T38: Metz, Bukareszt 2011

[Ranger]

Monday Briefing - Metz, Bucharest



METZ TOURNAMENT PREVIEW – TOP 20 TRIO TSONGA, GASQUET, DOLGOPOLOV LEAD STRONG FIELD:

This year’s Moselle Open, the first of 11 indoor tournaments leading to the year-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, features the Top 20 trio of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the No. 1 Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, who reached the final in 2004, and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. All three are battling for one of the four spots in the eight-player field in London. Tsonga is the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament for the sixth time in his career, the second this year (Eastbourne, 2nd Rd.).

Other seeds in the 28-player draw are: No. 4 and 2005 winner Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, No. 5 Michael Llodra of France, No. 6 Xavier Malisse of Belgium, No. 7 and ’09 runner-up Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, and No. 8 Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Overall, there are a tournament-high eight Frenchmen in the main draw (not including qualifiers).

There are four final round qualifying matches and two main draw matches on Monday’s schedule. In the opening main draw match on Centre Court, Matthias Bachinger of Germany takes on former Top 10 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. Baghdatis won the previous meeting in three sets in the second round of Munich in May 2007. Bachinger reached a career-high No. 85 last month (Aug. 15) and he’s compiled outstanding Challenger results with a 29-10 match record and one title. Baghdatis is looking to improve his record on the year to 21-21. His best result was the semi-finals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in June and the quarter-finals four other times.

In the second match, No. 8 Gilles Muller, who broke the Top 50 last week for the first time after reaching the fourth round at the US Open, plays German Philipp Petzschner. In their only previous meeting in the Rennes Challenger final in 2007, Petzschner won 6-3, 6-4. Muller is 13-8 on the season and his best ATP World Tour result is the semi-finals in Atlanta in July (l. to Isner). Petzschner, who won his second Grand Slam doubles title at the US Open (w/Melzer), is 21-18 on the year. His best singles result is a runner-up in Halle in June (l. to Kohlschreiber).

TOURNAMENT QUICK FACTS
CITY: Metz, France
VENUE: Les Arenes de Metz
DATE: September 19-25, 2011
CATEGORY: ATP World Tour 250
PRIZE MONEY: € 450,000
DRAW: 28 singles / 16 doubles
SURFACE: Greenset (Hard)
SINGLES FINAL: Sunday, September 25, at 3:00 p.m.
DOUBLES FINAL: Sunday, September 25, at 12:45 p.m.
FIRST HELD: 2003

2010 FINALS
Singles – (8) Gilles Simon (FRA) d. (Q) Mischa Zverev (GER) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles – Brown-Wassen d. (2) Melo-Soares 6-3, 6-3

RECENT CHAMPIONS/FINALISTS (since 2003)
2010 Gilles Simon/Mischa Zverev (in final round qualifying)
2009 Gael Monfils/Philipp Kohlschreiber
2008 Dmitry Tursunov/Paul-Henri Mathieu
2007 Tommy Robredo/Andy Murray
2006 Novak Djokovic/Jurgen Melzer
2005 Ivan Ljubicic/Gael Monfils
2004 Jerome Haehnel/Richard Gasquet
2003 Arnaud Clement/Fernando Gonzalez
*Bold denotes past champions / runners-up in 2011 draw

A LOOK AT THE DRAW
Singles: Player Record Best Finish
1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 2-1 QF – ‘07
2 Richard Gasquet (FRA) 12-5 F-’04 (W/O in SF last year)
3 Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) Debut
4 Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 8-4 W-'05
5 Michael Llodra (FRA) 4-5 R16-Four Times
6 Xavier Malisse (BEL) 2-3 QF-‘10
7 Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 7-5 F-'09
8 Gilles Muller (LUX) 0-1 R32- ‘04

Wildcards: Arnaud Clement, Benoit Paire, Kenny De Schepper
Youngest: Grigor Dimitrov (20 years, 4 months)
Oldest: Arnaud Clement (33 years, 9 months)
Top Country Breakdown: France 8, Germany 4, Belgium 2, Kazakhstan 2
Former Champions in Draw (2): Ivan Ljubicic (2005), Arnaud Clement (2003)
Former Finalists in Draw (2): Philipp Kohlschreiber (2009), Richard Gasquet (2004)
* Does not include qualifiers

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS 2011 ATP RANKINGS POINTS / PRIZE MONEY

Singles W F SF QF R16 R28
Rankings Pts. 250 150 90 45 20 0
Prize Money €72,600 38,200 20,700 11,800 6,940 4,120

