Tennis across 4 continents

This week there are two ATP 250 Tournaments being contested - the  Grand Prix Hassan Ii in Marrakech, Morocco, and the Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston, Texas, USA.

The WTA Tour is travelling to Bogotá, Colombia, for the Claro Open Colsanitas, and to Lugano, Switzerland, for the Samsung Open - both International category tournaments.

Marrakech:

Six of the worlds top 50 are in the draw, headed by top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas (world ranked 23)

In first round matches played so far, Gilles Simon has beaten fellow Frenchman and sixth seed Benoit Paire, in a two hour match requiring tie breaks in the second and deciding sets.

Other seeds to bite the dust first up include Alexandr Dolgopolov (7), dumped 6-2 6-3 by qualifier Andrea Arnaboldi, ranked 221 in the world, a tour pro for 12 years, and playing his first match for 2018.

Also gone is Robin Haase (5), a victim of Mirza Basic 4-6 6-4 7-5

Bogotá:

Top seed is Tatjana Maria, ranked 62 in the world and the other seven seeds are also in the top 100.

Of the seven first round matches completed so far, both seeds involved - Tatjana and Johanna Larsson (3) - won theirs in straight sets.

Lugano:

The seven seeds in the draw all reside in the top 50 - the third seed, Carla Suárez Navarro was a late withdrawal.  Top seed is Kiki Mladenovic, ranked 19 in the world.

Qualifying for the main draw is yet to be completed, and the remaining handful of matches will be decided tomorrow, together with the opening schedule of first round matches.

Houston:

Five of the eight seeds are American, including the top three - John Isner  (9 in the world), Sam Querrey (14 in the world) and Jack Sock (16 in the world).

The top four seeds have been given first round byes, and of those obliged to play the first round, fifth seed Fernando Verdasco has been eliminated by qualifier Denis Kudla, currently the worlds number 122.

Davis Cup quarters completed

The Davis Cup quarter finals were completed on Sunday with the reverse singles matches and the results were:

Italy (8) v France (1)

Lucas Pouille defeated Fabio Fognini 2-6 6-1 7-6(3) 6-3

France 3-1 and winners of the tie

The fifth match was not played

France will play Spain in the semi finals

Spain v Germany 

Rafa Nadal defeated Sascha Zverev 6-1 6-4 6-4

Spain / Germany 2-2

David Ferrer defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(1) 3-6 7-6(4) 4-6 7-5

Spain 3-2 and winners of one of the most exciting Davis Cup battles in recent memory

Croatia (4) v Kazakhstan 

Marin Cilic defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1 6-1 6-1

Croatia 3-1 and winners of the tie

The fifth match was not played

Croatia will play the USA in the semis

USA v Belgium (2)

The USA had already won the tie but a best of three sets singles match was played as a courtesy for the crowd

Ryan Harrison defeated Ruben Bemelmans 6-3 6-4

USA 4-0

The fifth match was not played

The semi finals will be contested on 14-16 September 2018, with France and Croatia hosting.

Bertens and Muguruza win titles

The last day of competition at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston featured the two semi finals and final due to weather problems on the previous day.

The first semi final on display was arguably one of the top handful of women’s matches for 2018.

For two and three quarter hours, Madison Keys (7) and Kiki Bertens (12) treated the crowd to an exciting brand of relentless attacking tennis.

There was no fear of committing errors (and there were plenty) in the process of firing off exhilarating winners off both wings in set one.

After three breaks of serve in the first three games, and Bertens held for a 3-1 lead.  Keys responded by breaking back in the sixth game, but couldn’t consolidate and the Bertens powerful forehand assisted the twelfth seed to 5-3.  Chances for a late comeback by Keys were denied , with Bertens claiming the advantage 6-4.

Set two saw the Dutch woman playing catch up as Keys, serving first, was up a break, with the chance of serving for 5-3.  The American failed on that occasion, and at 5-5 was broken for a third time.

A match point for Bertens was wasted, and the resultant Keys eventually broke serve.  The resultant tie break was dominated by Keys, who had previously lost all tie breaks in which she’d participated this year.

At a set apiece, it was only appropriate that the match be decided by a third set tie break.

A double fault at 4-4, and facing break point, led Bertens to a dropped serve, and Keys served for the match.

At match point, a Keys forehand error let Bertens off the hook, and eventually serve was broken for 5-5.

Tie break arrived, and Bertens triumphed seven points to five.

6-4 6-7(2) 7-6(5) was enough for Kiki book a spot in the final against Julia Goerges (5) who overcame Anastasija Sevastova (8) 7-6(5) 6-3

The first set should have gone to Sevastova, given the break opportunities afforded her.

Both players achieved a single service break, Goerges from one chance, Sevastova from eleven.

The final was a whitewash, all over in  under an hour, Kiki Bertens winning the title against Julia Goerges 6-2 6-1.

The fifth career title for Kiki was, like all the others, won on a clay surface, the difference here being the colour - green.

In Monterrey, Garbine Muguruza (1) dropped her first set for the tournament, to Timea Babos (4) in the final.

Down a break in the second set, and a break point away from a double break, Garbine fought back from the brink.

In the end, the top seed found her way into the winners circle 3-6 6-4 6-3 - her first title for 2018.

