-4 7-5 victory in 2 hours 6 minutes. Berdych in each of his last three tournaments was ousted by a Top 3 player. Rafa is bidding to win Rome for the sixth time (Thomas Muster won three times; Ilie Nastase, Vitas Gerulaitis, Bjorn Borg, Andres Gomez, Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier and Novak Djokovic twice). Djokovic had very little trouble in dispatching Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5 6-1. The Serb led respectively 3:0 and 5:0 in these sets. In the 12th game of the 1st set Tsonga staved off a triple set point in spectacular style but on a 4th set point committed a painful double fault (didn’t even risk the second serve) and fell apart. Andreas Seppi had wonderful tournament but was too tired after back-to-back thrillers to play on equal terms the last quarterfinal (started at 10 p.m.) against Roger Federer. The Swiss needed just 54 minutes to get a 6-1 6-2 win. Seppi was stopped by Federer also in his previous best ’1000′ tournament, as he reached semifinals four years ago (the Italian won then only one game more)… So, the four best clay-court players will face each other in tomorrow’s semifinals, they are gathered together in the final four for the first time. I’m glad Djokovic meets Federer because they haven’t played so far in 2012.

Third round

It was very windy day, the conditions were extremely difficult and bothering the defending champion Novak Djokovic, who plays this tournament in a new outfit (white-blue-red  strips) underlying national colors. As usual he’d presented himself during a night session match in a black version of the new outfit whilst his early match (started at 12 a.m.) against Juan Monaco demonstrated a white one. Monaco [15] who had previously lost all five matches to Djokovic, was hitting the ball very hard today over an hour of play. The stunned Djokovic broke his racquet in the last game of the 1st set (Monaco clinched it on the 5th set point). The Argentine led a set and a break, but couldn’t keep his focus and lost 10 straight points since serving at 2:1 in the 2nd set. In the deciding set D’Joke delivered the final blow at *3:3 (0/30) when he increased his concentration to win 12 out of the next 16 points and the match 4-6 6-2 6-3 in 2 hours 20 minutes. “Mental strength is what is needed, especially when you are playing against a player who has already won two tournaments on this surface this year already and is playing with confidence,” Djokovic stated.
In a much more longer 3-setter (2:58 h) on Supertennis Arena (the second biggest court in Rome) Richard Gasquet avenged three straight defeats to Andy Murray (all in majors) beating the Brit 6-7 6-3 6-2. The crucial game of the match came at one-all in the final set. The serving Gasquet led 40/0 but Murray manufactured three break points, Gasquet [22] eventually took the game after seven ‘deuces’. Both 25-year-old guys were semifinalists last year. In the quarterfinals Gasquet meets one of his toughest opponents – David Ferrer. The Spaniard was twice a game away on return to lose the set before dismissed Gilles Simon 6-0 7-6. Simon was involved in streaks of games won by one player over the course of two days: yesterday he lost five straight games to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, then won six in a row (coming back from a 0:4 deficit in the deciding set!), and began today’s match with Ferrer losing the first seven games.
Andreas Seppi won an incredible 3-hour-21-minute battle (the longest 3-setter of the year) against Stanislas Wawrinka after three tie-breaks, surviving six match points (three on return)! The Italian player received a tremendous support from the home crowd, Wawrinka on the other hand was booed a couple times for different reasons. Anyway he had the match in his hands, admittedly not in the 2nd set tie-break where Seppi fought off the first m.p. with a service winner. In the deciding set Wawrinka led 5:2 (deuce), then was serving at 5:3 (40/15): on both match points the net-cord halted the ball on his side, first after a shaky forehand, then after a long rally with many slices which Wawrinka wanted to cut with a drop-shot. The Swiss led 6:5* (30/0) afterwards – Seppi responded with three straight forehand winners! Third and final tie-break was amazing, Seppi led 3:0* and quickly lost six points in a row which meant a triple match point against him: the first one, Italian player saved with a cross-court forehand; on another two, Wawrinka missed backhands (net & wide DTL). Another two errors of the Swiss and Seppi could celebrate the biggest ‘best of three’ win of his life on knees. He’s been the first Italian quarter-finalist in Rome since Filippo Volandri in 2007.

# Seppi’s match point down wins:

US Open 2004: R.Schuettler 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(1) 6-1 - 2 m.p.
Sydney 2006: L.Hewitt 4-6 7-5 7-5 – 2 m.p.
Australian Open 2007: B.Reynolds 6-1 6-7(4) 6-7(5) 7-6(4) 6-3 - 1 m.p.
Rotterdam 2008: L.Hewitt 3-6 7-6(4) 7-6(4) – 1 m.p.
Nottingham 2008: E.Schwank 6-1 4-6 7-6(7) - 1 m.p.
New Haven 2009: L.Yen-Hsun 6-7(5) 6-3 7-5 – 3 m.p.
Bastad 2010: P.Starace 6-4 3-6 7-6(7) - 1 m.p.
Marseille 2011: R.Haase 5-7 6-4 7-6(2) - 2 m.p.
Rome 2012: S.Wawrinka 6-7(1) 7-6(6) 7-6(6) – 6 m.p.