Doubles W F SF QF R16
Rankings Pts. 250 150 90 45 0
Prize Money €22,000 11,600 6,300 3,600 2,100

Doubles Seeded Teams (Tournament record, best finish - year)
1 Kas / Peya Debut
2 Dlouhy / Melo Debut
3 Hanley / Norman Debut
4 Fleming / Hutchins Debut

RECENT CHAMPIONS (since 2003)
2010 Dustin Brown/Rogier Wassen
2009 Colin Fleming/Ken Skupski
2008 Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra
2007 Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra
2006 Richard Gasquet/Fabrice Santoro
2005 Michael Llodra/Fabrice Santoro
2004 Arnaud Clement/Nicolas Mahut
2003 Julien Benneteau/Nicolas Mahut
*Bold denotes past champions in 2011 draw

BUCHAREST TOURNAMENT PREVIEW – REIGNING CHAMP CHELA TOP SEED, FOUR SPANIARDS AMONG SEEDS:

The 19th edition of the BDR Nastase Tiriac Trophy is led by reigning champion Juan Ignacio Chela, who is the top seed for the third time this year in an ATP World Tour tournament (Umag, Kitzbuehel). This is also the final clay court tournament on the ATP World Tour this season. Last year Chela defeated Spanish qualifier Pablo Andujar in straights sets and went on to capture the doubles title (w/Kubot). The other former champion in the field is No. 8 seed Spaniard Albert Montanes, who won the title two years ago. He also reached the final in his Bucharest debut in 2001.

The No. 2 seed is German Florian Mayer, who reached the semi-finals here in 2004. The other seeds are No. 3 Marcel Granollers of Spain, No. 4 Andujar, No. 5 Potito Starace of Italy, No. 6 Tommy Robredo of Spain, No. 7 Andreas Seppi of Italy and No. 8 Montanes. There are five former finalists in the draw: Andujar, top Romanian Victor Hanescu (2007), Italian Filippo Volandri (2006), Russian Igor Andreev (2004-05) and Montanes (2001).

There are two main draw singles matches and four final round qualifying matches on Monday. Former World No. 5 and No. 6 seed Tommy Robredo makes his Bucharest debut against Brazilian Joao Souza in a first-time meeting. Robredo is 19-7 on the season and he captured his 10th career ATP World Tour title in Santiago in February. Souza is at a career-high No. 84 this week and in August he advanced to the semi-finals in Kitzbuehel.

In the second match, Frenchman Jeremy Chardy takes a 3-0 career mark against Frederico Gil of Portugal. Chardy won all three meetings in Grand Slam play in 2008.

TOURNAMENT QUICK FACTS
CITY: Bucharest, Romania
VENUE: Arenele BNR
DATE: September 19-25, 2011
CATEGORY: ATP World Tour 250
PRIZE MONEY: € 422,950
DRAW: 28 singles / 16 doubles
SURFACE: Clay
SINGLES FINAL: Sunday, September 25, at 3:00 p.m.
DOUBLES FINAL: Saturday, September 24, not before 5:30 p.m.
FIRST HELD: 1993

2010 FINALS
Singles – (4) Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) d. (Q) Pablo Andujar (ESP) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles – (3) Chela-Kubot d. Granollers-Ventura 6-2, 5-7, 13-11

RECENT CHAMPIONS/FINALISTS (since 2000)
2010 Juan Ignacio Chela/Pablo Andujar
2009 Albert Montanes/Juan Monaco
2008 Gilles Simon/Carlos Moya
2007 Gilles Simon/Victor Hanescu
2006 Jurgen Melzer/Filippo Volandri
2005 Florent Serra/Igor Andreev
2004 Jose Acasuso/Igor Andreev
2003 David Sanchez/Nicolas Massu
2002 David Ferrer/Jose Acasuso
2001 Younes El Aynaoui/Albert Montanes
2000 Juan Balcells/Markus Hantschk
*Bold denotes past champions / finalists in 2011 draw

A LOOK AT THE DRAW
Singles: Player Record Best Finish
1 Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) 5-2 W-‘10
2 Florian Mayer (GER) 7-5 SF-‘04
3 Marcel Granollers (ESP) 4-3 SF-‘10
4 Pablo Andujar (ESP) 5-2 F-‘10
5 Potito Starace (ITA) 4-7 QF-’07, ‘10
6 Tommy Robredo (ESP) Debut
7 Andreas Seppi (ITA) 1-4 R16-'07
8 Albert Montanes (ESP) 14-9 W-'09

