TennisToday

Arnaud Clement Watch

There's my boy with the Marseille finalists on Sunday.

Hmmm. Bicycle pumps are for tires - not hair.

But you're still cute.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Wins ATP Title at Marseille

ATP 250 Marsille - Men's Final

3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d 1 Tomas Berdych - 36 76(6) 64

And with the win Jo-Willie enters double digits in titles: 10.

8 of those 10 are at the 250 level - he needs to step it up, no?

Let's give him props as he turned back a match point to raise the trophy.

Post match: This is a great victory. I stayed in the match

even when it was very difficult and waited for my chance.

I survived and took my chance when it came. I’m very happy.

This shows me that I’m on the right way. The draw was very strong here.

Cool stuff. Now on to bigger titles please. Dubai this week would work.

ATP's Weekend Arm Raisers for Feb 26, 2012

ATP 250 Buenos Aires - Final

1 David Ferrer d 2 Nicolas Almagro - 46 63 62

And that's title #13 in a solid career and his 2nd on the year - so far.

David moves his H2H over countryman Nicolas to 9-0.

He'll continue the Golden Swing of South America at Acapulco this week.

ATP 500 Memphis - Final

Jurgen Melzer d 4 Milos Raonic - 75 76(4)

This marks the 4th time Jurgen has lifted an ATP trophy.

He had a remarkable seed-toppling week also downing 1 Isner & 3 Stepanek.

Moving up: The win bumps him 19 placed to #19.

No rest: Jurgen is playing singles and doubles at Delray Beach this week.

I'm exhausted just typing these 4 sentences.

ATP 250 Marseille - Final

4 Juan Martin Del Potro d Michael Llodra - 64 64

DelPo bags career title #10 on the ATP tour.

He will not defend his title at Delray Beach opting instead to play at Dubai.

He's (rightfully) back playing with the big boys.

Photos: Reuters, AP, Reuters

Arnaud Clement Watch - He's in Marseille

My boy was a wildcard at ATP 250 Marseille this week.

He lost his 1st round singles match to countryman Nicolas Mahut.

But he's still in the dubs with Lukas Dlouhy.

They are set to play the top seeds in the 2nd round tomorrow.

Arnaud was a Sf-ist at a challenger in Bergamo last week.

That showing bumped him up 16 place to his current ranking of #155.

At 34 he will not be around much longer.

Photos: Getty Images

The 3 ATP Titlists from Last Week All Win Tough 2nd Round Matches Today

These boys are breaking the ol' "win one week/lose early the next" curse.

The following are all 2nd round matches moving into the quarterfinals.

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In Memphis last weeks San Jose champion:

W/C Milos Raonic (above) d Radek Stepanek - 64 67(10) 76(1)

I think someone is starting to enjoy the big time.

***

In Marseille last weeks Rotterdam champion:

1 Robin Soderling d W/C Nicolas Mahut - 76(8) 76 (5)

Sets up Qf meeting with defending champ Michael Llodra - H2H: 2-1/ML.

Llodra actual beat Robin in the Qf here last year.

***

In Buenos Aires last weeks Costa do Sauipe champion:

1 Nicloas Almagro d Leonardo Mayer - 67(3) 61 63

Fun fact: Nico is ranked #13 but is only the #4 player from Spain.

Robin Soderling is in Marseille Looking for a 3rd ATP Title in 2011

Marseille is Robin's 4th tourney in '11 - he's won 2 of the other 3.

He has already lifted trophies in Brisbane & Rotterdam this season.

Aside from his shock 4th R loss at the Aussie Open to Dolgopolov...

This winning thing is becoming a bit of a habit for Robin.

He has a W/L of 10-4 at Marseille & was the runner-up in '04 to Hrbaty.

Robin enjoyed a 1st R bye & plays Nicolas Mahut tomorrow - H2H: 1-0/RS.

He is looking to win this title for Sweden for a 5th time...

Thomas Enqvist won in '97, '98, '02 & Jaochin Johansson in '05.

Robin tweeted these photos from Marsielle today. The bottom captioned:

Signing autographs here in Marseille.

Pretty cool to see the fans face-to-face like this.

Michael Llodra Wins ATP 250 Title in Marseille

Michael Llodra d. Julien Benneteau - 63 64

Llodra collected his fourth career ATP title and first since 2008.

He teamed with Benneteau to win his 18th doubles title today as well.

He began the week 1-4 in matches on the year - he leaves Marseille 6-4.

He is due to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1st round in Dubai this coming week.

By adding 100 points he will move up about 15 places from his current #79.

After the match Llodra had this to say, "At the beginning of the week I knew that I could go down as far as 120 in the rankings if I lost in the first round. It's unbelievable to finally win a final in France after losing here and in Lyon last year. I enjoyed the week a lot and it was great to have my kids here today watching the final."

Photo: Reuters

A Pair of Frenchmen Set to Play for Marseille Title

semifinal result >>> final match - h2h:

Micheal Llodra (above) d. Mischa Zverev - 61 76(3)

>>> Llodra vs Benneteau - h2h 0-0

It's so bizarre that they have never played one another.

8 Julien Benneteau d. 2 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 76(11) 57 76(3)

Photo: AP

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Lead Semifinalists at Marseille ATP 250

quarterfinal result >>> semifinal matchup - h2h

Michael Llodra d. 1 Robin Soderling - 76(2) 64

>>> Llodra vs Zverev - h2h 2-0

Mischa Zverev d. Guillaume Rufin - 75 67(4) 63

*****

8 Julien Benneteau d. 3 Gael Monfils - 63 75

>>> Benneteau vs Tsonga - h2h 2-3

2 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (all thumbs, above) d. Illya Marchenko -63 64

Photo: AP

Soderling & Tsonga Lead Players into Quarterfinals in ATP 250 Marseille

Tomorrow's quarterfinal match - head2head > today's results:

1 Robin Soderling vs Michael Llodra - h2h 0-1

> Soderling d. Stakhovshy 67(5) 63 64  - Llodra d. Baghdatis 76(6) 64

***

Mischa Zverev vs w/c Guillaume Rufin - h2h 0-0

> Zverev d. 4 Robredo 62 36 61 - Rufin d. Mertens 63 26 62

********

8 Julien Benneteau vs 3 Gael Monfils - h2h 1-4

> Benneteau d. Serra 64 64 - Monfils d. Seppi 76(4) 36 76(3)

***

2 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs LL Illya Marchenko - h2h 0-0

> Tsonga d. Ouanna 76(9) 64 - Merchenko d. O. Rochus 61 36 62

This Week the ATP Moves to Memphis, Marseilles and Buenos Aires

Marseilles ATP 250 - Top Seeded Players

1. Robin Soderling - Runner-up '04

2. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (above) - Winner '09

3. Gael Monfils - Round of 32 in '05 '06 '06 '09

4. Tommy Robredo - Round of 16 in '02

Memphis ATP 500 - Top Seeded Players

1. Andy Roddick - Winner '02 '09

2. Fernando Verdasco - Debut

3. Radeck Stepanek - Runner-up '09

4. Tommy Hass - Winner '99 '06 '07

Buenos Aires ATP 250 - Top Seeded Players

1. David Ferrer - Quarterfinalist '04

2. Juan Carlos Ferrero - Semifinalist '06

3. Nicolas Almagro - Semifinalist '07

4. Juan Monaco - Winner '07

Photo: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga by Stephan Bollinger