2nd WEEK

Gilles  Simon has improved his great record in ATP singles final to 8-2 after winning a tournament in Sydney. The Frenchman ousted in the final Viktor Troicki of Serbia – the Davis Cup ’10 hero – in tight straight sets. Troicki saved with risky play five set point in the 1st set but couldn’t do it with the 6th one. In the 2nd set he led 3:0 with a double break, then was serving at 6:5 (deuce) but Simon won 9 out of the last 13 points. Simon hasn’t lost a set in five meetings with Troicki (it’s their second encounter in a final, the previous one – Bangkok 2009)… The first match in the last 12 months won Juan Martin del Potro beating Feliciano Lopez in three tie-breaks. Interestingly it’s already been the second match of the year consisted of three tie-breaks – those matches occurred only twice in the entire last season! Del Potro saved a match point on return in the 2nd set tie-break with a great forehand cross-court passing-shot and becomes the first player in 2011 who has won a match being one point from a defeat.

David “Pics” Ferrer triumphing in Auckland, joins a group of players who won at least 10 singles titles.  It’s Ferrer’s second title obtained in Auckland, he was a champion there in 2007. Ferrer’s toughest test came in his first match of the tournament, in the second round as he overcame 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 Tobias Kamke, a promising player of Germany… Ferrer won the last 3 games of that match, breaking the German for the first time in the match at 4:4.

Finals

Sydney (250)
S: Gilles Simon d. (4)Viktor Troicki 7-5, 7-6(4)
D: L.Dlouhy/P.Hanley d. (1)B.Bryan/M.Bryan 6-7(6), 6-3, [10-5]

Auckland (250)
S: (1)David Ferrer d. (6)David Nalbandian 6-3, 6-2
D: (2)M.Granollers/T.Robredo d. J.Brunstrom/S.Huss 6-4, 7-6(6)

Choker of the week:

Ernests Gulbis – led 5:3* (30-0) in the 1st set of his semifinal (Sydney) against Gilles Simon, wasted a set point and since the beginning of the tie-break to the end of the match, barely trying, won only 4 points, losing 31 (!), offended by decisions of the linesmen.