Wildcards: Marius Copil, Victor Crovoi, Adrian Ungur
Youngest: Marius Copil (20 years, 11 months)
Oldest: Juan Ignacio Chela (32 years, 21 days)
Top Country Breakdown: Spain 5, Romania 4, Italy 3, Argentina 2, France 2, Portugal 2
Former Champions in Draw (2): Juan Ignacio Chela (2010), Albert Montanes (2009)
Former Finalists in Draw (5): Pablo Andujar (2010), Victor Hanescu (2007), Filippo Volandri (2006), Igor Andreev (2004-05), Albert Montanes (2001)
* Does not include qualifiers

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS 2011 ATP RANKINGS POINTS / PRIZE MONEY
Singles W F SF QF R16 R28
Rankings Pts. 250 150 90 45 20 0
Prize Money €67,650 35,600 19,300 11,000 6,465 3,845

Doubles W F SF QF R16
Rankings Pts. 250 150 90 45 0
Prize Money €20,550 10,800 5,860 3,350 1,960

Doubles Seeded Teams (Tournament record, best finish - year)
1 Lindstedt / Tecau Debut
2 Cermak / Polasek Debut
3 Bracciali / Starace 1-1 QF-'10
4 Knowle / Marrero Debut

RECENT CHAMPIONS (since 2000)
2010 Juan Ignacio Chela/Lukasz Kubot
2009 Frantisek Cermak/Michal Mertinak
2008 Nicolas Devilder/Paul-Henri Mathieu
2007 Oliver Marach/Michal Mertinak
2006 Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski
2005 Jose Acasuso/Sebastian Prieto
2004 Lucas Arnold Ker/Mariano Hood
2003 Karsten Braasch/Sargis Sargsian
2002 Jens Knippschild/Peter Nyborg
2001 Aleksandar Kitinov/Johan Landsberg
2000 Alberto Martin/Eyal Ran

Źródło: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... efing.aspx

[DUN I LOVE]

Fajnie, że Schoorel próbuje swoich sił w turniejach ATP. Szkoda tylko, że bez powodzenia. Dzisiaj Holender przegrał mecz finałowej rundy kwalifikacji z Gianlucą Naso 67 46.

Trwa pierwszy mecz turnieju głównego w rumuńskiej stolicy. Tommy Robredo gra z Joao Souzą.

[James_007_Blake]

I już pozamiatane. Boredo po kontuzji jest cieniem samego siebie.

[jaccol55]

Metz - plan gier na wtorek

• Kort centralny, start o godz. 11:00.
  [WC] B Paire (FRA) vs A Golubev (KAZ)
  [Q] I Sijsling (NED) vs G Dimitrov (BUL)
  
  Nie przed godz. 16:00.
  O Rochus (BEL) vs S Robert (FRA)
  
  Nie przed godz. 18:00.
  N Mahut (FRA) vs D Junqueira (ARG)
  M Berrer (GER) vs [6] X Malisse (BEL)
  [3] P Hanley (AUS) / D Norman (BEL) vs [WC] P Herbert (FRA) / N Renavand (FRA)
• Kort 1, start o godz. 14:00.
  M Kukushkin (KAZ) vs [Q] M Rodrigues (FRA)
  
  Nie przed godz. 16:00.
  T Kamke (GER) vs [Q] N Renavand (FRA)
  I Ljubicic (CRO) / L Zovko (CRO) vs [2] L Dlouhy (CZE) / M Melo (BRA)

---

Bukareszt - plan gier na wtorek

• Kort centralny, start o godz. 11:00.
  [Q] A Giannessi (ITA) vs [8] A Montanes (ESP)
  V Hanescu (ROU) vs A Ramos (ESP)
  
  Nie przed godz. 15:00.
  [WC] M Copil (ROU) vs [WC] V Crivoi (ROU)
  
  Nie przed godz. 17:30.
  [WC] A Ungur (ROU) vs L Rosol (CZE)
• Kort półcentralny, start o godz. 14:30.
  P Riba (ESP) / J Souza (BRA) vs F Mayer (GER) / R Wassen (NED)
  
  Nie przed godz. 16:00.
  R Machado (POR) vs F Volandri (ITA)
• Kort 2, start o godz. 11:00.
  [Q] F Serra (FRA) vs [Q] G Naso (ITA)
  C Berlocq (ARG) vs A Haider-Maurer (AUT)
  I Andreev (RUS) vs [Q] P Torebko (GER)
  
  Nie przed godz. 16:00.
  E Prodon (FRA) vs [7] A Seppi (ITA)
• Kort 3, start o godz. 16:00.
  M Emmrich (GER) / A Siljestrom (SWE) vs [2] F Cermak (CZE) / F Polasek (SVK)

---

• Wyniki kwalifikacji, drabinki uzupełnione o kwalifikantów oraz wyniki I rundy turniejów głównych można znaleźć na 1 stronie.