Back on red clay! Just like a week before without best American players of the previous decade: Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick and James Blake (the latter could enter only the qualifying rounds), but with Andy Murray and Juan Monaco, the players who skipped the experimental tournament in Madrid. So the field in Rome was a bit stronger on Sunday than last week in the Spanish capital. Monaco came back successfully after a very painful injury he suffered at Monte Carlo. The Argentine won his first two round easily, thus seemingly the break in activity won’t affect him like similar injury four years ago when he had been also knocking on the the Top 10, but lost self-confidence after spraining his ankle.
Murray celebrated 25th birthday with a cake after winning the most interesting second round match featured plenty of long rallies with acute angles and perfectly placed drop-shots. The Brit needed 2 hours 37 minutes to overcome David Nalbandian 6-1 4-6 7-5, surviving a 1:3* deficit in the final set. “I was a little bit fortunate at the end but I went for it so,” said Murray, who won the 11th game with the net-cord help and saved a break point in the following game when his backhand clipped the sideline. “Some say you make your own luck.” Nalbandian – very solid player in tight matches throughout his career – lately loses tight matches with high frequency. It has been his sixth tight loss of the season (the third one in which he led 5:4* in the deciding set only to lose the next three games).
Shifting from blue clay to red clay? No problem for Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer. Each of these three players participated in five matches in Madrid, went to Rome to adjust quickly advancing to the third round with convincing victories, however, Del Potro still tries to get into the Top 8 which would facilitate him tasks by omitting first rounds in ‘Masters 1000′ on clay. In the first round in Rome he had a tricky opponent in the opener – Mikael Llodra [58], Del Potro won 7-5 3-6 6-4 saving a set point in the 1st set with a service winner. Del Potro and John Isner are the two players the most often involved in tight sets this season. Isner in the 1st round barely avoided a loss to Philipp Kohlschreiber [24]. The tall American was being outplayed badly through almost two sets by ‘Kohli’, but delivered a couple big serves at 3:5 (40-all) and the outlook of the match changed completely since then. Kohlschreiber was broken in the following game not having faced a break point before, and began to lose interest whilst Isner rediscovered his booming serves and forehands to notch a 2-6 7-6 6-2 victory. No doubts that the German has a Top 20 potential but his inconsistency obstructs his climbing in the ATP ranking. He triumphed in Munich but the following two weeks lost first round matches in Spain and Italy, at least one solid result in those tournaments would introduce him to the Top 20. Isner was ousted in his another match by Andreas Seppi [30] – the best local player, one out of five Italians who entered the tournament. Seppi needed 10 break points in the final set to get his only break (2-6 7-6 7-5) in 2 hours 50 minutes. He will probably reach the highest position in career next Monday at the age of 28. 
Juan Carlos Ferrero [47] has finally won first tournament matches in 2012. The former champion of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (2001) obtained two straight sets wins over higher ranked opponents, Kevin Anderson and Gael Monfils. During a 7-5 6-3 over the Frenchman, Ferrero came back from a 1:4* deficit in the 1st set. Monfils once again displayed an ultra defensive mood. With this attitude there’s no chance he will catch the level of the Ferrer-Berdych-Tsonga-Del Potro quartet.

(3)Roger Federer d. (6)Tomas Berdych                           3-6, 7-5, 7-5
                             [ 2:38 ]
Federer as usual began the match with an offensive attitude, but Berdych withstood the pressure being extremely focused, he won the opening service game from a 15/30 deficit, and broke in the following game to ’30′. His flat ground-strokes worked perfectly, he even had a double set point to win the 1st set 6-2, but Federer saved those balls with strong serves. Another two sets had very similar process, Federer was serving in both to win 6-3, but needed 12 games to clinch each of them. In the last game of the match Berdych fought off three consecutive match points with powerful strokes and was just two points away from the tie-break, which works for him exceptionally well lately, however, he sent a forehand long, then netted another one after Federer’s trademark shot – short backhand slice. The Swiss claimed 74th title and yet again ties Nadal’s record of ‘Masters 1000′ crowns – it’s the 20th, third one in Madrid (each time in a different surrounding, in three-year intervals: indoor ’06; red clay ’09; blue clay ’12). “It’s been a great spell and I couldn’t be more happy right now coming off a break winning right away,” said Federer “It’s always an ideal scenario for what’s to come.” The runner-up assessed: “I would just say that it was a very close game. You sometimes need to make those small adjustments to win a match like this, but it wasn’t my case today.” The Czech has now played finals of big tournaments on every surface (carpet, hard outdoor, grass & clay).

 Doubles final:
(4)M.Fyrstenberg/M.Matkowski d. R.Lindstedt/H.Tecau 6-3, 6-4

2nd semifinal:

(3)Roger Federer d. (7)Janko Tipsarevic                                 6-2, 6-3                                 [ 1:07 h ]

Tipsarevic made a huge progress in the last fifteen months or so, but he hasn’t still reached a level to get a Grand Slam semifinal or ‘Masters 1000′ final. Federer jumped to a 4:1 lead in both sets to control the match emphatically. “I didn’t even know about the number two ranking so that’s new to me,” said Federer commenting a possibility to swap Nadal on No. 2 winning Madrid’s title tomorrow. “I’m focused on what I’m doing here this week, trying to play well and get far. I have been feeling better and better as the tournament went on. It’s tough conditions today. There was a lot of wind and so forth.” Federer improved a perfect 5-0 record against Tipsarevic, who stated: “I think that the main reason is that he was a better player than me out there. The main thing is that he managed to adjust to the wind really, really well. I think that apart from being the best player, that he is probably the best the player in the world when it comes to adjusting to any situation on the court.” Until this year the Serb appeared only twice in Madrid losing his opening matches on both occasions.

1st semifinal:

(6)Tomas Berdych d. (10)Juan Martin del Potro                  7-6(5), 7-6(6)                      [ 2:18 h ] 

Four previous matches between Berdych and Del Potro disappointed, all of them were lopsided, Del Potro won on three occasions. This time was otherwise, two tight sets lasting more than two hours, both won by Berdych despite Del Potro was two points away in both tie-breakers. The Argentine had also a good position to win the 1st set leading 5:3*, but lost the two following games to 15 & 0. In the 1st tie-break DelPo recovered from a 1:5 deficit, but made an unforced backhand error serving at 5-all. He suffered a semifinal defeat after exactly the same scoreline to Federer two months ago in Dubai… Berdych has been the biggest specialist of tie-breaks for two seasons: 29-10 record (74 %). He advances for the third time to a Masters 1000 final, previously he did it in Paris ’05 and Miami ’10. “I am definitely very happy with the game I played here since the beginning of the week,” said Berdych. “It doesn’t matter that much if you drop a set or not, it’s just how it is. Sometimes you can fight through the whole tournament and then get to the final as well.”

