WTA Doha, ATP Rotterdam next week

The finals in Montpellier, Sofia, and Córdoba are yet to be contested but next weeks tournaments are already upon us.

But first the situation in Córdoba.

Quarter Finals

• Guido Pella (8) defeated Diego Schwartzman (3) in an all Argentine march 7-5 6-2
• Wildcard Juan Ignacio Londero defeated qualifier Pedro Cachin 6-4 7-6(3)
• Federico Delbonis defeated Jaume Munar 7-5 6-4

That means three Argentine players are through to the semis, and at least one is assured of a finals berth:

Semi Final: Wildcard Juan Ignacio Londero v Federico Delbonis 

The fourth quarter final between Aljaz Bedene and Pablo Cuevas was only four games old when wind and rain caused it to be postponed until Saturday, Argentine time.  The winner will play Guido Pella for a spot in the final.

Two of next weeks four tournaments are as follows:

ABN AMRO  World Tennis Tournament - an ATP 500 category tournament, on Hard GreenSet, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, 11-17 i February 2019.

Defending champion:

Roger Federer who defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-2

Federer won’t be defending his title, and the following players withdrew after entering but before the main draw was published:

• Marin Cilic replaced by Mikhail Kukushkin 
• Grigor Dimitrov replaced by Martin Klizan 
• Kyle Edmund replaced by Jérémy Chardy 
• Richard Gasquet replaced by Matthew Ebden 
• Nick Kyrgios replaced by Robin Haase 
• Alexander Zverev replaced by Damir Dzumhur 

Kei Nishikori, world number 7, is top seed.

The other seven seeds are all in the top 25, five of those in the top 20.

No first round byes.

Qatar Total Open - a WTA Premier category tournament, on Hard Plexicushion, in Doha, Qatar, 11-16 February 2019.

Defending champion:

Petra Kvitová who defeated Garbiñe Muguruza 3-6 6-3 6-4

Kvitová won’t be defending her title, and the following players withdrew after entering but before the main draw was published:

• Madison Keys replaced by Katerina Siniakova 
• Naomi Osaka replaced by Barbora Strycova 
• Qiang Wang replaced by Petra Martic 

Simona Halep, world number 3, is top seed.

The other seven seeds are all in the top 15, five of those in the top 10.

The top four seeds have first round byes.

Quarters done in Montpellier, Sofia

Quarter finals in two of the three ATP tournaments in progress this week.

Sofia Open in Sofia, Bulgaria

• Daniil Medvedev (3) v Martin Klizan 6-4 6-1

Medvedev served well in the opening set, winning 20 of 24 points on his first serve, but Klizan denied him on break point opportunities, saving 10 of them. However, it only took the one for Medvedev to convert, and he took the set 6-4.

Set two was one way traffic, and breaking serve three times, Medvedev improved to 9-2 on the season, winning 6-4 6-1

• Gaël Monfils (7) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (2)

Monfils suffered three straight first round losses last year from the end of September, the third of those to Tsitsipas in Shanghai in October.  Since then, the Frenchman has had a good run - finalist in Antwerp and quarter finalist in Vienna to finish the year.  And although he lost a four setter second round match in the AO in January, he was nevertheless displaying promising early signs.

In the rematch with Tsitsipas, Monfils broke serve in the opening game, and with a first delivery of his own reaping 92% of points, he had no trouble holding that break, even cracking the Greek serve another time to take a 6-3 lead.

Tsitsipas had no chance in set two either, with Monfils winning 94% of points on first serve.  Both players were free of service breaks and Tsitsipas led 5-4 in the tie break, before Monfils came home the stronger, winning the final three points and the match 6-3 7-6(5)

Semi Final: Daniil Medvedev (3) v Gaël Monfils (7)

• Marton Fucsovics was handed a walkover from Roberto Bautista Agut who was suffering illness.
• Matteo Berrettini v Fernando Verdasco (6)

Berrettini recovered from a set down, and proceeded to hold serve easily for the rest of the match, facing just a single break point over the course of sets two and three. Verdasco stuck close, but his serve was fractured once in each of those sets, providing Berrettini with success 4-6 7-5 6-4. 

Semi Final: Marton Fucsovics v Matteo Berrettini 

Open Sud de France in Montpellier, France

• Radu Albot defeated qualifier Marcos Baghdatis 6-2 7-6(2)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Jérémy Chardy (6) 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-4

Semi Final: Radu Albot v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 

• Pierre-Hugues Herbert (7) defeated wildcard Denis Shapovalov (3) 7-5 7-6(4)
• Tomas Berdych v Filip Krajinovic

In an absorbing battle, after 182 minutes, the players were separated by a mere four points.  Berdych took the first set in a tie break, after the pair had both won 71% of points on serve, and neither had faced a break point.