[Ranger]

Tuesday Briefing - Metz, Bucharest



METZ TUESDAY PREVIEW – NO. 6 SEED MALISSE, FIVE FRENCHMEN IN FIRST ROUND ACTION
There are seven first round matches on Tuesday’s schedule at the Moselle Open, with No. 6 seed Xavier Malisse of Belgium and five Frenchmen leading the way.

In the first match on Centre Court, French wild card Benoit Paire takes on Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan for the first time. Paire broke into the Top 100 for the first time on May 9 at No. 98 and he enters his 10th ATP World Tour tournament at No. 112. He has a 4-9 match record on tour and 31-18 in Challenger level play with one title. Golubev is looking to finish the season strong. He comes in with a 6-25 match record and last month he broke an 18-match losing streak with his first round win in Cincinnati. He is ranked No. 103 after reaching a career-high No. 33 on Oct. 4, 2010.

In the second match, Dutch qualifier Igor Sijsling meets the youngest player in the draw, 20-year-old Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Sijsling is looking to win his first ATP World Tour match of the season (0-2) while Dimitrov is 13-20 on the year with a pair of quarter-final results in Munich in May and Eastbourne in June. Dimitrov, who reached a career-high No. 52 last month (Aug. 22), is ranked No. 64 this week.

In the third match, No. 2 Belgian Olivier Rochus plays Frenchman Stephane Robert . Rochus won their previous meeting in the final at the Lo Gosier Challenger in Guadeloupe in March. Rochus is attempting to even his match record (12-13) on the season. In July, he reached the final in Newport (l. to Isner) for the second straight year and in June he was a quarter-finalist in Eastbourne. Robert is ranked No. 109 and his best results have come on the Challenger circuit with a 31-14 match record and one title. He is 2-4 on the ATP World Tour.

In the evening session, Frenchman Nicolas Mahut and Diego Junqueira of Argentina square off for the first time. Mahut is 7-9 on the season and ranked No. 92. Junqueira is ranked No. 96 and he is 30-15 in Challengers with one title. He is 3-4 on the ATP World Tour.

In the final match, German left-hander Michael Berrer looks for his first win against No. 6 seed and top Belgian Malisse, who won their previous ATP World Tour meeting in Toronto last year. Malisse also won two Challenger encounters two years ago. Malisse is making his fourth appearance in Metz (2-3 mark) and last year he advanced to the quarter-finals. Both players have reached an ATP World Tour final this year, Malisse in Chennai in the opening week of the season and Berrer in Zagreb in February.

BUCHAREST TUESDAY PREVIEW - SEPPI & MONTANES IN ACTION AS FIRST ROUND CONTINUES IN BUCHAREST
The BDR Nastase Tiriac Trophy, the last clay court tournament of the year on the ATP World Tour, continues in Bucharest on Tuesday with another nine first round matches. Two more seeds take the court, too.

First up on Central is No. 8 seed Albert Montanes against qualifier Alessandro Giannessi. Montanes has had somewhat of a disappointing season, starting 2011 ranked No. 25 in the world but now down at No. 53. But the 30-year-old Spaniard has a lot of experience on these courts, this being his 11th straight year coming here - his best results are reaching the final in 2001, winning the title in 2009 and reaching the semi-finals in 2010. He will be playing Giannessi for the first time - Giannessi, just 21, is playing his first ATP World Tour-level match.

The other three matches on Central all feature players from the home nation of Romania. First up is Romania’s No. 1 player Victor Hanescu against Spain’s Albert Ramos. The 30-year-old Hanescu is playing this event for the ninth time, his best previous results being the semi-finals in 2005 and reaching the final in 2007. He will be playing the 23-year-old Ramos for the first time at ATP World Tour level.

Following them on Central is a clash between Romanian wild cards and Davis Cup teammates, Victor Crivoi and Marius Copil. The 29-year-old Crivoi and the 20-year-old Copil have met just once before at ATP World Tour level, with youth prevailing over experience as Copil - just 18 years old at the time - beat Crivoi in the first round of this tournament two years ago.

Last up on Central is another Romanian wild card, Adrian Ungur, against the Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol. At No. 131, Ungur is Romania’s No. 2 player behind the No. 83-ranked Hanescu. Ungur and Rosol are playing for the first time.

