Argentina thought it would lose this weekend without their star players of Juan Martin del Potro, Juan Monaco and David Nalbandian. Nalbandian attended the Davis Cup tie as a cheerleader because of a recent leg injury.
On the first day, Argentina was able to split the singles rubbers. Argentina then activated Nalbandian for doubles with Horacio Zeballos the following day. The pairing proved to be successful, and they beat the Swedes in straight sets. Robin Soderling then came out today and defeated Leonardo Mayer 6-2 7-6(4) 7-6(5) to level the Davis Cup tie at 2-2.
The tie would be decided in the final rubber. Argentine coach Tito Vazquez activated Nalbandian again to face Andreas Vinciguerra. The Argentine veteran took the first-two sets. The Swede cleaned up his game in the third set to keep even with Nalbandian and broke in game 10 to keep hope alive.
Vinciguerra had a lot of momentum in the beginning of the fourth set. The Argentine stomped on Vinciguerra’s momentum by breaking in game three after Nalbandian came up with a couple of huge returns and went up 2-1. Nalbandian never looked back and beat the Swede 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-4 to clinch the first-round tie for Argentina.
Team Argentina will meet Russia in the quarterfinals in July. If Russia can get back Nikolay Davydenko and Argentina can get back Juan Martin del Potro and Juan Monaco, that quarterfinal could be highly entertaining.
Sunday’s Results
R4 – Robin Soderling (SWE) def. Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 6-2 7-6(4) 7-6(5)
R5 – David Nalbandian (ARG) def. Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-4
(Image: AP)
Top-seed David Ferrer cruised into the quarterfinals after pushing aside Frederico Gil. He beat the Portuguese 6-3 6-0 in under an hour. The Spaniard will head to meet sixth-seed Igor Andreev. The Russian leads their career matchup 4-3, but Ferrer has won their last two meetings. However, Andreev has won both of their meetings on clay if that makes any difference.
Albert Montanes will await the winner of the Ferrer and Andreev match tomorrow, as David Nalbandian withdrew from the competition with an abductor injury. The withdrawal is a set back for the Argentine champion who returned to the tour this week after recovering nine months from hip surgery.
On the other side of the draw, fourth-seed Juan Monaco took care of his compatriot Juan Ignacio Chela in the battle of the Juans. He outlasted Chela 7-6(2) 4-6 6-2 after 2 hours and 46 minutes of play. Monaco will play another Argentine, Horacio Zeballos in the quarterfinals.
Monaco is on a collision course with Juan Carlos Ferrero. The two could meet on Saturday in the semifinals.
Thursday’s Results
Singles Second Round
1 David Ferrer (ESP) def. Frederico Gil (POR) 6-3 6-0
4 Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) 7-6(2) 4-6 6-2
6 Igor Andreev (RUS) def. Marcel Granollers (ESP) 3-6 6-3 6-4
8 Horacio Zeballos (ARG) def. WC Carlos Moya (ESP) 6-4 6-4
Singles Quarterfinals
5 Albert Montanes (ESP) def. David Nalbandian (ARG) walkover (right abductor)
Doubles Quarterfinals
S. Greul (GER)/P. Luczak (AUS) def. 1 P. Cuevas (URU)/M. Granollers (ESP) 6-3 6-4
D. Ferrer (ESP)/R. Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) def. I. Andreev (RUS)/D. Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 6-2 7-5
N. Almagro (ESP)/S. Ventura (ESP) def. D. Koellerer (AUT)/O. Marach (AUT) 5-7 6-1 10-7
Friday’s Order of Play
(Images: Copa Telmex)
City: Stockholm, Sweden
Surface: Indoor Hard
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: David Nalbandian
2008 Doubles Champions: Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett
Defending champion, David Nalbandian is still off the tour and recovering from surgery, so he will not defend his title this year. Robin Soderling, Tommy Haas, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Juan Monaco, Andreas Beck, Benjamin Becker, Albert Montanes and Feliciano Lopez are the top seeds at this tournament.