Krajinovic trailed 3-4 and down a break in the second set, but fought back to eventually square the match at a tie break each.  The Serb actually lead 5-3 in the decider, following his breaking  of the Berdych serve in the opening game.  However, the Czech saved two match points, and proceeded to break Krajinovic on the way to winning 14 of the last 18 points, plus the match 7-6(3) 6-7(5) 7-5.

After being out injured since Wimbledon last year, Berdych had suffered a ranking drop, and came to France ranked 79.  He will leave no lower than 59, and possibly as high as 50 if he wins the tournament and results go his way in Córdoba.

Semi final: Pierre-Hugues Herbert (7) v Tomas Berdych

Quarters set in France, Argentina

The second round matches to be completed in Montpellier (one) and Córdoba (four) have been played and won.

Montpellier:

• Qualifier Marcos Baghdatis defeated Lucas Pouille (1) 7-6(2) 6-7(3) 6-4 and will play Radu Albot in the quarter finals

Córdoba:

• Aljaz Bedene defeated Fabio Fognini (1) 6-1 6-4
• Pablo Cuevas defeated Malek Jaziri (6) 7-6(5) 6-2
• Diego Schwartzman (3) defeated qualifier Alessandro Giannessi 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0
• Guido Pella (8) defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4 7-6(4)

Quarter final line-up

Aljaz Bedene v Pablo Cuevas 

Diego Schwartzman (3) v Guido Pella (8)

Wildcard Juan Ignacio Londero v qualifier Pedro Cachin 

Federico Delbonis v Jaume Munar

2R concluding in ATP events

The second rounds have been completed in Sofia, while almost done in Montpellier.  Córdoba is finalising its second round, but is a little behind in its time zone.

Sofia Open, Bulgaria

Second round

• Matteo Berrettini caused the biggest upset of the week in tennis by defeating the Sofia top seed, Karen Khachanov.  Berrettini led 5-3 in the opening set, but Khachanov broke back to force a tie break which he eventually won.                                                                                   Berrettini struck back hard, winning 20 of 23 points on his serve in set two, and breaking the Khachanov serve with the single chance provided. The match went to a decider, where Berrettini cashed in on the Russian second serve, while successful most of the time on his own.  Creating three break opportunities, the Italian used one of them to win the set and match 6-7(6) 6-3 6-4.
• Fernando Verdasco (6) defeated Marius Copil 6-2 4-6 6-1
• Marton Fucsovics defeated qualifier Yannick Maden 7-6(3) 3-6 6-4
• Martín Klizan defeated qualifier Daniel Brands 7-6(5) 6-4
• Daniil Medvedev (3) defeated Robin Haase 5-7 6-2 6-2
• Gaël Monfils (7) defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 7-5 6-3
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (2) defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(5) 6-4

Quarter final line-up

Matteo Berrettini v Fernando Verdasco (6)

Roberto Bautista Agut (4) v Marton Fucsovics 

Martin Klizan v Daniil Medvedev (3)

Gaël Monfils (7) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (2)

Open Sud de France, Montpellier 

Second round 

• Filip Krajinovic defeated David Goffin (2) 6-4 6-4
• Radu Albot defeated Ernests Gulbis 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4
• Pierre-Hugues Herbert (7) defeated Ilya Ivashka 4-6 6-4 6-2
• Wildcard Denis Shapovalov (3) defeated Marcel Granollers 6-4 7-6(1)

Quarter final line-up

Winner of Lucas Pouille (1) and qualifier Marcos Baghdatis v Radu Albot 

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Jérémy Chardy (6)

Pierre-Hugues Herbert (7) v wildcard Denis Shapovalov (3)

Tomas Berdych v Filip Krajinovic 

Córdoba Open, Argentina 

Second round 

Qualifier Pedro Cachín defeated Pablo Carreno Busta (4) 6-7(3) 1-0 (retired)

Jaume Munar defeated Marco Cecchinato (2)

Federico Delbonis defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-7(3) 6-2 6-2

Fed Cup this weekend

While some of the qualifying rounds for 2020 have just commenced in the Fed Cup, the first round of the 2019 World Group draw is set for this weekend.

Qualifying calendar for 2020.

Group 1

Americas: 6-9 February 2019

Asia/Oceania: 6-9 February 2019

Europe/Africa: 6-9 February 2019

Group 2

Americas: 17-20 April 2019

Asia/Oceania: 19-22 June 2019

Europe/Africa: 6-9 February 2019

The 2019 World Group Draw - First Round

Czech Republic (1) v Romania 

• Venue: Ostravar Arena, Ostravar, Czech Republic 
• Surface: Hard Indoor

Teams include:

Czech Republic: Singles players Karolina Pliskova (5S), Katerina Siniakova (44S)

Romania: Singles players Simona Halep (3S), Mihaela Buzarnescu (29S)

France (4) v Belgium 

• Venue: Country Hall du Sart-Tilman, Liege, Belgium
• Surface: Hard Indoor

Teams include:

France: Singles players Caroline Garcia (19S), Alizé Cornet (51S)