Among those in action on the outside courts is No. 7 seed Andreas Seppi, who has a first-time meeting with France’s Eric Prodon. Seppi, who won his first ATP World Tour at Eastbourne earlier this year and is Italy’s No. 3 player behind Fabio Fognini and Potito Starace, is looking to rebound from a difficult summer hardcourt season, falling first round in all three tournaments he played (and not winning a set in any of those matches).

Źródło: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... efing.aspx

[jaccol55]

Widzę, że Milos już wczoraj (przed losowaniem) wycofał się z Metz. Podoba mi się decyzja o przekazaniu dzikiej karty Paire.

Paire wykorzystał szansę i odesłał Gołubiewa do domu. W następnej rundzie spotka się z Mullerem i tam już będzie ciężej.

A w Bukareszcie, Hanescu pożegnał się z turniejem, fatalnie wypadł Haider-Maurer. Rozstawiony Montanes również poległ z Gianessim. Pogrom.

Spotkanie Dimitrova z Sijslingiem rozpoczęło się przed chwilą, niestety nie ma żadnych transmisji.

[Ranger]

Spotkanie Dimitrova z Sijslingiem rozpoczęło się przed chwilą, niestety nie ma żadnych transmisji.

Dimitrov przegrywa już 1*/5 w pierwszym secie. Bułgar powinien się w końcu ogarnąć, bo jak wyjdzie z takim samym nastawieniem na kolejnego seta, to może być krucho ...

Andreev w Bukareszcie także zalicza ostry falstart, Rosjanin przegrał pierwszego seta 5/7 z niejakim Peterem Torebko .

[jaccol55]

Załamuje Bułgar. Przegrał w 53 minuty 2-6 2-6.

[DUN I LOVE]

Dotychczasowe porażki Grigora spokojnie można było tłumaczyć nieszczęśliwymi losowaniami. Nie wiem tylko, jak można będzie tłumaczyć ten jego dzisiejszy występ.

A Paire rewelacja - wreszcie coś zagrał na szczeblu ATP.

[Samurray]

Były streamy do Metz na tuż popołudniowe mecze?

[jaccol55]

Były streamy do Metz na tuż popołudniowe mecze?

Nie. Pierwsze transmisje rozpoczęły się koło 15-16.

[jaccol55]

Metz - plan gier na środę

• Kort centralny, start o godz. 12:00.
  [7] P Kohlschreiber (GER) vs [Q] J Dasnieres de Veigy (FRA)
  [8] G Muller (LUX) vs [WC] B Paire (FRA)
  
  Nie przed godz. 16:00.
  [WC] A Clement (FRA) vs [5] M Llodra (FRA)
  
  Nie przed godz. 18:00.
  [3] A Dolgopolov (UKR) vs M Baghdatis (CYP)
  [Q] N Renavand (FRA) vs [4] I Ljubicic (CRO)
  O Rochus (BEL) / M Zverev (GER) vs J Murray (GBR) / A Sa (BRA)
• Kort 1, start o godz. 12:00.
  I Kunitsyn (RUS) vs [WC] K de Schepper (FRA)
  M Kukushkin (KAZ) / F Moser (GER) vs A Shamasdin (CAN) / I Zelenay (SVK)
  [1] C Kas (GER) / A Peya (AUT) vs D Junqueira (ARG) / S Robert (FRA)

---

Bukareszt - plan gier na środę

• Kort centralny, start o godz. 12:00.
  [6] P Starace (ITA) vs P Riba (ESP)
  I Andreev (RUS) vs [7] A Seppi (ITA)
  [1] J Chela (ARG) vs [Q] F Serra (FRA)
  M Copil (ROU) / V Hanescu (ROU) vs A Seppi (ITA) / F Volandri (ITA)
  
  Nie przed godz. 19:30.
  [1] R Lindstedt (SWE) / H Tecau (ROU) vs [WC] V Anagnastopol (ROU) / F Mergea (ROU)
• Kort 2, start o godz. 12:00.
  J Kerr (AUS) / T Parrott (USA) vs A Motti (ITA) / P Raja (IND)
  E Donskoy (RUS) / A Ramos (ESP) vs C Berlocq (ARG) / L Rosol (CZE)
  [3] D Bracciali (ITA) / P Starace (ITA) vs [WC] V Crivoi (ROU) / P Luncanu (ROU)
  F Ferreiro (BRA) / R Machado (POR) vs [4] J Knowle (AUT) / D Marrero (ESP)

---

• Dotychczasowe wyniki można znaleźć na 1 stronie wątku.

[sheva]

Bardzo ciekawie zapowiada się jutrzejszy dzień w Metz. Zdaję się, że spędze sporo czasu przy kompie oglądając te pojedynki.