The top-seed Robin Soderling will try for his first title in Stockholm. The hometown favorite is enjoying his most successful year and is probably the favorite for the title. None of the top tier players are competing, so all of his threats will not be around to keep the title away from him.
The title is not a foregone conclusion for the Swede. Tommy Haas could easily stand in his way. The German, who had a good summer this year, returns from the tour after battling injury at the end of the summer. If he is good form, it could spell trouble for Soderling.
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Thomaz Bellucci, Ernest Gulbis and Grigor Dimitrov round out the draw in what should be a good week.
Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles
Monday’s Order of Play
(Image: If Stockholm Open)
Fernando Verdasco poses for Hola! Magazine. Let’s hope all the topless action helps him prepare for the US Open Series. (Socialite Life)
Karlovic is a Croatian MC and has the song to prove it. While his single is magnificent -- for all the wrong reasons -- on its own, Djokovic may team up with the tennis ace to make a hip-hop single. It could be double the magnificence (Blic)
Rafael Nadal maybe iffy for Montreal (Open Court)
Mario Ancic’s mononucleosis continues to sideline the Croat. He and Nalbandian (hip) will miss the US Open this year (Tennis)
Rafael Nadal regrets playing in the Madrid Masters Series because it led to a lack of preparation for the French Open (Rafael Nadal)
Richard Gasquet wins a spot in the 10 Best Bad Excuses. The tennis genius has now been slapped with a defamation lawsuit (Fox Sports, TimesOnline)
Marat Safin thinks tennis has become too professional (Tennistalk)
Andre Agassi will replace Novak Djokovic in an exhibition with Marat Safin on Aug 28 (WSJ)
Tipsarevic is upset over allegations about his integrity. Curious betting patterns caused scrutiny after a Tipsarevic-Hernandez match in Stuttgart on July 15 (Blic)
Rafael Nadal purchased a house in DR. From the press release, it looks more like the Spaniard lent his name to a development project (Daily Commercial News)
Yesterday would have been Fred Perry's 100th birthday. This is a great profile of the British champion (The Independent)
In addition to Fred Perry, May 18th is a great day for tennis birthdays (Open Court)
Like Serena, Nadal is Dinara's idol (Guardian)
An interview with Djokovic's manager (Blic)
Murray has gotten smart and is starting to manage expectations (ESPN Star)
Gaston Gaudio, who is the former French Open champion, received a wildcard from the tournament (TSN)
Kei Nishikori, Japan's best player, has pulled out of the French Open (Yahoo via AP)
Super Mario can forgive anything but adultery (Croatian Times)
Mr. and Mrs. Agassi inaugurated the new Wimbledon roof (Times Online)
Dubai agrees to pay WTA fine (Guardian)
Nalbandian will be sidelined for four months after hip surgery (TSN)
In a smart move, the USTA hires Jose Higueras to overhaul the American coaching corps (ESPN)
Speaking of American tennis -- remember Americans used to win on clay (NBC Sports)
Nadal and McEnroe will appear in Wii's newest game, Grand Slam Tennis (Blast Magazine)
(Image: fredperry.com)
Top-seed Gilles Simon advanced and had a routine win over American Robert Kendrick. He now awaits the winner of the Gaudio-Fognini match.
The match of the day was Chilean Paul Capdeville’s upset over fifth-seed David Nalbandian. The Chilean took down Nalbandian pretty easily 6-2 6-2 after 52 minutes of play.
The Argentine has been battling a hip injury over the last two weeks. “My preparation coming to Estoril was as good as possible but limited due to my ongoing injury,” said Nalbandian. “I did everything I could to recover on time to play this tournament, and I believe I arrived in the best shape possible given the circumstances."