Quarterfinals

Three quarterfinals were scheduled on Manolo Santana (Centre) court, but the first match on Friday between a powerful Juan Martin del Potro [11] and a smart Alexandr Dolgopolov [20] was held on Stadium 3. Del Potro was very solid in all departments, broke his two months younger opponent at the beginning of both sets to notch a 6-3 6-4 victory in 1 hour 23 minutes. The Argentine has been in impressive form since Australian Open winning a couple matches in each tournament he enters, recently is on a 10-match winning streak not dropping a set! It’s almost certain that Del Potro will play for the third time in the season ending championships in London. Fernando Verdasco was a one-day hero. 24 hours after sensational win over Nadal he came back on earth suffering a painful 1-6 2-6 loss to Tomas Berdych in 66 minutes, who a day before dropped even one game less against Monfils! Berdych was superior player over Verdasco from start to finish, playing four consecutive winners in the end (two forehand winners, ace and stretch-backhand volley).
Apparently speed of courts in Madrid is another important factor along with new color, altitude, and semi-indoor smaller arenas. Del Potro and Berdych hit flat shots from both wings as well as Janko Tipsarevic who ousted 7-6 6-3 the defending champion Novak Djokovic. Tipsarevic [8] didn’t lose his serve throughout and showed very good composure because after wasting a triple match point at 5:2 in the 2nd set, was forced to save three break points in the following game – No. 1 in the world “clearly” helped at one of those chances sending an easy ball long. David Ferrer should know very well Almagro’s feelings of losing to Ferrer constantly, because Ferrer has the same problem with Roger Federer. Just one day after extending H2H against Almagro to 10-0, the Spaniard lost for the 13th straight time to Federer, this time 4-6 4-6 being utterly demolished in service game of the opponent – Ferrer managed to win only 6 points in Federer’s 10 service games!

Third round

14-0 in H2H *, 5:2 (30 all) on serve in the 3rd set… is it possible to lose in these circumstances? Especially when the serving player is Rafael Nadal, who had never lost a match trying to close the match twice, and on the other side of the net stands Fernando Verdasco [19], who doesn’t win often tight matches in the deciding set [ albeit had made one magnificent comeback lately, from *2:5 (0/40) in the decider to Javier Marti at Sao Paulo two months ago ]… Fortunately miracles in tennis happen from time to time, it was one of them. Nadal being two points away (twice) in that 8th game, produced weird baseline errors and lost the game. And then, happened something stunning – Verdasco showed signs of belief fist-pumping despite his triumph was far away at that time. It was a typical shift of momentum, the older Spaniard, the home-town boy, was encouraged by the crowd to play as good as he did in the 1st set which he won quiet convincingly. Kick-serves, accurate returns, strong forehands, everything worked very well, and after three quick games Nadal found himself serving to stay in the match! He looked intimidated, correcting his hair and headband more nervous than ever, couldn’t win a rally but responded three times with the fastest services he can deliver, but on ‘deuce’ made an untypical forehand error similar to those when he led 5:2. Verdasco didn’t shiver as Nadal gave him a high ball in the middle of the court, finishing off on the second match point with his trademark shot – forehand on the rise. In the following second he fell on the court and enjoyed the famous victory with tears sinking in shoulders of closest friends and his father – it was only the third round but the style of celebration was characteristic for winning a Grand Slam tournament. What a relief to beat the toughest rival after 3 hours 10 minutes 6-3 3-6 7-5! Verdasco in those 14 straight defeats to Nadal was close to win three times: twice two points away (Queens Club ’06, Cincinnati ’11), once six points away (memorable semifinal at the Australian Open ’09 which lasted over 5 hours). This loss ends Nadal’s 22-match winning streak on clay. “I knew I was in control of the match,” said Nadal. “I lost because I deserved to lose today, even if I was winning 5-2. When the moment came to close [out] the match I didn’t know how to do it. I made a big mistake with a smash at 5-2 and 15/0, but that is just anecdotal. That’s what happened, he played better than me and he beat me.”
When that epic match was concluded, two other Spaniards stuck in the 1st set on Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario court dealing with a very similar rivalry to that of Nadal and Verdasco. David Ferrer ultimately prevailed against Nicolas Almagro [13] 7-6 3-6 7-6 in 2 hours 53 minutes. Almagro wasn’t arguably in their previous 9 encounters as close to win as today, however he wasted six match points in their first meeting six years ago. Today, he led 5:3 in both tie-breaks, the second one was extraordinary, both guys were playing with a full risk manufacturing amazing winners from the baseline. Almagro held three match points (6:5, *7:6, 8:7) but every time the amazingly stable Ferrer responded with offensive strokes (first match point saved with a forehand winner, on another two he forced Almagro’s errors). Ferrer joins the narrow group of active players to win at least 10 matches facing match points (7 of them against fellow Spaniards) #

* Nadal led 13-0 on the main tour, their first official match took place in a Challenger (Hamburg ’03)

# At least 10 MP-down wins (active players):

15-7 Juan Carlos Ferrero; 14-5 Ivo Karlovic
12-12 Roger Federer; 12-11 Andy Roddick; 12-6 Jarkko Nieminen; 12-4 David Nalbandian
10-5 Lleyton Hewitt, Olivier Rochus; 10-4 David Ferrer