[Samurray]

Dziś ciekawie nie było:
a) Rochus wyserwował sobie mecz (wiem, że to nie brzmi, ale kierunkami gnębił Roberta).
b) Junqueira w ogóle nie nawiązał walki, kto go na kort twardy wpuścił?!
c) Berrer stracił ikrę, oprócz serwisu nie pokazał nic, kiedyś takie soczyste winnersy produkował...

Jutro w telewizyjnym przekazie ATP zadebiutuje łupacz Renavand, ale żeby od razu w meczu wieczoru.

[Ranger]

Wednesday Briefing - Metz, Bucharest



METZ WEDNESDAY PREVIEW – NO. 3 DOLGOPOLOV, FORMER CHAMP LJUBICIC EYE QUARTER-FINALS

There are three first round and three second round matches on Wednesday’s order of play at the Moselle Open. Five of the six matches involve seeds.In the first match on Centre Court, No. 7 seed and 2009 runner-up Philipp Kohlschreiber takes on French qualifier Jonathan Dasnieres de Veigy in a first round match. Kohlschreiber, who is the No. 2 German (behind No. 24 Florian Mayer), has a 7-5 mark in Metz. He enters with a 25-22 match record on the year, highlighted by his third career ATP World Tour title in Halle in June (d. Petzschner). He is ranked

No. 45. Dasnieres de Veigy is looking to keep the qualifying success in the tournament. On Tuesday, all three qualifiers won first round matches. The 24-year-old Frenchman is ranked No. 227 and he’s 1-2 in ATP World Tour play this season.

In the second match, No. 8 seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg attempts to reach his second ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season as he faces French wild card Benoit Paire in a second round contest. Muller is 14-8 on the season and ranked a career-high No. 49. In July, he advanced to the semi-finals in Atlanta (l. to Isner). The 22-year-old Paire is trying to reach his first career ATP World Tour quarter-final. He is ranked No. 112 and 5-9 on the season. He broke the Top 100 for the first time on May 9 at No. 98.

In the third match,French wild card and 2003 Metz champion Arnaud Clement brings a 3-0 career mark against countryman and No. 5 seed Michael Llodra. The 33-year-old Clement, who is the oldest player in the draw, is making his ninth straight tournament appearance and he has a 10-7 career mark. He is 5-9 on the season and ranked No. 172. Llodra is 17-17 this year and ranked No. 34. He’s never been past the second round (4-5 mark) in five previous showings in Metz.

In the evening session, No. 3 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine and former Top 10 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus square off for the third time (tied 1-1). The 20th-ranked Dolgopolov is making his Metz debut and he comes in with a 32-22 match record on the season. He captured his first career ATP World Tour title in Umag (d. Cilic) on July 31 and was runner-up in Costa do Sauipe (l. to Almagro) in February. Baghdatis is 21-21 on the year and ranked No. 60. His best ATP World Tour result was the semi-finals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in June.

In the final match, No. 4 seed and 2005 champion Ivan Ljubicic meets French qualifier Nicolas Renavand
in a second round meeting. The No. 29th-ranked Ljubicic is 8-4 in Metz and at 32 years, 6 months, he is the second-oldest player ranked in the Top 50 (behind No. 25 Radek Stepanek, who is 32 years, 9 months). Ljubicic’s best result this season is the semi-finals in Rotterdam in February. The 29-year-old Renavand made a successful ATP World Tour main draw debut on Tuesday with a straight-sets win over Tobias Kamke. He is the lowest-ranked player in the draw at No. 364.

BUCHAREST WEDNESDAY PREVIEW - CHELA BEGINS TITLE DEFENSE, STARACE & SEPPI ALSO IN ACTION

The last first round match and the first two second round matches all take place in Bucharest on Wednesday at the BDR Nastase Tiriac Trophy, the last clay court tournament on the ATP World Tour calendar this year

First up on Central is No. 6 seed Potito Starace against Pere Riba, the last first round match of the week. This is the 30-year-old Starace’s eighth appearance at this tournament, his best results in the first seven tries being quarter-final finishes in 2007 and 2010 - however, four of those previous appearances ended in first round exits. He hopes that won’t happen again as he faces Riba, with whom he has split their head-to-head, 1-1 - both of those meetings came on clay and both of them were tough three-setters, lasting more than two hours.

Next up is the first second round match of the week, No. 7 seed Andreas Seppi against Igor Andreev. After going 0-3 in the summer hardcourt season (and not winning a set in any of those losses), Seppi rebounded with a win in the first round here on Tuesday, beating France’s Eric Prodon, 61 46 61. Next up is Andreev who, in spite of his current ranking of No. 99, does have a lot in his favor in this match-up. He is a former Top 20 player, is a two-time finalist at this tournament and dominates the ATP World Tour head-to-head with Seppi, 6-1.