Capdeville moves into the next round and will play Maximo Gonzalez, another Argentinian. The two players have never met in ATP competition. The Chilean was not so lucky in doubles. He and partner Ivan Navarro lost to the third-seeds Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak in straight sets 6-3 6-2.
Sunday’s Results
Singles First Round
Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 6-4 6-3
Monday’s Results And Now The Qualifiers Are . . .
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) def. Michael Yani (USA) 6-3 7-5
Ricardo Hocevar (BRA) def. Gastao Elias (POR) 6-4 6-7(3) 7-6(3)
Pablo Cuevas (URU) def. Ricado Mello (BRA) 7-6(5) 6-1
Ryan Sweeting (USA) def. Leonardo Tavares (POR) 6-3 2-6 6-4
Singles First Round
1 WC Gilles Simon (FRA) def. Robert Kendrick (USA) 6-3 7-6(7)
Paul Capdeville (CHI) def. 5 David Nalbandian (ARG) 6-2 6-2 6
Mardy Fish (USA) def. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 6-3 6-4
Oscar Hernandez (ESP) def. WC Rui Machado (POR) 7-5 1-6 7-5
Marc Gicquel (FRA) def. Pablo Andujar (ESP) 7-6(6) 6-4
Doubles First Round
3 F. Cermak (CZE)/M. Mertinak (SVK) def. Alt. P. Capedeville (CHI)/I. Navarro 6-3 6-2
Tuesday’s Matches
Singles First Round
2 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. Andrey Golubev (KAZ)
3 David Ferrer (ESP) vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)
7 Albert Montanes (ESP) vs. Q Ryan Sweeting (USA)
8 Florent Serra (FRA) vs. Diego Junqueira (ARG)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) vs. Q Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
Juan Monaco (ARG) vs. Q Pablo Cuevas (URU)
Ivan Navarro (ESP) vs. Albert Martin (ESP)
Simon Greul (GER) vs. Q Ricardo Hocevar (BRA)
Doubles First Round
4 M. Damm (CZE)/R. Lindstedt (SWE) vs. O. Hernandez (ESP)/A. Montanes (ESP)
WC F. Gil (POR)/R. Machado (POR) vs. M. Fish (USA)/D. Martin (USA)
Tuesday’s Order of Play
(Image: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images)
Preview: Estoril Open
City: Estoril, Portugal
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: Roger Federer
2008 Doubles Champions: Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie
Roger Federer will not defend his title this year. Gilles Simon was given a wildcard and now is the top seed. This is a good opportunity for the Frenchman to get his season on track. He has a good shot since his quarter of the draw is pretty easy. Simon will have to contend with David Ferrer should he make it to the semifinals.
Ferrer has the harder road to the semifinals since he has to pass David Nalbandian in the quarterfinals. Nalbandian had to pull out of the Barcelona quarterfinals due to injury, and there have been reports of an impending hip surgery. If he is healthy, Nalbandian could give the Spaniard trouble all day, as he won this tournament in 2002 and 2006.
The bottom half of the draw is anchored by Nikolay Davydenko, who won the title in 2003. The Russian played well in Barcelona, but he could have to contend with Juan Monaco in the semifinals. Monaco is looking to breakthrough this year, so this could be the week. The Argentine could possibly have to deal with the native favorite Federico Gil in the quarterfinals. Gil has been known to cause trouble and will be helped by the Portuguese crowd.
It is good to see veterans and former French Open champions Juan Carlos Ferrero and Gaston Gaudio in the tournament. Ferrero could meet Davydenko in the second round, and Gaudio, who just won a challenger tournament in Tunisia this weekend, could meet Simon in the second round.
Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles
Monday’s Order of Play
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Argentine David Nalbandian withdrew from the Barcelona tournament due to an acute inflammation of the right hip. It had been bothering the Argentine over the last couple of weeks, and he irritated the injury yesterday in his victory over Nicolas Almagro.