USA 1st into Davis Cup semis

The doubles matches have been played on Day Two of the Davis Cup quarter finals:

Italy (8) v France (1)

Pierre-Hueges Herbert / Nicolas Mahut defeated Simone Bolelli / Fabio Fognini 6-4 6-3 6-1

France 2-1

Spain v Germany

Tim Puetz / Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Feliciano López / Marc Lopez 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-7(4) 7-5

Germany 2-1

Croatia (4) v Kazakhstan

Ivan Dodig / Nikola Mektic defeated Timur Khabibulin / Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-7(2) 6-4 6-4 6-2

Croatia 2-1

USA v Belgium (2)

Ryan Harrison / Jack Sock defeated Sander Gille / Joran Vliegen 5-7 7-6(1) 7-6(3) 6-4 

USA 3-0 and winners of the tie

Will play the winner of Croatia and Kazakhstan in the semi finals 

Muguruza and Babos to contest Monterrey final

The semi finals in Monterrey were contested, and the first of those was a three setter between Sachia Vickery (7) and Timea Babos (4).

Vickery began brilliantly, dominating the points won on both her own serve and that of Babos.

Two breaks of serve, and the set was won 6-1 by the American seventh seed.

10 unforced errors from the Hungarian, mostly flowing off the forehand, helped Vickery to her lead and the power game appeared to be heading towards another win.

Babos, though, was intent on making the final, and creating a chance for her second title of 2018, following her Taiwan Open victory in February.

A previous winner in Monterrey (2012), the fourth seed reversed the momentum of the match, and won the second and third sets, facing no break points in the process.

The 1-6 6-2 6-2 semi final win by Babos grants her access to a battle in the finale against Garbine Muguruza (1).

The top seed thrashed Ana Bogdan (6) in set one 6-0, but faced a much stiffer test in the second, down 2-4 with two break chances for 2-5.

However, Muguruza prevented the double break, cracked the defence of Bogdan’s serve and the score reached 5-5.

The comeback was complete when the world number three broke serve again in the twelfth game.

Muguruza won 6-0 7-5, hitting 15 winners, with a tidy count of only eight unforced errors. 

Bogdan was gallant, contributing 14 winners of her own, and competing strongly considering the first set blowout.

The rain washed out semi final day in Charleston, allowing only the first semi between Julia Goerges (5) and Anastasija Sevastova (8) to hit the court.  They reached 4-4 before the weather intervened.

That match, plus the other semi between Madison Keys (7) and Kiki Bertens (12), will be played (weather permitting) on Finals Day, the semis winners having a decent rest before the big one.

Davis Cup quarters - Day One

The first day of competition in the Davis Cup quarter finals has concluded with the following results in the opening singles matches:

Italy (8) v France (1)

Lucas Pouille defeated Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-2 4-6 3-6 6-1

France 1-0

Fabio Fognini defeated Jérémy Chardy 6-7(6) 6-2 6-2 6-3

France / Italy 1-1

Spain v Germany

Sascha Zverev defeated David Ferrer 6-4 6-2 6-2

Germany 1-0

Rafa Nadal defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2 6-2 6-3

Germany / Spain 1-1

Croatia (4) v Kazakhstan 

Marin Cilic defeated Dmitry Popko 6-2 6-1 6-2

Croatia 1-0

Mikhail Kukushkin defeated Borna Coric 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4 6-2

Croatia / Kazakhstan 1-1

USA v Belgium (2)

John Isner defeated Joris de Loore 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(8) 6-4

USA 1-0

Sam Querrey defeated Ruben Bemelmans 6-1 7-6(5) 7-5

USA 2-0

Pera pushes Keys to limit

The make up of the semi finals of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston has been determined, with straight sets wins in three of the four quarter finals.

The one match which took three sets and over two hours to complete was an all American battle - seventh seed Madison Keys against Bernarda Pera, ranked 101.

Keys opened proceedings as one would expect, serving well and returning the Pera delivery with powerful effect, especially the second serve, where 8 of 10 points were captured by the favourite.

The set was wrapped up 6-2.

Set two was a real contest, and no breaks of serve occurred.  Keys did have two match points when Pera served at 5-6, but those evaporated and the tie break was taken by Pera seven points to five, and the match was levelled.

It was perhaps the first serve percentage (45%) that let Pera down in the deciding set, because she matched Keys in just about all departments, even leading 4-2 with a break.

There were five breaks of serve in the twelve games contested, and Keys managed three of those, winning five of the last six games, enough to scrape through to the final four - 6-2 6-7(5) 7-5.

Thirty winners was impressive for Madison, in a high quality clash which forced the best out of both players.  Pera has a bright future and now moves into the top 100.

Other quarter finals:

Kiki Bertens (12) defeated Alize Cornet (14) 6-2 7-5

She will play Madison Keys in the semis 

Julia Goerges (5) defeated Daria Kasatkina (3) 6-4 6-3

She will play Anastasija Sevastova in the semis 

Anastasija Sevastova (8) defeated Kristyna Pliskova 6-4 6-0

Monterrey quarter finals:

Ana Bogdan (6) defeated Danielle Collins 6-2 6-4

She will play Garbine Muguruza in the semis 

Garbine Muguruza (1) defeated Ajla Tomljanovic (8) 6-3 6-0

Timea Babos (4) defeated Monica Puig (5) 6-4 6-2

She will play Sachia Vickery in the semis 

Sachia Vickery defeated Magdalena Rybarikova (2) 6-0 6-3