Davis Cup 2012 - First Round
Ryan Harrison d Michael Lammer - 76(0) 76(4)
A sweep of Switzerland seemed improbable 3 days ago.
And possibly even more significant...
Today was Ryan's debut match and win in DC play.
Sure it was a dead rubber but welcome to the club.
He may just be the new Andy Roddick for the US DC team.
Definitely one to watch.
Munich ATP 250 - Second Round
Grigor Dimitrov d 4 Marcos Baghdatis - 36 76(6) 62
I thought this new lean/mean Bag Man was suppose to make some noice.
He's played 9 tournaments so far in 2011 and has won 6 matches.
That kind of noice is called a fizz.
But today Marcos did lose to a bonafide 'someone-to-watch' player.
It should only be a matter of time before he'll be a fixture within the elite.
In 2008 Grigor won both the Wimbledon & US Open juniors titles.
Edberg & Federer both won the W title 5 years after winning the juniors...
So, maybe we will see Grigor lift the trophy at Wimby in 2013?
Photo: Matthias Huber
Former top-ranked junior Berankis was featured in VMan yesterday.
Today he beat 6th seed Benjamin Becker 63 76(2) to advance to the 2nd R.
Last month he lost to David Ferrer in the 3rd round at Aussie Open.
Remember he took out David Nalbandian in the 2nd.
The Lithuanian is currently ranked #74 - and rising.
He has the distinction of being the youngest man ranked within the top 100.
Here is the obligatory VMan article that went along with the photos:
You're welcome ladies and gays.
Horacio is currently ranked #68 in singles and #33 in doubles.
Of the 8 Argentines ranked in the top 100 - he is their 6th ranked.
His best result this year has been a Sf in Houston.
He was a 1st round loser in 3 of the Slams - 2nd round at the French.
He finished '09 ranked #45 just after reaching a career high of #41.
He has been to one ATP final - a loss last year in St. Petersburg.
Horacio has one doubles title - Buenos Aires this year with Prieto.
He & Schwank lost to Clement/Llodra in the Davis Cup Sf's today.
He's now 2-1 in DC play - he won his previous 2 dubs matches in '10.
All this cuz I liked the pic! It was taken Thursday in Lyon during practice.
Photo: AP
Rafael Nadal - Gentlemen's Singles Champion
Serena Williams - Ladies' Singles Champion
Philipp Petzschner & Jurgen Melzer - Gentlemen's Doubles Champions
Yaroslava Shvedova & Vania King - Ladies' Doubles Champions
Leander Paes & Cara Black - Mixed Doubles Champions
Marton Fucsovics - Boy's Singles Champion
Krystyna Pliskova - Girl's Singles Champion
Photos: Getty Images/AELTC
Today Thiemo rises 10 ranking spots to a career high # 67.
Thanks to his 2nd round showing in Monte Carlo - where Rafa crushed him.
Barcelona is his 7th event of the year & today's win makes his W/L 8-6.
The 6'4" Dutchman is the 2006 Junior Wimbledon Champion...
That alone makes the 21 year-old someone to watch.
For the second week running Melanie 'Believe' Oudin is my women's pick for rocking the rankings.
Melanie is on a nice little run of good results this month. First there were the two wins in Fed Cup, then a semifinal showing in Paris and last week a quarter in Memphis. And all this hard work is paying off as this week she is up 9 to #42.
It looks like she'll be taking a couple weeks off before she heads to the Indian Wells/Miami swing where she can gooble up some points as she lost 1st in both last year.
Heck, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it - at this pace I believe Melanie WILL be seeded at the French Open in May.
A quick scan of the rankings and you can't help but notice a few big movers: JC Ferrero up 6 to #16, S Querrey up 9 to #22 and E Gulbis up 27 to #72. The one that caught my eye was German Philipp Petzschner's movement of 15 places up to #55 - owing to his semifinal showing Saturday in Memphis.
Philipp is 20 ranking places lower than his peak back in September but with virtually zero points to defend between now and the French Open he has ample oppurtunity to bump up a lot further. He is definately a player to keep an eye on (in the rankings) in the coming months.
The ATP website produced a nice video player profile on Petzschner - please take a look at it HERE.
Melanie Oudin made one of the biggestjumps in the Top 100 on the WTA rankings today. Losing a tight 3-setter to Elena Dementieva in her first semifinal appearance this past weekend in Paris propels her up 11 spots to #42.
Heading into the Indian Wells/Miami double I like her chances of improving her ranking. She lost 1st round in both year and I don't see that happening next month. Hey, I believe she may even find herself seeded by the time the US Open rolls around.
Attagrrrrrrrl.
It took Melanie a little time to produce a follow-up to her Cinderella run at the US Open last summer - but good things always happen in Paris, right?
Last week she went to France as part of the American Fed Cup 'B' team and enjoyed success winning both of her singles matches - and the tie. Then she stuck around for another week only to find herself in her first ever tour level semifinal. C'est bon!
She'll next play Elena Dementieva and we all remember what happened the last time these two tangled at the US Open. From the brink Melanie produced a stunning upset in the 2nd round.
And for a little bonus, Melanie should see a nice bump in the rankings from her current #53 come Monday.
IN PARIS TODAY
quarterfinal result >>> semi matchup - h2h
1 Elena Dementieva d. Andrea Petkovic - 36 64 62
>>> Dementieva vs Oudin - h2h 0-1
Melanie Oudin d. Agnes Szavay - 26 64 62
*****
Lucie Safarova d. 6 Shahar Peer - 63 60
>>> Safarova vs Pennetta - h2h 1-0
2 Flavia Pennetta d. Tathiana Garbin - 61 63
Photo: Reuters
This charismatic tennis star would make an awesome addition in the top 20.
Ernests Gulbis has everything it takes to spend a lot of time in the top 20 - currently ranked #98 he has a long way to climb.
In 2008 he enjoyed a breakthrough year reaching the quarterfinals in Las Vegas, the Master's Series event in Cincinnati and at the French Open.
But the last year and a half have been quite cruel.
Since that quarterfinal showing in Cincinnati in '08 he has only made it past the 2nd round 3 times in 28 tournament postings. Those three resulted in quarterfinal losses, the most recent to Roger Federer in Doha in January. In 14 of these events he was a 1st round loser and in another 3 he lost in the qualifying. Head-scratchingly dismal.
Today he again lost a 1st round match - in San Jose to Florian Mayer, 75 64.
He is simply too good for this. At only 21 he has time to turn it around but the odds get increasing worse as he gets older. Ernests, this need to be a good year.
Photo: I took this while he practiced at the Los Angeles Open in '09.
Madison Keys into 3rd Round at Australian Open and Proves She is One to Watch
Australian Open - Women's Second Round
Madison Keys d 30 Tamira Paszek - 62 61
The promising 19 year-old is suddenly a seed killer Down Under.
She is currently ranked #105 and owing to her 3rd round showing...
WELCOME TO THE TOP 100, GIRL!
Yesterday Brad Gilbert actually said on ESPN he thinks she's a future #1.
No pressure.
To comtinue thru the draw she'll need to down the 5th seed Kerber next.
Win or lose - Maddy is one to watch.
Posted at 04:08 PM in Australian Open, Commentary, Commentators, Grand Slam Tennis, Madison Keys, Scores, Someone to Watch, Womens Tennis | Permalink | Comments (0)
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