With this withdrawal, Rafael Nadal receives a walkover into the semifinals. The quarterfinal matchup was to be Nadal’s first big showdown of the tournament and a grudge match of their last meeting in Indian Wells. Nalbandian is one of the few people on tour with a winning record against Nadal. The Argentine still leads Nadal in their head-to-head matchup 2-1.
City: Barcelona, Spain
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: 500
2008 Singles Champion: Rafael Nadal
2008 Doubles Champions: Mike Bryan/Bob Bryan
Rafael Nadal is the four-time defending champion and the one to beat this week. David Nalbandian could be sta
nding in his way in the quarterfinals since he is the only person on the tour with a winning record against Nadal at 2-1.
The bottom half of Nadal’s side of the draw has Stanislas Wawrinka anchoring it. The Swiss had a good tournament in Monte-Carlo by making it to the semifinals. Nikolay Davydenko and Guillermo Canas are also in his quarter of the draw.
The other half of the draw has the other top Spaniards: Tommy Robredo, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco. They are playing for the opportunity to play Rafael Nadal in the final. Robredo, the 2004 champion, has to get passed Ferrer, last year’s finalist, in the quarterfinals. Verdasco’s possible quarterfinal could be difficult because he could have to contend with Fernando Gonzalez or Juan Monaco.
Veterans Juan Carlos Ferrero and Gaston Gaudio were given wildcards and will put in an appearance this week.
Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles
Tournament Malfeasance
Juan Monaco vs. Marat Safin
Monday’s Order of Play
(Images: Barcelona Open)
Due to a series of autopranks, I missed the Nadal-Nalbandian match last night. When I awoke this morning, I discovered that the match was another Nadal classic. Aargh!
Apparently, Nadal fought off five match points and rallied to win the match:
Here are some highlights in Spanish just in case you missed the match like me:Five times David Nalbandian held match point against the man he had beaten soundly in their two previous meetings and it was not until 2am, with a crowd of some 2,000 still in attendance, that Nadal was able to turn it around and pull off an amazing victory 3–6, 7–6, 6–0.
Four of the match points for the Argentinian had come at 3–5 on Nadal's serve and one a game later when Nalbandian, suddenly looking nervous, opened with a double fault as he served for the match. Only one of the match points was surrendered with an unforced error – the remainder were snatched from Nalbandian with the kind of rip-roaring, defiant winners that have become the Spaniard's trademark.
Rafael Nadal emerged victorious in his match against Dmitry Tursunov today. The Spaniard bested the Russian 6-3 6-3. Nadal's train rolls on into the round of 16 after 78 minutes of play. On the bright side for Tursunov, he did keep the Spaniard on the court for over 70 minutes, which is quite a feat when playing Nadal of late.
It was an impressive and convincing win for the Spaniard, who will play David Nalbandian in the next round. Nalbandian beat Victor Troicki 6-4 6-2 today. Currently, Nalbandian leads Nadal 2-0 in their head-to-head matchup. Both victories came on hardcourts in 2007 at Masters events in Paris and Madrid. Since Nadal has improved dramatically on hard surfaces, this matchup should be an exciting one.
(image: AP)
David Nalbandian has pulled out of Davis Cup play due to a virus. Team captain, Tito Vazquez is trying to replace the Argentine veteran player with Juan Martin Del Potro, Argentina's current top player. Luckily for Argentina, they are playing the Netherlands, which has no Davis cup players ranked in the singles top 100. Argentina still can tap Acasuso, who has played will in the South American Swing this month, and still be fine.
Andy Murray is now definitely out the Davis Cup. Murray pulled out of his quarterfinal match with Richard Gasquet due to a virus in Dubai last week and was questionable for Davis Cup this week.
Copa Telmex
Tommy Robredo and Juan Monaco will see each other on Sunday. It could be Robredo’s second title in two weeks. Robredo defeated Jose Acasuso in straight sets to advance. 