Last up is No. 1 seed Juan Ignacio Chela against qualifier Florent Serra. Chela, a 32-year-old veteran of the ATP World Tour, is playing some of the best tennis of his career this year, already reaching five quarter-finals prior to this week (including the French Open) and currently ranking just eight spots below his career-high of No. 15. This is the third time in his career he has held the No. 1 seed at an ATP World Tour tournament, his first two times coming this summer at Umag (where he lost his opening match) and Kitzbuehel (where he reached the semi-finals). The defending champion here, Chela will open his title defense against 30-year-old Frenchman Serra, whom he has never faced, despite the fact both have been playing on the circuit for over a decade.

Źródło: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... efing.aspx

[sheva]

Bardzo fajny meczyk na centralu w Metz graja dwaj Francuzi Clement i Llodra. O dziwo stary Arnaud daję radę i prowadzi 5/2* w pierwszym. A oglądanie Llodry na szybkiej nawierzchni dywanowej to miód na moje oczy.

[DUN I LOVE]

Llodra poza turniejem. Teraz trwa pojedynek Marcosa Baghdatisa z Alexem Dolgopolovem. Marcos gra o swoje 200 meczowe zwycięstwo w zawodowej karierze.

[sheva]

Dog w trzech setach ograł Baghdatisa. Niestety całą przyjemnośc z oglądania tego meczu popsuł mi strasznie tnący się stream. Teraz czas na ostatni mecz dnia, który również obejrzę z dużym zainteresowaniem z uwagi na Nicolasa Renavanda, którego nigdy nie widziałem w akcji.

[jaccol55]

Metz - plan gier na czwartek

• Kort centralny, start o godz. 12:00.
  I Kunitsyn (RUS) vs [6] X Malisse (BEL)
  [7] P Kohlschreiber (GER) vs [Q] I Sijsling (NED)
  
  Nie przed godz. 16:00.
  N Mahut (FRA) vs [WC] A Clement (FRA)
  
  Nie przed godz. 18:00.
  [1] J Tsonga (FRA) vs [Q] M Rodrigues (FRA)
  O Rochus (BEL) vs [2] R Gasquet (FRA)
  [1] C Kas (GER) / A Peya (AUT) vs K de Schepper (FRA) / A Clement (FRA)
• Kort 1, start o godz. 12:00.
  M Kohlmann (GER) / A Waske (GER) vs [2] L Dlouhy (CZE) / M Melo (BRA)
  A Shamasdin (CAN) / I Zelenay (SVK) vs [4] C Fleming (GBR) / R Hutchins (GBR)
  
  Nie przed godz. 16:00.
  [WC] P Herbert (FRA) / N Renavand (FRA) vs J Murray (GBR) / A Sa (BRA)

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Bukareszt - plan gier na czwartek

• Kort centralny, start o godz. 12:00.
  J Souza (BRA) vs [WC] A Ungur (ROU)
  C Berlocq (ARG) vs [2] F Mayer (GER)
  [4] P Andujar (ESP) vs [WC] M Copil (ROU)
• Kort półcentralny, start o godz. 14:00.
  F Volandri (ITA) vs [3] M Granollers (ESP)
  [3] D Bracciali (ITA) / P Starace (ITA) vs P Riba (ESP) / J Souza (BRA)
  A Seppi (ITA) / F Volandri (ITA) vs [2] F Cermak (CZE) / F Polasek (SVK)
• Kort 2, start o godz. 12:00.
  P Riba (ESP) vs A Ramos (ESP)
  F Gil (POR) vs [Q] A Giannessi (ITA)
  [1] R Lindstedt (SWE) / H Tecau (ROU) vs J Kerr (AUS) / T Parrott (USA)
  C Berlocq (ARG) / L Rosol (CZE) vs [4] J Knowle (AUT) / D Marrero (ESP)

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• Dotychczasowe wyniki można znaleźć na 1 stronie wątku.

[Ranger]

Thursday Briefing - Metz, Bucharest



METZ THURSDAY PREVIEW – TOP SEEDS TSONGA, GASQUET, FRENCHMEN MAHUT-CLEMENT IN ACTION:

The remaining five second round matches will be played at the Moselle Open on Thursday, with the top two seeds and pair of Frenchmen highlighting the schedule.