It’s the first tournament in history held on a blue clay (!) which obviously creates some controversies. The all-time biggest specialist of clay, Rafael Nadal complained before the Mutua Madrileña Open kicked off: “Madrid is one of the best tournaments in the world and does not need this. It is played at altitude. That makes it different already. I appreciate the idea but it should have never been allowed.” Nadal didn’t mention that the construction of the courts makes the tournament special too, stands on smaller courts are partially covered by a roof which reminds of the Centre Court in Melbourne and creates semi-indoor conditions. Nadal’s biggest rival, the Serbian slayer Novak Djokovic joined in the criticism: “If you don’t have, especially, top players testing the court and agreeing for this change, that should mean something. They should have value in what they say.” Despite complaining, the best players in the world won their opening matches convincingly, Nadal needed only 80 minutes against fading Nikolay Davydenko [54] with whom he has still a negative H2H (5-6, lost four straight matches prior to Madrid); Djokovic 26 minutes more against Daniel Gimeno-Traver [137], surprisingly losing the middle set. Gimeno-Traver hadn’t won an ATP match since July (8 consecutive defeats) before ousted in the first round Victor Hanescu, thanks to his only break of the match in the 8th game of the 3rd set. “Taking into consideration that this was my first official match on the blue clay and that my opponent today already had three matches behind him, maybe that was a little disadvantage on my side,” said Djokovic after the 6-2 2-6 6-3 victory…
Personally I don’t have any problem with this Ion Tiriac‘s revolutionary concept, in my opinion every diversity is interesting and worth tasting. There’s always a possibility to come back to something which had been approved earlier. The blue clay may be adopted in the following years by other tournaments and in the future the red-clay might have been perceived as an obsolete surface. Esthetically I find the new Madrid color as a nice one, and presumably it doesn’t stain clothes as much as the red clay (Serena Williams’ notice) which is a positive trait of the experimental surface…
Gael Monfils [14] came back on tour after a month break and beat in his opening round Philipp Kohlschreiber [25] in an entertaining battle on Stadium 3. The Frenchman saved two set points at *2:5 in the 1st set, erased a 2:5 hole in the 2nd as well, but the match was decided at 3 games apiece in the decider, when the German lost his focus and 12 points in a row to the end of the match which Monfils won 7-5 6-7 6-3.  In the second set tie-break, Monfils almost played a volley forehand winner between the legs from the baseline (photo)! In the second round he could meet Juan Carlos Ferrero [49] – the Spanish veteran returned on tour after even longer break – he didn’t play since the South American swing. Former No. 1 in the world was eliminated by qualifier Igor Andreev [77] in straight sets though, despite a double set point in the 2nd set. Ferrero has arguably the worst period in his very long tennis career, he hasn’t won a tournament match since Valencia ’11, which makes eight first round  defeats in succession. Richard Gasquet [18] needed 7 match points to finish the last year’s semifinalist Thomaz Bellucci 4-6 6-4 7-6. The Brazilian [69] had saved match points in three different games, but on the 7th match point Gasquet concluded the contest with a blistering cross-court backhand directly after Bellucci’s return. The handsome Brazilian has the worst deciding TB record among active players who finded themselves at least 10 times in this situation – 2/8. Gasquet had a 0-8 record this season until Estoril in sets which went to 5-all, since then he has had a 5-0 record in these sets (after beating Viktor Troicki 7-5 6-3 in the second round). Milos Raonic [23] served 37 aces summing up two consecutive days but it wasn’t enough to secure a third round spot. After dispatching David Nalbandian in straight sets, Raonic had a mini-match point at 5-all in the 2nd set to add another straight setters to his activity. His opponent Roger Federer [3] played a solid serve-and-forehand action forcing an error, and stepped up in the following game to obtain his only break in the entire match. In the 3rd set the Canadian had two break points at 3:3 (40/15) – this time Federer escaped with a backhand stop-volley (went to the net after 2nd serve) and an ace. In the deciding tie-break Raonic’s serve let him down and Federer notched a 4-6 7-5 7-6 win in his first match since sensational loss to Andy Roddick in Miami. For Raonic it’s the first defeat in the 3rd set deciding tie-break (6-1 record).
Two top 10 players pulled out, Andy Murray [4] due to back injury and Mardy Fish [9] because of fatigue he’s been struggling since the first months of the year. “I always love coming to Madrid so it is a big disappointment. I look forward to returning next year and wish everyone a great week of tennis.” said the British player. Fish said he believes the grass-court season can turn the tables for him, it is still uncertain whether he plays on the European clay this year or not. Murray is eager to participate at Foro Italico next week. The tournament is deprived of two injured Top 20 guys as well – Juan Monaco and Kei Nishikori. The former suffered an injury at Monte Carlo, the latter in Barcelona.