Copa Telmex
Juan Monaco, on the other hand, had a more daunting task. He had to play the top seed and defending champion, David Nalbandian. Nalbandian won the first set and was serving for the match when Monaco went on a tear and won three games in a row to clinch the second set. The third set was closer, and the two traded breaks. Monaco eventually won the third set tiebreak and upset the defending champion.
Tommy Robredo and Juan Monaco will face off in the final. Their head-to–head is even at 1-1. Monaco won this tournament in 2007, and Robredo is currently on a hot streak. The final should be good tomorrow.
Match Results:
Singles Semifinals
Juan Monaco (ARG) def. 1 David Nalbandian (ARG) 2-6 7-5 7-6(2)
3 Tommy Robredo def. 5 Jose Acasuso 6-4 7-6(3)
Doubles Semifinals
N. Almagro (ESP)/S. Ventura (ESP) def. B. Dabul (ARG)/S. Roitman (ARG) 2-6 6-3 14-12
Sunday’s Matches:
Singles Championship
3 Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)
Doubles Championship
M. Granollers (ESP)/A. Martin (ESP) vs. N. Almagro (ESP)/S. Ventura (ESP)
Juan Monaco won pretty easily over countryman Maximo Gonzalez 6-2 6-3. He will play David Nalbandian in the semifinals, so he will have his hands full tomorrow.
Poor Juan Carlos Ferrero. The Spaniard had to retire in the second set against David Nalbandian due to a right leg injury. Let's hope he makes a speedy recovery in time for Acapulco.
Top seed David Nalbandian has played well this tournament and looks like the person to beat this week. He was ahead 6-3 3-0 when Ferrero retired. The Argentine will meet Juan Monaco in the semifinals and currently leads their head-to-head 2-0.
Tommy Robredo beat Brazilian Franco Ferreiro 6-4 7-6(4) and will now reach the semifinals. The Spaniard is poised to win his second title in a row, but he will first have to beat Jose Acasuso to reach the final. Robredo currently leads Acasuso in their head-to-head 4-3.
Complete Match Results:
Singles Quarterfinals:
1 David Nalbandian (ARG) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 6-3 3-0 Ret’d
3 Tommy Robredo (ESP) def. Q Franco Ferreiro (BRA) 6-4 7-6(4)
5 Jose Acasuso def. Oscar Hernandez 6-1 6-2
Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Q Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) 6-2 6-3
Doubles Quarterfinals:
N. Almagro (ESP)/S. Ventura (ESP) def. O. Hernandez (ESP)/A. Montanes (ESP) 6-1 6-0
Doubles Semifinals
M. Granollers (ESP)/A. Martin (ESP) def. A. Calleri (ARG)/P. Starace (ITA) 6-1 1-6 10-5
Saturday's Matches:
Singles Semifinals:
1 David Nalbandian (ARG) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)
3 Tommy Robredo vs. 5 Jose Acasuso
Doubles Semifinals:
N. Almagro (ESP)/S. Ventura (ESP) vs. B. Dabul (ARG)/S. Roitman (ARG)
(images: Copa Telmex/Sergio Llamera)
City: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: David Nalbandian
2008 Doubles Champions: Calleri/Horna
Copa Telmex
Defending champion, David Nalbandian of Argentina is seated number one. This tournament has the same cast of South American and Spanish players that do the South American clay circuit. Added to to the mix this week is Spaniard Carlos Moya and David Nalbandian. It should be interesting to see if Tommy Robredo and Thomaz Bellucci stay on their roll this week.
Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles
Updated: Monday's Matches
Singles Round of 32:
1 David Nalbandian (ARG) vs. Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
Brian Dabul (ARG) vs. Nicolas Devilder (FRA)
Antonio Martin (ESP) vs. wc Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) vs. Agustin Calleri (ARG)
Doubles Round of 16:
1 F. Cermak (CZE) /M. Mertinak (SVK) vs. D. Gimeno-Traver (ESP) /I. Navarro (ESP)
Monday's Order of Play
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