In the first match on Centre Court, Igor Kunitsyn of Russia and No. 6 seed Xavier Malisse of Belgium square off for the first time. Kunitsyn is looking to reach his third ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season, the first since late July in Los Angeles, while Malisse is also trying to advance to his third quarter-final or better, his first since getting to the semi-finals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in June. Malisse reached the quarters here last year. The winner will even his match record on the season. Kunitsyn comes in with a 15-16 mark and Malisse is 21-22.

In the second match, No. 7 seed and 2009 runner-up Philipp Kohlschreiber takes on Dutch qualifier Igor Sijsling for the first time. Kohlschreiber, who is the No. 2 German (behind No. 24 Florian Mayer), has an 8-5 mark in Metz. He enters with a 26-22 match record on the year, highlighted by his third career ATP World Tour title in Halle in June (d. Petzschner). He is ranked No. 45. Sijsling is trying to reach his first career ATP World Tour quarter-final. He is ranked No. 148 and owns a 4-9 career match record.

In the third match, French countrymen Nicolas Mahut and wild card/2003 Metz champion Arnaud Clement meet for the fourth time on the ATP World Tour. Mahut has won the previous three tour meetings and three of the four Challenger matches. Mahut is 8-9 on the season and ranked No. 92. He is trying to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since Newport in July 2009. The 33-year-old Clement, who is the oldest player in the draw, has an 11-7 career mark. He is 6-9 on the season and ranked No. 172. Clement’s last ATP World Tour quarter-final was in Estoril in May last year.

In the evening session, top seed and No. 2 Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who reached the quarter-finals here four years ago in his last appearance, plays qualifier Mathieu Rodrigues for the first time.Tsonga is No. 7 in the ATP year-to-date singles rankings and he’s trying to qualify for one of the remaining four spots in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Tsonga is 37-18 on the season and his best results are runner-up showings in Rotterdam (l. to Soderling) in February and the Queen’s Club in London (l. to Murray) in June. Rodrigues made a successful ATP World Tour main draw debut with a first round win over Mikhail Kukushkin.

In the final match, No. 2 Belgian Olivier Rochus and No. 2 seed Richard Gasquet square off for the eighth time. Gasquet has a 5-2 career advantage, winning the past three meetings last year on clay. Both of Rochus’ wins came on hard courts, including their first meeting in Marseille in 2003. Gasquet owns a 12-5 mark in Metz and he reached the final in 2004. Rochus last reached an ATP World Tour quarter-final in July in Newport where he was runner-up (l. to Isner). Gasquet is 32-18 on the season and QF-or better in five tournaments.

BUCHAREST THURSDAY PREVIEW - MAYER & ANDUJAR BEGIN BUCHAREST CAMPAIGNS ON CENTRAL COURT:

Germany’s No. 1 player leads a charge for the quarter-finals as the last six second round encounters at the BDR Nastase Tiriac Trophy take place in Bucharest this week, the last clay court tournament of the year.

First up on Central is Joao Souza against wild card Adrian Ungur, a battle between their respective countries’ No. 2 players (Souza is the No. 2 Brazilian behind Thomaz Bellucci, Ungur is the No. 2 Romanian behind Victor Hanescu). Although this is a first-time meeting, Souza has a few things going for him in this match-up - he is the higher-ranked player (he broke into the Top 100 in the summer and is currently No. 84, while Ungur is No. 131) and he did pull off a big upset in the first round over No. 5 seed and former Top 10 player Tommy Robredo.

Next up is No. 2 seed Florian Mayer against Carlos Berlocq. Mayer, who cracked the Top 20 earlier this year and is Germany’s highest-ranked player, will try to reach his ninth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season, three of the previous eight coming on this very surface (including his first Masters 1000 quarter-final at Rome). While he lost his opening match at this tournament the last two times he has played here, in his other three tries here he has reached at least the quarter-finals. He is playing 28-year-old Argentine Berlocq for the first time.

The last match on Central pits No. 4 seed Pablo Andujar against Marius Copil. Andujar has come a long way since a year ago, when he made it to the final of Bucharest as a No. 105-ranked qualifier - he now has his first ATP World Tour title, at Casablanca earlier this year, and is now ranked a career-high No. 43 in the world. He will begin his quest to return to the finals here against Copil, the youngest player in the draw at 20 years and 11 months. Copil beat fellow Romanian wild card Victor Crivoi in the first round. This is a first-time meeting.

On Semi-Central, veteran Filippo Volandri of Italy looks to avenge last year’s second round loss to No. 3 seed Marcel Granollers of Spain. Granollers has won two of the previous three meetings, all on clay.

Źródło: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... efing.aspx