Three tournaments this week, all of them with a 28-draw. I have to admit I’m not an advocate of tournaments of this type because they clearly handicap top seeded players. It’s really tough to expect that a tournament would win a player seeded with a lower number than 1-4, another thing which I don’t like is connected to the historical context. When we look at a list of titles winners we don’t know how many matches they were supposed to win to get a title, a guy from previous decades who won for example 4 titles could have won 4 matches more during his triumphs than a guy from the current era with the exactly same amount of titles. There have been other things which don’t facilitate comparing different tennis eras too, an introduction of 28-draw events on a regular basis (in 2008) has become an another aggravation to do it properly #
 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga appeared in Munich being the only top 10 player to participate in tournaments this week. Apparently a chilly German weather, typical for this period of the year didn’t encourage him to show his best and he was humiliated by a veteran Tommy Haas [134], who finished as a semifinalist – it was his first semifinal since 2009. Other German, Philipp Kohlschreiber [34] has now collected 3 out of 4 titles on the home soil. In the first set of the final against Marin Cilic, Kohlschreiber saved four set points (two in the 10th game, two more in the tie-break). He won in Munich also his first title, five years ago. 
A fresh Juan Martin del Potro (skipped Monte Carlo and Barcelona) was an overwhelming favorite in Estoril and successfully defended his title. “The Tandil Tower” [12], 4 out of 11 titles has gathered in 28-draw tournaments in which he had a first round ‘bye’ (Los Angeles ’08, Auckland ’09, Marseille & Estoril ’12). Del Potro had some problems only with Wawrinka in the semi-final match concluded near darkness at 8:45 p.m. local time. The beaten finalist Gasquet has lost two finals in Estoril (previously in 2007) just like Cilic in Munich.  “I am getting closer and closer to my best form. I have worked really hard at home and now I have another important tournament next week to improve further. If I play as well as I did today over the coming days, I will be happy.” said the Argentine.
The 4th edition of the Serbia Open must have been disappointing for the local crowd because there didn’t enter any of the three best Serbian players. Others Serbs are too weak to play important roles in ’250′ tournaments. Djokovic’s youngest brother, 16-year old Djordje played in opening qualifying round his first match on this level and gained a decent scoreline against Ouanna losing to 4 & 2. The middle brother of the Djokovic family – Marko – was quickly ousted by Volandri in the first round, with 20 years and 0-4 record there’s rather no chance he would come into being as a respectable player in the future… Calm & quiet Andreas Seppi [46] for a long time couldn’t win an ATP event but he finally broke this pattern last year in Eastbourne; triumphing in Belgrade he has added to his resume 2nd title. The Italian was serving to stay in the match against Nalbandian in the semi-finals, he held that game to “love”. Benoit Paire [96], the runner-up played his first final, and he was *3:1 ahead when he dropped 8 games in a row… earlier he was two points away from losing to Nieminen in the quarters.

Finals

Munich (250)
S: (4)Philipp Kohlschreiber d. (3)Marin Cilic 7-6(8), 6-3
D: (1)F.Cermak/F.Polasek d. X.Malisse/D.Norman 6-4, 7-5

Estoril (250)
S: (1)Juan Martin del Potro d. (2)Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2
D: (1)A.Qureshi/J.J.Rojer d. (4)J.Knowle/D.Marrero 7-5, 7-5

Belgrade (250)
S: (2)Andreas Seppi d. Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-2
D: (3)J.Erlich/A.Ram d. M.Emmrich/A.Siljestrom 4-6, 6-2, [10-6]

Choker of the week:
Edouard Roger-Vasselin led 6-3, 4:2 against Paolo Lorenzi in the first round in Estoril. He lost the 7th game of the 2nd set after 7 deuces (wasted 4 break points) and the momentum shifted awarding Lorenzi a 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 victory.

#  The last time  prior to 2008, 28-draw tournaments occurred in 1990 (Long Island, Schenectady). Below all 28-draw tournaments in years 2008-12 (red those won by a player who hadn’t first round ‘bye’).

2008: Bastad, Gstaad, Newport, Stuttgart, Amersfoort, Umag, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Beijing
2009: Auckland, Sydney, Belgrade, Bastad, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur
2010: Auckland, Sydney, Marseille, Casablanca, Houston, Belgrade, Estoril, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Umag, Bucharest, Metz, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Stockholm, Montpellier, Vienna
2011: Sydney, Auckland, Zagreb, Costa do Sauipe, Marseille, Houston, Casablanca, Estoril, Belgrade, Nice, Bastad, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Gstaad, Umag, Kitzbuhel, Metz, Bucharest, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Stockholm, Moscow, Vienna
2012: Chennai, Sydney, Auckland, Montepellier, Vina del Mar, Sao Paulo, San Jose, Marseille, Houston, Casablanca, Bucharest, Munich, Estoril, Belgrade

Men’s clay-court tennis in Europe has been functioning in cycles for many years. Rafael Nadal [2] begins it with the Monte Carlo title, then fortifies his supremacy over all other clay-court specialists beating the best of them - David Ferrer in Barcelona‘s final rounds #, and finally confirms his status of “the clay-court king” clinching another title at Roland Garros ##. Rafa has already done 2/3 of his standard clay-court obligations capturing the 48th title (his 7th in the Catalan capital)… Ferrer overcame two tight matches against big-servers (fought off three match points with a brave attitude against Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals) and forced Rafa to an extreme effort, especially in the 1st set of their 4th Barcelona final; Nadal withstood five set points though, serving at 5:6 (two forehand winners, two great points in defense and an ace) to ultimately get the crucial set after 93 minutes. It was Nadal’s first tie-break since the Australian Open final in January. In the 2nd set, Ferrer rallied from a 1:3 deficit to serve for the set at  5:4, but on each of three occasions when he was two points away, he collapsed, once even smashing close to the net (Nadal retrieved the ball and put it away with an overhead himself). Since this week Nadal has defeated two fellow Spaniards, Ferrer and Verdasco 14 times (he has notched more wins only over Federer and Djokovic). “It’s almost unimaginable to win here seven times,” said Nadal. “It’s a special tournament for me, at home in my club. To win at home in front of the people you know is always more special.”
Two-time champion of the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy, Gilles Simon [12] came back to Bucharest after a 4-year break to keep his winning streak. The Frenchman confirmed his great form he’d displayed a week before at Monte Carlo and prolongs the streak of winning matches in the Romanian capital to 14. His record in ATP finals is impressive: 10-2, it’s the best ratio for active players who have played at least 10 finals. Simon wins at least one title per year since 2007. His final opponent, Fabio Fognini [57] played first ATP final, he was two months off the tour this year (February and March) due to an injury. In the semifinals he ousted qualifier Attila Balazs [450] – an unknown man from Hungary for whom it was the first ATP tournament in career. He becomes the first Hungarian in ATP semifinals since Attila Savolt reached the last four in Sopot ten years ago.