Belgium: Singles players Elise Mertens (21S), Alison Van Uytvanck (50S)

Germany v Belarus (3)

• Venue: Volkswagen Halle Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
• Surface: Hard Indoor 

Teams include:

Germany: Singles players Tatjana Maria (67S), Andrea Petkovic (68S)

Belarus: Singles players Aryna Sabalenka (9S), Aliaksandra Sasnovich (33S)

Australia v USA (2)

• Venue: US Cellular Arena, Asheville, USA
• Surface: Hard Indoor 

Teams include:

Australia : Singles players Ash Barty (13S), Dasha Gavrilova (47S)

USA: Singles players Madison Keys (17S), Danielle Collins (23S)

Sofia, Montpellier, Cordoba - 1R done

The opening rounds have completed and second round matches just begun in tournaments in France, Bulgaria and Argentina:

Open Sud de France, Montpellier, France

First round

• Pierre-Hugues Herbert (7) defeated Denis Kudla 6-2 6-1
• Qualifier Marcos Baghdatis defeated lucky loser Ruben Bemelmans 6-2 6-4
• Radu Albot defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber (5) 6-4 6-3
• Ilya Ivashka defeated Thomas Fabbiano 4-6 6-4 6-3

Second round 

• Jérémy Chardy (6) defeated qualifier Antoine Hoang 6-3 7-5
• Tomas Berdych defeated Benoit Paire (8) 6-2 6-0
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Gilles Simon (4) 6-2 7-6(3)

Sofia Open, Sofia, Bulgaria

First round

• Fernando Verdasco (6) defeated qualifier Alexandar Lazarov 6-2 6-1
• Marton Fucsovics defeated Andreas Seppi (8) 6-2 7-6(2)
• Martin Klizan defeated Mirza Basic 6-0 3-6 6-2
• Mikhail Kukushkin defeated Laslo Djere 7-6(6) 6-4

Second round 

• Roberto Bautista Agut (4) defeated Matthew Ebden 3-6 6-3 6-2

Córdoba Open, Córdoba, Argentina

First round 

• Pablo Cuevas defeated qualifier Facundo Bagnis 6-4 6-4
• Qualifier Alessandro Giannessi defeated wildcard Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-7(8) 7-5 7-6(4)
• Albert Ramos-Vinolas defeated lucky loser Hugo Dellien 7-6(7) 4-6 6-3
• Wildcard Juan Ignacio Londero defeated Nicolas Jarry (5) 6-2 7-6(5)
• Federico Delbonis defeated Leonardo Mayer (7) 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3
• Roberto Carballes Baena defeated qualifier Andrej Martin 6-3 6-2
• Jaume Munar defeated Guido Andreozzi 6-1 6-4

Second round 

• Wildcard Juan Ignacio Londero defeated Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 6-3

Early results in ATP tournaments

Early results from France, Bulgaria and Argentina:

Open Sud  de France, Montpellier

First round

• Wildcard Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated wildcard Ugo Humbert 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4
• Marcel Granollers defeated Ivo Karlovic 7-6(3) 6-7(5) 7-6(5)
• Ernests Gulbis defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 7-6(5)
• Qualifier Antoine Hoang defeated Steve Darcis 6-1 6-2
• Jérémy Chardy (6) defeated lucky loser Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 6-1 6-1
• Tomas Berdych defeated qualifier Matthias Bachinger 5-7 6-3 6-3
• Filip Krajinovic defeated qualifier Nicolas Mahut 7-6(7) 6-4
• Benoit Paire defeated Evgeny Donskoy 7-5 6-3

Sofia Open, Sofia

First round

• Marius Copil defeated Stan Wawrinka 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4
• Matthew Ebden defeated 17 year old Bulgarian wildcard Adrian Andreev  6-3 4-6 7-6(5).  Andreev doesn’t even have a ranking, but pushed Ebden to the limit, keeping him on court for 139 minutes.
• Matteo Berrettini defeated Denis Istomin 6-4 7-6(7)
• Qualifier Yannick Maden defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-4 7-6(4)
• Qualifier Daniel Brands defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili (5) 7-6(7) 7-5
• Robin Haase defeated wildcard Dimitar Kuzmanov 6-2 6-4
• Gaël Monfils (7) defeated wildcard Viktor Troicki 6-3 6-4
• Jan-Lennard Struff defeated qualifier Stefano Travaglia 6-4 6-3

Córdoba Open, Córdoba

First round 

• Aljaz Bedene defeated Maximilian Marterer 6-3 6-4
• Malek Jaziri (6) defeated wildcard Carlos Berlocq 6-3 4-6 7-6(4)
• Guido Pella (8) defeated lucky loser Paolo Lorenzi 6-1 6-3
• Lorenzo Sonego defeated Pablo Andujar 6-3 6-2
• Argentine qualifier Pedro Cachin, ranked 280, defeated Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-4