TennisToday

Roger Federer Attends Rotterdam Philharmonic Then Orchestrates Quarterfinal Win

ATP 500 Rotterdam - Quarterfinal

1 Roger Federer d Jarkko Nieminen - 75 76(2)

Roger took his mother to hear Beethoven's violin concerto for her birthday.

You can see the proud GOAT birther photo-bombing in the 2nd photo.

Rog has not played this event since winning it in '05.

Me thinks he's on a bit of a ranking points gobble...

He wants stay #3 or even - to move up.

He is looking for title #71.

He's 4th on the title list behind Connors (109), Lendl (94) & McEnroe (77).

He'll catch Mac - but this is one record he'll not hold.

Photos: Leonike at the Rotterdam Phil

Robin Soderling Wins ATP Title at Rotterdam

Rotterdam ATP 500 - Final

1 Robin Soderling d 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 63 36 63

Robin tweeted the photo above captioned: Thanks everyone!

Incredibly happy about my win. Is it obvious that I like Rotterdam?!

This is Robin's 8th ATP title & 1st time in his career he's defended a title.

Robin collects his 2nd title in the young season - matching last year already.

Robin: I’ve had a very good start to this season.

I’ve already won two titles and only lost one match in three tournaments.

That loss was the surpriser to Dolgopolov in the 4th round at Aussie Open.

#4: Robin maintains his points to remain ranked just ahead of Andy Murray.

Robin & Jo are now headed to Marseille and can only meet again in the final.

As for Jo, a final round showing is an encouraging sign of tennis life.

He's still on a title drought tho - dating back to Tokyo in Oct of '09.

Let's get on title board soon Jo. In Marseille perhaps?

Robin Soderling Wins a Thriller in Rotterdam to Move into Quarterfinals

Rotterdam ATP 500 - Second Round

1 Robin Soderling d Philipp Kohlschreiber - 63 57 76(7)

In playing their 4th match together Robin finally beat Philipp: 3-1/PK.

And boy does that scoreline look like it was a great match.

Robin is trying to defend the title he won here last year.

He will next face 6th seed Mikhail Youzhny in the Qf's - H2H: 4-1/RS.

Robin has won their last 4 matches - and they weren't even close.

Remember, Mikhail retired the match to Robin in last years final.

Men's Tennis Heads to Rotterdam for 2011's 1st ATP 500

Robin Soderling tweeted this cute photo from Rotterdam yesterday.

Robin & Andy Murray are the top seeds at 2011's 1st ATP 500 tourney.

Robin is the defender which means the battle for #4 is on in Rotterdam.

Novak Djokovic pulled out with a sore shoulder. Riiiiiiiight.

***

Rotterdam's Top 8 Seeds - Previous Best

1. Robin Soderling - 2010 Winner

2. Andy Murray - 2009 Winner

3. David Ferrer - '07 Qf'ist

4. Tomas Berdych - '05, '08 Round of 16

5. Jurgen Melzer - '10 Qf'ist

6. Mikhail Youzhny - 2007 Winner

7. Ivan Ljubicic - '05, '07 Runner-up

8. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - '09 Qf'ist

***

Potential Quarterfinals

1 Robin Soderling vs 6 Mikhail Youzhny

Spoilers: Philipp Kohlschreiber, Ernests Gulbis, Thiemo De Bakker

3 David Ferrer vs 5 Jurgen Melzer

Spoilers: Viktor Troicki, Marin Cilic, Jarkko Nieminen

4 Tomas Berdych vs 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Spoilers: Nikolay Davydenko, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Andrey Golubev

2 Andy Murray vs 7 Ivan Ljubivcic

Spoilers: Gilles Simon, Marcos Baghdatis, Florian Mayer

Robin Soderling Wins ATP 500 Title in Rotterdam

3 Robin Soderling d. 6 Mikhail Youzhny -  64 20 ret.

Robin scores his 1st title of the year and his 5th overall.

The 500 points he earned today isn't enough to move him up from #8.

From Robin's Twitter - Pretty sure I'm the happiest person in Rotterdam at the moment :) Thanks for cheering me on.

Robin doesn't have too much time for celebrating though...

He's the top seed in Marseilles this week but enjoys a 1st round bye.

Sadly, Youzhny was forced to retire with a right hip injury.

He is also due in Marseilles - we'll see.

Photos: Top from Robin's Twitter - bottom from Getty Images 

Top 2 Seeds Lose to Set-Up Rotterdam Final

semifinal result >>> final match - h2h:

5 Mikhail Youzhny (above) d. 1 Novak Djokovic - 76(5) 76(6)

>>> Youhzny vs Soderling - h2h 1-1

3 Robin Soderling (below) d. 2 Nikolay Davydenko - 76(3) 64

Photos: Reuters 

Davydenko Leads ATP Rotterdam Quarterfinal Results

quarterfinal result >>> semifinal matchup - h2h

1 Novak Djokovic d. Florian Mayer - injury w/o

>>> Djokovic vs Youzhny - h2h 3-2

6 Mikhail Youzhny d. 4 Gael Monfils - 57 62 63

*****

3 Robin Soderling d. Julien Benneteau - 60 61

>>> Davydenko vs Soderling - h2h 4-6

2 Nikolay Davydenko (above) d. Jurgen Melzer -63 62

Photo: Reuters

Novak Djokovic Leads Quarterfinalists in Rotterdam

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

1 Novak Djokovic vs Florian Mayer - Mayer w/o (injury)

> Djokovic d. Chiudinelli 64 62 - Mayer d. 5 Robredo 64 36 63

***

4 Gael Monfils vs 6 Mikhail Youzhny - h2h 0-2

> Monfils d. De Bakker 63 62 - Youzhny d. Ilhan 64 64

********

3 Robin Soderling vs Julien Benneteau - h2h 3-2

> Soderling d. Sijsling 76(6) 62 - Benneteau d. Berrer 64 64

***

2 Nikolay Davydenko vs Jurgen Melzer - h2h 5-1

> Davydenko d. Baghdatis 63 62 - Melzer d. Seppi 62 62

Photo: Rueters

Tommy Robredo & Feliciano Lopez sure make a great looking doubles team!

This may just be the best looking doubles pairing in the history of man.

Shh, don't tell Verdasco.

So ok, looks don't always win.

They lost to top seeds Nestor/Zimonjic 63 64 - in Rotterdam today.

Photos: Getty Images

A Panda Storms the Court in Rotterdam

Oh for the love of Furby, how did this get past security?

Photo: Getty Images

James Blakes Loses 1st Round Match in Rotterdam

Yea, you read that right - Rotterdam.

What on earth is he doing in Rotterdam? James was the sole American in the Rotterdam draw - all the rest of his countrymen (11 of them) are in San Jose in, uh - AMERICA.

The only thing I can think is that Rotterdam is worth twice the ranking points as San Jose. James had 90 semifinal points to defend from last year in San Jose which he could have equaled with a quarterfinal showing in Rotterdam.

Maybe he was playing a rankings game and was thinking that if he went further in Rotterdam he could improve upon last year. Meaning, it's easier to get to the Rotterdam semi's than the San Jose final.

Blake is currently ranked #52 but with 90 points coming off next Monday he is going to sink to about #65. While while the gamble was brave, in hindsight he might have actually lost fewer points if he had stayed in the States.

Marcos Baghdatis d. James Blake - 64 62, today in Rotterdam.

Novak Djokovic Plays Wheelchair Tennis Exhibition in Rotterdam

Born to entertain.

Rotterdam tournament director and former Wimbledon champ Richard Krajicek and current #2 Novak Djokovic took the court in Rotterdam for an exhibition wheelchair match.

I triple *heart* you Novak.

Photos: Getty Images

Novak Djokovic Wins His First Match as the #2 Player

In Rotterdam today Novak defeated Sergiy Stakovsky, 62 41 ret.

He makes a great looking #2 player - but I miss Rafa...  :(

It's Nice to See Marcos Baghdatis Smiling Again

Marcos took a little time for an autograph session in Rotterdam today.

Photo: Getty Images

Marco Chuidinelli: Surging (Could he be the answer to Roger Federer's Davis Cup riddle?)

I'll address my parenthetical thought in a sec.

First a little something about Marco.

The 28 year-old surging Swiss player is currently ranked #54 and is the 3rd ranked Swiss behind Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka.

Marco began playing professional tennis in 1999 and for the last ten years has mainly played challenger and future level tournaments - keeping his ranking in the 150-250 range.

Suddenly last year he caught some fire with a 3rd round showing at the US Open and a few other decent results pocked in the second half of '09.

Marco does not have many points to defend before Wimbledon, mainly because he didn't play any tour level events. With a guaranteed direct entry into Indian Wells, Miami, the clay events in Europe and the next two Slams he is in a good position to bump his ranking into the 30's.

Today helped. At the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam Marco defeated Michael Llodra, 61 67(5) 76(6).

Now hear me out on my theory that Marco may be the answer to Roger Federer's Davis Cup woes.

With Roger Federer opting to sit out the 1st round tie next month in Spain on clay he almost certainly gives Switzerland the loss.

Roger shows up in September to make sure they play in the World Group in 2011. With losses in the last tie of the countries of his main rivals he will have to face them on his home turf and on the surface of his liking. He ought to like that!

With Chiudinelli surging it's not hard to see Federer and Wawrinka teaming with him to make a formidable Davis Cup team. Roger might even be able sit on the sidelines for the doubles match.

A Davis Cup title would fill in one of the FEW gaps Roger actually has on his resume. Maybe he hasn't that that far ahead but I think its genius.

Photos: From today's match in Rotterdam - Getty Images 
 

The ATP Moves to Rotterdam, San Jose and Costa do Sauipe this Week

Only 3 top 10 players in action this week.

Rotterdam ATP 500 - Top Seeded Players

1. Novak Djokovic - Semifinalist '07

2. Nikolay Davydenko - Semifinalist '06 '07

3. Robin Soderling - Runner-up '08

    >>> Robin won his 1st round match today.

4. Gael Monfils - Semifinalist '09

San Jose ATP 250 - Top Seeded Players

1. Andy Roddick - Winner '04 '05 '08

2. Fernando Verdasco - Debut

3. Radeck Stepanek - Winner '09

4. Tommy Haas - Semifinalist '05

Costa do Sauipe ATP 250 - Top Seeded Players

1. Juan Carlos Ferrero - Runner-up '07

2. Albert Montanes - Round of 16 '04 '07 '08

3. Thomaz Bellucci - Runner-up '09

4. Igor Andreev - Round of 32 '07 '08

Photo: Novak Djokovic in Vogue