Finals

Barcelona (500)
S: (1)Rafael Nadal d. (3)David Ferrer 7-6(1), 7-5
D: (4)M.Fyrstenberg/M.Matkowski d. M.Granollers/M.Lopez 2-6, 7-6(7), [10-8] – 3 m.p. *

Bucharest (250)
S: (1)Gilles Simon d. Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3
D: (1)R.Lindstedt/H.Tecau d. J.Chardy/L.Kubot 7-6(2), 6-3

Choker of the week:
Andrey Golubev, whose leading 6-4, 5:4 (30/0) & 6:5 (30/0) wasn’t enough to beat Steve Darcis. Golubev was also two points away in the 3rd set tie-break, but Darcis eventually prevailed 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(5). It happened in the Barcelona’s first round.

* The Polish duo saved a match point also in the 2nd set of their opening match (against  Butorac/Soares).

# The Nadal-Ferrer rivalry in Barcelona:

2007, SF: Nadal d. Ferrer 7-5, 6-1 (1:35 h)
2008, F: Nadal d. Ferrer 6-1, 4-6, 6-1  (2:14 h)
2009, F: Nadal d. Ferrer 6-2, 7-5 (1:46 h)
2011, F: Nadal d. Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 (1:49 h)
2012, F: Nadal d. Ferrer  7-6, 7-5 (2:40 h)

## Nadal in his three favorite tournaments:

Monte Carlo: 9 appearances, 44-1 record, 8 titles
Barcelona: 8 appearances, 35-1 record, 7 titles
Roland Garros: 7 appearances, 45-1 record, 6 titles

(2)Rafael Nadal d. (1)Novak Djokovic          6-3, 6-1                                 [1:18 h]
Both past champions (Nicola Pietrangeli ’68; Ilie Nastase 1971-73; Bjorn Borg 1977, 79-80) and all spectators gathered in the stands on a sunny Sunday could expect another excellent battle between the two best players in the world. Their previous seven matches delivered high-quality entertainment despite the Serb won them all. This time only first two points of the second game provided bilaterally great tennis as both protagonists exchanged points with beautiful rallies finished at the net. Nadal broke in the 3rd game and never looked back. Especially his right side was rock solid, as he was either playing backhands or inside-out forehands. Djokovic seemed lethargic, deprived of the will to turn the things around. Nadal had beaten Djokovic on 16 occasions prior to that final, but never so emphatically like today. He finished the lopsided final with an ace served wide on ‘deuce’ box. It’s his 47th title, the first one since Roland Garros ’11. Nadal snaps Borg’s record of the most consecutive matches won in one tournament # and fortifies his record of the most titles in one tournament in succession (eight straight titles at Monte Carlo)! Besides Nadal, Guillermo Vilas is the only player in the Open era to win one tournament eight times, it was Buenos Aires in years 1973-1979 and 1982 (he got two titles in 1977, did not play in 1978 & 80). “To start the clay-court season winning here is an amazing feeling,” Nadal said. “This tournament is very special for me. My level of tennis was high during the last four matches, since the second round.”

 Doubles final:
* (1)B.Bryan/M.Bryan d. (2)M.Mirnyi/D.Nestor 6-2, 6-3

Longest winning streaks in one tournament:

42 – Rafael Nadal (Monte Carlo 2005-12)
41 – Bjorn Borg (Wimbledon 1976-81)
40 – Roger Federer (Wimbledon 2003-2008 & US Open 2004-09)
38 – Guillermo Vilas (Buenos Aires 1973-81)

* The Bryans like Nadal clinched their 20th ’1000′ title

2nd semifinal:

(2)Rafael Nadal d. (9)Gilles Simon                        6-3, 6-4                                            [1:50 h]

It was Simon’s first clay-court semifinal in such a big event. He had a very favorable draw earlier, but displayed brilliant disposition winning 14 games in a row (!) between 1st set against Gil and 2nd against Tipsarevic… The Frenchman confirmed his great form against Nadal, especially early on. There was 3:3 (15/40) in the 1st set on Nadal’s serve when the Spaniard hit the baseline after a long rally. At the second break chance Simon should have won the point at the net but his high-forehand volley was too soft for Nadal’s amazing defensive skills. Since that moment Nadal had a control over the progress of the match. Credit to Simon though, he had several break points (in three games) and run very similar distance (both players above 2000 meters). Nadal is unbelievable at Monte Carlo, in his last 29 matches there, he has lost just 2 sets (to Djokovic & Murray), but both 3-setters clinched convincingly anyway. Tomorrow’s final looks fascinating, Nadal for the first time since his final against Federer in 2006, won’t be a 100% favorite on Monaco’s Centre Court, having lost the last seven meetings to Djokovic.

1st semifinal:

(1)Novak Djokovic d. (6)Tomas Berdych            4-6, 6-3, 6-2                                    [2:42 h]

The match was played in very tough, windy conditions. It irritated Djokovic more, as well as the rustling packed crowd. The Serb led *4:2 in the 1st set, but an unusually patient in rallies  Berdych was able to win four straight games and almost got the fifth in succession. There was exposed an interesting stats in the middle of that set, Berdych was constantly violating the serve rule, needing on average 32 seconds between the points while Djokovic known for frequent violation, this time was serving according to rules (23 seconds). The beginning of the 2nd set was crucial, Djokovic had saved break points in the opening and the 3rd games before established a safe 3:0* lead. He is too good recently to lose two sets in a row from a break up… In the 1st game of the decider, Berdych committed two double faults, and it helped Djokovic to break Berdych’s serve after an 8-point game, and the Czech’s spirit too. Djokovic has improved his H2H against Berdych to 9-1, winning 3 out of the last 4 matches after dropping the first set. Monte Carlo ’12 turned into a very challenging tournament in terms of the weather: on Thursday heavy rain, sunny Friday and extremely windy Saturday, Djokovic dealt with all these conditions as a true champion.

Quarterfinals

Andy Murray was in a very defensive mood throughout his match against Tomas Berdych. This tactics somehow worked out in the 1st set due to Berdych’s inability to get the most important points (he wasted all seven break points, including 4 set points at 6:5*). The Czech kept the focus though, the conditions quickened up and Berdych’s game began to labor better. He was aggressive all the time spreading forehand winners in all corners of the court, and finishing the points at the net with good efficiency. Murray lost his service game at 1-all in the final set, missing a relatively easy overhead on break point. He broke his racquet immediately and didn’t regroup to the end. Berdych won 6-7(4) 6-2 6-3 in 2 hours 48 minutes, improving his H2H against the Brit to 4-2 (three wins in France). “He played better,” conceded Murray. “I mean, I hung in, in the first set [...]  At the start of the second set it was where he obviously started playing better and my level dropped clearly, as the result, the score line, suggests.” In the second quarterfinal, Robin Haase acted like he knew he didn’t deserve to be there. I had an impression Novak Djokovic was playing at barely 60% of his abilities, but it was enough to secure the seminal berth with a 6-4 6-2 victory, despite losing the serve four times!
The second semifinal will be consisted of Rafael Nadal and Gilles Simon [15]. Both players won their matches after the same scoreline: 7-5 6-4. Nadal extended his overwhelming H2H with Stanislas Wawrinka to 8-0 (17-0 in sets) with the victory which lasted 1 hour 47 minutes. As usual in their meetings, Wawrinka [26] produced solid tennis, made several entertaining winners, but wasn’t consistent enough to finally take a set off Nadal. Simon his all-French affair with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga began with a 3:0 lead after two breaks of serve. They were involved in a 39-stroke rally in the 4th game, Tsonga admittedly lost the point but it awoke him. He erased both breaks, silly errors cost him the set though. Simon signalized lethargy, he received some pills, but the decider seemed inevitable as he found himself at *1:4 down in the 2nd set. Tsonga couldn’t keep the momentum, made a bunch of unforced errors and lost five straight games.

Third round

There’s something wrong with Monte Carlo’s Centre Court this year… Two days after Juan Monaco had sprained his right ankle, Julien Benneteau sprained his right ankle too, stumbling almost in the same place on the court In Benneteau’s case it’s even a worse occurrence, actually a nightmare because while falling he damaged his right wrist which caused a broken elbow (!) as it was revealed when Benneteau underwent an examination at the doctor. The awful injury happened during his competitive, long (seventy minutes) 1st set against Andy Murray at 5-all (0/15). After the treatment the Frenchman came back on court only to have hopelessly played two points like Monaco…
Monaco and Benneteau finished their matches in tears as well as Novak Djokovic, but the Serb in regard of different circumstances. Djokovic before his match with Alexandr Dolgopolov received a massage that his grandfather died. Obviously it affected the mind of No. 1 in the world. Djokovic’s thoughts weren’t on court in the 1st set, but as a role model of professionalism he regained his composure in the 2nd set and perhaps helped him the rain break at the beginning of the 3rd set. Djokovic won the last three games winning by a 2-6 6-1 6-4 margin. He now faces Robin Haase [55], for whom quarterfinal in a ’1000′ tournament is arguably the best career-result. And it happens under completely unexpected circumstances, the Dutchman reached a new low last week being ousted in Casablanca by a 752nd ranked-player in the world (Lamine Ouahab), who had never won an ATP match before! Two days ago he would have been badly beaten by Monaco, but the Argentine suffered an injury. Haase probably felt he was going to lose in the first round, suddenly got a chance to play further and took an advantage of it beating in straight sets two players – more or less – of his caliber: Fabio Fognini and Thomaz Bellucci. The Brazilian won against Haase just five games, it’s the same amount he dropped a day before in his sensational win over Ferrer. A crucial game during a 6-2 6-3 victory came at *2:0 for Haase in the 2nd set when he fought off three break points taking the game in nine deuces.
Bellucci’s namesake, Berdych saved a mini-match point at 4:4 in the 3st set against Kei Nishikori surviving a 2-6 6-2 6-4 scare. The Czech has won this year more tight sets than any other player on the tour except Isner. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrated his 27th birthday in the second round against Kohlschreiber, in the following match the best French player overcame a double set point in the 1st set tie-break to dismiss a former finalist Fernando Verdasco 7-6(7) 6-2. “I’m always hungry for victories,” said Tsonga. “I always go on the court wanting to win. Sometimes people are shocked when I say, ‘If I come to this tournament, it’s because I want to try to go to the end of the tournament.’ But I think it’s important.”

The first round was highlighted by the last match in Ivan Ljubicic‘s long career. 16 years on the tour, 291 tournaments played, countless of dramatic long matches, but the farewell was rapid – Ljubicic spent only 71 minutes on court during a bitter 0-6 3-6 defeat to fellow Croat Ivan Dodig. The Ljubicic’s attribute – the serve – evaporated totally, as never before, he was broken 6 times in 8 service games by a player for whom clay is the least favorite surface! “I have to say that I felt like it could end up emotional, but I didn’t expect it to be this emotional,” confessed the second best Croatian player in history. “Obviously, it’s the end of something beautiful for me. Now it’s time to do something else. I would love to help this sport to be even better in some way“. Ljubicic made his breakthrough at Monte Carlo thirteen years ago as he overcame qualifying rounds to beat easily famous “Soviet” names – Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andrei Medvedev; ‘Ljubo’ reached three times quarterfinals in this tournament: he was beaten twice (2009, 11) by the the prince of the tournament – Rafael Nadal, who came back to his beloved venue speaking about his bothering left knee. Some pain in the knee wasn’t an obstacle to outplay in straight sets Jarkko Nieminen, beginning a bid for the 8th consecutive title in Monaco. In the third round Nadal takes on qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin who rallied from a *0:4 (15/30) deficit in the 1st set to beat Filippo Volandri 7-6(8) 2-6 6-2.  Just like Nadal against Nieminen, Novak Djokovic  has won  all seven encounters against Andreas Seppi, whom he defeated 6-1 6-4 in his opening match. Djokovic said before the tournament that overcoming Nadal on clay would be the ultimate task. Admittedly the Serb beat Nadal twice on clay last year, but neither of those wins came on Nadals two favorite tournaments: Monte Carlo and Roland Garros. Therefore their potential final clash in Monaco is exciting. Andy Murray wants badly to bedevil expectations on another Djokovic-Nadal final. In his first clay-court match this season, he needed only 67 minutes to destroy Viktor Troicki, finishing his “Serbian tournée” – Murray has played the last three matches against the Serbs (he faced Tipsarevic and Djokovic in the two previous matches, in Miami). “It was good. I moved well,” said Murray about his 6-0 6-3 win. “I was sliding pretty well on the court. Normally that’s the thing that takes time to get used to. Normally for me that’s a good sign on the clay, whether I’m playing well or not.”
Thomaz Bellucci [45] made the biggest upset of the first three days as he ousted last year’s finalist David Ferrer 6-3 6-2. Bellucci had never won a set in his three previous meetings with Ferrer. This time he broke the Spaniard at the beginning of both sets and consolidated it holding all service games quite easily. Ferrer’s first clay-court loss after 14-match winning streak. “I didn’t play very well,” lamented Ferrer. “But my opponent, he was better than me in the first and second set, in every moment. I made lots of mistakes. I am not fast. He plays very aggressive, very consistent. He was better.”
This year the tournament is deprived of two elite players: Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro. The latter played only one match at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, three years ago. The elite aspirant, 19-year-old Bernard Tomic [36], notched the first ATP clay-court win, but in the second round was dismissed by his most frequent opponent – Alexandr Dolgopolov in a quick three-setter (one hour 40 minutes).
One of the recently hottest players on the tour (23-8 record since Valencia ’11), Juan Monaco, has bad luck as No. 14 in the world. Four years ago he advanced on this position (his highest ever) during a tournament at Vina del Mar and twisted his ankle which forced him to give a walkover instead of playing the final – in the consequence of the injury lost his form and dropped his ranking. This week he came back on No. 14 after clinching the title in Houston, and twisted the ankle again! It happened in the first round as he played against Robin Haase. Monaco took full control over the match after losing the 1st set, and had a break point at 3:1 in the 3rd set as a long rally occurred. After many strokes he slid badly, stumbled, fell on the ground and was moaning in pain “No creo! No creo!“. After a treatment to his right foot he came back on court, but couldn’t run, lost quickly two points and retired leading 5-7 6-0 3-2. A ligament in his ankle is torn, he will be out of the competitions for a month, which means he should return in Rome.

U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships have a long tradition, it’s been as long as the Open era (and even longer, the first championships took place in 1910). The event was held in different cities, since 2001 it’s been Houston. This year the field was stronger than in the last five/six years, and in the windy final met the Top 10 challengers: John Isner [10] faced Juan Monaco [16]. The Argentine hit the sideline serving at 2-all (15/40) in the 3rd set with a risky backhand and it was a vital point for the final outcome, he also hit the baseline (with a forehand) at 1:2* (15/40) in the 3rd set against Michael Russell in the semifinal, which allowed him to break back. The qualifier Russell – a Houston resident – advanced for the first time in his career to ATP semifinals, it’s really weird taking into account that he was one point away from reaching Roland Garros quarterfinals eleven years ago. Monaco has improved his record this year on clay to an impressive 11-2… James Blake has been out of form for months, perhaps he’s regained self-confidence winning the 6th title in doubles – his first since 2004. Teamed up with Sam Querrey he saved five match points in the first round, and five set points in the 1st set tie-break of the final match against newcomers. “The week was great, as I haven’t been in the winners’ circle in a while,” said Blake. “I remember when I won my first doubles title, it was a precursor to my first singles title the next weekend. I think it shows I’m starting to play well and getting confidence. I’ll take it anywhere I can get it.” Next Monday starts a challenger in Sarasota, Blake is a top seed.
Taking a first title at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca last year, Pablo Andujar [58] made quite a big surprise. Twelve months later he came back to Morocco as one of the biggest title contenders and didn’t disappoint his supporters winning convincingly four matches in a row. In a final (twice interrupted by rain in latter stages of the 2nd set and finished in heavy rain) he overcame a 3:5 deficit in the 2nd set against a fellow Spaniard, Albert Ramos [52] for whom it was the first ATP final. Andujar began his title defense beating Potito Starace – last year’s final opponent. The Spaniard in each of these matches lost just three games (6-1 6-2 last year, 6-3 6-0 this week).

Finals 

Houston (250)
S: (4,WC)Juan Monaco d.  (2)John Isner 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
D: J.Blake/S.Querrey d. T.C.Huey/D.Inglot 7-6(14), 6-4

Casablanca (250)
S: (3)Pablo Andujar d. (7)Albert Ramos 6-1, 7-6(5)
D: D.Brown/P.Hanley d. (4)D.Bracciali/F.Fognini 7-5, 6-3

Choker of the week:
Daniel Gimeno-Traver, who won the 1st set easily against Michael Russell in Houston (first round), led 5:3* (30 all) in the 2nd set, but Russell survived 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.